Dear Friends,

Apple’s long awaited HomePod got its release date this week and it looks like supplies will be limited. Apple is not releasing them to their independent resellers just yet but we will certainly let you know when we have them for sale. I look forward to checking out Apple’s entry into this smart speaker market. Check out Emily’s report below.

I was disappointed to learn about the misguided action to slap a huge tariff on solar panels. A 30% tariff means that the cost of solar electricity just went up substantially. That is very shortsighted as there has been some real progress with the installation of solar renewable energy for electricity. This installed capacity is an insurance policy for the future. We installed a large array at our headquarters about 7 years ago and it has provided most of the electricity that we use at our facilities in Vermont. We have severely limited our carbon footprint by installing this array. There is no way we could have afforded to do that if the prices were 30% higher. This is a mistake that undermines the world’s efforts to combat climate change.

The big strangler fig tree in our yard that got damaged by Irma is gone. It was quite the project that culminated with the big stump grinder that turned it into mulch. I think that tree was sucking all the nutrients from our yard and everything seems to be growing much faster now. We even have some lemons on our tree!

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive takes off on the HomePod home automation features. Did you know the the HomePod can replace your Apple TV or iPad as your HomeKit hub? This week’s exclusive is a home automation starter kit. This kit includes a Philips Hue starter kit, an August lock and a Honeywell Lyric thermostat. Each of these items is HomeKit compatible and can be the start of your smart home! Normally this bundle sells for $449.97 but for our Kibbles & Bytes readers it’s only $389.99