Jeff Bezos stands down as Amazon CEO and Google closes its in-house games studio; we also share a sneak preview of Windows 10 X and discuss the tech winners and losers of the pandemic. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Asus ROG Strix G17, a stonking gaming laptop with an AMD Ryzen R7 CPU.

The team discusses Twitter and Facebook opening their archives to researchers, Google’s threat to quit Australia, a worldwide shortage of graphics cards, and how Reddit users are causing ructions on Wall Street. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Prime Computer PrimeMini 5, a low-power desktop PC that’s small and silent yet surprisingly well connected.

The day Volkswagen briefly conquered the world (from the Financial Times, may be paywalled): https://www.ft.com/content/0a58b63a-4294-3e07-8390-c3aabef39a26

The team discusses Wikipedia's 20th anniversary, Sir Tim Berners-Lee's new idea for protecting our online privacy and the potential dangers of online shopping algorithms. Our hot hardware candidate is the Asus ZenBook Duo UX482, the company's latest stab at creating a dual-screen laptop.

Spotlight link: List of hoaxes on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_hoaxes_on_Wikipedia

The team discusses the highlights of this year's virtual CES, an ignominious end for "free-speech" social network Parler, concerns over Flash-only online exams and a new CEO for Intel. Our Hot Hardware candidate is Virgin's Intelligent Wi-Fi Plus, a whole-home booster based on the Plume mesh platform.

The team discusses the technology implications of the recent mass incursion into the US Capitol; a new look for Outlook; the challenges of home schooling; and Microsoft's threat to bring deceased loved ones back to life as chatbots. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the HP EliteOne 800 G5, an all-in-one desktop PC that could be ideal for homeworkers.

As 2020 recedes into the rear-view mirror, the team looks ahead to the big issues and technologies that might shape 2021.

Video link: "The Square", as mentioned by Tim Danton as a possible way to make working from home more sociable - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9D-43Q9aQ

It's time once more for our annual quiz! Darien Graham-Smith plays quizmaster as Barry Collins, Tim Danton and Jon Honeyball compete for the tech trivia crown.

The team discusses a short but disruptive Google outage, privacy controversies at Twitter and Facebook, and a major step forward for Windows on ARM. Our Hot Hardware candidate is Apple's AirPods Max, a pair of noise-cancelling, over-ear headphones that can be yours for the pocket-money price of £549.

The team discusses the EU's proposed "right to disconnect", legal challenges to Facebook, a technical trick that can uncover pixelated passwords and new accessibility features in Android and iOS. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Acer Book RS i7, a premium Windows laptop designed by Porsche.

For the original tweet about pixelated passwords, see https://twitter.com/spibblez/status/1335638633970348032

The pandemic has hammered home the importance of connectivity for workers wherever they are in the country. In this special podcast in association with O2, Tim Danton, Jon Honeyball and O2's Ant Morse cover the lessons learned so far and look ahead to the future - including the role of 5G and the steps we need to take to connect the whole of Britain.