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| This Week in Tech Review | | Date Created: May 10, 2005, 11:52 AM |
 I've recently "discovered" the world of Podcasts. Essentially they are syndicated recorded programs, usually but not limited to the audio format (mp3, AAC, org Vorbis, etc.) and resemble radio programs. There are a few Video podcasts out there, but I haven't subscribed to any yet. Some are advertisor sponsored while others are donationware. Podcasts use RSS wrappers to enable their "magicmojo" to work. There are quite a few Podcasting programs out there including iPodder (open source various platform), Doppler (Windows), and iPodderX (Mac). My favorite is iPodderX and iPodderX Lite since they are easy to configure...automagically place your podcasts in iTunes playlists, and support BitTorrent based Podcast feeds seemlessly. I actually subscribe to a few choice podcasts to listen to on my iPod during my morning and afternoon commute. They include: Inside Mac (advertiser based...too much advertising if you ask me... almost seems like more advertising than content), Battlestar Galactica (which are running commentary by the producer of the rekindled SciFi series... really adds to the franchise!), and This Week in Tech which will be the subject of this review.
This Week in Tech started a few weeks ago by Leo Laporte of Screensavers fame (and The Spot on MSNBC, Screensavers and Call for Help on Tech TV and ZDTV). This Week in Tech or TWIT was originally called alternatively Return or Revenge of the ScreenSavers before the retarded hell-hounds of G4TV got wind of it. Like it's original name implied, this was to be a weekly series of podcasts that would bring back some of the original ScreenSavers team from the 'ole Tech TV and ZD TV days. Lately that list has included Leo (of course) Laporte, Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, Robert Heron, Yoshi, and soon to be others (most likely Megan and the rest.. I wonder if they'll include Kate B.?)... they've had/will have cameos and guest appearances by notable notables like John C. Dvorak. Like the earlier ScreenSavers, Call for Help and similar shows by the group, they'll delve into the week's latest geeky stories and anything remotely nerdy that pops in their heads. Unlike the later shows, they won't dumb them down, and they won't be (too) censored. This is the quintesential geek tech show done right and brings back many warm nostalgic feelings for me. I used to love watching the original ZDTV incarnations of the show and hated the direction it was going just prior to the G4TV takeover... I'm not even going to address how badly mucked up the G4 version was.
In the past few weeks they've had contests, refined their show format, and commited to the "donationware subscription" model making any exchange of scratch voluntary (with some incentive, like subscribers getting emailed "stuff" not privy to the free(loaders)listeners out there). Some of the topics covered include OSX Tiger, Skype, Google's latest problems (outtages and the much maligned accelerator), etc. interspersed with some poignant nostalgia about the "good old days" of TechTV.
The podcasts are available in various media formats and delivery methods (regular download, Coral, BitTorrent based RSS feeds, etc.). I personally use the BitTorrent based AAC bookmarkable feed for use with iPodderX and my iPod mini.
You can find more info about the TWITS and get their podcasts at http://www.thisweekintech.com/. If you miss the TechTV of old... and I KNOW a lot of you do... then this is definitely for you! |
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