Chilla is back from Microsoft's Redmond Playground to catch up with the tech news!

• Chilla talks about his visit to the Microsoft Research Lab, using HoloLens 2, Microsoft's custom energy water, and Xbox in a museum.
• Sorg stayed at home and watched the finale of Silicon Valley on HBO.
• Configuring the new Mac Pro takes our breath away...
• Sorg is eyeing the lower end Blackmagic ATEM Mini for mobile and studio video streaming implementations.
• Google is ending support for Google Glass Explorer Edition.  Of which we have one still. Is this a result of the Google Founders leaving?
• Turn your iMac into a workstation
• Microsoft Office coming to Linux 
• Coca-Cola bottles are using OLEDs to light up Star Wars lightsabers.  But not in your country probably.
• Zelda is coming to Mario Maker
• Chilla is doing some serious server setup for Minecraft.  That may help him in his day job!
• Plex is launching free TV and movies.

After the show remember to:

Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com)

Want to be part of our studio audience?  Hit us up at awesomecast@sorgatronmedia.com and we’ll save you a seat!

Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion!

Follow these awesome people on Twitter: John Chichilla (@Chilla) and Sorg (@Sorgatron)

You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast!

Remember to check out our friends at the The 405 Media (@The405Radio), and Postindustrial Audio  (@post_industry) who replay the show on their stream throughout the week!

Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST

• We're LIVE with our year-end Christmas show with Doug Derda and Cynthia Closkey, talking about our awesome things of the year on this week's episode.
• Sling and cordcutting were our awesome things of the year for 2015 as we reflected back last year.
• Meerkat? Wow!
• Cynthia is sharing her awesome thing of the year for 2016 - her smart watch (Apple Watch) and wearables in general.
• Sorg is sharing his woes over the Pebble buyout in comparison to the Apple Watch.
• Doug is pitching a Kickstarter campaign for a Kickstarter movie talking about Kickstarter campaigns.
• Google Glass is still a discussion at the end of 2016.
• Wheelz is sharing his awesome thing of the year - his Samsung phone.
• Doug is sharing Facebook LIVE as his awesome thing of the year and how interesting instacontent is.
• Speaking of bleeding edge tech - we can't help but talk about iJustine and how she was livestreaming a decade ago.
• How do you stand out in a tidal wave of content now that instacontent is so available?
• Are people looking at instacontent for content or for interaction with other people?
• Doug is teaching us about the Musically app through his son's usage.
• Sorg's awesome thing of the year is self-driving cars - especially since he's been in one!

• Speaking of self-driving cars, studies show traffic would be better with less traffic lights.

• It's 2016 prediction recap time!
  -- Doug was WRONG with his prediction about online superstardom.
  -- Cynthia is recapping her accurate mom factor prediction about streaming programming.
  -- AI advancement prediction by Chilla is ACCURATE! (You can thank Alexa, Sir.)
  -- DJ Lunchbox's iPhone7 prediction - ACCURATE! (WTH headphone jacks?)
  -- Technology to communicate with pets. Sorry Katie, we're not sure whether Catterbox counts this year.

• Apple's biggest innovation - a phone that doesn't explode!

• Predictions for 2017!
  -- Doug predicts Google+ will finally die.
  -- Sorg thinks Twitter will not be an independent company by the end of 2017. Will it go to Verizon?
  -- Cynthia thinks VR video will not be a thing next year, as in it's not going anywhere, and we won't know why. She doesn't believe it will get past Cardboard and it'll be at least another 3 years before we see any solid movement with VR.
  -- Rizz predicts the Nintendo Switch will revolutionize gaming

• Thanks for a great (at least by way of tech) 2016! Make sure to hit us up with what tech Santa brought you!

After the show remember to:

Eat at Slice on Broadway if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com)

Follow these awesome people on Twitter: Doug Derda (@douglasderda), Cynthia Closkey (@cynthiacloskey) and Mike Sorg (@Sorgatron, SorgatronMedia.com).

You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast !

Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.net for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 6:30 PM EST!