CultCast #311 - The rocky history of HomePod

This week:

• HomePod’s been delayed, we’ll talk about that, but Bloomberg put out an interesting piece on the history of the HomePod, and it gives previously undisclosed details of the device you may find very interesting.
• We gotta talk about net neutrality
• How Tesla just out Apple’d, Apple
• Is there still a point to Apple TV?  
• Tactics to get the best prices on all the Black Friday stuff you want
• Oh yeah, and 🦃 Gobble gobble yaaa’aaall! 🦃

  This episode supported by   Learn all you want for free with 30-day trial to LinkedIn Learning at LinkedIn.com/cultcast   If you just want great WiFi everywhere, check out an award winning Orbi WiFi System from Netgear, at http://netgear.com/orbi   CultCloth will keep your iPhone 7, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad sparkling clean, and for a limited time you can use code CULTCAST to score a free CleanCloth with any order at CultCloth.co.   The Cult of Mac watch store has the best straps in the biz!  Check out the huge Black Friday sale with savings up to 50% at http://store.cultofmac.com.   Thanks to Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com for the great music you hear on today's show.   On the show this week @erfon / @bst3r / @lkahney   Net neutrality is almost dead, but we can still save it

• FCC is about to kill Net Neutrality, and they’re calling it the Restoring internet freedom order
• They’re currently taking our feedback into account, but the official vote for the order will be on Dec. 14th
• Details of the new plan will were released today.  The plan completely removes restrictions on throttling or prioritizing content, and explicitly allows paid prioritization of content
• Go to Battleforthenet.com.  It will help you take action. If will connect you to your congress person via phone and even provide you a script of what to say.

  Tesla out-Apples Apple with the new Roadster “one more thing" https://youtu.be/lAQGBxtLSWU?t=1m15s   Apple’s HomePod smart speaker won’t be home for Christmas - buster https://www.cultofmac.com/514723/apples-homepod-smart-speaker-wont-home-christmas/

• Apple’s new Siri-powered smart speaker won’t be one of the hottest gifts of the 2017 holiday season after all.
• The HomePod was set to launch in December 2017, but the company released a statement today saying it needs more time to make the smart speaker ready for customers.
• “We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple’s breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers. We’ll start shipping in the US, UK, and Australia in early 2018
• When it does launch, HomePod will cost $349, making it a lot more pricey than rival smart speakers from Amazon and Google

  Apple's HomePod project actually predates the Amazon Echo, but has been canceled and restarted numerous times, and has undergone radical design changes https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-21/why-apple-s-homepod-is-three-years-behind-amazon-s-echo

• HomePod has been in development since 2012, and it’s not like the Echo.
• The engineers and designers wanted to build a really great speaker that  "sounded better than the ones sold by the likes of Bose, JBL and Harman Kardon”
• Prototypes ranged from a flat panel with a mesh screen to one measuring some three feet tall with dozens of speakers
• In 2014, the project went from prototyping into an official endeavor
• In that same year, Amazon released their Echo, and it reportedly blind-sided Apple’s engineers. They joked with each other that there must be mole working amongst them.

  Is there still a point for Apple TV? Smart TVs now have pretty great navigation and menu systems built in.  Many have Google cast built int.   The Best Black Friday deals of 2017 https://www.cultofmac.com/512741/best-black-friday-deals/   Moviepass now has a deal for 6.95 a month  https://www.moviepass.com