Today on the flagship podcast of dedicated streaming hardware:

We try out a couple of show formats we’ve been planning for a while. In Version History, we tell the story of the Roku Netflix Player, debate its legacy, and try to decide whether this thing belongs in the Version History Hall of Fame.

After that, it’s time for debates. Nilay Patel and David Pierce yell at each other about who should own the screens in your car. Are CarPlay and Android Auto the answer, the solution to universally crappy automaker software?

Later, David answers a question from The Vergecast Hotline about political spam texts.
Further reading:

Inside Netflix’s Project Griffin: The Forgotten History Of Roku Under Reed Hastings: https://www.fastcompany.com/3004709/i...

How Roku used the Netflix playbook to rule streaming video: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/18/how-r...

Netflix Player offers PC-free movie watching: https://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/pte...

Review: Roku Netflix Set Top Box Is Just Shy of Totally Amazing: https://www.wired.com/2008/05/review-...

Why the Roku Netflix Player Is the First Shot of the Revolution: https://archive.nytimes.com/bits.blog...

Car companies haven’t figured out if they’ll let Apple CarPlay take over all the screens: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/7/231...

The rest of the auto industry still loves CarPlay and Android Auto: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/3/236...

Everybody hates GM’s decision to kill Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its EVs: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/4/236...

Rivian CEO says CarPlay isn’t going to happen: https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/22/24...

Apple’s fancy new CarPlay will only work wirelessly: https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/17/24...

How to stop receiving spam texts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/techno...

Stop Robotexts: How to Block Smishing and Spam Text Messages: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/block-ro...

Chapters:
00:00 Intro and vacation plans
04:06 The First Roku: A Deep Dive
13:19 Roku user experience and reviews
18:03 The evolution of streaming devices
28:47 Debating the Hall of Fame induction
31:30 CarPlay vs. Automaker Software
33:41 Opening statements: CarPlay vs. automaker software
40:28 Future of car software
49:52 Debate closing statements
54:22 Vergecast Hotline: tackling spam texts

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