Cranky Geeks

Having listened to the first episode of Cranky Geeks on my way into work today, I have some thoughts to share.

Dvorak is his typical self, which is fine, I actually enjoy listening to him on Twit podcasts. He's accompanied by a group of knowledgeable panelists. The topics, though not exactly compelling, are at least interesting. My biggest gripe is the commercials. A thirty-minute episode is interrupted four times with commercial breaks (that's every 7.5 minutes, worse than broadcast television). While the commercial spots are mostly to promote other Ziff-Davis podcasts, they could as easily have done so without formal commercial interruptions. One of the reasons I listen to podcasts instead of FM Radio is to eliminate commercial chatter.

We should anticipate, I suppose, that with the ever increasing popularity of podcasts, it wouldn't be long before they are no longer free. The large conglomerates, especially, must find some way to monetize their podcasts. ABC News does it with a brief "brought to you by" announcement at the beginning and a formal twenty-second spot at the end of each podcast. I guess we can do nothing but adapt or avoid.

Having said all that, Cranky Geeks is still worth sampling. Just keep your fast-forward finger limbered up.

Joe