Three InSight

Holiday shopping is upon us, in droves. A group called Retail Industry Leaders Association is upset about Amazon's current incentive practices. Only some of which involve the lack of on-line sales tax issue. Can brick and mortar stores continue to compete with online aggressive pricing, free shipping, and (for now) lack of sales tax? Have you ever heard of a "slotting allowance"? You will… Rila.orgGospotcheck.com

American Airlines has filed for chapter 11. They are not shutting down, just going through a re-org. Still not a great sign… And from bankruptcy to a tangent, the guys discuss what their biggest gripes about air travel are.

Grooveshark is being sued by Universal. Learn why it differs so much from Pandora, Spotify and other music services. Netflix even with great brand recognition, is struggling even after canceling the spinoff of Quickster. Which us to the best way do deliver video media to the masses. How many devices do you have hooked up to your TV?

Yay!!! Launch of the Kindle Fire!!! But Dave and Doyle do not have any hands on experience because Dave has not received his yet… But he is in the first wave of deliveries. Facebook is facing ongoing malware/virus attacks. Pornographic items are showing up in people's news streams, and it can get pretty annoying. Can attaching a credit card to an account for set up be a partial solution? Plus, Blogworld, the "good," the "great," and the "bad!"

Doyle is now a member of the iPhone 4s family, but he is on Verizon and very happy with the service. Dave is still an outcast… Groupon is going ahead with its IPO on Nov 4th. Based on amount of stock for sale and what they are expected to rise, Groupon is valued at $11 billion. The guys also have questions regarding the current business model.

The iPhone 4s and iOS dropped this week! Michael has got his, and didn't have to camp out. He was in and out of an ATT store in 30 min on release morning! Tune in for "first" impressions and evaluations. The Back pedaler award of the month goes to Netflix/Qwixter!

Amazon has announced their revamped kindle line. Which includes the Kindle Fire. It looks rather impressive. It could be the next game changer in the tablet market. Note, it's not trying to be an iPad. It is an Android device, but has yet to be seen how open it will be. Along with the Fire, Amazon has been pushing into the video streaming space.

Carol Bartz was fired from Yahoo! Over the phone! And then she sent a very unprofessional email! Appears everything could have been handled better. What would you miss if Yahoo were to disappear tomorrow? It seems it has been a while since they have been an influence in the internet space. Oh yeah, it's for sale… Did Groupon really turn down $6 billion?!?!? Google offers is proving there is no barrier to enter this market.http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/

Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple!!! All is lost! The sky is falling! Or things will progress with his influence for quite some time. The rumors are flying again that Apple may be getting into the television space. Would Apple spend time on it if it's not revolutionary? HP is in what some people may call a transition period… If you have not heard, where have you been?!?!

Social media and the spread of information has become huge force in the way the world is viewed, and getting previously unknown details into the light. But at what cost? If an untrue statement is dispensed to the world, whether intentionally or by accident, is there a level of responsibility?

Dave's father has recently purchased an external floppy drive… Yes, the guys are a bit perplexed as well. Skype, which has recently been acquired by Microsoft, has released their app for the iPad. The doors are being nudged open for some really interesting possibilities in this space. Airbnb.com has been in the news recently due to their public relations issues with a few events. A few homes have been trashed, and Airbnb initially stated it was the owner's issue. How a company deals with an issue, (right or wrong), can have a big and possibly immediate impact.

Google+ has been out for 3 weeks and is up to 20 million users already! Doyle has not drunk the kool-aid yet… Dave compares posts and their responses on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Check out his description and why he chooses the current "winner." Oh yeah, Lion is finally out! Someone describes it as "pretty slick"…

More Google+ talk! It seems to be going well so far, they may be able to take a decent amount of Facebook's subscriber base. It totally allows you to organize people how you want them to be. The guys are on board for the potential that Google+ has, especially in the wake of the other social networks Google has built that did not catch on. The iPhone 5 rumors are a flyin'! What can it do that the iPhone 4 and iOS 5 won't? And a new iPad as well?…

Apple has released a new Time Capsule. It comes has the option of coming with a 3TB hard drive. Doyle tells how he is laying out a plan to help his office make backing up painless. A 19 yr old hacker allegedly of the group LulzSec has been arrested by Scotland Yard. How is the law able to keep up with the rate at which technology evolves? Also, the news is reporting on these events more than ever, but to what end...

