Two of our top Minnesota stories had themes of privacy, security, and what happens to our digital life when we leave this earthly realm. One of the startups we discuss, SecretValet, has what is essentially a dead man’s switch so that important digital documents and files end up in the hands of those who need them after we’re gone.

Macabre? Not really…if you have life, health or homeowner’s insurance you are protecting against the possibility something might happen, so why not do the same with your digital life?

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* St. Paul teen’s suicidal Facebook post raises ethical issues

* Target’s IT chief set a new direction, starting with smaller budget

* Stratasys’ Q2 Cost-Cutting Moves Continue Its 2016 Turnaround

* High-Tech Firm SecretValet Makes Simple Data Storage Obsolete

* SecretValet website

* Carpet cleaner Zerorez sues U.S. Olympic Committee over social media ban

Other Top Tech Stories

* Windows 10’s Anniversary Update is now available

* Apple’s new TV plan is a TV guide

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Here’s How To Watch The Olympics If You Don’t Own A TV

* Tim: Brave browser for macOS

* Steve: The Ultimate Privacy Guide and PrivacyTools.io

Upcoming Events

* The Complete List of 250+ Tech, IT, and DevOps Conferences in 2016

* The list as a Google spreadsheet

* 32 conferences for Mac and iOS professionals in 2016

* Amazon Minneapolis Splash Wednesday, August 10, McNamara Alumni Center

* Twin Cities Startup Week, September 19-25

Guest host and ‘Pioneer Press Pokémon Go correspondent’ Julio Ojeda-Zapata joins us to discuss the tech at US Bank Stadium, SportsEngine’s latest acquisition, Amazon’s good week, and much more.

Hosts: Tim Elliott, Phil Wilson, and Julio Ojeda-Zapata. (Steve Borsch is off this week)

Music: ‘Scared And Alone’ by Day of the Dead via Soundcloud. Released under Creative Commons.

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* U.S. Bank Stadium: Tech experience designed to entice fans

* Tech boosts the fan experience at U.S. Bank Stadium

* Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium: A 360-degree view from the field

* Feast your eyes on U.S. Bank Stadium videos, animated GIFs

* Paulsen bill would help startups attract talent, spur innovation

* H.R.5719 – Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act

* High-end co-working space to open in Woodbury

* CoCo-based, Google-spawned tech camp helps underprivileged teens

* SportsEngine vaults into the gymnastics market with its latest acquisition

* Two products (one local) to boost bicycling

Other Top Tech Stories

* Amazon’s Profit Rises By A Humble 831%

* Microsoft is laying off 2,850 more workers

* Clinton’s campaign was also hacked in breach of Democratic Party

* The Internet of Things Will Turn Large-Scale Hacks into Real World Disasters (by Bruce Schneier)

* Here’s how to watch the Olympics without cable

* NBC is using BuzzFeed for its Olympics Snapchat

* Comcast hopes premium services will deter “cord cutting”

* Sling TV, a cord cutter’s delight, arrives on Apple TV

Cool Thing of the Week

Julio: Zagg Rugged Book iPad Case

We’ve talked about drones several times on the show and this past week our pal, Julio Ojeda-Zapata, wrote a really good story about how you can study, take and pass a test, to get your drone license (or take the FAA training course).

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* Silicon North Stars grow in third year; long-incubating ISurTec launches from University Enterprise Labs

* Twin Cities businesses embrace the Pokémon Go craze

* Children’s Hospital partners with Stillwater diabetes-care tech startup

* Microsoft just rubbed Google’s nose in a big cloud computing customer win: Land O’ Lakes

* Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages

* SportsEngine (formerly SportNgin) is busy! Acquires TrackWrestling and Team Unify

Other Top Tech Stories

* Imperson launches its ‘WordPress for bots’ so you can create your own

* Stagefright-Like iOS, OS X Vulnerabilities Allow Remote Code Execution: Update Now

* iOS flaw lets hackers access iPhones using an iMessage

* A spectacular meteor shower starts next week – Here’s how to watch (Delta Aquarids)

* What are the Delta Aquarius?

