Jump to content

Leo Laporte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromFLOSS Weekly)

Leo Laporte
Photograph of Leo Laporte's head and shoulders. Leo is pictured wearing a patterned shirt. There is a black background and Leo is smiling.
Laporte pictured in 2007
Born(1956-11-29)November 29, 1956(age 67)
New York City,U.S.
Occupations
  • TV and radio presenter
  • podcaster
Known forFoundingTWiT.tv
Notable credits
TelevisionInternet! (PBS), The Site (MSNBC), Call for Help (ZDTV/TechTV), The Screen Savers (ZDTV/TechTV)
Spouses
  • Jennifer Laporte (divorced)
  • Lisa Laporte (m.c. 2015)
Websiteleo.fmEdit this at Wikidata

Leo Laporte(/ləˈpɔːrt/;born November 29, 1956)[1]is the former host ofThe Tech Guyweekly radio show[2]and founder ofTWiT.tv,an Internetpodcastnetwork focusing on technology. He is also a formerTechTVtechnology host (1998–2008) and a technology author. On November 19, 2022, actor, writer, musician, and comedianSteve Martincalled into Laporte's radio show to announce Leo's retirement fromThe Tech Guyradio show.[3]Laporte's last new radio show was December 18, 2022 with reruns for the remainder of the year. Rich DeMuro later appeared on the show to announce that he will be taking over in January with a weekly show, recorded on Saturdays, called "Rich On Tech."[4]

Background

[edit]

Laporte was born in New York City,[5]the son of geologist Leo F. Laporte. He studied Chinese history atYale Universitybefore dropping out in his junior year to pursue a career in radio broadcasting,[6]where his early on-air names were Dave Allen and Dan Hayes.[7]He began his association with computers with his first home computer, anAtari 400.[5]By 1984 he owned aMacintoshand wrote a software review forByte magazine.[8]

Television and radio

[edit]

Laporte has worked on technology-related broadcasting projects, includingDvorak on Computersin January 1991 (co-hosted with technology writerJohn C. Dvorak), andLaporte on ComputersonKGO RadioandKSFOinSan Francisco.[9]

In 1997, Laporte was awarded a Northern CaliforniaEmmyfor his role asDev Null,amotion capturecharacter on theMSNBCshowThe Site.

In 1998, Laporte created and co-hostedThe Screen Savers,[10]and the original version ofCall for Helpon the cable and satellite networkZDTV(laterTechTV).[11]

Laporte hosted the daily television showThe Lab with Leo Laporte,recorded inVancouver,British Columbia,Canada. The program was formerly known asCall for Helpwhen it was recorded in the US andToronto,Ontario,Canada. The series aired onG4 Canada,on theHOW TO Channelin Australia, on several of Canada'sCitytvaffiliates, and onGoogle Video.On March 5, 2008, Laporte confirmed onnet@nitethatThe Lab with Leo Laporte[12]had been canceled byRogers Communications.TheHOW TO Channeldid not air the remaining episodes after it was announced the show had been canceled.[13][14]

He hosted, until December 2022, a weekend technology-orientedtalk radioprogram show titledLeo Laporte:The Tech Guy.The show, started onKFI AM 640(Los Angeles), was syndicated throughPremiere Radio Networks.Laporte appeared on Friday mornings on KFI withBill Handel,and previously on such shows asShowbiz Tonight,[15]Live with Kelly,[16]andWorld News Now.

He holds anamateur radiolicense, W6TWT.

Bibliography

[edit]

Laporte has written technology-oriented books including:

He has published a yearly series of technology almanacs:

Laporte announced in October 2006 that he would not renew his contract withQue Publishing,and had retired from publishing books.

