Things I Like... Part 1 of X
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 9:45PM
Matthew Kopelke in Personal

In an attempt to distract myself from the misery that is the 2010 Federal Election, I thought it might be interesting / fun (depends how you define those two words, I guess!) to write up a list of the various podcasts / web sites I visit several times a week, and my reasons for doing so. If nothing else, it might help you in broadening your vision about what is available out there, or even more simply give you a better insight into me as a person. The latter of which could be quite a scary prospect! So, in no particular order, here is THE LIST:

The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte

 

If you are in any way interested in tech, this has to be your go-to web site for all the best tech podcasts out there. Sure, Leo's constant need to talk over his guests / cohosts can be a right royal pain, and his pro-Mac tendancies do grate with me as a PC guy, but the fact is that Leo has taken his TechTV Days obsession into what has proven to be very fertile ground with an endless series of excellent podcast offerings, such as my personal favourites This Week in Tech, Windows Weekly, The Daily Giz Wiz, and Tech News Today. Oh, and the TWiT Cottage has to be the single coolest place to visit in North America!

Engadget

Following on from the previous entry, Josh Topolsky and his team at Engadget are easily the single best web site out there for anyone interested in gadgets or technology. Quite aside from the excellent reportage, the right-angle humour of the site is to die for. The best example of this is the weekly Engadget Podcast, which simply has to be heard to be believed. Easily the single best podcast out there at present, and with some great humour and jokes included, this is something I love listening to each Sunday morning (along with the above Windows Weekly podcast). As well as this, their monthly Engadget Show podcast is an excellent example of how the media is being slowly democratised, and indy producers are creating excellent content the mainstream media would never touch. Totally worth 80 minutes of your time each and every month.

Crikey

2010 has so far proven one thing - it's that the mainstream media, including the ABC, really do suck. Big time. I am finding it increasingly difficult to believe anything that is reported in any of the major newspapers, on-line portals, or TV networks. Thankfully, there is but one bastion in this entire sea of stupidity and anti-ALP fervor. And that is Crikey. Even if you are not totally into great independent journalism, there are two reasons to take out a Crikey subscription. One is Bernard Keane's excellent articles on the latest polly shenanigans in Canberra, and the totally Double Rainbow All The Way Across The Sky cartoons of First Dog On The Moon. That is by no means a complete list, but there is simply too much awesome at Crikey to list everything. Just go get yourself a subscription, and you will honestly never regret it.

Well, that's a pretty decent start. It certainly helps to show off a little bit about what makes me, well, me. More links to come in future posts...!

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