* Dark Sky Finder

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: AirBnB

* Tim: Elby Electric Bike

* Steve: The dream of an iPhone running Android is real

* Mesuit (in Chinese so use Google Chrome w/Translate to translate from Chinese to English)

Upcoming Events

* The Complete List of 250+ Tech, IT, and DevOps Conferences in 2016

* The list as a Google spreadsheet

* 32 conferences for Mac and iOS professionals in 2016

*

One thing that riled us up this week was Twin Cities Business Magazine’s article Twin Cities: An Emerging Tech Hub? which ended with a question mark? None of us think that Minnesota is emerging but rather that we have absolutely already emerged!

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* Al Franken Is Worried About Pokemon Go

* Minnedemo 23

* Minnesota Dethroned As CNBC’s Top State For Business

* Minneapolis data start-up Sport Ngin is acquired by NBC Sports

* Mayo Clinic Kicks Off National Competition For Rights To License Mayo Tech

* Comcast expands low-cost Internet program

* Meet The San Francisco Startup Creating A Future For Polaroid

Other Top Tech Stories

* Amazon Prime Day Recap: Sold-Out Kindles, Wait Lists, Facebook ‘Fail’

* The ‘war’ on encryption:

* McCain Pushes Apple, Google On Encryption Standards in Cyber Hearing

* UK gov says new Home Sec will have powers to ban end-to-end encryption

* Putin Says All Encryption Must Be Backdoored In Two Weeks

* This week in Pokemon GO

* T-Mobile is giving away free ‘Pokémon Go’ data for a year

* Pokemon GO Stats

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Wireless MIDI controller for acoustic guitar

* Tim: Nintendo is releasing a miniature NES with 30 built-in games

* Steve: Memories Renewed, an online scanning service based in Minneapolis, won the Wirecutter “best of” for photo scanning services

* Wirecutter on “Best Photo Scanning Service”: Memories Renewed

Upcoming Events

* The Complete List of 250+ Tech, IT, and DevOps Conferences in 2016

* The list as a Google spreadsheet

* 32 conferences for Mac and iOS professionals in 2016

The three of us are not true gamers like our kids are, but we couldn’t help but notice the wildly successful game Pokémon Go and how it is seemingly taking the world by storm. Though it had barley a mention in our podcast toward the end, this game appears to be the first augmented reality app that is likely to change the paradigm for this category. If you haven’t seen it in action (or yet downloaded it yourself and played it) you can do so right now for iOS and Android.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

Music: Angry by Doug Barrs under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* In police shootings, live-streamed video can be the ‘ultimate watchdog’

* DocuMNtary, The Story of TECH in Minnesota, To Be Released

* Leadpages buys marketing-tech company in first acquisition

* Forbes: Target CIO Mike McNamara’s Priorities: Digital And Supply Chain Innovation

* Manufacturer Red Wing Shoe steps into B2B e-commerce

Other Top Tech Stories

* Juno has begun its tour of Jupiter after a five-year journey

* One Giant Leap For Apple TV: NASA Now On Board

* Amazon’s Audible Goes Long on Short-Form Audio

* Project Gutenberg

* Librivox

* Will Amazon Prime Day for 2016 Live Up to Its Billing?