In 2008, Laporte did a voice narration ofAndrew Lang's fableThe True History of Little Golden-hood[17]fromAudible (Amazon),a sponsor.[18]

Podcasting

[edit]

Laporte owns and operates apodcastnetwork,TWiT.tvwith his wife[19]Lisa Laporte. Before the expansion to new facilities in 2011, Laporte said TWiT earnedUS$1.5million (equivalent to $2,030,000 in 2023) annually on a production cost ofUS$350,000(equivalent to $474,000 in 2023).[20]In a 2012Redditposting, he commented that revenue was approachingUS$4million (equivalent to $5,420,000 in 2023).[21]The TWiT studios are located inPetaluma,California,[10]where Laporte lives.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^— (December 4, 2021)."The Tech Guy #1849".TWiT.tv(Podcast). Event occurs at 17:37.RetrievedDecember 31,2021.
  2. ^"Leo Laporte, Your Go-To Gadget Guy".Premiere Networks.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon November 10, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 3,2022.
  3. ^Laporte, Lisa."The Secret Is Out!".TWiT.tv.RetrievedNovember 21,2022.
  4. ^"Rich on Tech | Premiere Networks".premierenetworks.RetrievedDecember 21,2022.
  5. ^ab"Focus On: Leo".G4.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon September 26, 2006.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  6. ^Schwartzman, Eric (1 September 2005)."How to Pitch Leo Laporte of TWiT".On the Record Online Podcast(Podcast).Retrieved31 December2021.
  7. ^TwitLive Broadcast, after hours, 9 December 2008
  8. ^Laporte, Leo (1 December 1984)."Habadex on Apple's Macintosh".Byte.Vol. 9, no. 13. pp. A102–A105.ISSN0360-5280.Retrieved29 October2022– viaInternet Archive.
  9. ^Friess, Steve (October 3, 2006)."Podcasting's Reluctant Evangelist".WIRED.eISSN1078-3148.ISSN1059-1028.OCLC24479723.Archivedfrom the original on November 9, 2020.RetrievedDecember 31,2021.
  10. ^abHiner, Jason (April 19, 2015)."The New Screen Savers: TWiT resurrects the show that launched tech video into the stratosphere".ZDNet.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  11. ^Marriott, Michael (December 21, 2003)."COVER STORY; Plug In, Boot Up, Feel Free to Melt Down".The New York Times.eISSN1553-8095.ISSN0362-4331.OCLC1645522.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2021.RetrievedDecember 31,2021.
  12. ^"The Lab with Leo Laporte".Internet Archive.n.d.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  13. ^Vapor, Matt (March 27, 2008)."Lab with Leo off TV in Australia – Let us See the Remaining Episodes".Matt Vapor's Blog | Advocating Technology for Everyone.Archived fromthe originalon August 4, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  14. ^Vapor, Matt (March 27, 2008)."Response from How-To Channel Australia Regarding The Lab with Leo".Matt Vapor's Blog | Advocating Technology for Everyone.Archived fromthe originalon August 4, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  15. ^Bryant, Karyn;Hammer, A.J.(July 25, 2005). "Man Convicted for Cameron Diaz Nude Photo Scam; Clay Aiken Answers Questions About Charity; iPod Nation: Why Are They So Popular?".Showbiz Tonight.Season 1. Episode 76.CNN.RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
  16. ^"Leoville: Live with Regis and Kelly".January 22, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon March 12, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  17. ^"The Red Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang: THE TRUE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOLDEN HOOD".Archived fromthe originalon January 21, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 21,2015.
  18. ^"this WEEK in TECH 152".TWiT.tv.21 July 2008. Archived fromthe original(XML)on 21 January 2015.Retrieved20 February2023.
  19. ^Danae Ringelmanninterviewed on the TV showTriangulationon theTWiT.tvnetwork
  20. ^Cashmore, Pete(October 3, 2009)."Leo Laporte Makes $1.5Million Per Year from Podcasting ".Mashable.Archivedfrom the original on April 19, 2021.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  21. ^— (2012)."Reddit - /r/IAmA | I am LeoLaporte, ChiefTWiT. AMA! ".Reddit.RetrievedJanuary 1,2022.
  22. ^"TWiT Eastside Studio FAQ".The Official TWiT Wiki.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toLeo Laporte.
Wikiquote has quotations related toLeo Laporte.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_Laporte&oldid=1244385629"