Sorry, Car Companies: Car "Feature" Subscriptions Kinda Suck

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Google Home updates cause (figurative) nightmares, Lamborghini is making an off-road Huracan, and Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion.

Navigation:

05:24 – Google Home's White Noise Update Wreaks Havoc

16:54 – Lamborghini Takes the Huracan Off-Road

27:15 – Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard

39:53 – Our Favorite New Gear Releases

Featured and Related:

• Google fixes issue with the Assistant's white noise sound that had sparked user outcry – The Verge
• Solved: Re: White Noise ambient sound has changed, is ther... - Google Nest Community
• People are losing sleep after Google replaced the 'white noise' sound on Nest speakers – Engadget
• Google Faces Backlash After Changing White Noise Ambient Sound – PCMAG
• Google Assistant Changed Its White Noise Sound and People Are Pissed [Update – Gizmodo
• Google Home, Nest Hub white noise ambient sound changes – 9to5Google
• Lamborghini's Wild Off-Road Huracan Seems Bound for Production – Gear Patrol
• Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Spied As All-Terrain Supercar – Motor1
• Lamborghini Turned Its Best Sports Car Into an Off-Roader – Gear Patrol
• Now That We've Driven the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato, Will It Be Built? – Motor Trend
• Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica and Sterrato trademarks hint at send-off specials – The Drive
• Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Spied As All-Terrain Supercar – Motor1
• Is Porsche Secretly Working on an Off-Road 911? – Gear Patrol
• Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion – Engadget
• It’s Not Complicated. Microsoft Wants Activision for Its Games. – The New York Times
   
• Is Microsoft building a gaming monopoly? – The Verge
• Microsoft is buying one of the biggest names in games – Vox
• Japanese Internet Reacts To Microsoft's $70 Billion Proposal To Buy Activision – Kotaku
• A guide to Microsoft's Xbox game studios empire – The Verge
• Microsoft deal to deliver $390 million payday for Activision's embattled CEO – CNN
• GameStop stock sinks toward 11-month low as Microsoft-Activision merger poses 'walled garden' risk – MarketWatch

Which automakers produce the most vegan-friendly cars, a machine that projects aromas like speakers throw sound, and how COVID changed our shopping habits.

Navigation:

03:23 – Vegan-Friendly Cars: Which Brand Offers the Most Overall?
 

20:00 – What the Hell Is a Smell Speaker?
 

29:20 – COVID's Effect on Our Shopping Trends
 

Featured and Related:

• Study Finds Out Which Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Automakers – CarScoops
• Vegan Friendly Cars (original study post) – Dick Lovett
• Vegan cars: how veganism and sustainability shape the latest models – Auto Express
• Soft, warm and vegan-friendly, Volvo cars go leather-free – Reuters
• The Complete Vegan Guide to Buying a Car – LiveKindly
• Leather-Free Car Interiors Are Here, Thanks to PETA – PETA
• Cruelty-Free Cars: A Guide to Making Vegan Car Choices – VEGWORLD Magazine
• PETA and the Secret History of Vegan Leather Car Interiors – CleanTechnica
• Skoda Could Use Biological Raw Materials In Its Vehicles' Interiors – CarScoops
• Devon Turnbull: Old School Hi-fi Influencer - Resistor Magazine |
• Devon Turnbull talks Ojas speakers with Steve Guttenberg the Audiophiliac | In Sheeps Clothing
• The New Normal – Schema Design, Google Trends, and Axios
• Today in Gear: 5 Products to Know Every Day – Gear Patrol
• Garmin vívomove Hybrid Smartwatch ($180+)
• Diemme x Hiking Patrol: Roccia Vet Orange Cordura ($445)
• Hiking Patrol on Instagram
• The Leica M11: A Masterclass of Digital Photography — And Restraint – Gear Patrol
• Incense Holder – Craighill ($18)

It's no surprise that Gear Patrol fans have great taste and lofty product resolutions for 2022. Also in this episode: F-150 Lightning popularity and the Library of Pursuits.

Navigation:

Featured and Related:

• Ford's F-150 Lightning Electric Truck Is Shaping Up to Be Insanely Successful – Gear Patrol
• 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Markups Surprising Some Reservation Holders – Ford Authority
• Meet the All-New, All-Electric 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV – Gear Patrol
• The Four Biggest Myths of the US Economy - Plain English with Derek Thompson – The Ringer
• Tesla Removes 2022 Cybertruck Production Date From Its Site – The Drive
• Four Fitness Myths You Should Avoid in 2022 – Gear Patrol
• Library of Pursuits: Sign up for GP Email Courses – Gear Patrol
• 5 Haircare Resolutions to Make in 2022 – Gear Patrol
• 5 Tech Resolutions to Tackle in 2022 – Gear Patrol
• 10 Watches We Hope to See in 2022 – Gear Patrol

Electrification, memeification and sustainability take top prize.