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Spector

* Tim: The PocketCHIP Is An Excellent Intro To Absurdly Cheap Computing

* Steve: Nikon D500

Upcoming Events

* The Complete List of 250+ Tech, IT, and DevOps Conferences in 2016

* The list as a Google spreadsheet

* 32 conferences for Mac and iOS professionals in 2016

* Mobile Twin Cities, July 12th BuzzFeed Office

* MinneDemo23, Pantages Theatre, Thursday, July 14th

*

We’ve mentioned before how tech is accelerating and the “summer slowdown” we used to know (and how we’d struggle to find stuff to talk about in the summers of 2008 – 2010) has totally and completely abated. Technology innovation is moving at an ever-faster speed and is also compressing the time for these new innovations to be released. So hold on as we explore some topics that you will undoubtedly find interesting and compelling.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

Music: What I Want by Anne-Marie Suenram under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* Minnesota Cup Names 2016 Semifinalists

* Amazon opens tech office in downtown Minneapolis

* TechnovationMN receives grant from Amazon

* MN Twin Cities ranked among worst tech markets for gender pay parity

* New ATEK technology allows manufacturers to connect components to the Internet of Things

* New app helps travelers clear customs faster at MSP

* Can Target And Techstars Turn Minnesota Into The Next Silicon Valley?

Other Top Tech Stories

* Samsung Electronics says to invest $1.2 billion in U.S. for ‘internet of things’

* Apple

* Apple in Talks to Acquire Jay Z’s Tidal Music Service

* Spotify claims Apple rejecting latest version of its app, anti-competitively favors Apple Music

* The slow, sad, and ultimately predictable decline of 3D printing

* Scientists unveil new ‘4D-printing’ technique that produces shape-shifting objects

* Skylar Tibbits TED talk about 4D printing

* Minnesota company Stratasys’ 4D Printing Project

* It’s time to pay attention to WebRTC

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Double Tourbillon 30° Technique

* Tim: A02 Remix OS Octa-core Computer Stick by MeeGoPad (about Remix OS)

* Steve:

No summer slowdown in technology stories and we’ve got some good ones on tap for you this week.

Our guest on the show is none other than a local Minnesotan who is a 20 year veteran of new media, Chuck Olsen. He produced the first web sites for Twin Cities PBS and Radio K, went on to produce the documentary film “Blogumentary” in 2011 while also becoming one of the first videobloggers anywhere. In 2007 he co-founded the award-winning journalism non-profit The UpTake, and earned an SPJ award for his livestreamed mobile political coverage.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

The Podcast

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* Stratasys taps IBM vet Tim Bohling for CMO

* Stratasys: One Big Problem Out Of The Way

* US Internet’s high-speed fiber hits a snag with Minneapolis Park Board

* New from Comcast: more hotspots, cloud DVR and a cable-guy tracker

* St. Paul Saints roll out fan app for CHS Field

* Target has an in-store space for explaining the smart home

Guest: Chuck Olsen

Besides what you just read above about his accomplishments, in 2009, Chuck launched the web site and social media channels for a new public television show, mn original. In 2012 he co-founded digital video agency and art gallery vidtiger, serving clients from small non-profits to Fortune 500 companies.

Vidtiger’s acclaimed interactive art project, Futurekave, led directly to a torrid love affair with depth cameras and virtual reality. In 2015, Chuck co-founded Visual, a virtual reality company creating inspiring VR content and a SaaS-based 360º video platform.

Mentioned during the interview: Billboard magazine regarding Rhapsody VR’s debut and the VR tech Vive.

Other Top Tech Stories

* Five Highlights From Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report

* Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report (PDF)

* Microsoft bangs the final nail in Nokia Devices’ coffin, will lay off 1,850

* Corporate America Chases the Mythical Millennial

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: The Future of Work in 5 Charts

* Tim:

There is no slowdown with tech stories, especially with Google I/O happening this past week, but since we care about Minnesota tech first we were pleased to have one of the co-founders and CEO of Minneapolis startup Vugo, Rob Flessner (LinkedIn; Twitter), on this week’s show. He will fill us in on this just over one year old startup and you will find out how they fit in to one of the hottest areas in transportation today. You’ll also learn why you should keep an eye on their continued growth!

