The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
I am constantly amazed by the stuff I can find on the Internet. Almost every time I log on, I can find something new to read, a new video to watch, or something to listen to. Start with podcasting. I hit onto podcasting almost as soon as shows started appearing online. I found a few podcasts to subscribe to and constantly had new content on my iPod to listen to as I walked to work. I would start my computer and plug in my iPod, letting the new stuff download as I showered. I never knew what I might find. If you simply cruise through the podcast directory on iTunes, you will find literally thousands of shows that you can subscribe to and listen to, all for free. From geek shows about computers and cameras, to food tips and new recipes, history, chess, comedians, education, lectures of all kinds by the hundreds, business information, games cheats, content for kids, sermons, and TV trivia. I've also started subscribing to a few shows posted by CBC and the BBC. While I have access to these shows on the radio, I was never able to catch them, so I use podcasts like TIVO, saving the content until I have time to listen. When I am looking for something completely new, I usually head back to iTunes and the online radio stations that are listed. I remember being a kid on long car trips with my parents and taking over the radio and searching the AM dial for whatever I could find. I was constantly astounded on cold winter nights to be picking up stations from all across the U.S. and Canada, and I always had to get my dad to tell me where some of these far away places were located, having never heard of many of them. Now, through the magic of the Internet, I regularly stream stations from across Europe, Asia, and even Africa if I am looking for something really different. Thinking about time differences again, I can pick up radio stations from Europe in the middle of the day in North America, allowing me to listen to the hit lists on their evening programs in the middle of the day in North America. There is always something new and something interesting, and best of all, all of this content is absolutely free. You can download hundreds of different programs, try them out, find the ones you like, and simply toss the rest Ð disposable content with no worries about having to recycle. On a side note, there is something online that you absolutely need to see. YouTube, the video site that anyone can post videos to, has a new hit star, and he is 87 years old. People around the globe are flocking by the thousands to see and listen to Peter, a regular guy who has one of his grandchildren posting videos of him recounting events from his life online for others to watch. Peter simply talks to the camera, telling stories of his life, his marriage, and his children. He talks for 10-15 minutes, all with his eyes closed, about his life in the 1930s and 40,s about everything his young family went through as they struggled to make a life together. There are thousands of people every day who watch his videos and hundreds of comments posted. New videos are posted every few days and they are well worth your time. The value of content produced by amateurs. ([email protected]) Tech Notes runs Mondays.
