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.
While joking about selling a briefcase, Dr. Dave and Evil Steve encourage listeners to donate good furniture and belongings that have sat unused for years, freeing their own homes while helping families who need them and letting the objects be enjoyed again.
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A report says wireless networking has passed wired Ethernet, but Dr. Dave immediately notices that the percentages exceed one hundred. The article’s explanation is reasonable, yet the brothers use the moment to demonstrate why every statistic and technology claim deserves a discerning eye.
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Instead of complaining that Christmas begins too soon and then wondering where it went, Dr. Dave decides to embrace the earlier season, asking what is harmed by a little more kindness, anticipation and enjoyment.
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Dr. Dave moves from distracting browser panels to a larger rule for focused work: schedule email rather than living inside it, begin the morning with something productive and admit how interruptions damage concentration. He includes himself among the people who overestimate their ability to multitask.
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Recession-free jokes become a sincere suggestion that anxiety and inward fear can ease when a person makes an intelligent contribution to the Salvation Army, Red Cross or another person, even when resources feel tight.
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When friends say they have stopped following the news, Dr. Dave and Evil Steve discuss taking breaks, resisting passive absorption and using reports as leads for deciding how to act rather than accepting every explanation offered with them.
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Dr. Dave admits that skepticism is ingrained in him. Even when he wants to accept something, his mind immediately asks “what if?” and whether it is too good to be true—a compact and revealing description of the instinct behind his on-air analysis and consulting judgment.
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A history website leads Dr. Dave and Evil Steve to argue that political conflict often survives because people do not know the underlying history. Dr. Dave says nearly everything he knows was learned after school and describes the pleasure of continuing to pursue facts voraciously.
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Wireless planning leads to what Dr. Dave taught his children about researching claims. Personal conclusion is outside retrieval hits; this is practical skepticism, not router promotion.
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Returning to his changed view of Twitter, Dr. Dave says he would rather be right by admitting an error than stay wrong, then explains that his work is continually uncovering information meant to help people at their computers and in everyday life.
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During the frightening financial and political news of September 2008, Dr. Dave refuses false reassurance: the situation is scary and every country faces challenges. Yet he believes Americans can work through it, admits that his own show feels fear too and chooses not to let constant negative coverage become paralysis.
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A discussion of whether the Internet is good enough develops into Evil Steve’s woodworking, maintenance and the effort behind worthwhile things, with Dr. Dave applying the point to choices and responsibility. Retain the brothers’ interaction and qualifications.
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Dr. Dave repeats his rule that any email should be safe for anyone, including one’s mother, to read and adds that a message written in anger should remain unsent until the writer can return with a clear head. Evil Steve then points out that their guest cannot recall his interview because it is permanently recorded in the show archive.
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Dr. Dave and Evil Steve explain why football, racing and other interests belong on Computer Talk: they have lives beyond keyboards and screens, and a balanced life makes the program more human. At the same time, they recognize that technology has entered nearly every ordinary activity, even ordering a pizza.
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The brothers admit that channel surfing can leave them watching nothing, then hope that reducing television means not simply moving to another screen but spending more time in three-dimensional, human-to-human life.
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Evil Steve explains why he does not keep a computer at home despite working around technology all day. The brothers argue that constant access can make people feel enslaved and that stepping away leaves room for ordinary responsibilities, hobbies and a life outside the screen.
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A discussion of impatient expectations for Washington turns to Mike Ditka’s early promise that belief and three years could carry the Bears to the Super Bowl, prompting Dr. Dave to wonder whether modern coaches receive enough time to build.
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Tired of technology whose main promise is another screen for entertainment, Dr. Dave remembers limiting his sons' game and computer time. They also needed to climb trees, get dirty, face the neighbor's dog and live their own lives rather than only watch recordings of other people living theirs—a principle he extends to adults as well.
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Dr. Dave credits Evil Steve with teaching him that calm, lawful driving removes the need to watch constantly for police, then compares that relief with owning legitimate software that can be updated and supported. He challenges resentment toward a successful creator by asking why producing something useful should be less worthy of payment than anyone else’s work.
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After a difficult malware call, Dr. Dave broadens the lesson beyond computers: good behavior and protection matter, but nothing guarantees perfect safety, so people should minimize risk and prepare to respond when prevention fails.
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Darwin’s real workplace experience leads Dr. Dave to balance reasonable expectations of users with basic responsibilities. Proposed mandatory licensing is discussed skeptically and contrasted with the show’s own educational role.
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Dr. Dave says people have every right to like what they like, but he wants the choice to come from a thoughtful reason—the size, sound, color or experience that genuinely suits them—not merely because someone else owns it. His self-described rational contrarianism separates a useful product from the identity or status people project onto it.
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Listener disagreements about things Dr. Dave never said lead him and Evil Steve to a wry observation that human beings often miscommunicate more than they communicate.
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A dubious medical claim forwarded by a friend gives Dr. Dave a rule that he applies to email, radio and television alike: familiarity of source is not evidence, so verify before believing or repeating it.
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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.
