thelinuxlink.net

Due to a lull in Linux-based Netcasts over the weekend, I had to drive around yesterday without a new linux show on my music player. It was a horrible experience. There's only one classical radio station that carries music I like, and it was playing Pachabel's Kanon, which we all have heard too many times because you hear it at just about every wedding you attend, NPR had Native News Hour, which I'm not wild about, and talk radio had nothing for me, either. I finally ended up just sitting there in silence, wasting a good 30 minutes that could have been spent picking up some linux knowledge.

I sorely missed my linux shows, and may have to add a few to the list to make sure that never happens again. Dreadful.

You might broaden your horizons a little - there are ton's of good and useful podcasts out there that aren't about linux.

I usually listen to podcasts driving to/from work (55 miles each way). On Mondays I usually listen to the shows that are released over the weekend (lottalinuxlinks, The Linux Action Show, Security Now). I do listen to some non techie podcasts (Slice of Sci-Fi, Soccer, Paranormal).

I was thinking more about how radio just can't possibly compare to a portable media player. It will never be able to give me the content and selection of music I can get from the Internet.

Yeah, I also have some other non-techie podcasts I listen to, but then I cut back because I couldn't get to all of them. A friend of mine from England mentioned the Chris Moyles Show, there are some philosophy and political shows I occasionally listen to, as well, though I don't have them queued up in my podcatcher like my linux shows, so I have to actively seek them out. May have to subscribe to those again.

I think OTH is about the only not-strictly-technical podcast I listen to. I used to listen to a few, but like you say I only have enough time for so many podcasts. I generally download more than the ones I listen to regularly so I have backup material in case one of my regulars takes a week off - In The Trenches, for instance, has been on an irregular schedule recently, so I started listening to more Casting From The Server Room.

Vogateer wrote:I was thinking more about how radio just can't possibly compare to a portable media player. It will never be able to give me the content and selection of music I can get from the Internet.

I totally agree. I can't stand listening to broadcast radio anymore. The only way I can tolerate it if it's background noise while doing other things. While doing painting in the mancave I found myself keeping track of how many times a particular song was played.

You'd almost feel sorry for them for not being able to compete, except that they're mostly owned by Clearchannel now and have done nothing to peak my interest in music in years. There's a classical station here that's the exception to the rule, but I hate listening to classical music in the car. I want to hear nuance, dynamics, and soundstage in my classical music; but with road noise and the compression that's necessary for radio, you miss out on a lot. Nonetheless, the classical station is one of the very few stations where I actually hear from artists and composers I've not known about previously, both past and present, and you do NOT hear the same music once an hour, if once a week, even.

Pop radio is a total loss for me. Nothing there at all.

I never listen to the radio anymore either, except for some NPR from time to time. If you are looking for something else podcast-wise to listen to, I recommend checking out some of the free audio books at podiobooks.com. Lots of good stuff there.