Minnov8 Gang 253 – Controlling the Pipe

The biggest story of the past week surrounds Comcast/Xfinity and their merger with Time Warner Cable. Will this place the combined company in a position to wield unprecedented control over the internet pipe in to our homes and businesses?

The combined company will enjoy 30 million households (26% of the U.S. 115+ million households) which may present a significant challenge for companies like Netflix, Hulu and Apple to compete…or maybe not. Perhaps Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will get involved…but maybe not.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins, Phil Wilson and Julio Ojeda-Zapata (site; tech column; twitter).
Music: Easy by Life Has Teeth. Brought to us by Music Alley

The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:09:59 — 40.7MB)

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Discussed During the Show

Past Week’s Minnesota Stories

• Minnedemo recap
• Cafe, Inc. grand opening
• Sen. Al Franken asks Google Glass developer to limit scope of facial recognition app
• Target Warned of Vulnerabilities Before Data Breach
• Netflix & Comcast
  • Netflix members who use Comcast face streaming hiccups
  • Sleeper Issue Peers Around the Corner of Comcast-Time Warner Deal
  • Netflix’s Streaming Quality Is Based On Business Decisions by Netflix & ISPs, Not Net Neutrality

 Past Week’s Other Big Stories

• Comcast/Time Warner Deal
  • Comcast, Time Warner agree to merge in $45 billion deal
  • Comcast-Time Warner deal has some history in the Twin Cities
  • Why the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger Is Even Worse Than You Think
  • The 50+ Best Tweets About the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger
  • Yes, You Will Probably Get Screwed If The Comcast-Time Warner Deal Goes Through
  • Apple needs Time-Warner Cable more than does Comcast
  • There’s something rotten in the state of video streaming, & the data is emerging
  • Apple in Talks to Revamp Set-Top Box
• Microsoft
  • Strange bedfellows: Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows
  • Microsoft Office on iPad: It’s alive and coming sooner than most think
• Nokia Releasing First Android Phone
• 28 Days of Fame: The Strange, True Story of ‘Flappy Bird’
• Airtame & Chromecast
  • Airtame
    • Airtame’s wildly successful Indigogo fundraiser
  • Chromecast
  • Airstream
    • Airstream app for Android
    • Airstream app for iOS
    • Install the Airstream desktop client for PC, Mac & Windows
  • Watch out Chromecast, Airtame is coming with better features 

Upcoming Events

• INVESTyR’s Fundraising in the Digital Economy 1st Tue of each month 3:30-4:30pm
• TiE MN Chapter – 4th Annual Entrepreneurs Workshop – Wednesday, February 19th
• CoCo Google Happy Hour and Pitch Event February 21st
• SMBMSP #63 Behind the Firewall: Social Networking for Employee Collaboration, February 21st
• Capitol Code: An Open Data Jam • February 22nd
• She’s Geeky-Minneapolis – February 22-23, Central Library
• Mobile March – March 20th – Tickets on sale now!