Posts Tagged ‘This Week in Tech’
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: 40-Year-Old Boy, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, Apple, Blogs, Christian Comedy Podcast, computers, Dinner Party Download, Facebook, Futile Podcast, Geek Loves Nerd, iPhone Apps, iPhones, iPods, Jonathan Larroquette, Lamont Mozier, Leo Laporte, MacBreak, macs, MacWorld, Mike Schmidt, movies, netbooks, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasts, Seth Romatelli, technology, This Week in Tech, Twitter, Uhh Yeah Dude, Weekly
January 10, 2009
The list this week is tech-heavy and later than usual, mainly because of the “last” MacWorld Expo. {See all lists].
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Tags: Adam Christianson, Alex Lindsay, Amaze.FM, Amber MacArthur, Apple, Bernie Madoff, Blip.FM, CES, Daisy Whitney, Dwight Silverman, Facebook, Gertrude Baines, gog.is, HP Media Smart Server, John C. Dvorak, Jonathan Larroquette, Ken Ray, Leo Laporte, Lucas County Choppers, MacBooks, MacBreak Weekly, Maccast, MacOSKen, macs, MacWorld Expo, Mall Cop, Merlin Mann, Net@Night, Netflix, Notorious B.I.G., Phil Schiller, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasts, Robert Scoble, Seth Romatelli, This Week in Media, This Week in Tech, truck antlers, Twit.tv, Twitter, Uhh Yeah Dude, Victor Cajiao, Zunes
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: 2012 Mayan Prophecy, ads, advertising, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, Apple, Barista Exchange, Buddhism, business models, cellphones, Christianity, coffee podcasts, Coffee!, Coffeegeek, Doc Ellis, espresso, Futile Podcast, grammar, Grammar Girl, hip-hop, iFart Mobile, iPhone Apps, iPhones, Jonathan Larroquette, Jorianne the Coffee Psychic, Jun Po, Leo Laporte, Lethal Weapon, MacBreak Weekly, macs, Make-It-Green Girl, Mel Gibson, movies, Oprah, PETA, Podcast Zeitgeist, podcasting, podcasts, psychics, Rinzai Zen, seatbelts, Seth Romatelli, This Week in Tech, Twit.tv, Uhh Yeah Dude, Wall-E, WFMU
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: Ant-Man, Apple, Bob Thurman, Bodhisattva, Buddhism, Cat Power, Coverville, Daisy Whitney, John C. Dvorak, John Hodgeman, junk mail, Karl Pilkington, Keith and the Girl, Leo Laporte, Lower East Side, MacBreak Weekly, Marvel Comics, Merlin Mann, Podcast Zeitgeist, Postal Service, RIcky Gervais, samadhi, Sarah Lane, Seth Romatelli, This Week in Media, This Week in Tech, Twentyhood, Twit.tv, Uhh Yeah Dude, Uma Thurman, You Look Nice Today
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: Alex Albrecht, Andy Ihnatko, Brian Stelter, brocabulary, Daisy Whitney, Diggnation, Extra Life Radio, I Want Sandy, iPhone Apps, iTunes, Jonathan Larroquette, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, macs, misogynists, movies, Podcast Awards, Podcast Zeitgeist, Seth Romatelli, Stikkit, The Bugle, This Week in Media, This Week in Tech, Uhh Yeah Dude, Uli's Talking Moose, Vomitus Prime, Web comics, You Look Nice Today
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: Adam Christianson, Andy Ihnatko, Apple, Dan Savage, Five Tacos and a Taco, Found magazine, geeks, iPhone Apps, iPods, Jesse Thorn, John Gruber, John Hodgman, Jonathan Coulton, Jonathan Larroquette, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, Maccast, macs, Merlin Mann, nerds, Podcast Zeitgeist, Seth Romatelli, Sound of Young America, This Week in Tech, Totally Rad Show, Twit.tv, Uhh Yeah Dude, You Look Nice Today
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
October 29, 2008
Here are some impressions of the latest episodes from my current list of active podcasts. Topics covered included the election, the financial crisis, new Macs, Frank TV, your “Desert Island Sedaris,” Santa vs. Odin and a squid with a dog’s head that eats penguins at the South Pole.
In the order I listened this week:
“Uhh, Yeah Dude, Episode 138” The show is more political than usual. Seth and Jonathan have some advice for McCain about profanity and do not like Obama’s sports-team pandering. The badness of Frank TV: All of Frank Calienda’s impressions sound the same. Who is your Desert Island Sedaris, David or Amy? In the funniest and longest set-piece, Seth describes a visit with “2,000″ school children to the traveling DEA exhibit “Target America: Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause” at the California Science Center, which explains how to manufacture cocaine, heroin and crystal meth. Unlikely street names for drugs. Aaron Neville sings “Silent Night.” Planning an Applebee’s fan video. And more riffs on headlines. Released: Oct. 24. Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes.
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Tags: Add new tag, aliens, Amy Sedaris, Antartica, Apple, computers, David Sedaris, elections, Frank TV, G1 Google Phone, Hypercolor, iPhone Apps, iTunes, Jason Calacanis, Jonathan Larroquette, Kevin Rose, Kevin Smith, Leo Laporte, MacBooks, MacBreak Weekly, Merlin Mann, NYT, Podcast Zeitgeist, Santa Claus, Scott Bourne, Seth Romatelli, Smodcast, This Week in Tech, Uhh Yeah Dude, You Look Nice Today, Zack & Miri Make a Porno