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

Music: Highroad Easy by Wanda Vie under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License

The Podcast

Story Links

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* Beta.MN recap

* Minneapolis tech startup scores app deal with Rhapsody

* With recent deals, Capella moves into job-skills training, particularly software coding

* Litman, Mallin’s Latest Startup Features Supercomputer Named ‘Lucy’

* ‘Prince bill’ set back in Senate as lawmakers balk

* Target makes Jason Goldberger its first chief digital officer

This Week’s Guest: Rob Flessner, CEO, Vugo

* About Vugo

* Featured in Forbes | AdWeek | Built in LA

* On YouTube

* Technori 50th Anniversary Pitch (co-founder James Bellefeuille, CMO)

* Vugo Ads for Small Business

Other Top Tech Stories

* The 10 biggest announcements from Google I/O 2016

* Android Instant Apps lets you use apps without downloading them (starring BuzzFeed Video)

* Google Home: A Voice-Activated Device That Already Knows You

* Mention: Amazon Echo

* It’s official: Android apps and the Play Store are coming to...

Lots of good tech stories to cover this week but we do dwell on one topic that surprised us. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported this past week that “Minnesota Legislators Go Crazy, Pushing Dangerous PRINCE Act” which was also written about by dozens of other music sites and blogs. Fortunately the Minnesota Senate tabled the proposed bill (for now) but this sort of legislation attempt will bear watching.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

Music: Shake, Rattle and Roll by MickyBlues under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License

Photo credit: Penner, also under a CC BY-SA 3.0

The Podcast

Story Links

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* 3M’s Forthcoming Design Center Riffs On The Archetypal Minnesota Cabin

* A much-downsized Imation will go forward as a holding company

* Minnesota emerging player in video game industry

Other Top Tech Stories

* Startup Trends 2016

* Tech layoffs more than double in Bay Area

* Apple

* Apple Inc. Set For Biggest Pivot In History As R&D Spending Suggests Huge Bet On ‘Project Titan’ Electric Car

* Apple invests $1B in Chinese ride sharing service Didi Chuxing

* Podcasts Surge, but Producers Fear Apple Isn’t Listening

* Marco Arment: Apple’s actual role in podcasting: be careful what you wish for 

* Google

* Android VR will reportedly be announced next week as a standalone headset

* More evidence points toward Android VR unveil at Google I/O

* About Google I/O

* Facebook news selection is in hands of editors not algorithms, documents show

* Amazon Announces $20 Dash Button for #IoT

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Fantastical

* Tim: pi-top, a DIY Raspberry Pi-powered laptop

* Steve:

For so long women have had the proverbial glass ceiling when it came to moving up the executive ranks into the “C” suite of top chiefs. As you will hear on this week’s show, Best Buy now has more women than men in executive ranks which is a good thing. We talk about this, and much more, on this week’s podcast.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott and Phil Wilson.

Music: Coldshot by Blues Farm Roma under a CC 3.0 License

The Podcast

Story Links

Past Week’s Top Minnesota Stories

* TechnovationMN recap

* Researchers say there are serious security problems in Samsung’s SmartThings

* CEO Alex Hawkinson’s blog post rebuttal

* At Best Buy, women make up the majority of company’s leadership team

* Best Buy hires former Accenture exec Trish Walker to lead Geek Squad

* CoCo to expand to Chicago

* CoCo blog post: CoCo Expands to the Windy City

* BetaMN Announces Startups to Be Showcased

* Gillette launches emoji app for kids with special needs

* Kickstarter Update: AirJamz

* Instamic – The Smartest Microphone Ready to Record

Other Top Tech Stories

* Supreme court grants FBI massive expansion of powers to hack computers

* IBM Is Now Letting Anyone Play With Its Quantum Computer

* Former Tor developer created malware for the FBI to hack Tor users

* If You Use Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo Mail, You Should Change Your Password Now

* Apple Music’s new student membership includes a 50 percent discount

* Cupertino’s mayor says Apple is ‘not willing to pay a dime’ in taxes

* Wikipedia: Double Irish Arrangement

Cool Thing of the Week

* Phil: Perch

* Tim: Quitter for Mac