Featured and Related:

• This Year in Gear: the Most Notable Releases of 2021 – Gear Patrol
• Gear Patrol (@gearpatrol) Instagram – Gear Patrol Reels + Reviews of TikTok Products
• The 19 Coolest Electric Vehicles We Saw in 2021 – Gear Patrol
• All the Coolest Weed Gear That Came Out in 2021 – Gear Patrol
• Looking Back on 2020 and Forward to 2021 – Psychology Today
• COVID economy in the United States – McKinsey
• Sensibill's Barcode Report Recaps 2021 Spending Trends – Business Wire
• Powerful Consumer Trends To Watch In 2021 – Forbes
• Fairtrade America Reveals Top Consumer Trends for 2022 – Yahoo! Finance
• The 7 Biggest Consumer Technology Trends In 2022 – Forbes

Matter claims to weave together all your disparate smart home devices, Loro Piana is tracking wool origins, and John Mayer's second G-Shock collab drops.

Episode Navigation:

04:50 – Matter and the promise of a unified Smart Home

22:10 – Loro Piana customers can track its wool origins

34:49 – John Mayer x Hodinkee x Casio G-Shock = a very desirable, approachable collab

Featured and Related: 

• Gear Patrol's Best Gifts 2021 — Ideas for Christmas, Birthdays & More
• Apple, Google, and Amazon have teamed up to fix the smart home with a new standard called Matter – The Verge
• Here's how Amazon, Google, Apple, and Samsung plan to work with Matter (with podcast) – The Verge
• Situation: there are too many competing smart home standards – The Verge
• Matter homepage
• Apple, Google, and Amazon are teaming up to develop an open-source smart home standard (2019) – The Verge
• Do You Know Where Your Sweater Came From? – The New York Times
• Traceable Cashmere: Discover Which Mongolian Goat Your Sweater Came From – Forbes
• Nature Elevated – Sheep Inc ("naturally carbon negative knitwear") – Sheep Inc
• Blockchain-Powered App Helps Mongolian Herders Trace Cashmere – Cointelegraph
• John Mayer and G-Shock are Back at it with the Latest Hodinkee Limited Edition – Worn & Wound
• Introducing: The Casio G-SHOCK Ref. 6900-PT80 By John Mayer – HODINKEE
• John Mayer Is Back With Another G-Shock Collab – GQ
• G-SHOCK Limited Edition DW6900JM21-7 Men's Watch (sold out)

The winners of this year's GP100 include the 2021 Game Changers: products that represent a massive shift in their respective categories.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 – What Is a Game Changer?

06:41 – I/O MAG Imprint 3D Goggle from Smith

13:15 – Whoop Any-Wear

19:15 – KYX Sneaker Rental

27:46 – Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids

37:47 – Dyson V15 Detect

44:32 – Fellow Drops

51:55 – Apple MacBook Pros

57:50 – Syng Cell Alpha Speaker

1:04:11 – Rivian R1T

1:11:11 – Bremont ENG300 Movement

Featured and Related:

• The 2021 GP100
• The 10 Best New Tech Products of the Year
• The 10 Best New Audio Products of the Year
• The 10 Best New Home Products of the Year
• The 10 Best New Food & Drink Products of the Year
• The 10 Best New Wellness Products of the Year
• The 10 Best New Style Products of the Year
• The 10 Best Fitness Products of 2022
• The 10 Best Outdoor Products of 2022

Virgil Abloh's legacy, BMW's questionable new SUV, and LEGO makes.... wooden shelves?

Episode Navigation:

02:36 – Virgil Abloh's Legacy

20:14 – BMW's New XM Concept Design Is Questionable

33:52 – LEGO Makes Home Furnishings Now
 

Featured and Related:

• Virgil Abloh, Path-Blazing Designer, Is Dead at 41 – New York Times
• Virgil Abloh Fans Build Altar at Off-White Store – New York Times
• Virgil Abloh's Life Celebrated In Louis Vuitton Runway Show – Vulture
• Louis Vuitton Unveils Virgil Abloh Statue at SS22 Miami Presentation – Hypebeast
• Into the Sky Above: Virgil Abloh Stages His Last Show for Louis Vuitton – Vogue
• Remembering Virgil Abloh, Hip-Hop's Designer – Pitchfork
• Virgil Abloh's Death: Reactions From Kanye West, BTS, Gucci – HighSnobiety
• No One Loved Virgil Abloh More Than His Critics – Rolling Stone
• project MAYBACH with virgil abloh: mercedes-benz unveils electric car as tribute to late designer – Design Boom
• BMW Unveils the Insane-Looking XM Performance SUV – Gear Patrol
• M1 Successor? BMW Previews 750-Horsepower XM Hybrid Concept – The Truth About Cars
• BMW shows off its new XM hybrid concept vehicle – The Verge
• BMW combines M legacy and rock star aesthetic into a quick V8 hybrid SUV – TechCrunch
• BMW’s 750-HP Concept XM Revealed And It's Even Scarier Than We Imagined | Carscoops – discussion via r/cars
• "Did BMS's Newest Car Design Just Leak?" – GP Instagram
• LEGO Rolls Out a Collection of Wooden Home Accessories – Design Milk
• Fill Your Home With Stackable Life-Size LEGO Furniture – Nerdist
• LEGO Wooden Home Accessories Collection Launches - LEGO Bricks – House Beautiful
• Book the ‘Home Alone’ House for One Night — Tarantulas and Booby Traps Included – Rolling Stone
• This 3,955-Piece ‘Home Alone’ LEGO Set Doubles as an Advent Calendar – My Modern Met

Continuous Liquid Interface Production is the next generation of 3D printing, and is equal parts SciFi and magic.

Featured and Related:
 

• How 3D Printing Could Change the Future of Gear – Gear Patrol
• The Promise of 3D Printing Fulfilled | Carbon (Home Page)
• Joseph DeSimone: What if 3D printing was 100x faster? (video) – TED
• The Gear Patrol Magazine Subscription • Gear Patrol Store
• Today in Gear – GP's Daily Gear News Column
• Sign Up for the Gear Patrol Dispatch Newsletter and Never Miss a Story – Gear Patrol
• Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards – Fast Company
• adidas 4DFWD 3D Printed Running Shoes ($200)
• NHL Will Now Use 3D Printed Helmets, Thanks to Carbon and CCM – 3dprint.com

Have we passed the "EV inflection point?" Will the coffee bean crisis kill your caffeine supply? Who is Netflix Games made for?

Episode Navigation:

03:06 – Ford F-150 Lightning: Are We Long-Last at an "EV Inflection Point"?

17:13 – The Coffee Bean Crisis: Why Cups of Joe Could Cost $20 Soon
 

37:08 – Netflix Games: Will Hardcore Gamers Go For It?
 

Featured and Related:

• Today In Gear – Gear Patrol
• Subscribe to the Gear Patrol Dispatch and Never Miss a Story
• Tudor's Pelagos FXD Marine Nationale ($3,900)
• Jack Daniel's Coy Hill High Proof
• ZipCharge EV Power Bank
• Consumer Reports Survey Shows Strong Interest in Electric Cars – Consumer Reports
• Most Ford F-150 Lightning Customers Will Be New To The Brand And EVs – CarScoops
• International Survey Measures Consumers’ EV Concerns – Wards Auto
• Today’s electric vehicle market: Slow growth in U.S., faster in China, Europe – Pew
• Driving toward an electric future – Business North
• New Research Shows Wireless Charging Could Accelerate Wide Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles – Valdosta Daily Times
• Coffee as we know it is in danger. Can we breed a better cup? – Vox
• Rare Wild Coffee Species Has Arabica-Like Flavor, Greater Tolerance to Higher Temperatures – Sci News
• Heinz debuts 'Marz' Edition ketchup made with tomatoes grown in Mars conditions – Space
• New Heinz Marz Edition ketchup has implications that go far beyond flavor – CNN
• Here's why there's a coffee shortage around the world right now – Tom's Guide
• Your Coffee Is Getting More Expensive Due to Bad Weather in Brazil (video) – WSJ
• Why Brazil's Severe Weather May Lead to a Price Increase at Your Local Starbucks – Market Realist
• Climate change will impact food crops by end of the decade, NASA says – Space
• Arabica-like flavour in a heat-tolerant wild coffee species – Nature
• Global Climate Change Impact on Crops Expected Within 10 Years, NASA Study Finds – NASA
• Crops have a “drought memory” that prepares them for tough times – earth.com
• Netflix Games is available on your iPhone and iPad – The Verge
• All the news about Netflix’s gaming efforts – The Verge
• Let the Games Begin: A New Way to Experience Entertainment on Mobile – Netflix
• Fights, camera, action: the beginner's guide to streaming video games – The Guardian
• Twitch and Beyond: The Best Video Game Live Streaming Services for 2021 – PC Mag