Three Insight

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.