CultCast #232 - Techno-Utopian Baloney

This week: Apple makes a curious investment in China’s version of Uber; iPhones that charge wirelessly in your pocket; Siri is coming to a Mac near you; more weird and wacky stories from the Cult of Mac; and we tell you what we like (and what we don’t) about the gadgets we’re currently testing in an all-new Under Review.   This episode supported by   Freshbooks, the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster.  And I can vouch for this from experience, it also makes tax time a cinch.  Get started with a free trial at Freshbooks.com/cultcast, and please enter “CultCast” in the “How did you hear about us?” section!   TunnelBear, the simple privacy app that makes it easy to browse privately and enjoy a more open internet. Visit GetTunnelBear.com to get your free TunnelBear today.   We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a  thanks for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney   Intro: Your future computer, The Knowledge Navigator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjve67p33E   Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese Uber rival http://www.cultofmac.com/428251/apple-invests-1-billion-in-chinese-uber-rival/

• Apple has invested $1 billion in Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing
• Tim Cook says the deal “reflects our excitement about their growing business … and also our continued confidence in the long term in China’s economy.”
• Cook told Reuters: “We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market,” 
• Jack Kent of tech analytical firm IHS Technology said partnering with Chinese companies is a common way for international companies to get into the massive Asian market.

  Apple’s new hires point to iPhone wireless charging http://www.cultofmac.com/428817/apples-new-hires-point-to-iphone-wireless-charging/

• In the last four months Apple has hired two former uBeam engineers with expertise in wireless charging and ultrasonic technology
• The Verge did some investigating, and discovered that in fact the in the last two years Apple has hired more than a dozen staffers with expertise in wireless charging.
• Earlier this year Bloomberg reported that Apple was hoping to add wireless charging to the new iPhone it releases in 2017.
• According to Bloomberg's sources, Apple wants to implement a much more advanced technology that would allow you to walk around a room and have your phone charging the entire time.
• Is the smart dock a stop gap?

  Siri for Mac icons leak ahead of WWDC http://www.cultofmac.com/428990/siri-for-mac-icons-leak-ahead-of-wwdc/

• Apple’s digital assistant Siri is expected to finally arrive on Macs later this year with the next OS X update

• Cool icon in dock, plus accessible via the menu bar and Hey Siri option

  Buster’s reviewing the Garmin Phoenix 3 http://amzn.to/1WG1xKB   Leander’s been listening to the Moshi Avanti on-ear headphones http://www.moshi.com/audio-headphones-avanti   Erfon’s lighting his house with the illumi smart bulbs http://amzn.to/1U3QQet     The three Apples that changed the world, featuring Jimmy Page and Fiona Apple