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G4TechTV Announced

Posted by timothy on from the for-all-yout-data-center-needs dept.

Str8Dog writes "Looks like Comcast has made its plans for the G4 / Tech TV merger public via, G4TechTV.com. The FAQ page list the shows that will be surviving the merger. Call For Help seems to have received the axe. No word is given if the casts will remain the same."

18 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. If Leo goes, I go. by Seoulstriker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Leo is the only reason I watch the Screensavers and is only one of two reasons I even watch the network (the other is for X-Play). If Leo isn't there anymore, I'm out of there. :-(

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    1. Re:If Leo goes, I go. by ScottGant · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How can you say that? Leo Leporte treats his viewers like they're 3rd graders.

      Actually, Leo is one of the nicest people on the face of the planet. When someone is having a problem, he is patient enough to walk them through it.

      Not to mention the fact that Leo has many times shown how easy it is to get Linux up and running on a machine.

      The Screen Savers is a great show.

      --

      "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
    2. Re:If Leo goes, I go. by Deitheres · · Score: 0, Interesting

      I know a lot of people who watch TechTV. While I won't be so rude as to say they have the mentality of 3rd graders, I will say that most 3rd graders that I know have better computer skills than most of the people who watch TechTV. I've watched it a few times, and I can say that it bores me, because it does pander to the lowest common denominator. I am hardly uber-l337, and it still seems pretty dumbed down to me.

      --
      Just like driving a car:
      (D) to go forward
      (R) to go backward

    3. Re:If Leo goes, I go. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      TechTV only is available for people paying for the full package here in Portland. That means unless you're payign $110+ for your cable bill, you don't get TechTV. I got rid of my expensive cable a long time ago so stopped getting techTV back then.

      That being said, I was impressed with the quality of some of their shows. Granted, some were total crap but Unscrewed, Call For Help, The Screen Savers, X Play (okay, I only watched X-Play for Morgon Webb...yum).

      Call For Help and The Screen Savers are geared toward newbies and your parents, but they occasionally have interesting stuff - and often have really cool interviews with very important, interesting or historical figures in technology. Being a veteran in this industry, I almost never had an "oh my" moment from the show, but it was okay to watch.

      Leo has a good report with callers and users. You should read his computer almanac. He's the pinnacle of good tech support, if you ask me. People in the industry could learn a thing or two from him.

      I also like Patrick (his co-host). He has an interesting background, is very intelligent and is just all around a funny guy on TV.

      And Kevin Rose is interesting. He is much more like your average Slashdot geek (and I know he's reading this thread because he IS an avid Slashdot Geek). It's okay to hate him though, since he's all hooked up with Sarah.

      By the way, Kevin Rose has been doing some interesting things with his site http://TheBroken.org (along with Dan).

      And god damn, if Jessika (the hot redhead from TSS) wasn't the hottest thing on geek tv in history... Smokin' hot...

      Anyway, I hope that the good people and the good shows survive the merge with G4 and that only the crap is chopped. I could do without 12 reruns of Robot Wars every day - and that stupid "tech tv news" program every night... they recycle news stories like mad! I swear to god they did the same story on a floating motor home every night for about six months! THE SAME FUCKING STORY! And Wired for Sex was crap. And too many infomercials.

      For those who don't know, Leo also does a radio show. He has a very full plate. I have a feeling that, while he has been around since the start, he could take or leave the show. He's a popular and busy guy. And as for the rest of the people - theyr'e young and talented. They're not going to be destroyed by the end of TechTV. Not by a long shot.

  2. Thank god! by SirPhreak · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Was ready to change the channel today at 5 to avoid the horrible robot wars, was suprised to see that Filter was on, a former G4 show. No complaints show far, work out the techtv crap and bring in decent G4 shows. If they keep the right people this might not work out too bad.

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    ------------------------------ SirPhreak - "It's Thinking..."
  3. And the timeliness of /. prevails! by LinuxHam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was *just* wishing for TechTV to start showing up on my Comcast Digital Cable. In the meantime, I was watching a Screen Savers episode On Demand -- the one about security, not 20 minutes ago. I figured it was going to be a lousy glossing over, but they opened by talking about Nessus and spent a good 10-15 minutes going over a nice-looking Windows port of Nessus, Newt. They really seemed to know what they were talking about. A couple of screw-ups here and there, but I was just blown away that a couple of tv dorks even heard of Nessus and could speak authoritatively about it.

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    Intelligent Life on Earth
  4. 4 Hours? by DaHat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Maybe I'm seeing a bad page... but their line up looks only like 4 block hours thus far... oh yea!

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    Help Brendan pay off his student loans
  5. Never even heard of G4 by Deitheres · · Score: 1, Interesting

    But I am not a big TV watcher... I have, however, heard of TechTV... I've seen TechTV. I wonder if this will help G4's viewer audience, or if there are going to be people who defect because they are pissed that their favorite TechTV/G4 show got cancelled... I know a lot of people who really like Leo (I think his last name is Laporte or something?), and if he gets dropped I think a lot of them will stop watching the channel.

