Tech News Today 401

Tech News Today Episode 401

Tech News Today 401: 2011 Predictions Results

We check in on our predictions from one year ago and see how 2011 played out.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com

Hosts

• Tom Merritt (@acedtect)
  • TomMerritt.com
• Sarah Lane (@sarahlane)
  • SarahLane.com
• Iyaz Akhtar (@Iyaz)
  • thisoldnerd.finitecomedy.com
• Jason Howell (@raygun01)

Tom's Predictions

• Congress will be forced to act on Net Neutrality over backbone fights - no
• Apple TV built into a television with a partner (and as set top box) - no
• By then end of 2011 Chrome OS will "eat" the rest of the netbook market. - no
• Competition for Internet TV will narrow to 3 or 4 platforms and one will have the lead - no
• Internet TV will outshine 3D - yes
• App stores galore - yes
• More paywalls on newspaper sites, but paywalls will be a wash. Ad dollars make up for lost $. NY Times will have a huge win by doing the paywall right. - yes
• Ad money will move on to the Web - yes
• Book publishers will start suing fans and try lock down books - no
• All major live sports available through pay services by end of the year - no
• Laptop sales will slow and computer market will be a continuum of forms - some people will only have tablets and phones - yes
• Big breakthrough in battery tech - no
• NFC is a buzzword, but not really used - yes
• Browsers take on more OS functions - yes
  • 7 of 14

Sarah's Predictions

• People will hate Comcast more next year - Yes
• People will be forced to have a better understanding of Net Neutrality - No
• iPad will have camera - Yes
• Will not see a white iPhone - No
• Google Chrome OS netbook's will be thinner then they are now. - Yes
• Massive death of tech startups (too many of them) bubble popping for many - start to see bubble collapse by end of 2011 - No
• Twitter will not be acquired - Yes
• There's gonna be good software/ Sarah excited about Mac App Store - N/A
• Windows tablets will be more popular than Windows Phones (same interface) - No
• We start to learn nothing lasts forever in the cloud, companies will have to have thought this through - No
• Skype HD on the Skype-o-saurus? - No
  • 4 of 10

Jason's Predictions

• No iPhone on Verizon (ha!) - No
• No tablet will come close to matching iPad - Yes
• Will be a new iPad - Yes
• Apple will release revolutionary 3D technology across its platforms - No
• Twitter will not be bought - Yes
• Groupon will wish they had sold to Google for $6 billion - No
• Blockbuster goes away - No
• Cutting the cord will be a desire for many and a reality for few - Yes
• iTunes Music subscription cloud service - Yes
• 55% of all mobile phones will be smart phones - No
  • report-smartphones-account-for-just-27-of-all-mobile-phones-worldwide
  • mobile-snapshot-smartphones-now-28-of-u-s-cellphone-market
• Skype's going to be sold again (we all called Jason crazy 0 Tom speculated Google, Amazon or Microsoft might pick it up) - Yes **Microsoft to Acquire Skype
  • 6 of 11

Dr. Kiki's Predictions

• Kiki will not have an iPhone: "The answer to the prediction is that I do not have an iPhone. Prediction correct! In fact, I upgraded my Droid to the Droid3 this summer. I'm looking forward to another Droid as soon as my Verizon plan allows another purchase discount. :)"
• Google will start to create a television production studio - yes
• VC Firms will be hurt when bubble deflates in 2011 - no
• Twitter will not be bought - yes
• Netflix will be the leading streaming provider (major strides in licensing for TV programs) - yes
• Facebook phone or a tightly integrated Facebook device - yes
• Backup services for cloud data - no
• More from WikiLeaks - yes
• Congress will seriously consider Do Not Track List - yes
  • do-not-track-privacy-bill-appears-in-congress
  • 7 out of 9

Becky's predictions

• Apple makes a big screen TV at least 42-inches (LED backlight)
• Apple will buy Sonos
• Google buys Twitter
• Either Disney buys Yahoo or they merge their news departments
• Wii 3D, Wii HD or some D upgrade
• Netflix gets 50M subscribers
• 3DTVs without glasses, but will stil suck (glimpse into future)
• VZ iPhone
• 2nd iPad w/ camera
• Yahoo/ABC News
  • ABC and Yahoo announced a partnership to share stories and produce Web video series that ABC described as a “game changer” for the network news division.
• Nintendo 3DS, no Wii update, Wii U announced
• Netflix finished its third quarter with 23.79 million U.S. subscribers

Sponsors

Netflix

• ad times: :36-:47 and 13:04-13:49

Production Information

• Edited by: Jason
• Notes:

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