Archive for the 'Podcast Zeitgeist' Category
January 26, 2009
This week’s installment is the Podcast Zeitgeist of second chances, and probably the last such post for a good long while. I’ll continue to listen to a few favorites, but a hiatus is in order. This started as an effort to make some notes about what worked for me as a listener. But it became an exhausting and time-consuming exercise, particularly since I sampled many more hours than I ever wrote about. It was cutting into my Twittering time. At some point I may summarize what I have learned, or not.[See all lists.]
Cranky Geeks 150: Big Wig Bailouts As tech podcasts go, this is one of the best, hosted by John C. Dvorak, with Sebastian Rupley of PC Magazine, Chris DiBonaof Google and Jason Cross of Extreme.com. Topics: Steve Jobs, Bernie Madoff, the fake Belkin reviews scam, disruptive technology like location apps and more. Dvorak keeps it moving. Good stuff. Running time: 31:40 minutes including several ads. Released: Jan. 21.
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Tags: Blogs, NYC, investing, iPhone Apps, technology, Podcast Zeitgeist, iTunes, Apple, computers, Twitter, Uhh Yeah Dude, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, iPods, Scott Bourne, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, John C. Dvorak, geeks, Andy Ihnatko, Vomitus Prime, Steve Jobs, YouTube, Daisy Whitney, podcasts, iPhones, Alex Lindsay, Geek Loves Nerd, 40-Year-Old Boy, Monty Python, Andrew Horowitz, Dr. Kiki, Pixelcorps, Lisa Bettany, Super Bowl, TiVo, economy, recession, Cranky Geeks, idiotboxradio
January 19, 2009
Welcome to the Podcast Zeitgeist list: presented in apparently random order, at inconsistent intervals, its purpose obscure, its usefulness in doubt, its taste questionable, its methods and motives suspect. [See all lists.]
This Week in Tech 177: There’s a Little Shatner in All of Us and 178: Call of Doody. I’m catching up here with two episodes. A special guest on the first of these was Star Trek’s Geordi LaForge (Levar Burton). Burton held his own as a geek on a panel with Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Ryan Block, and Lisa Bettany. A lot of talk about TVs. (Block: “Plasma TVs are on the way out.”) Reviews of the “disappointing” MacWorld Expo and the Consumer Electronics Show. Whether the Palm Pre phone can save Palm (Dvorak: “They’re done.”) They end with the prospects for another Star Trek movie and a discussion of Geordi’s visor. The latest episode, recorded Sunday night, devotes 20 minutes to the news that Steve Jobs is taking a temporary leave from Apple for health reasons, with a focus on news coverage, from Ron Goldman of CNBC to this profanity-laden Gizmodo post. Dvorak predicts that Apple will go into decline in two years. This is followed bya discussion of the Downadup/Conficker worm that infected 9 million Windows computers in four days (download the security updates, people). Laporte is wiggy on this episode (“Conficker? I hardly knew her!”), perhaps because he and panelist Tom Merritt attended a concert the night before by the geek troubadour Jonathan Coulton and the improv duo Paul & Storm. (The “doody” in the podcast title refers to panelist Patrick Norton, who has to change his son’s diaper during the show and never returns.) The liquidation of Circuit City. A discussion of digital TV up-converters (Dvorak recommends a model.) Laporte recommends an audiobook: “Predictably Irrational.” United Kingdom porn filters are blocking Wikipedia and the Wayback Machine. Are Are Google layoffs and the killing of <a href="“>features like Jaiku and Dodgeball a sign of a market bottom? The episode ends with a clip of Coulton’s “Mandelbrot Set.” Running times: Both 1 hour 20 minutes, give or take a minute. Released: Jan. 11 and 18.
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Tags: Blogs, iPhone Apps, technology, Podcast Zeitgeist, movies, Apple, macs, computers, Twitter, Facebook, Uhh Yeah Dude, Leo Laporte, This Week in Tech, iPods, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, Andy Ihnatko, podcasts, iPhones, Alex Lindsay, Dinner Party Download, Futile Podcast, Christian Comedy Podcast, netbooks, MacWorld, Lamont Mozier, Geek Loves Nerd, 40-Year-Old Boy, Mike Schmidt, MacBreak, Weekly
January 1, 2009
There has been a lot of chatter about the podcasting business model, and whether it has been a failure. That talk intensified when a major commercial podcaster, Podango, warned recently that its death seemed to be near. None of this is of concern to me: I leave business models to the money people. My interest is content.
I had more free time than usual this week, so the list is longer than usual (in the order I listened). [See all lists.]
Grammar Girl 149: Top Five Pet Peeves of 2008 Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty) has a business model, or, at least, some regular advertisers and a dedicated audience of grammar enforcers. The top peeves suggested by her listeners: carelessness with language, misuse of “myself,” overuse of the word “tapped,” the phrase “baby bump,” and the use of “slay” as a noun, particularly in New York Daily News headlines. It’s an idiosyncratic list, to be sure, but all these targets are worthy of scorn. (I also listened to the slightly less interesting Episode 150, about podcasting a book. I doubt I would ever listen to a book in serialized podcast form.) Length: 8:33 minutes. Released: Dec. 19.
