Talking Tech - Friday September 15

Comments for Mark and Kevin can now be left on the new comment line: 1 206-333-1327 or you can email [e-mail]

http://evans.blogware.com/blog

0:16 - Mark welcomes listeners and delivers a shameless plug for Starbucks to sponsor Talking Tech.

0:51 - The theme of the week is hardware with Microsoft's Zune and the raft of Apple announcements including the iTV.  Mark starts with the, non-iPod killer, Zune - 30gb, wireless connection, track sampling for up to three plays over three days and the new Urge music service.

1:33 - Kevin addresses the question of whether it will become a viable iPod competitor and says that Microsoft have learnt from the mistakes of other hardware vendors.  Kevin predicts a very viable number of sales for Microsoft but doubts they can catch up with the iPod's 'cool' factor, no matter what the technology.

3:12 - Kevin says the biggest mistake competitors made was that their devices just weren't as cool, functional or elegant.  The iPod, and Apple, just deliver a great experience.  Kevin says the Zune is a good step forward but notes that Microsoft products aren't as user friendly as Apple's.

4:02 - Mark believes that the iPod's Achilles heel is the fact that users become married to other Apple products - which has helped Apple, as iTunes is such a good product.  Will Microsoft offer enough be able to tempt people away?

4:43 - Mark goes on to talk about iTV, which wirelessly connects your television to your Mac  He notes that the digital living room is, potentially, a huge market but Kevin thinks it's too early and too geeky  to be mainstream right now, despite the buzz it generated.  Mark disagrees and says that Apple's user friendly heritage means he's giving Apple the benefit of the doubt.

7:02 - Mark asks Kevin for his thoughts on Apple's new movie download service.  Kevin is skeptical that people will want to watch movies on their iPods or even their computers.  However he predicts the industry will get behind it as it will curb piracy and Mark draws comparisons between now and the launch of iTunes.  Kevin adds a caveat saying that file sizes are currently too large and network capacities are too small for people to download enough movies to change the industry.

9:49 - Mark brings up TIFF and suggests a download service for the niche films shown in festivals that aren't often shown in theatres - like The Last King of Scotland.  Kevin is a big movie fan and would love that sort of service, however he says that the impetus isn't there for the movie industry to change in the same way as the music industry had to.  Yet.

12:27 - It's been a huge week for Telus with their stock rising following income trust conversion plans, winning a five year contract with the Government of Ontario from Bell and breaking ground at the Telus Tower.  Mark reviews his interview with CEO Darren Entwistle and Kevin confirms that Bob McFarlen, the CFO, was the most excited he's ever seen him, when talking about Telus' future.

14:10 - Mark brings it back to the big picture and looks at the competitive landscape with Shaw, Bell, Rogers, EDS, IBM and others for consumer and corporate telco business.  The industry still has challenges to overcome and the guys urge caution as the industry is being driven by wireless phones.

15:59 - Kevin comments on the potential movement into consumer services from Telus, despite their lack of owned networks, in Ontario and Quebec.  It won't be easy but Mark says they could leverage their existing structure with wireless technology to get into new markets.

18:10 - Mark announces that they are choosing logos for the show and directs listeners to his blog to feedback on the candidates.  Mark and Kevin thank Dave Jones and Ed Lee, from Fleishman-Hillard, along with Neil Johnson and Steve Coppola from iStudio for their help in the podcast's makeover.

Comments for Mark and Kevin can now be left on the new comment line: 1 206-333-1327.

The music is No Mojo by Anthony Stauffer and Holy Smoke which is available on the pod safe music network.