Why Apple's Ping Could Surprise Twitter and Facebook

Dan Rayburn submits: While there are a lot of video based hardware devices in the market all competing for the living room, today, none of them have the three essential components needed to be declared the winner. To truly have a shot at owning the living room, you need the content consumers want, the software platform to control the content and an install base of devices capable of reaching a large enough audience.

Here's everything we know about how iAd will work with iRadio, Apple's new streaming music service set to be unveiled next week at WWDC, Apple's developers conference:

Is Apple planning to launch an ad exchange, the way Facebook and Twitter have done? That's the rumor. We heard it from an executive who is one of the biggest players in online advertising.

Personal story: I got back home after a week away and my TV stopped working. It just wouldn't turn on no matter how many times I hit the power button.

There was a time when e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar stores existed in separate worlds. Then came high-speed wireless and powerful smartphones, and the retailing world has never been the same.

Jason Schwarz submits:Will Apple (AAPL) surge after today’s earnings report? Will it plunge as investors take profits? Ah, you’ve got to enjoy the unpredictability of earnings season.

Changes are coming. Many things we know and love will soon be gone, just as happened to the 8-track player, the buggy whip, and MS DOS. In an article written about a year ago, Rense says Changes Are Coming - Things We'll Be Saying Goodbye To. I added one key item to the list. Things We'll Be Saying Goodbye To

Unveiling Apple's new music-focused social network Ping in September, chief executive Steve Jobs described it as "sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes."Facebook and Ping have yet to meet but Twitter and Ping got together on Thursday.Twitter announced an integration with Ping that allows users who link their accounts to share previews of their favorite tunes with their followers on the micro-blogging service.Jobs unveiled Ping in September as part of iTunes 10, the latest version of its online entertainment store.