A Podcast from Network Administrators

MakoStorm writes "The guys over at wehatetech.com have been working really hard on their Podcast. "After This Week in Tech", and others. It was time for a Podcast that others might enjoy. With a bit of ranting, whining, and over all dislike for the dreaded stuff we need to fix every day." The site also offers an open forum to dump your horror stories in an effort to prevent technophiles from going postal.

Comments

Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[benna]

So true. Seriously, why is slashdot advertising someone's podcast?

Re:As Good as a Rest

[Council]

Well that will certainly make a nice change from Slashdot's usual calm, reasoned discussions.

Well, on the Windows vs. Linux discussion earlier (guy who switched for ten days story), did you notice that the discussion was intelligent, civil, and pretty moderate? I think that Slashdot has just gotten overfamiliar with every W/L argument and the discussions just go like chess games played by rote.

Now I'm just waiting for the same to happen to discussions of copyright law.

Businesses Jumping into Podcasting

[dotslashdot]

Podcasting has really taken off. Many companies are trying to jump into podcasting to target consumers with ads, etc. What was once simply common folk making interesting podcasts will soon (if not already) become yet another communication medium saturated with advertisements and promotions, reducing its value.

If you hate technology

[multi-flavor-geek]

Why are you on slashdot? Burn your computer, especially if you are at work. Smash all of your appliances. Cut the power feed for your house. Throw that cell phone away. Sell your car for scrap. Hunt neighborhood cats and cook them over an open fire in the backyard. And then you will sit there crying all night wishing you could blog about this new liberating experience on myspace.

I hate podcasts

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it just me, or are 99% of the podcasts out there completely braindead. I couldn't listen to more than 10 minutes of this one. If you took all of the actual things said in this thing and put it together, you'd end up with 5 minutes of content. Do people actually listen to this junk?

Re:I hate podcasts

[Saven Marek]

I'm disappointed in many of them. It seems to be a great way to give broadcasting to the masses, so just anyone can make a radio show as easily as a large commercial radio station.

Unfortunately as the old cliche goes, this means that just anyone IS making their own radio shows. I'm finding the same stats as you, about 99% are trash, and the ones I've kept listening to are commercial/professional stations who just put their existing radio shows online.

We need a good freely accessible ratings service for podcasts in different categories. help people sort the chaff from the soap.

Re:I hate podcasts

[bhima]

I listen to about 1 to 1 1/2 hours daily... you just have to find some you like. And, in the words of the Beatles it's getting better all the time!

Re:I hate podcasts

[slim]

Is it just me, or are 99% of the podcasts out there completely braindead

You're slamming the medium when your real beef is with the content. Saying "I hate podcasts" because 99% of them are rubbish is like saying "I hate MP3s" because 99% of those are rubbish.

On any medium, there's a lot of dross around. Buy a CD at random, and the chances are you won't like it. Go to a random web page, it's likely to be dross.

This was the problem with the old mp3.com -- I'm sure there was great stuff on there, but it was diluted with mediocre stuff, and there was no layer to sort the wheat from the chaff.

With a lot of traditional media, we have an infrastructure that wades through the surfeit of available material and picks out the best for us. That infrastructure includes music radio, newspaper and magazine reviewers, word of mouth, etc. Sometimes it lets us down -- the system might completely overlook a great new novel or band -- but at least it does something, and we can tune our exposure to the system by listening to that DJ whose choices we usually enjoy, or reading the film reviews in the organ that we usually agree with.

Podcasting -- and non-label bands who publish straight to MP3 -- need that kind of promotional path. It's nice to see that this is actually happening. Say what you like about Adam Curry's Daily Source Code podcast, but it gets a lot of listeners, and he frequently plays promos for other podcasts, or describes and recommends podcasts he likes or things his listeners should check out. That's a start. He has said that what needs to happen is for other high profile podcasters to do the same, substituting their tastes for his.

This is what needs to happen. I wish developers would recognise this, instead of repeatedly falling into the trap of implementing ratings collectors. Podcast Alley collates votes and produces a top 10. Top tens don't interest me.

So, geeks in space

[isorox]

So it's basically geeks in space, with an RSS feed? Wow, isn't 2005 such an amazing year!

When the world is full of metrosexual bloggers podcasting over a skinny latte with their blackberrys, you know there's no hope left.

Re:Horror story.

[Jeff DeMaagd]

In all seriousness, I think it's a good time to set up a denial of referrals from Slashdot. Hopefully it would slow them down a bit.

People hate books too.

[crovira]

99.99% of ANYTHING is crap. But that .01% of the total content of the universe makes it all worthwhile.

I listen to a podcast on wine tasting. If I didn't like wine, the entire thing would be an utter waste. Even then, most of it is only of passing interest, and then only to the people who had fun gathering the material, and to me.

Right now 99.99% of podcasts suck with their repellent production values. They have none. That will change as the geek factor diminishes and the abhorent contents kick in.

A lot of this is eminently forgetable. Some of it, like Slacker Astronomy is good (if you're into astrinomy...)

Re:Podcasting eh..?

[bleckywelcky]

I know you joke, but This Week in Tech will be doing a live broadcast sometime in the near future. TWiT is a conglomeration of old ZDNet / TechTV folks that discuss the latest technology news. I personally think that the production is one of the most professionally done by a group of "hobbyists" (I say "hobbyists" because the podcast is not a production of some company, but most of the people in the podcast have professional video/sound production experience). Having said that, the content gets a bit dull sometimes. They will start off with an interesting subject but sometimes end up in back-and-forth banter. Still, most of it is pretty interesting, even if it mirrors the front page of Slashdot on occasion. They are currently up around their 18th podcast (headed by Leo Laporte), and have plans to meet in a SF Bay area pub/tavern/restaurant to do future tapings. As well, they will be doing their live podcast eventually.