The week that was (TWTW) takes a look back at the week’s most prominent tech stories from around the world.
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Lastly you can find a full transcript of this week’s episode below.
In the week that was December 10th – December 16th, 2017:
- The FCC kills Net Neutrality
- Apple releases the iMac Pro
- Apple buys new Sci-Fi series from Battlestar Galactica creator
- Patreon does a backflip over new pricing
- Taxify launches in Australia
Intro
Hey everyone, Raj Deut here for Reckoner with 2017’s final look back at the tech news in the week that was:
December 10th to December 16th, 2017.
Stories
America’s Federal Communications Commission voted in a 3 to 2 decision this week to repeal net neutrality laws this week. The decision enables internet providers within the US to offer different levels of speed and/or availability to online services.
Effective immediately America waits as legal teams mount attacks in efforts to reverse the decision. A process that many fear will take years to bear fruit.
Apple’s iMac Pro went on sale this week. Announced six months ago at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference the iMac Pro boasts an impressive spec sheet geared towards video and photo professionals.
Starting at $7299 Australian the base model includes an 8 core Intel Xeon W processor with 32GB of RAM and an AMD Radeon Vega 56 GPU.
Early reviews are largely positive and despite it’s sticker shock is considered to be competitively priced for the components inside.
Sticking with Apple they announced on Friday that Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D Moore will be creating a new Sci-Fi drama for them as they continue their push into content creation.
The new show will be the third original scripted series to be ordered by Apple, joining the reborn Steven Speilberg classic “Amazing Stories” and the unnamed drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon about a morning tv show.
Patreon back flipped over it’s new pricing structure plans. In a blog post by Patreon CEO Jack Conte this week the company admitted it’s proposed adjustments would disproportionately impact lower tiered patrons and that they would be working with their community to come up with better options in the future.
Finally, Taxify launched in Sydney this week. A direct Uber competitor the Estonian founded company has become widely popular in Europe taking a 15% commission per fare instead of the more regular 25 – 30.
The new service has 4000 drivers in Sydney and plans to launch in Melbourne before Christmas.
Outro
That’s it for another week and for the year. Thank you for tuning in over the past few months I hope you’ve enjoyed it. The plan is to return mid January so be on the lookout for us then but in the meantime please hit that Like, Love, Applause or Thumbs up button on your platform of choice and tell a friend about the show.
Thanks for tuning in, have a great Christmas, happy holidays and bye for now.