The Mac world is not looking to be as teflon as it has in the past in the world of viruses and malware. Michael does the math for us… Mac Defender has done a successful job of rearing its ugly infecting head. When problems like these arise, where does the responsibility lie in counteracting, or at least help stem the tide of spreading the disease?

WWDC is now over! The guys discuss some of the items in the keynote address; iOS5, iCloud, iTunes Match and Lion. Lion could open the door to a whole new group of users, along with iOS5. Steve Jobs has also proposed to build a " spaceship" in Cupertino for Apple's new campus.

Facebook is in the middle of yet another scandal. This time it involves a whisper campaign against Google and the PR company of Burson-Marsteller. The guys discuss the moral and ethical implications of multi-billion dollar companies using such tactics. Apple is having a special event this weekend. Will it be a new product, new marketing, or just a special promotion? Let them know your predictions.

Microsoft has purchased Skype, for a ridiculous sum of money. This is their single largest acquisition. But how and will Microsoft fit it into the existing environment? Google is releasing its Chrome based laptop. Will it be a game changer, and what is the best way to market it?

Net Neutrality and Net Management!!! They are sometimes confused and can be very confusing. Listen in and see if you can get some details cleared up. How do you feel about, pay per usage for internet, an egalitarian internet, or fairness?

Mark Zuckerberg is finding himself in legal hot water again. Paul Ceglia alleges he provided the Facebook billionaire with seed money to start the website. This week also marked the demise of the Flip Camera. Amazon is looking to offer an ad supported Kindle, but for only $25 dollars less. For that little amount, can it possibly be worth it?

Today's conversation focuses around Facebook and online presence. How much is too much personal info to put online, and how do you guide your children with knowing how much to post. And not just for children...

Amazon is at it again… They have launched Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. Store your music or documents online, and/or play your music from "anywhere." New York Times has set up a Paywall. Meaning, it is no longer free. After 15 years, they are charging… Can micro payments or newspaper aggregation be the answer? Starbucks has also launched Starbucks Network, exclusive content on their free wi-fi network.

Social media has been playing a major part in the upheaval that has been going on in the Middle East. It provides a near instant account of what has been transpiring around the globe at a personal level never before seen. Most of social media may not be for everyone, but a portion may be relevant to your world.

Rumors abound of MobileMe upgrades that may happen, and if they happen, the guys talk about their hopes and dreams in the (maybe) upcoming release. One of the big topics is having a subscription based music service (or variant) available through the cloud. And possibilities of the iPhone nano (again). The average person does not do proper backing up of their data. The cloud may be a way to help them help themselves.

AOL purchased Huffington Post for more than $300 million! Can it really be worth that much?!? Is this purchase the death knell for HuffPo? Does today's tech atmosphere share any resemblance to the tech bubble that burst a few years ago? Groupon also turned down a six billion dollar purchase offer from Google!

How do you keep local retail areas prosperous in light of internet competition? Books, newspapers, and magazines appear to be the most immediately in peril. Tax revenues are being drawn out of communities, but to keep areas (like Pearl Street mall in Boulder), in existence, would you be in favor of paying online sales tax? Online also offers more variety than can be had locally.

Starbucks has introduced the "Trenta"… If it were 7-11, it would be a BigGulp. Who needs that much coffee?!?! Apple has had 10 billion downloads from the app store for iOS devices. Has the Mac App Store changed the way you browse for software? The guys agree, Android is suffering from fragmentation, which brings up the Mac vs PC argument from years gone by. Control the ecosystem or open it up?

