Which Mac Podcasts Do You Listen To?
posted in Macintosh |
Reader Shawn writes to ask about Mac-related podcasts, including MacBreak Weekly and Macworld in his own lineup.
First, a bit of a disclaimer. I rarely listen to Podcasts. One reason is the length. The current episodes of Shawn’s favorites are about 54 and 38 minutes long. That’s a lot of time to spend listening to an audio file during which I’d be lucky to get 5 minutes worth of good information. Another reason is context. If I’m traveling (which is where I get the most out of my iPod), I’ll listen to music mostly as background fodder. Listening to a podcast requires a greater level of attention. Or I’ll watch episodes of Lost or Battlestar Galactica if I’m too tired to read but not to sleep. Yet another reason is quality. If a podcast isn’t really well produced, I’m not going to listen.
ESPN Radio’s PodCenter seems to address many of these issues. Their podcasts feature the network’s on-air talent (podcasts are simply packaged versions of the radio shows), and they are edited down to 10-20 minute segments in many cases. Still, I don’t listen to these either.
That said, for those who like listening to them, here’s a quick list of some Apple or Mac-related podcasts produced by people whose writing I enjoy.
David Pogue of the New York Times has a podcast, and here’s the iTunes link. This is not always about Macs, but David has been a Mac writer for years, and often has very interesting insights, product reviews and analysis.
Jason O’Grady too has been around the Mac universe for a few years. Though his site, PowerPage.org, is now more about mobile technology in general, Jason (who I met at Macworld in New York a few years back) is a Mac guy through-and-through. Here’s his podcast on iTunes (kudos for getting The Tragically Hip to allow their music to be used in this episode… my .mac member name is tragicallyhip).
But if you really want to hear from a variety of Mac sources and a minimum number of podcast subscriptions, check out MacNotables. This is a roster of well-known Mac commentators contributing to a series of podcasts on topics from troubleshooting to product reviews. Adam Engst (publisher of TidBITs), Bob LeVitus (Dr. Mac), and Andy Ihnatko (with fish named Click and Drag, what’s not to love?) are but three of the experts you will hear from here.
Finally, MacVoices is hosted by Chuck Joiner and may very well be able to stake a claim as the longest running Mac podcast there is (when you include it’s previous incarnation called The User Group Report).
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