DescriptionThis week, Samsung might have lost their edge, Microsoft is trying new things and YouTube rebrands their services.ParticipantsScott ErtzHostScott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLuGHiTz Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the DDR community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bar Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and judging engineering notebooks at competitions. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors.Avram PiltchHostAvram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.OpeningPowered by TeknoAXENifty GiftiesPowered by Microsoft StoreIs Samsung More Worried About Deadlines than Reliable Tech2018 hasn't been a great year for Samsung. It's not been the PR disaster that was 2016, but it's not been smooth sailing. In 2016, Samsung famously had the Galaxy Note7 devices explode under a variety of scenarios. Even after ending sales, a product recall and "fixing the issue," devices kept sacrificing themselves to the gods of battery technology. The company also had a recall on certain washing machines because the appliances were... wait for it: exploding.read full articlePiltch Point with Avram PiltchPowered by Monster ProductsExtra LifePowered by RazerArcades and Accessible Controllers: An Exciting Week for Microsoft GamingIt is no secret that Microsoft has been taking some wide swings lately with their product offerings. They've been looking to appeal to a wider range of customers, with products like Outlook for iPhone and Microsoft Pix, both of which are rated higher than Apple's included email client and camera app, respectively. They've even been enhancing their Cortana offerings, including the Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker, with an Alexa partnership.read full articleNews From the TubesPowered by RiffTraxSenate Votes to Actually Implement Abandoned Net Neutrality RulesA little over a year ago, the FCC voted not to implement guidelines intended to re-establish a guarantee for an open internet in the United States. There were problems with the original intent, of course, with the most important being a lack of legal jurisdiction for the FCC to have drafted the guidelines in the first place. The FCC belongs to the Executive branch, which cannot create new law - it can only enforce existing laws.read full article* DRM Not IncludedPowered by Amazon PrimeAmid Controversial Decisions, YouTube Creates Two New Paid Versions of the ServiceOver the past year, YouTube has infrequently made headlines for something positive. Between illegally collecting children's information and continually stricter guidelines on content, combined with advertising issues and a creator exodus, the company seems to be in a downward spiral. It was inevitable that Google would step in at some point and look for ways to deal with viewership and revenue losses caused by these issues.read full articleClosingPowered by Tech Podcast Network