AllThingsD » This Week In Tech

Viral Video: Donkeys Get Lonely on TWiT (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:28:27 +0000

I motored on up north to lovely Petaluma, Calif., on Sunday, to be on Leo Laporte’s most excellent “This Week in Tech” show.

My fellow panelists included Milk’s Kevin Rose, CNET’s Rafe Needleman and all-around good guy Mike Elgan, talking about a wide range of topics, from Google’s music efforts to Rose’s distaste for Amazon’s Kindle Fire to the tech in the latest “Twilight” movie.

Here’s the whole show for your viewing pleasure:

Viral Video: Om Nom Nom Nom

Kara Swisher — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:15:38 +0000

On Sunday, I motored up to Petaluma to be on This Week in Tech, or TWiT, at its new offices. Hosted by Leo Laporte, it’s a roundtable on the news of the week in the digital sector.

The other panelists included GigaOm’s Om Malik, CNET’s Rafe Needleman and Revision3′s Patrick Norton, talking about everything from the 30th anniversary of the IBM PC to electronic tattoos to the patent issues foiling Google (who knew?) to delicious cupcakes not eaten by Om.

Enjoy:

Live From Petaluma: Chief TWiT Leo Laporte Talks About Podcasting Expansion and More!

Kara Swisher — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:47:50 +0000

Right before the Oscars, BoomTown motored up to Petaluma, Calif., a lovely town in Northern California, to be in studio on Leo Laporte’s “This Week in Tech” online show.

(That is him waving from in front of TWiT Global HQ, wearing mouse ears with TWiT logo, his outfit for a party later–click to make image larger.)

TWiT is just one of the more than two dozen online video shows put out by the energetic Laporte via the TWiT Netcast Network, whose expansion has been heartening to see given the programming–though decidedly geeky–is really top-notch.

That’s because, while the shoot-the-breeze about tech tone is there, the smooth-talking and erudite Laporte keeps the conversation lively and, thankfully, civil.

TWiT is all supported by advertising and listener donations, which seems to be going well for Laporte, a longtime Silicon Valley player.

So much so, that he’s moving the operation from the charming but makeshift TWiT Cottage to a bigger facility down the street with tricked-up studios.

Here is Laporte talking about this and more in a video interview with me from his fave spot behind the microphone:

[ See post to watch video ]

Viral Video: "The Whipped Cream Situation" on TWiT

Kara Swisher — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:15:54 +0000

On Sunday, BoomTown tossed my mohawked dog Phineas in the Mini and motored up to lovely Petaluma to appear live and in studio on Leo Laporte’s fine “This Week in Tech” online show.

It was a week full of news–from the about-to-launch Apple iPad to Google taking aim at content farms to the Oscars.

Which is why I wore my Ray-Bans, so stop asking.

The title of this week’s show was due to a story I told about an unfortunate parenting Web snafu I had just experienced when I let my almost nine-year-old son check out Katy Perry’s music video for “California Gurls.”

Let’s just say, I had no idea a whipped-cream bra could exist.

Here’s the video of me, Laporte, as well as Om Malik and Iyaz Akhtar:

BoomTown on TWiT: You Can't Say No to Oprah!

Kara Swisher — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:29:59 +0000

No, you may not, and that’s what I said on Leo Laporte’s terrific “This Week in Tech” online show last Sunday about why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his recent $100 million donation to schools in Newark, New Jersey, on the same day as the splashy Hollywood movie–”The Social Network”–eviscerating him premiered.

Because the powerful television talk show host wanted him on that week, since she was focusing on education reform! And what Oprah Winfrey wants, Oprah Winfrey gets–which is pretty much my motto for life.

Bad timing? Good timing? Whatev–kids in need get a piece of the Silicon Valley wunderkind’s pile of moolah, so I am good with it no matter when Zuckerberg announced it.

Also joining Laporte as guests on the program were tech super-couple Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla and gdgt’s Ryan Block. The show is a lively one.

Topics included were: TechCrunch’s Angelgate (I really have to ignore this faux-controversy now), the alleged Facebook smartphone, China spying on Gmail, making room for new set-top boxes, Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt’s Bing FUD, Zynga’s Farmville panic, brodown throwdown and, of course, the Facebook Movie.

Here’s the full video:

BoomTown's a TWiT: No, Really…

Kara Swisher — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:48:21 +0000

Here’s the belated video of me last week on Leo Laporte’s “This Week in Tech” show.

The other panelists, who talked about a wide range of issues in the digital space–from the Apple (AAPL) iPad to cage-training children–included Baratunde Thurston and Wil Harris.

It was unusually fun and my first time on the show, which took place on Super Bowl Sunday.

Here’s the video:

Is The New York Times Selling About.com? No.

Peter Kafka — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:52:33 +0000

The New York Times (NYT) is in lousy shape, so it needs to sell off About.com, the kind-of-portal, kind-of-blog-aggregator it bought from Primedia in 2005. So says Jason Calacanis, whose Mahalo.com is a kind-of-portal, kind-of-blog-aggregator.

Not true, say two people familiar with the Times and About; they say the paper isn’t shopping the property.

Calacanis, who made the remarks during the most recent This Week In Tech podcast, doesn’t go into much detail about his claim. Gawker has a link to the audio, but here’s the relevant transcript, in its entirety:

They’re going to have sell About. They’ve been trying to sell About.com, from what I understand.”

NYT spokeswoman Catherine Mathis offered up the standard we-don’t-comment-rumors-and-speculation line.

That said, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen at some point in the future. The Times really does need money, and since About.com is both growing and profitable, it may be the most valuable asset the Times now owns.

But that’s exactly why the New York Times would be reluctant to part with it. Like it or not, About.com may well represent the Times’ future.

This isn’t the first time a Web reporter has suggested that About.com is on the block, by the way. I wrote the same thing earlier this year, and I was wrong then.