Steve Jobs is taking another medical leave, what will become of Apple?!? What really happens behind the walls at Cupertino is purely speculation, but the tangible results will be seen soon. The Daily is set to launch soon, and touted to be an iPad only subscription. Is this a good idea, a platform specific publication? Which gives way to market fragmentation… Like purchasing a book, too many or too few options, which way to go?

Goldman Sachs purchases Facebook for a ridiculous amount of money! Rupert Murdoch bought Myspace a few years ago, and is laying off ~50% of its staff. Will there be a parallel? We are in an era where we see business giants rise or fall, not over a generation, but within a few years. CES talk is in the air… Will this year bring more tablets, or just more talk about tablets? And does anyone other than the manufacturers care about 3D TV? 2011 could be the year of Kinect hacks. A compelling device with a promising future.

Sony is launching Qriocity, yet another music streaming service. Sears and Kmart have teamed to launch Alphaline, a streaming movie service. But is there anything these services can offer that will set them apart from what we already have. The guys give their predictions for 2011 which include internet usage, the Android operating system, cord-cutting, the future of Yahoo, geo-location on laptops, and the Kinect!

GoogleTV has basically pulled out of CES, and by consequence, their hardware providers are out as well (in conjunction with Google). Is this a downward path for Google TV being competitive in the market? Which leaves CES wide open for the deluge of tablet announcements, again. The FCC has "ruled" on net neutrality… See if you can make some sense of it all. Windows Phone 7 has sold 1.5 million devices "sold." This number may be a little misleading, find out why.

Michael shares an anecdote about his son's telling of his Christmas traditions. Which leads into todays conversation about the state and perceptions of live vs recorded television. The two major areas where live seems to play an important part is news and sports, but for how much longer… Mark Cuban (not an actual guest) is promoting "Day and date" releases, a model which could be a game changer for feature film distribution.

The big talk going on, all over the web and off, with some potentially far reaching effects is Wikileaks. How responsible are his actions? What if his actions get someone seriously injured or killed? Can this be equated to a digital terrorist attack? Chrome is having a pilot program to test their new OS (http://www.google.com/chromeos/pilot-program-cr48.html). Apply now to see if you can get one!

2 million songs downloaded in the first week!!! "Who?" you ask… THE BEATLES! Keeping in line with massive downloads, Angry Birds is expanding. Expect a movie and plushies. Digital distribution is having an incredible impact on how we consume or acquire entertainment. Acer is getting into the tablet fray, they have announced a 7" & 10" tablet. Dave gives us a history lesson with Osborne computers, what NOT do to with marketing… iOS 4.x has been released, 'nuf said.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" episode… The Beatles record collection is going to be available on iTunes! *YAWN* Facebook announces its new integrated communication services. Do we need yet another email service? And how effective can it be with more businesses blocking access to Facebook and Twitter type interactions. The guys also discuss a possible future for distribution of content in relation to premium membership.

Boxee has FINALLY announced that they will be shipping their set top boxes. Now the competition should finally heat up, as up until now the only real one on the market was AppleTV. How has your online experience with these services been? Are the set top boxes really necessary, why not just connect a computer to a big HD TV? Thy guys have discussed the pricing structure previously, and review it again today.

A piece of our past is on it's final legs, Sony's last run of cassette based walkmen are coming off the line… The guys reflect on their first experience with the Walkman and how the personal music/media arena has evolved. Michael has ordered the new Macbook Air! Doyle postulates that the 11" could make a very good portable device that could replace his iPad. Amazon is now selling more Kindle books than paper books combined…

In Dave's words, one of the most profound inventions that allows him to enjoy music. That would be iTunes and iPods… My, how things have changed! Remember making mix tapes? Dave, Michael and Doyle do. They discuss the process of when they converted from CD to digital. And the actual use time of the CD player/radio in the car. How many discs did you have?

