jump to navigation

Local Radio is Dead April 4, 2008

Posted by alan in : tech , comments closed

In the spring of 2005 I started to listen to a few PodCasts on my original iPod. I bought an iPod connection kit so that I could listen to the podcasts during my daily commute. As podcasting became more popular, shows were available on every conceivable topic.

Over time I started spending more and more time listening to podcasts in the car, while turning on the radio less often. After three years of spending less and less time listening to local radio, I now find myself almost never turning it on. Occasionally I’ll turn on the radio to try and get information about a traffic problem on the expressway but I usually give up after ten minutes when I realize that they aren’t going to provide any useful information in a timely manner.

Here are a few of the podcasts that I try to listen to every week:

TWIT: This WEEK in TECH (TWIT) is a Twit.tv creation produced and hosted by Leo Laporte. Each episode features a different group of people offering their views on the tech news of the week. The discussion is usually pretty lively, but the amount of interest you may have in a specific episode can be influenced by the actual tech news they discuss as well as the guests on the show that week. Occasionally they don’t seem to have much to talk about. Listen to a few episodes before deciding whether you like this one or not.

Net@Night: Another TWIT production, Net@Night features Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur discussing cool websites, and viral videos. This program usually features one guest who discusses their work on creating a new website or technology and how what they do is different or important. The beginning of each show is a review of interesting websites Amber has recently discovered.

Linux Reality: The Linux Reality podcast is produced and hosted by Chess Griffin. His focus for the podcast is helping the new linux user, but the presentation and depth of coverage of the material makes this podcast an interesting series even if you are not a new linux user. Chess is no longer producing new Linux Reality shows, having finished 100 episodes. All of the episodes are still available on the website, and I would highly recommend the series to anyone with an interest in Linux.

Chinese Pod: ChinesePod features several podcasts, each directed to a specific type of student studying Mandarin Chinese: Newbie, Elementary, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, or Advanced. Each lesson is short and they repeat the phrases many times so that you can actually learn Mandarin by listening to this podcast. Of course, you will need to find someone to practice with but this podcast will get you started in the right direction.

Eee PC January 4, 2008

Posted by alan in : tech , comments closed

I picked up an Asus Eee PC a few days ago at Micro Center. I was planning on buying one online in a few months, but Micro Center had them in stock and I couldn’t resist after playing with the store demo model. This is a wonderful portable linux computer. It weighs about two pounds and can easily be updated to add additional features (if you’re comfortable in a linux environment). I’ve added rsync, lynx, and few other tweaks. Highly recommended if you have a need for a portable linux device.

New Linux Desktop October 19, 2007

Posted by alan in : tech , comments closed

I purchased a new linux desktop computer today from Los Alamos Computers. Los Alamos Computers (LAC) is based in Los Alamos, New Mexico and has been providing high-performance Linux computers since September 2000. I ordered a custom system with Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, two 250 GB hard drives, and Nvidia 7300GT graphic card. For awhile I entertained the idea of purchasing a Dell desktop. They recently started offering more linux systems and after watching the Dell store for awhile I was disappointed to see them reduce the number of available linux computers. They started with two laptops and two desktop systems preloaded with Ubuntu. In recent weeks the selection has dropped to one laptop and one desktop running Ubuntu. Also, the Dell online store isn’t the easiest to navigate. I find it odd that they force a visitor to their store to select whether they are a Home, Small Business, Large Business, or Government user before they show you any computers. I want to see them all!

Ohio Linuxfest 2007 September 30, 2007

Posted by alan in : tech , comments closed

For the third consecutive year I attended the Ohio Linuxfest in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday 9/29. It’s certainly a worthwhile event, and interesting to see how far people travel to attend the show. I overheard several people talking about their travels from Michigan and I also noticed that there were more than a few people attending from Canada. The biggest disappointment I have each year is with the talks that are canceled at the last minute. This year I was looking forward to two talks that were canceled: The Challenges of Building a Linux Distro by Warren Woodford and Free Software, in Africa: a Perspective by Nayyar Ahmad. My favorite talk of the day was Introduction to Python and/or Solar System Demolition by Catherine Devlin. I’ve been studying Python for about three months now, which helped me to follow most of her discussion as she described how to create a physical model of the solar system in Python. Catherine’s blog is here and she has posted all of her files from the presentation. Ohio Linuxfest is also supposed to be making the audio of each talk available at a later date. It was great to see the guys from The Linux Link Tech Show. I was lucky enough to visit their table early in the day and they gave me all of their podcasts on DVD. It will be great to catch up on the earlier episodes!