Make-It-Green Girl 34: The Story of Stuff A sister podcast to the one from Grammar Girl, with the same “quick and dirty” preaching to the converted. Anna Elzeftaway suggests you stop buying so much stuff and suggests holiday gifts that require no products, packaging or other waste. “Make it special without making a footprint.” The smug message grates a bit. Length: 5:06 minutes. Released: Dec. 24.
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Tags: iPhone Apps, Podcast Zeitgeist, movies, Apple, macs, Uhh Yeah Dude, Leo Laporte, Twit.tv, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Tech, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, Coffee!, Buddhism, Andy Ihnatko, espresso, podcasts, iPhones, Grammar Girl, grammar, ads, Alex Lindsay, advertising, Coffeegeek, Wall-E, Futile Podcast, coffee podcasts, podcasting, business models, iFart Mobile, psychics, hip-hop, WFMU, seatbelts, Oprah, Make-It-Green Girl, Lethal Weapon, Mel Gibson, Christianity, Rinzai Zen, Jun Po, Jorianne the Coffee Psychic, Barista Exchange, 2012 Mayan Prophecy, Doc Ellis, PETA, cellphones
December 26, 2008
The mix this week is more culture than tech. Most of the podcasts I sample were off for the holidays, or they had recorded episodes in advance, so I went a little farther afield. [See all lists.]
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Tags: Benjamin Button, Bernard Madoff, Blogs, Books, Books on the Nightstand, Brazil, cheese, Coffee!, Coffeegeek, David Fincher, Dinner Party Download, drinks, e-books, Eating, espresso, Frank Sinatra, grok, John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, Jonathan Larroquette, Keanu Reeves, Kindle, Leo Laporte, Mad Men, movies, mozzarella, Obika, parmesan, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasts, protean gestures, Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction, Seth Romatelli, The Coffee Song, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Uhh Yeah Dude
December 19, 2008
Here are more quick takes on podcasts that caught my attention this week, in the order I listened. [See previous lists.]
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Tags: Twitter, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, John C. Dvorak, baby names, Jason Calacanis, nerds, geeks, This Week in Media, Daisy Whitney, Bob Thurman, Night of the Living Podcast, horror, Tibetan Buddhism, driver's licenses, ads, Whopper virgins, Alex Lindsay, MacWorld Expo, polar icecaps, Sylvester Stallone, The Futlie Podcast, misogyny, Net@Night, Digital Photography Life, global warming, Canadians, Airstream RV, Wired Gadget Lab, advertising, Personal Life Media, Susan Bratton, Nikon D3-X, photography, Flickr, Smugmug, CommandN
December 12, 2008
I’m mixing it up a little this week, adding some new podcasts from the iTunes Best of 2008 lists [iTunes Store Link], including a few with video under 10 minutes.
“Grammar Girl Video: Irony“ Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips are usually audio, but this six minutes of video is worth watching for its excellent explanation of the frequently misused words “irony” and “ironic,” using to good effect the infamous Sarah Palin turkey-pardon video. Here’s the gist: Irony is all about incongruity and always in the eye of the beholder. Palin and her critics both might have thought the event was ironic, but for different and legitimate reasons. Writing that something is “ironic” says more about you, the observer, than the events themselves, and it is open to misinterpretation. Watch, understand, then use these words properly, or not at all, especially if you are a journalist trying to be fair. Length: 6:29 minutes. Released: Dec. 5.
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Tags: "All My Internet Friends", Amanda French, Attack of the Show, brocabulary, Buzz Out Loud, CNET, grammar, Grammar Girl, iPhones, iTunes, Jonathan Coulton, Jonathan Larroquette, MacBreak Weekly, music, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasts, Scientific American, Seth Romatelli, This Week in Tech, Twitter, Uhh Yeah Dude, York Pa., You Look Nice Today
December 5, 2008
There are 8 million podcasts on the naked Web. Each week, I listen to 10 or more of them and write some reviews. Here’s the latest survey of independent audio featuring assorted nerds, geeks, freaks, mystics, fans and experts talking about the things they love. In the order I listened this week:
“TWIT 171: Chocolate Sox” Not a great week for news and information about tech. Leo Laporte makes good on his threat that his This Week in Tech podcast is “unscripted, unplanned and sometimes completely off the hook.” He is joined by John C. Dvorak, Andrew Horowitz and Sarah Lane. They discuss Beaujolais Nouveau, insult Adam Curry, taste chocolate, reminisce about Tech TV, brag about how many Twitter followers they have, complain about AT&T customer service, plug a useful Web site (Gethuman.com), discuss the financial crisis, demonstrate an ignorance of journalistic practice and browse a few tech headlines. It’s entertaining, if not enlightening. Length: 1 hour, 42 minutes. Release date: Nov. 30.