Doyle purchased the new Apple TV, and then an HD TV to use with his Apple TV… Which is an interesting segueway into applications that use mashups. Combining layers of information to achieve a whole new product. Do the programmers have a certain amount of responsibility when providing said information? HP has a new CEO, who has a questionable employment history. Are they "DOOMED"?!?! Goldman Sachs has downgraded Microsoft stock, stating they are weak in mobile. This comes at a time of their mobile OS launch. Plus, the TV experience. Is it sit up or sit back experience?

This is "The Audience is the Guinea Pig" episode, and we are looking for some feedback. Would you prefer to hear more short discussions, or do you like fewer topics with more detail? Some of the things covered today are AOL's purchase of TechCrunch, Apple TV, Blackberry's new tablet, Office for Mac 2011, Netflix with NBC content, evolution of the Kindle, Gmail's priority inbox, and the Silicon Valley "No Poach" agreement.

Dave Taylor and Friends discuss IVI.tv. It is a streaming service that offers broadcast television over your computer. Dave downloads it and tests it during the podcast. Is it legal? Is it quality? Does it work? Check out the podcast and find out some details and how it is shaking up the industry.

The Boulder fire. Nooo, the fire itself is not tech based, but the way the information about it was circulated and possibly re-circulated, is. Where do you go for up to the minute, important news? The internet? Tune into a radio station? Or some other source. (hint: count how many times the word "Twitter" is said.)

Today's show carries a shameless plug for DOCC! (Denveropencoffeeclub.com) Apple's Ping… It's about a week in, and what the heck are they doing? The guys weigh in on what's right, and mostly, what's wrong, for now… With the advent of the Boulder fire, Michael, Dave and Doyle discuss how social media has changed the way we communicate with one another. This also extends to the city and county governments using Twitter. But with sooo much information in the ether, how can you determine what is accurate, up to date, even true?

On today's episode, we find out that Dave Taylor is not a unique snowflake… But more importantly, the guys discuss Apple's Media Keynote and what you would have had to have, in reference to current technology, to be able to watch it live. Next topic, has Apple pushed itself out of it's own market in regards to ipods? What else can they do to get you to buy the next generation? Per Wired magazine, "The Web is Dead!" What exactly does that mean, and what is going to replace the dead web…

Facebook places launches this week, what do you like or don't like about it? And do you'll use it? The iPad is making waves in the enterprise world. Just a few years ago, the iPhone was being virtually disregarded. 3D TV is making progress in technology, and prices are dropping. Even though Doyle doesn't even have an HD TV yet, he helps weigh in on it's possible future. Also, the evolution of eBooks. They are now outselling hardcovers in Amazon. Have they come of age?

Would it be a good idea to have Congress mandate that FM receivers be installed in all cell phones? Yeah, that's what Michael and Doyle thought too. (Dave is on vacation) There are rumors that Google and Verizon will be launching a tablet in November. Will it be a viable device? (sound familiar?…) During the podcast, Michael receives a breaking news notice from CNN that GM is going to file for an IPO!

Net neutrality defined, and how it plays a part in out internet experience. Plus possibilities of what it COULD mean for the consumer. The Skype IPO, and tech IPO's in general. What has come before and the face of them today.

There are some interesting privacy issues going on with RIM. In some countries, Blackberry devices are being banned and/or the source code has been given to the government so they can monitor. Which brings up privacy concerns with regard to lawmakers and individual rights currently going on in America.

The guys discuss the iPhone press release to address the "Antenna issues," what do you think will happen, and is it just a public relations placebo or an actual fix?

The interesting news stories being discussed are Microsofts attempt at making the now defunct Kin a social networking device, and some was actually able to get behind the security wall of iTunes and wreak a little havoc. Plus a bonus topic regarding the purchase of traditional books vs ebooks.

The iPhone 4 launch… Who has theirs, and who doesn't, (Doyle). The camping out experience and first day impressions. Also privacy in today's age of technology. What needs to be done and should our expectations be more forgiving for the time being? Which leads us to the Social Security Number and how its been misused for so many years.