DescriptionThis week, App Fairness is expanding its ranks, Russia is expanding its outlook, and HBO Max is expanding its reach. Plus, ways to prepare for 2021.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.Year in ReviewPowered by Tech Podcast NetworkGreat ways you can prepare your technology and home for 2021It's almost the end of 2020, and while the year has been chaotic for most of us, the PLUGHITZ Live team is looking for every way we can start 2021 off without some of the burdens of 2020. Our staff members and partners each have some rituals they perform going into a new year, and together we hope that these suggestions can help all of us feel a little less chaotic.read full articleOpeningPowered by TeknoAXENifty GiftiesPowered by Microsoft StoreCoalition for App Fairness adds most major US news publishersIf you're unaware of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) or haven't heard about it in a while, you can be forgiven. The organization has often stayed in the shadows, working to fix a problem that the general population is not directly affected by, but developers are - Apple's App Store policies. The organization is led by Epic Games and Spotify but has grown to 50 members, with the newest coming on board this week.read full articlePiltch Point with Avram PiltchPowered by PureVPNExtra LifePowered by RazerCyberpunk 2077 returns are available, game removed from PlayStationIf you are not aware of the continuing issues with Cyberpunk 2077, you have not played the game and likely spent very little time online. The number of memes based on the problems has become the majority of the internet, or so it seems. That is because the game was so highly anticipated, and the release has been a massive disappointment. Since we discussed requirements last week, things have gotten even more complex.read full articleNews From the TubesPowered by RiffTraxSolarWinds backdoor exposed public and private networks to RussiaOne of the truths of the world is that the internet is a dangerous place. Even things that are supposed to be safe and easy can turn into unmitigated disasters. For example, when an update for a network management system is compromised by hackers, adding in a backdoor that allows those hackers to enter the systems that download those updates. That is exactly what happened several months ago when an update for network management software developed by SolarWinds was compromised and distributed to tens or possibly hundreds of thousands of networks.read full article* DRM Not IncludedPowered by Amazon PrimeHBO Max is officially available on all of the essential platformsAs the number of video streaming services increases, so does the need for those services to cement themselves into the daily life of their users. Each has taken a different tactic, with some focusing on original programming while others have focused on unique business mod