Talk:Leo Laporte

Please Note: This is not a help page by Leo Laporte. It is an encyclopedic biography. Please do not post tech questions here or leave any messages for Leo. To contact him please go to his website and follow the links.

Not Needed

On the June 6, 2009 live broadcast of the Gillmor Gang, Leo reacted angrily to a line of questions from Michael Arrington of TechCrunch and ended the show early. Leo believed Arrington was questioning whether his review of the Palm Pre would be biased by virtue of Leo having received an early test-unit for review. The livestream of the event was recorded and posted online shortly following the altercation. Within a few hours, the group came back on the air to amicably discuss the situation and the continuation of the show. Whether future shows of the Gillmor Gang will continue to air on the TWiT Netcast Network remains to be determined.

I really dont`think that is needed.

Leo a Buddhist?

I've noticed this page has been added to the "American Buddhists" category. I've never seen that stated before, what's the source?

• I added it after he talked about some Buddist things on MacBreak. His real MySpace page also lists him has a Buddhist. [1]. Considering he studied Chinese History, and that he knows the Chinese language, at least semi-fluently (after he also spoke it on MacBreak), I don't think he's joking about that. - CaptainAmerica 18:47, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks clearing that up.--Weakmassive 17:24, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

His myspace states that he is atheist now... --Handmedown 10:08, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

On a recent Tech Guy he stated that he and his wife were both Unitarian, though he didn't specify Unitarian Church versus Unitarian Universalism (the latter seems more in line with his previous identifications as Buddhist/atheist) StarManta (talk) 19:52, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Don't blank this page

While I agree that a lot of the talk on this page is nonsensical and has nothing to do with the article, simply wiping it out without explanation is not the proper response. Jacqui^★ 00:37, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

What does all the above have to do with the article? --myselfalso 03:58, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Nothing, but there is no reason to blank the page unless it gets too cluttered. It removes the transparency of wikipedia. Doing so will result in reversion. Calwatch 03:04, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

What does it mean when you need to explain? The page is getting cluttered with questions as it is. Adkinsjm

OK I believe it is time to either archive this page or delete the random stuff. it is too cluttered. I feel archiving is a good option with the clearer notices about not posting questions etc... I think this is the way to go. How does everyone think? Mike Beckham 14:23, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Alright I moved all the random stuff to here for now until a decision is finalised . I think it is better just to link to the random page and keep this page for Wikipedia stuff only. Mike Beckham

Giz Wiz

What does this mean?: "Dick DeBartolo (or as Apple calls him D**k)." (near bottom of article) Pepso 12:12, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Leo mentioned this on twit.tv website not sure ... maybe its a joke by them and insiders? Mike Beckham 14:40, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

iTunes Music Store has an automatic profanity filter; thus Dick's name was automatically censored to "D**k"

Criticism: The Dispute

It sounds like that person who's always been trolling Leo Laporte's Show Notes is the same person who's editing the "Criticism". By all mean it is impartial and bias opinion of the "Criticism" author. The entry should be removed from the article and moved to discussion page until resolution can be reached.

Please discuss to resolve the entry below:

Criticism

Laporte has been criticized on Internet blogs and forums for his heavy focus on Apple Computer products, despite their relatively low market share. He is known to be very enthusiastic about Apple products, such as iPods, and frequently recommends Macs as the consumer operating system of choice. In fact, some listeners interpret these comments as Windows bashing. In response he often states that he recommends the operating system "best for a given purpose", such as recommending podcasters use Windows for Adobe Audition. Conversely, however Laporte has been critcized for preference on Windows over Macintosh prior to the Mac OS X era.

I agree, this section is very POV. It doesn't cite any of the Internet blogs and forums that this section talks about. It seems like it's trying to make Leo Laporte out as an Apple fanboy. Fifty | Talk 11:33, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Plus, it's not really a valid criticism (although I'm not sure if that is relevant?). Since Leo is primarily a technology enthusiast, he probably actually should have a preference for a particular OS since most of his listeners do. Aerumna 19:50, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Full name

According to a trademark Laporte filed [2], his middle initial is "G". Should this be included in the article? --Tim 15:35, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Never mind, it's been added to the article now. --Tim1988 ^talk 14:07, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Introduction Section: How is Leo Laporte pronounced like mayo (Layo?)! Could someone please elaborate on this, maybe write the name in phonetics if this is important.--Norsktroll 7 June 2006

You got it. Just like Lay-O. There's a citation there to the Giz Wiz where he talks about it if you want to hear the actual pronunciation.Jasont82 18:10, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

What? He always introduces himself as Lee-o Laporte on his netcasts and radio show. I've never once heard him say Lay-o. —Preceding unsigned comment added by StarManta (talk • contribs) 03:03, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

He did indeed say in one of the GIz Wiz that the proper pronunciation of his name is Lay-o, but he doesn't use it professionally, because nobody would get it right. --Randal L. Schwartz (talk) 00:45, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, found it... at about 9:30 into Daily Giz Wiz 322 --Randal L. Schwartz (talk) 16:50, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Lay-o is the french pronunciation of Leo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.235.199.228 (talk) 21:39, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe that he has said that it has a diacritical marker on it. So it would be Léo. Jccalhoun (talk) 03:08, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I was in Leo's chat room and someone asked if it was his birthday so I cut and pasted the name and birthday from the wikipage that say Leopold and Leo saw it and said his name wasn't Leopold. 98.223.178.41 (talk) 18:24, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I've added an acute accent to the 'e' in 'Leo' as I heard him saying that the reason the logo on his 'Léoville' website has an accent is because that is how his name is properly spelled, as technically his name is pronounced 'Lay-o'. Conrad1on (talk) 14:57, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Use of Quotes

In the section where it talks about Steve Gibson why is computer engineer in quotes?

In August 2005, Laporte created the podcast Security Now! with "computer engineer" Steve Gibson, which is dedicated exclusively to security in technology.

Is he or is he not an actual engineer? His bio says he studied electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley.

Ironcorona 02:26, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Because for some reason, alot of people don't like him. That should be reverted. --Falcorian ^(talk) 03:03, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I couldn't find any evidence that Gibson holds an Engineer's degree, that might be quite a legitimate reason for the quotes. List of University of California, Berkeley alumni says "attended", but does not mention any academic degree. Once we're sure about that one way or the other, the fact should probably be explictly mentioned in the Steve Gibson article to avoid such misunderstandings in the future. --Ministry of Truth 04:35, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

cleanup-tone-header still justified in the podcast section ?

What problems remain in the podcast section to justify the cleanup-tone-header ? I don't see any and contemplate to remove it. --Ministry of Truth 04:42, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

It is all written incorrectly with huge gaps and dates starting out like a bullet point list. It needs to be rewritten as it was before being reverted by a anoymous user but better and more like a Encyclopedia entry and NOT a timeline like it is Mike Beckham 05:22, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

What version do you have in mind ? I think a slightly compacted, bulleted list might be quite appropriate unless there was some relevant content to be added about the different podcasts. --Ministry of Truth 10:19, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

If you want to do that just bullet point list them without a description and link to their own articles. - Mike Beckham 21:20, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Steve Gibson is a Computer Engineer?

I'd like to propose that the person who Leo Laporte does his shows with, Steve Gibson, be listed as that. Steve Gibson, and not "computer engineer Steve Gibson", "IT expert Steve Gibson", "a small pony called Steve Gibson" or anything else that Steve Gibson isn't.

Gibson is a radio DJ, not a computer engineer. I'm putting this suggestion to dicussion first to ensure that the howls of "troll" can get thrown before we wind up playing tug o war with the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by User:Elomis (talk • contribs)

Well arent you nice. He is classed as an "IT Expert" whether you agree or not and any damaging changes to the article will be reverted and vandalism tags will be added to offending persons talk pages. - Mike Beckham 05:42, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

What credentials or qualifications do you need to be classified as an "IT expert"? He's a computer engineer which is more technically accurate.

It's not whether or not I agree or don't that makes him an IT expert, I guess it's widely down to education, professional experience as an computer engineer, personal achievements in the industry or any other sensible, objective assessment. Mike, threatening me with vandal tags and knee-jerk reverts is not concerning; I did the right thing by raising it here, it's useless to point out what you'll do if I don't do the right thing. Steve has no formal (or informal) education or qualifications in information technology and has not personally produced any information technology goods or services. He IS however a DJ because despite formal training or education in being a DJ, he has produced a radio show.

Elomis 05:10, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I think Steve Gibson would qualify himself more of a software (as opposed to a computer) engineer. Gibson's primary job is writing software which he sells through his company, GRC. His appearances on radio, tv, and podcasts have always had an undercurrent of advertising for his commericial software products. Since writing software is his main "thing", referring to him as a software engineer in this article seems very appropriate to me. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 22:36, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with ShinmaWa, and you could also call him "security expert". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by RProgrammer (talk • contribs) 06:25, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

Elomis said Steve "has not personally produced any information technology goods or services". He created Spinrite, one of the oldest and best hard drive maintenance programs available and has developed applications and services available from his website GRC.COM such as Shields Up. I'm curious why these would not qualify as 'IT goods and services'? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rhinehold (talk • contribs) 19:28, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

this WEEK in TECH

Is is appropriate to refer to the this week in tech podcast/netcast as a "franchise"? That seems to imply some sort of licensing of content. Yavoh 01:40, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Que Publishing and Books

Did Leo "seize" production or "cease" production? Yavoh 17:53, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

• "Seize" is to take by force, "cease" is to halt.. so....CaptainAmerica 23:25, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Yeah, still a little ambiguous. I guess it's up to whoever wrote that in the first place. Yavoh 03:02, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
    • Judging by comments Leo made on his KFI show a few months back, I'd guess "cease", but since he DID mention publishing it on the web (has an eBook, maybe?), then he could be "seizing" production away from Que. Still, its odd wording. I would vote that the editor who added that meant "cease" and their spellchecker redirected them to "seize". - CaptainAmerica 23:11, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Offsetting bandwidth

"To offset the bandwidth for this show, bandwidth is provided by AOL." This sounds like a commercial. BTW, who does Mr. Laporte's hair? Memobug 04:26, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

• "Leo's clothing is provided by, Dockers, clothing, for men." I see your point, I'll try to reword that bit. - CaptainAmerica 06:57, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Birthday Triva

I'm against the adding of the two birthday's because they in no way relate to the article. If they were tech related, I can see how they would fit, but there are hundreds of birthdays that meet the criteria of happening on the same date. Also, since they're easily found by click on the date article, I see no reason to re-list them. --Falcorian ^(talk) 07:36, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree, it only seems one user wants this information included. I would warn that user that he/she is breaking the 3RR by reverting it back. This can result in blocking of the account. - Mike Beckham 09:08, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Podcast vs Netcast

It would be nice to be consistent with the use of podcast/netcast so as not to confuse readers. TWiT is referred to as a "netcast network" while the individual shows are referred to as podcasts. This also applies to other TWiT related articles. As long as the note about his objection to the term is maintained, would anyone have a problem with using "podcast" everywhere else? --Zarek 00:56, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Can you show me where the individual shows are referred to as podcasts? I don't see any evidence of that. They may occasionally use the word podcast (when it relates to something involving a 3rd party) but I don't see any promotion indicating that the shows are podcasts.--Crossmr 00:13, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

And in fact, digging through the history it appears this was changed by an IP responsible for vandalism. Declaring their edit as "grammar changes" but often included making living people dead in their edits, as seen here [3].--Crossmr 00:19, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

I wasn't referring to use on the network, only within this article. I don't have an opinion as to which we should use, only that it should be consistent. --Zarek 00:46, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Ah okay. I'll have another look at the section.--Crossmr 13:17, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

This has turned into an interesting, and kind of fun, turf war over the the heading of the Podcast / Netcast section. The name of that poor heading switches every time I turn my head. :-) In reality, let's face it, I'm pretty sure that Leo is the only one who's effectively using the word "Netcast," right? And the question becomes, should the shows be identified with the word that Leo prefers ("Netcast") or the more common "Podcast." I respect his attempts to try to label them as he wants them labeled, while also bowing the aim of Wiki to be clear to all. That's why I added the note explaining the origin of the word "Netcast" and I also changed the heading to "Podcasts / Netcasts." Granted, that's not the most elegant heading, but I thought it settled both issues. Perhaps, uh, I was naive, as I see the heading has once again reverted to the single word, Podcast.... As the Wiki turns... :-) Drhundertwasser 18:12, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia has a long tradition of going with the preferred term/spelling/etc of the subject. American articles get american spelling, products get special spellings of words if they use them, etc. Since this is the article about Leo, there is no reason the word that he uses and places on the website shouldn't be used. --Crossmr 04:51, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Countdown to Vista

I don't ever recall Windows Weekly being called this...

--Handmedown 10:04, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Added reference about dropping out of Yale

I've added a reference to the the sentence "Laporte studied Chinese History at Yale University but did not earn a degree." In the On the Record... podcast with Laporte, he says "And I don't have a degree, I never did graduate. I dropped out in my junior year -- forgoing my great future in Chinese studies for a future in broadcasting."--Weakmassive 15:09, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

For some reason this was deleted, I added it back in. 193.63.173.241 (talk) 12:40, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I added this back in, it was removed. I think its a pretty important clarification and someone is whitewashing the article. Rcurtis5 (talk) 18:24, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

/* Citation for advertisement value */

TWiT was given an estimated advertisement value of USD$1,000,000 a year. I'm guessing they got that info from here: http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/worth.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twit.tv - (Unregistered) 06:38, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Image?

I noticed the previous image was just deleted. If someone wants an image, I grant cc-by-sa for http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/Pictures/Trips/2006/06-10-MacMania5/Day-1-Set-Sail/image191.jpg. --Randal L. Schwartz 02:19, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Stereoblind

Leo mentioned on Crankygeeks 59 that he can only see out of one eye at a time. Is this legitimate? Research on finding out about this condition indicates that it may be called "stereoblindness." Should this be added in some fashion? Vagabond997 23:57, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Infobox

The way the infobox is currently setup would lead some one in to believing that the KFI show is on TechTV or the how to channle. --Bob12321 06:41, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Canadian television personality?

I noticed this page is categorized under Canadian television personality. As far as I know, Leo does not have a Canadian citizenship so should it be removed? NorthernThunder (talk) 14:20, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

That may refer to the fact that he's on Canadian TV, not that he is a Canadian Citizen on TV.--Crossmr (talk) 21:44, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Politics

I notice that there is somebody who is continually trying to add a section on political beliefs that Laporte may hold. This really doesn't matter to the article at all. He isn't known for politics and it should not be in the article. Tbone2001 has been correct in removing this material. David Reiss (talk) 03:05, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Laporte's political views are a valid entry to this article. The fact that he has made comments and given opinion on political issues such as the RIAA, the EFF, Copyright and DRM issues, Net Neutrality etc means that Leo himself has willingly entered public scrutiny on this issue.

Leo's comments were made publicly so I do not see any problem with them being added to this article.

Laporte has a public responsibility when making statements as his opinion carries weight and if he is applying political bias into his programming (particularly at a fundamental level like when selecting guests for his show), then in the interests of full disclosure he should make his opinions known.

I qualify myself in this regard as a Laporte fan who listens to TWIT with no plans of stopping. I also donate monthly to TWIT and have done so for the last year or more. Also my own political views overlap with Laporte's in many areas and I do not necessarily disagree with him on these particular issues. I did find Leo's comments disappointing, however instead of covering them up I believe it is important to concede that no one is perfect and to simply include this information when evaluating Laporte's opinions in future.

I would not expect to see this article removed again (unless there are more fanboys who don't care about public interests) and if Laporte were to make any future political statements that these would be included as an addition to this article. (Battereddonkey (talk) 10:40, 7 March 2009 (UTC))

At least four separate people disagree with you on this issue. This is not something should be in the article for the simple fact that Laporte is not a politician. If people want to know his personal political views, they can visit his web pages. His political views are not anymore encyclopedic in nature than any other non-politicians. David Reiss (talk) 20:12, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

June 6, 2009 on Gillmor Gang

Howcheng removed the paragraph about the incident on the June 6, 2009 live broadcast of the Gillmor Gang. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_Laporte&diff=294922389&oldid=294919048

Since the paragraph was factual (but no citation given) and possibly relevant to his career, why was the paragraph removed? Any discussion about this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.209.24.154 (talk) 23:14, 7 June 2009 (UTC)