Talking Tech: These were some of the top stories in tech this year

It's Thursday. Welcome to the final Talking Tech of 2022. It's Brett Molina here with a look back.

Hard to believe, but we're not too far from 2023. Let's take a quick look back at a couple of the big stories of this year.

Wordle. Who would've thought a simple word game would turn out to become such as massive phenomenon. The concept is simple: Guess the correct five-letter word in under six attempts. Ultimately, it was acquired by The New York Times, and it spawned countless spinoffs.

Big changes in streaming. Our budgets for streaming services got stretched. Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu were among the streamers who raised prices. We also got more ads. Even Netflix, which long pushed back against advertising, finally caved into including commercials. Remind me again why we cut the cord?

Twitter: The Elon Musk era. It was only eight months ago when the saga formally started, with the billionaire making a $44 billion offer to acquire the social media platform. Since then, chaos has ensued. I can't imagine what Twitter will look like a year from now.

What else happened in tech

Tbh you should know this. But in case you don't here's what "tbh" means.

Fortnite's maker settles with the FTC. And you might be due a refund.

More on Musk. Billionaire says he will step down as Twitter chief. Eventually.

Thursday tech tip

Ever get the feeling our tech might be eavesdropping? If you do fear Apple, Google, Facebook or other tech entity is listening, adjust these settings.

One more thing

Are you still out there holiday shopping? No shame here. However, you might want to get that wrapped up (see what I did there?). Here are some great ideas for last-minute gifts.

Programming note: Talking Tech will be off next week for the holidays. See you in 2023!

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.