Episode 15: Christmas songs with crazy lyrics and themes, tech highs and lows of the week, and cast your vote in our Christmas countdown

Hi Mosen at largers. ‘Tis the season and all that. And it seems I’m not the only one who finds the line in the Christmas song Silent Night, “holy infant so tender and mild”, quite bizarre. This week we look at other odd Christmas songs and lines, including the most bizarre one of all, Little Drummer Boy.

We discuss salutations at the beginning of emails. Do we need them, and what should we use?

We remember mainstream games, some of them quite old now, that have been accessible.

With the gift season upon us, a listener asks for advice on mechanical keyboards.

Have we become more disrespectful over time? Is it now OK that people don’t seem to have a problem with kids calling adults by their first names?

Sometimes, doing something as simple as changing mobile phone providers is such a mission! I recount my adventures trying to do that this week.

I am looking forward with considerable anticipation to the UK election later in the week.

Bonnie is here with her bulletin.

Tile stickers have arrived in our house. I describe what they are and why you might use them.

There are rumours that Apple will introduce an iPhone with no ports at all. How do you feel about that?

A listener asks about ProTools accessibility with JAWS.

A listener asks about US TV streaming.

With the end of 2019 fast approaching, we have to put up with annoying people who can’t count and think that the decade is about to end.

Twitter has had to abandon for now an initiative that would have freed up old usernames.

There’s a warning about a new Samsung Galaxy update affecting dictation with Voice Assistant.

And in a shameless self-promotion, I play the Christmas song I recorded in the hope that when you vote in our holiday countdown, you might send it to number one!