"Computer Talk with Tab" from WTIC

"Computer Talk with Tab" is the best, practical podcast I have been able to find. Erik and Bob do an outstanding job fielding listener questions. The show airs live on WITC radio on Saturday mornings and is then recorded for distribution as a podcast. Many computer oriented podcasts do a good job but tend to be too high tech for many users. Erik and Bob avoid that by taking calls from real people in real time. They don't always have all the answers but they certainly do a great job finding what their listeners want to know. If I had one suggestions it would be this: The show segments come into my pod catcher out of order, so I tend to listen to hour one second or third and hour three first, etc. (just an example.) This is certainly one of my picks for a great podcast.

The TWIT Network I'm going to break my own rule. (Already?) I said I would review podcasts but this is about a podcast network, The TWIT Network which streams its video podcasts live as well as archiving them for viewing at a later time. I love the idea! Imagine the fledgling CBS or NBC TV networks in the 1940s. That seems to be where video podcasting is today. I have my own page on You Tube and have some experience hosting a talk show and doing a daily newscast. I dream of our newspaper doing a complete schedule of TV shows. That is what the TWIT network has achieved. My hat is way off to founder Leo LaPorte. I used to watch him on Tech TV that our cable system carried. I'm not sure he is as knowledgable about computers and cell phones and the Internet as he lets on, but he is entertaining. There is a variety of shows. Many have to do with Google and Android and iPhones, but it also carries an Amateur Radio show, "Ham Nation," which is wonderful. It talks about everything imaginable for Ham radio enthusiasts and eve runs video showing how to solder together radios and other equipment. The guys and Cheryl, the lone lady in the bunch, have a great time doing the show over Skype which is then put together at TWIT's studios in California. I will go into more detail about shows on the network but you really should look up TWIT. It's really interesting.

"The Personal Computer Show" on WBAI I said I would pan some podcasts and this is one of them. I admit this podcast is one of my guilty pleasures. I can't recommend it to anyone but I listen to it religiously. It isn't the information it presents; I'm not sure there is much. It is more like driving past a car wreck and slowing down and rubber necking to see what is going on. David Perry is the one shining light in the show and he is not on every week. When he is on the host tends to interrupt him with the vainglorious assumption people would rather hear him than Perry. Personally, I wish WBAI would give Perry his own show. Another reason I just can't miss the show is the melodrama. Will WBAI remain on the air or not? The station is apparently in deep financial doo-doo and each week I check Dogg Catcher on my phone to see if the podcast is updated. Two curmudgeons, a musician/engineer and David Perry. Wow, that is high drama! To be fair, occasionally a real gem is presented. For instance, a 1980s interview with Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft ... and the host managed to be quiet long enough for Bill Gates to give some fascinating insights into the future of computing. Unfortunately, I'm hooked on "The Personal Computer Show," though I wish I could walk away. It's as full of empty calories as a bag of chocolates or a gallon of ice cream.

'The War' by Adam Graham

"The War" by Adam Graham I find the old time radio news broadcasts surrounding Pearl Harbor and VE Day and VJ Day to be fascinating. I was blessed to find a series of newscasts on the Internet. One was an all-night broadcast from June 6, 1944, a newscast that reported rumors and news of the Allies landing on the shores of France, which was later depicted in the movie, "The Longest Day." Fascinating to hear Robert Trout anchoring the broadcast. I can barely remember Robert Trout's TV reports in the 1950s. Adam Graham has started a podcast that is truly a study of World War II as heard on the radios of the American people. Fascinating stuff! I highly recommend it.

I love podcasts! I really do. I spend at least two hours during my commute to work each day listening to a wide variety of podcasts. There is a world of podcasts out there and it struck me that when I hear a podcast recommended I appreciate that recommendation. Of course, I can't recommend all podcasts so in these posts you will hear my picks and pans.