    --
    Just like driving a car:
    (D) to go forward
    (R) to go backward

  6. How is this bad again? by MrZaius · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Okay.... so they're keeping the two shows I sometimes actually liked (Anime Unleashed and the Screen Savers), adding gamer-oriented content I never got to see before.

    I'm supposed to bitch and moan....... why?

  7. poor unscrewed by lawngnome · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I sadly doubt that one of my favorite techtv shows, unscrewed will be around... From what I have heard it sounds like the new network will be game heavy with a little tech thrown in to balance things out...

    I wonder what Martin will do after this? He should get a public access show, as thats what unscrewed resembles now.

  8. Strong line-up... by gamgee5273 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I like the line-up, and I think the logical crossovers (TSS's LAN party days easily can be tied into a larger Arena presence) are good things...

    I think this could end up being The Geek Network... or it could end up being a rehash of all we've seen on both TechTV and G4 (rerun after rerun after rerun). I'm surprised to see that X-Play survived. I seriously wonder how it will fit in with a bunch of shows (Judgment Day, G4TV.com, Cheat!) that basically do what it does in much greater detail (it's gotta be Morgan).

    I think the network needs to do three things for it to take off correctly: 1) Bring back Leo as a major presence; 2) Bring back Wil (yes, CleverNickName, even with your view of The Company and The Viewer I think Comcast would be silly not to ask you to return) to not just Arena but maybe TSS, too; 3) Make sure Jim Downs is out and that his ghost never rises again...

    And the one thing that would bring many old-school TSS fans back? Find, and hire, Kate and Megan, dammit! :)

    I gotta go warm up my TiVo...

  9. Ugh. Too much anime. by EvilStein · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just like when MTV was playing the same stuff on Headbanger's Ball, 120 Minutes, Alternative Nation...

    TechTV has 3 anime shows that show up quite often. I will miss "Call for Help" as it was sometimes an informative & fun show.

    Also notice that TechLive is not on the list of shows. That was one of my favorites.
    "The Tech Of.." is gone, but "Robot Wars" stays?

    I knew Comcast was going to screw everything up.

  10. Call For Help finally done for! by SnowCrashed · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Finally, they're going to cut Call for Help... All Call for Help really was is a rehashed/dumbed down version of the Screen Savers. Admittedly, Leo does/did a great job at running the show, and he is the perfect person to run a show for the less experienced crowd, I just think that if they do have a show of the Call for Help "nature" that they should either make it completely for beginners, or just make the Screen Savers slightly more newbie friendly.

  11. G4 was pretty weak by McP · · Score: 2, Interesting

    First, I was never able to decide if the writing on most of those shows was aimed about 2 generations behind me or it was just plain awful. Not that I'm Shakespeare over here, but their writing and attempts at being funny just fall flat.

    Second, watching segments of an Unreal Tournament match on shows like Arena are just... not thrilling. I can watch a friend play just fine, or even spectating a net match is cool sometimes, but the way they presented it was just bleah. This is partly due to my first complaint above... the commentary during the matches blows.

    For me, the coolest thing was their promotional stuff. The animations and game clips that they play between the commercials and the shows (are thos ecalled bumpers?) were very stylish. What a contrast to the actual programming.

    The best show they had, hands down, were the old episodes of Starcade. Makes me want to feather my hair and play some Frogger.

  12. New casting -- Linux support show by MMHere · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Steve Gates and Bill Balmer will be hosting a new show on Linux installation, maintenance, and support.

    Strangely, I think these may pseudonyms, as the publicity head shots show (1) a portly balding man of middle age with small bits of blonde hair left, and (2) a wiry geeky looking skinny guy with squarish glasses and unkept brown hair. They were both dressed in $4000 Armani suits, so apparently the budget is no longer an issue.

    I wonder what their credentials are, though, for being experts at Linux support?

  13. Body Hits makes the cut... by Jonah+Hex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm happy to see that Body Hits is sticking around, I appreciate any show that has the guts to show the reality of drugs and alcohol from a fair viewpoint. If I remember correctly it's one of their "British imports" like that occasionally interesting spy show, which may explain their break from the usual US Drug War propaganda on our TVs over here.

    Jonah Hex

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    Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
  14. So by cubicledrone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why fire everyone? Is it some kind of new rule that every time a business does something new that step one is to fire the entire staff?

    MCI just announced 7500 layoffs today. Another several thousand careers out in the street. Wonderful.

    --
    Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
  15. TechTV Canada? by Sandman1971 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder how this all affects TechTV Canada. They currently run about 80-90% of TechTV's(US) content. Nothing on the TechTV Canada website. Anyone heard anything?

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    It's better to burn out than to fade away