Have You Been TWIT-ted?
Those of you that paused for more than 3 minutes on the now extinctTechTV will also remember the fascinating breadth of technology coverage that the hosts brought us.
What was really special about the show was the comfortable balance that the hosts struck between providing a resource for the common man and woman and getting really geeky and technical.
Also part of the charm of the show was the banter and interplay of personalities. While each of the hosts were quite knowledgeable, it was clear no one was an expert on everything. So each topic was tossed between the hosts and the guest experts, with fun little barbs and teasing that gave it family-like feel.
But alas, all good things come to an end... and Comcast bought out TechTV in May (2005) and fired the staff, then launched a gaming channel: G4TV
Much of digerati was pretty disgusted with this - from the East Coast (New York Times) to the West Coast (Wired Magazine) the complaints were numerous and loud.
The New York Times' Circuits columnist David Pogue, a frequent visitor to TechTV's The Screen Savers, wrote two columns about the merger -- one lamenting the loss of TechTV as a tech-oriented resource for users of all ages and experience levels, and a follow-up quoting from some of the hundreds of messages he's received through e-mail and at his NYTimes.com forum.
(more from the Wired article quote above here)
This summer, Leo took his schtick to the world of podcasts. Similar to TechTV in format, Leo has assembled some very well connected, widely experienced regulars that include John C. Dvorak and a variety of special guests such as the co-founder of Apple Computer Steve Woziniak, security expert Steve Gibson, and Opera Founder, Jon van Tetzner. Their new endeavor is called this Week in Tech (or TWIT) and it is really an entertaining, enlightening, hour long broadcast. One thing that sets it apart from most other podcasts is the lively discussion between four or five twits all during each episode. Sometimes the format is akin to an interview especially when there is a special guest, but most of the time it is a four or five way discussion that only occasionally turns into a four or five way circus
So just how good is TWIT?
It is really quite excellent- consistently in the top 5 Podcasts on iTunes.... The world's most listened to podcast and winner of the 2005 People's Choice Podcast Award.
Ok, I will have to admit, I don't often find time to listen to podcasts... quite honestly, I prefer to listen to music on my iPods. And music is something that I am more comfortable sharing with people around me when I am in the car or sitting in my livingroom... a podcast is usually more directed towards individual interests and tastes. But this is a podcast worth setting some time aside for.