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Tags: Podcast Zeitgeist, Apple, Uhh Yeah Dude, You Look Nice Today, Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Twit.tv, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Tech, Seth Romatelli, John C. Dvorak, Buddhism, This Week in Media, Daisy Whitney, junk mail, Postal Service, Sarah Lane, Twentyhood, Lower East Side, Bob Thurman, Marvel Comics, Keith and the Girl, samadhi, Ant-Man, John Hodgeman, RIcky Gervais, Karl Pilkington, Uma Thurman, Bodhisattva, Cat Power, Coverville
November 28, 2008
Here’s my weekly roundup of podcasts from selected geeks, nerds, kooks, freaks, comedians, self-styled tech gurus and other denizens of the audio Web, in the order I listened this week:
- “Extra Life Radio, #202, #203, and #204” “Geek tested, nerd approved!” A likable group of geeks and nerds, Scott Johnson and his friends are Web comics artists who talk about films, TV, gaming and comics, among other topics of a certain type. The first episode (“Vacillating Two Oh Two”) encapsulated what I value in a podcast — a deep and serious discussion that makes me care about a niche interest, in this case, Web comics. The next episode (#203 “Spinimal!”) was a wide-ranging discussion of movies. The Thanksgiving episode (#204, “Choot the Turkey”) was the least compelling, more movie talk and a long, easily skipped conversation about soccer parents (they often take a good 15 to 20 minutes to warm up). This podcast was the winner in the general category of the mostly meaningless 2008 Podcast Awards, sponsored by the marketing company Podcast Connect Inc. The contest bases the awards on how many fans repeatedly click on an unscientific online survey, as Mr. Johnson, to his credit, notes. He and his co-hosts also won for a “World of Warcraft” gaming podcast, The Instance. Length: Ranging from 1 hour, 7 minutes to 1 hour, 32 minutes. Released: Nov. 12, Nov. 17 and Nov. 25.
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Tags: iPhone Apps, Podcast Zeitgeist, iTunes, movies, macs, Uhh Yeah Dude, You Look Nice Today, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Tech, Alex Albrecht, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, Diggnation, Andy Ihnatko, Vomitus Prime, brocabulary, Podcast Awards, misogynists, Web comics, Extra Life Radio, The Bugle, I Want Sandy, Stikkit, Uli's Talking Moose, This Week in Media, Brian Stelter, Daisy Whitney
November 20, 2008
In a continuation of my peculiar hobby, here they are, in the order I listened this week, reports on a few of the podcasts of the geeks, nerds, freaks and boy-men of the Interweb:
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Tags: brocabulary, Google Mobile App, iPhones, Jimmy Pardo, Jonathan Larroquette, Kevin Smith, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, Michael Jackson, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasts, Seth Romatelli, This Week in Tech, Uhh Yeah Dude, Vomitus Prime, Yahoo
November 13, 2008
What I got out of this week’s podcasts for nerds and geeks:
“TWIT 168: Dirty Pedro” This week’s episode proved useful for getting to sleep on Tuesday evening. Otherwise, I might be asking, how do I get this 1:34 hours of my life back? The signal to noise ratio is quite low, despite heroic efforts by John C. Dvorak to keep the discussion focused on technology. The Audible.com ad was mercifully short. Topics: Google/Yahoo, Obama’s technology and FCC policy, cameras, keyboards, an argument for aggressive comment moderation on blogs. Released: Nov. 9. Length: 1 hour, 34 minutes
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Tags: iPhone Apps, Podcast Zeitgeist, Apple, macs, Uhh Yeah Dude, You Look Nice Today, Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Twit.tv, MacBreak Weekly, This Week in Tech, iPods, Seth Romatelli, Jonathan Larroquette, John Hodgman, nerds, geeks, John Gruber, Andy Ihnatko, Maccast, Adam Christianson, Totally Rad Show, Five Tacos and a Taco, Found magazine, Dan Savage, Jesse Thorn, Sound of Young America, Jonathan Coulton
November 6, 2008
Podcasts I got around to listening to this week, and what was on them, in the order I listened:
“TWIT 167: More Twit Than You Require” First half: An informative discussion of Windows 7, the replacement for Vista, which I did not care about, as a Mac user. Fast-forwarded to second half (just past 1-hour mark): Leo Laporte interview with John Hodgman, the fake-trivia expert Daily Show I’m-a-PC guy, who is on a book tour. Instead of playing a character, Hodgman gets nerd-real. It’s good. Released: Nov. 2. Length: 1 hour, 45 minutes
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Tags: Buddhism, Diggnation, feminism, films, finabulous, Franklin's Tower, geeks, Grateful Dead, John Hodgman, Jonathan Larroquette, Leo Laporte, meditation, movies, nerds, podcasts, Seth Romatelli, sexism, This Week in Tech, Twit.tv, UFOs, Uhh Yeah Dude
