A quick synopsis of online computer-related audio. I filled out a questionnaire for IT Conversations, and they asked about some other sites (ie, which of these do you listen to? Answer: none of them!), so I thought I’d check ’em out. Some of them are completely new to me…some I’m heard of, but never tried.

CNET Radio Direct: Wants me to install CNET Download Manager. Not! Some stuff also available as streaming only from news.com…no joy. That’s my LAST preference. Plus, the info looks strongly marketing-ish only. Decision: Pass.

WebTalk Guys: Hmm….lessee. Ah, good…they provide on-demand MP3 downloads. (FWIW…I call on-demand download of almost any non-DRM’d format ok…I prefer MP3, but I can transcode most stuff as long as it’s not locked up.) Weeell…it’s not BAD…but a little weak on real tech content. I mean, compare IT Conversations interview on Agile Software Development to “Presidential Candidates Speed Up Their Sites”. But there’s probably some stuff worth listening to here…I’ll have to trawl through and find the good stuff. Decision: More Review

O’Donnell on Technology: Web archives of the “the #1-rated consumer-oriented call-in computer talk show broadcast throughout Silicon Valley and the entire Northern California Area”. O…kay. The archives are in a mix of formats (RA, WMA, now MP3…yay!)…there are no synopses that I see, so I’ll have to d/l a couple to check them out. Decision: More Review

KenRadio: (hey…like the name!) Eh…looks pretty glib at first glance, plus streaming only. Probably not worth the effort. Decision: Pass

Into Tomorrow: “THE listener interactive network radio show covering the latest in Consumer Electronics and Technology” (not really what I’m looking for…plus, the homepage is a Dreamweaver-built, no real text, spacer-pixel-gif built monstrosity). Hmm…archives do have MP3s, though…I’ll drop a couple on my iPaq and see how they fly. Decision: More Review

Computer America: Oooh boy. Another talk radio show, and the geekness factor looks quite low. But the archives are MP3, so I’ll at least give it a try. Decision: More Review

So far, nothing appears to come close to IT Conversations. But it’s always good to have choices!

Did I use “very good” enough in that last post? Sheesh. I’m losing it!

I’ve been listening to audio from IT Conversations recently on the way to work (on my MP3 player); some very good stuff. Today I listened to an interview with Alistair Cockburn on Agile Software Development. A very good interview…I look forward to his new book (Crystal Clear). Another good interview I listened to recently was by Paul Graham (author of A Plan for Spam, among many other excellent essays).

I can’t recommend IT Conversations highly enough. Very good info, in a compact format that I can listen to in my “spare time”. Excellent!

REpresentational State Transfer, that is. Paul Prescod has good starting links, if you’re interested.

LOL! Excellent!

Dang. The Python developers at MEMS Exchange rock! Quixote, their web development framework, is excellent; now they add on Durus, a persistent object system, similar in spirit to the standalone ZODB, but streamlined for ease of use outside of Zope. (ZODB can be used w/o Zope, but Durus appears to be a little more straightforward. In ZODB’s defence, it’s PRETTY straightforward…and completely transparent when used through Zope. [it’s the Zope backend]).

Also…I haven’t actually installed Durus yet…but the Quixote guys make good stuff. I have high hopes. Again…thanks!! This solves one of my last remaining “issues” (multi-client connection) with moving large amounts of “stuff” to Quixote and/or ZODB (now Durus). Joy.

Check ExxonSecrets.Org out. Regardless of your opinions on the matter, it’s a fascinating tool to display (and build) interrelationships. It’s being used here specifically to illuminate ExxonMobil and anti-environmentalist groups funded/associated with them…but the framework could be used for LOTS of stuff. Very interesting tech.

The Living Room Candidate has the presidential campaign commercials from 1952 to 2004. Excellent! I love this sort of stuff.

Thanks to Arlen, via Boing Boing.

Join the Digital Television Liberation Front!: Today, you can use any device you like with your television: VCR, TiVo, DVD recorder, home theater receiver, or a PC combining these functions and more. A year from now, when the FCC’s broadcast flag mandate takes effect, some of those capabilities will be forbidden. … The good news is this mandate doesn’t take effect for another year. We have until July 1, 2005, to buy, build, and sell fully-capable, non-flag-compliant HDTV receivers. (via Boing Boing)

Java 1.5 Is Dead…long live Java 5.0.: “Why can’t people who market software count? … It appears that the defining attribute of open source software is a predictable versioning scheme.”