The history of Roku and the fight over CarPlay

Before Roku was a starring subordinate successful the streaming wars, with that ubiquitous purple screensaver and a room of archetypal contented and practically each streaming app you could perchance imagine, it was a Netflix gadget — the archetypal Netflix gadget, for that matter, and the 1 that helped commencement a streaming revolution. But the Roku communicative was astir precise different.

On this occurrence of The Vergecast, we effort retired a mates of amusement formats we’ve been readying for a while. First, we debut our tech-rewatch segment, successful the vein of immoderate of our favourite rewatch shows similar Office Ladies, The West Wing Weekly, and The Rewatchables. We’re calling it Version History, astatine slightest for now. For this archetypal segment, we archer the communicative of the Roku Netflix Player, statement its legacy, and effort to determine whether this happening belongs successful the Version History Hall of Fame. The nonstop qualifications for said Hall of Fame? Still precise overmuch TBD.

After that, we person different instrumentality connected our as-yet-untitled statement show. In this one, Nilay Patel and David Pierce outcry astatine each different astir who should ain the screens successful your car. Are CarPlay and Android Auto the answer, the solution to universally crappy automaker software? Or should Google and Apple get retired of the mode and fto carmakers physique what’s required for the self-driving, automated, infinitely much immersive aboriginal of driving? Things get heated. Names are called.

(We privation to cognize what you deliberation of these caller formats! What bash you like? What bash you hate? What should we tweak oregon effort oregon bash differently? We’re ever looking to grow The Vergecast and adjacent motorboat caller shows, truthful we privation each your feedback. You tin nonstop america an email astatine vergecast@theverge.com, telephone the Hotline astatine 866-VERGE11, oregon conscionable permission america a remark here.)

Finally, we reply a question connected the Vergecast Hotline astir governmental texts and however to get them to stop. We person bully news... and we person atrocious news.

If you privation to cognize much astir everything we sermon successful this episode, present are immoderate links to get you started, archetypal connected the Roku Netflix Player:

And connected the CarPlay / Android Auto debate:

And connected robotexts: