DaveMason.com
ComputerTalk with Dave Mason
The official archive of all available ComputerTalk with Dave Mason radio shows. Spend some time with Dave. Listen to a full show or explore clips by topic.
3,475 unique clips. Each clip appears in one section. Historical conversations, not current advice. Full episodes remain available separately by date.
364 clips, strongest first.
Once the bills are paid, Professor Bruce says that ten-hour days make time with family the more precious commodity, and Dr. Dave answers that time is ultimately the single component from which life is made.
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Dr. Dave remembers a childhood friend's father as a towering, gruff man surrounded by Great Danes who constantly asked whether the boys believed everything they read. Dr. Dave once heard only negativity; decades later he understands that advertising changes its packaging and distribution, but human persuasion does not. If something must never be seen, his conclusion is simple: do not put it online.
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Dr. Dave explains why he legitimately moved a Windows license after finding the original recovery discs for his laptop. The telephone activation took only a few minutes and ultimately depended on his honest answer, leading Dr. Dave and Evil Steve to agree that most people will tell the truth even though a minority will lie unnecessarily.
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A failed backup-power battery and the usual studio problems lead Dr. Dave and Evil Steve to a simple distinction: trouble happens to everyone, and what matters is the perspective and response brought to the adverse situation.
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A report about changing sunlight measurements reminds Dr. Dave of attending a university presentation with one of his sons. He found it exciting that the researchers openly described what they did not know and how quickly their understanding could change, then draws a personal lesson about common sense, enjoying life and doing good to others.
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Dr. Dave admits that the Internet backbone dispute sounds so foolish that he understands why someone doubted him. Evil Steve objects to dismissing the story without checking, and the brothers land on a simple lesson: think before speaking and verify an unbelievable claim before calling another person an idiot.
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Loyal listener James says he uses his computer but is not in love with it. Dr. Dave immediately calls the distinction brilliant because technology should be a tool rather than something that leads its user around.
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Dr. Dave explains a motive reaching beyond computers and cars: he wants enough evidence to know, not to rely on another person blindly or take wild guesses.
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When a security fix becomes another source of frustration, Dr. Dave describes the need to balance expanding technology with physical, warm and analog parts of life. He connects the idea to antiques, old cars, fountain pens and other hands-on interests.
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Dr. Dave recounts how a top search result told both him and Dr. Dave's son LT that every answer on a color-vision test was wrong. They checked another site, discovered their answers were sound and turned the experience into a memorable warning that even simple online claims deserve confirmation.
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With only days left before Christmas, Evil Steve reminds Dr. Dave and the audience to focus on what they are doing, resist the hectic shopping pressure and enjoy time with family, close friends and loved ones. Dr. Dave immediately turns the sincere advice into a joke about his own recent shopping trip.
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Dr. Dave compares a technology writer’s love of carrying many devices with his own fountain pens, distinguishing the honest pleasure of a hobby from the separate question of whether a tool actually improves productivity.
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Evil Steve recommends Grandparents.com after hearing an advertisement because its ideas bring grandparents and grandchildren together through activities that cost only time.
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A joke about Christmas beginning too early turns serious when Evil Steve says recession-strained charities need food and support. Dr. Dave agrees and points listeners to the Salvation Army link on their website before they return to playful holiday rules.
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Before announcing a fundamental change in his own habits, Dr. Dave says intelligence includes the ability to revise a position and that working at the leading edge requires enough nimbleness to try what might work.
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During a period when markets, politics and news make people feel powerless, Dr. Dave says he can still get up and do his best each day. Computer Talk is built around another controllable part of life: people do not have to be victims of technologists or their devices and can learn to take control of what they use.
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Dr. Dave says a complete human life has physical, intellectual and spiritual dimensions, and that technology can exact a price when it pushes any of them aside. A virtual view of a child's performance may help when someone cannot attend, but it should not quietly become a substitute for being there; his answer is to use technology more intelligently and thoughtfully.
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After reading an angry accusation that he is pretending to be a doctor, Dr. Dave explains that clients and listeners gave him the nickname because he helped sick computers, and says disagreement should address facts rather than attack a person.
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After a caller struggles to persuade a friend, Dr. Dave reflects that seemingly small differences in wording can determine whether a message gets through. He says people often become least careful with those closest to them because they assume family and friends will read between the lines, when the opposite may be true.
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After a difficult Flowing Wells football loss, Dr. Dave praises the effort, looks ahead to Dr. Dave's son Nick's junior and senior seasons and tells the team to keep chugging, showing up and improving because results will come. It is both a family sports moment and a compact expression of persistence.
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After the production computer fails, Dr. Dave says that life is a series of problems and that people live better when they learn to deal with them. He and Evil Steve embrace the chaos, turn failure into a feature and keep the show moving.
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Bob challenges the ridicule of people waiting for a new game console by describing friends sharing coffee and parents turning the night into urban camping with their children. Dr. Dave acknowledges his own relentless schedule, sees the value in stopping to spend time together and says the caller has convinced him.
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A Google Earth discussion reminds Dr. Dave of an argument with his younger son about whether a tree falling unseen in the woods makes a sound and whether observation changes reality. Dr. Dave admits he cannot address the question at the level of quarks but insists the tree cannot know when no one is listening, and the exchange ends with the brothers' atoms-and-Eves wordplay.
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Dr. Dave distinguishes holding a position from surviving long enough to accomplish something with it, arguing that principle and practical effectiveness must be balanced rather than treated as identical.
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Browse by year, then month, to find the episodes from that month.
442 proposed broadcast dates, plus 2 undated entries. Dates are based on archive filenames and may be approximate. Some broadcasts survive as separate parts or incomplete recordings.
