Podcasts: Ragequit some stuff this weekend

So, Buzz Out Loud ended this past week, which sucks considering I only discovered it last month when I started using Doggcatcher as my go-to podcast reader (I'm aware of the term 'podcatcher' and its symmetry with 'podcaster,'  I just think it's a terrible word.)

So, I had to go in and remove BoL from my subscription list.  While I was in there, I the following subscriptions for the following reasons:

  • Mintcast -- This is actually a really good Linux podcast; they do news around new Linux distros, the latest in the Gnome/Cinnamon schism from the Linux Mint team, and general sys-admin-y stuff.  Nothing wrong with the cast itself, other than it's middle age sys-admin guys talking about linux
  • Linux Outlaws -- This one hurt.  I've listened to Linux Outlaws for almost a year now--started right after I got my Atrix.  The issue I have is the main creative force behind the show--Fabian Scherchel--has moved on.  He's acting like he hasn't, but he's really been phoning-in the podcasts lately.  His co-host, Dan Lynch, is the ever-present straight-man and I still subscribe to his RatholeRadio podcast, but LO is don't for me.
  • NPR Culturtopia -- Once I discovered that Pop Culture Happy Hour had its own podcast link, random stories from Netta Ulabe (sp?) became superfluous.  PCHH is my favorite podcast--bar none--and it's a welcome change from my normal diet of tech, tech, programming, nerd, tech stuff.

Current subscriptions remaining:
  • TWiT --> Leo Laporte and John Dvorak bloviating for 1 1/2 hours.  Rarely listen to the whole thing.  It's on the bubble
  • This American Life.  Best-produced program out there, period.  Not always interesting, but engaging and educational
  • APM: Tales from Lake Woebegone.  Rarely listen to this anymore; since his stroke, Garrison doesn't seem to be putting much into this.  On the bubble.
  • APM: Marketplace Tech Report.  2 Minute segments, which is 1 minute less than my attention span for such things
  • How Was Your Week with Julie Klausner.  Funny.  I usually enjoy it, thought it's bluer than necessary and downright turn-it-off raunchy at intervals.
  • NPR Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  Yeah, I'm an NPR/news nerd.  Sue me
  • Pragmatic Podcasts.  Seems like they're not publishing these anymore.
  • Rathole Radio.  As mentioned above, ecclectic mix of music from Dan Lynch.  Good to VERY Good.
  • Software Engineering Radio Podcast.  Another podcast that I seem to have caught at the end of its run.  They've been absorbed by IEEE radio and new content seems sparse.
  • Sourcetrunk.  Great show by a Hollander who reviews OSS by looking at it and its sourcecode/design.  VERY good, with a nice European twist.
  • Stuff You Missed in History Class.  Hasn't been the same since Katie Lambert left, but good content and interesting.  Could use tighter editing on some topics, though.
  • The Moth Podcast.  LOVE, Love, love these honest, unscripted tales from real people and celebrities told in < 10 minutes with no Powerpoint, no notes, nothing but you and a microphone.   I've laughed, cried, and cheered listening to these.
  • The Nerdist.  Without a doubt, the funniest, filthiest thing on my list.  These guys interview entertainment industry folk and they get REAL with them.  Lots of behind-the-baseball items.   The interview with the voices of Pinky and the Brain is my favorite so far.
  • Java Posse.  If you're a developer looking to get to the next level, FOLLOW THESE GUYS.  They're top-notch devs from Google, Netflix, etc. and they're tracking the pulse of the industry.
Lastly, a reason I tailed off on some of my Linux podcasts....I have this feeling that Linux is hopelessly fragmented and it's turning into a bunch of developers and server-side guys who happen to kick along with sub-par desktop environments & applications.  It seems like the rest of the industry has moved on:  Unable to tackle linux/GNU directly, stuff's gone to the cloud and mobile.  I doubt my children will even have a "Personal Computer" as we know it today, instead they'll have personal devices from palm tablets (we call them 'smartphones' today) through things like the forthcoming Chromebook with days of battery life.  

Linux and personal computer hobbyists don't play anywhere in that mix, and I think that's unfortunate.  It feels like we're regressing to the mainframe days, or perhaps the vision of MULTICS as it was pitched--utility computing sold by metering.   We're largely there--metered data plans, metered API usage, metered compute resource via Amazon EC2.   Ironically, the thing powering all this stuff is Linux, while the desktop/mobile is ceded to MacOS (read: Mach + BSD + Proprietary) and Windows NT-derived kernels.

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