We love the show:). The only T.V. program, that has been able to get me off the pc. Can’t believe we never tuned in, till about a month ago. Being a boomers ourselves (“71″), have found another addiction:) GREAT SHOW!

wow you graduated in ’73? i was born in ’73. now doesn’t that make you feel old. to know that i am going on 28 and could have been your son!!!!!! wow, that is amazing. i guess i didn’t luck out. oh well life gave me a lemon and i made lemonade. probably a good idea to take down that last post. it was gaining a life of it’s own. i thought that he was kind of nice to erica hill and michaela. though he could have been a little nicer than to say that can’t adlib. i want to know how you feel about the B.C. comic strip being pulled from newspapers i know it ain’t tech talk. however, still a hot topic.

This is ?????? Please someone clue me in

Thanks

Leo writes:

I took down that last post because it was just a little too dark. Sometimes I think blogging takes the place of a shrink. It’s cheaper anyway. I really appreciate all the kind feedback and emails I received in response. I’m over it, thanks to you. No more drama.

Meanwhile, quite the buzz around TechTV about the article on our site posted by a disgruntled former employee. Guess someone forgot to cancel his VPN account and he wrote a scathing piece on the “top ten reasons why TechTV will be out of money by next year.” He was very kind to me but not so nice to others at the channel. For example:

“TV people are in general more stupid, shallow and less pleasant professionally than anyone I’ve ever worked with. I think this is because of the medium they work in – which by its very nature is superficial, stimulating without being intellectual, and sometimes outright boring. They don’t call it the boob tube for nothing. I just wish the boobs had stayed away from TechTV.”

A few sharp eyed viewers caught the page before it was taken down. I imagine the text will surface somewhere but I don’t dare post it here. Meanwhile it’s being passed around TechTV with lots of surreptitious looks. What a hoot.

You can see a copy of the post here “www.techtvfanatics.com/news.shtml#newsitem987555141,38270,”

note… click on my name to follow the link

it sound like the surf guru wrote this.

On “Inside the Actor’s Studio” (Bravo, cable) Alan Alda was giving advice to young actors as they learned their craft, he said, “Never sell your soul, just rent it.” In other words it is always best to have ownership over those parts of you that can otherwise be taken advantage of from an employer, I like to remember that advice of his, it fits even if you aren’t an acting student.

i went to the url: and all i get is “test”. tech TV must taken down the page. anyway since techtv introduced tech live. the entire network have gone down hill. still i do like the concept of all tech news format. but nine hours??? it way to long. what ever happen to money machine show. they should expand is shoe to an hour. they completely ruin call for help. i tried to watch Becky Worley and Scott Herriott tried to installed an internal hard drive. and scott kept interrupting beckey. through out the demostration. i am still waiting for scott to yell out the “BIG LIST” tech TV should let go Scott!!!!

The only show left worth watch on Tech Tv the new 90 minutes for the Screen Savers. Extended Play, Silicon Spin, and Tech Tv News.

anyways for tech tv letting go good talent. Welcome to the Real Business World. this just same old story. play out the ages of the cut throat business landscape.

^[1]

Can you say LEOTV?

Leo,

You sure look tired in this morning’s Home Cam Pix.

Leo –

When does the next ratings book come out? From what I’ve read, the changes at TechTV are going to make you much more valuable to the network (unless they just plan to bury themselves and do their CNN clone act 24/7).

My (wholly unsolicited) advice would be to see the lack of contract as an opportunity. I believe that when the numbers come out, you’ll be in a much better negotiating position than if you sign now.

Maybe it is time for an agent. I get the feeling that your own sense of modesty and company loyalty are not your friends at the bargaining table.

The same traits that make you so appealing as a host/personality may not serve your best interests when it comes to negotiating a contract. Having an agent might also make you happier by not having to dwell on the “business side” of things — you could devote yourself to the part of the job that makes you happy.

And when you find yourself getting down about it, think about the fan base you’ve built for yourself, and how highly regarded you are by so many — even the mysterious disgruntled employee!

Also consider how rare it is to be able to do something you truly love for a living. Heck, I make ads for an insurance company. I have to get my fulfillment by making websites on the side and by trying to do what you do (on a much smaller scale) — for free! (It’s a Mac-based news and info site called “RandomMaccess” that lets me stretch my writing skills a little).

I know you know all this already. I just hope hearing other people say it too lifts your spirits when you need it.

(Sorry for the length of this post.)

Fondly,

– Chuck

Leo,

I understand your decision to remove yesterday’s post. It’s important that you retain control over what happens in the blog, after all the rest of us are only visiting Leoville, you live here. )

Since you said this was serving as kind of a proxy-journal for you, it struck me that many people run into problems keeping a diary because they feel as if they’re writing for an audience. In other words, there’s an impulse to write as if it will be read by others despite the fact that it’s just a bit of personal expression that (likely) no one else will see. Some folks try to write and get inhibited by that. This is a different situation since, of course, the blog is being kept for others to see, not to mention the fact that you allow comments on it. So, you obviously can’t share certain intimate things with us. Don’t get me wrong, you can let your freak flag fly and I won’t mind. (Wasn’t it you who said that for every voyeur there’s an exhibitionist) But certain kinds of content will take on a life of their own, as you mentioned, and that’s not going to be fun to manage. At any rate, it’s your call as to what feelings and thoughts you share, and if you don’t want to seem “too dark” I can understand.

I’m glad you’re feeling better – it’s all good! And I think it’s cool that you use the IMDB site. I can’t tell you how many arguments that’s settled for me (who was in what, etc.). It’s also handy for solving crossword puzzles. (No, that’s not cheating)

Even More Smooches,

Jeannette

Leo,

Big fan, but still have not seen tech live… I did catch the screensavers though, I can see how you dont feel at home with this show.. it kind of shows through a little. Your still great on it though. CFH was just your perfect fit. Have you ever thought of selling that show (CFH) to a mainstream channel like CBS/ABC/NBC?? At first it wouldnt seem like a match but you never can tell what they might think the viewers would want to see. I could could picture it on saturday mornings once a week. or on TLC everyday!. Who knows..

A little Off topic, how’s the new work schedule working out for you? In a older post you described what was definetly a very busy day for you.

Please keep us informed of you come to Long Island.. It would be an honor to meet you.

Steve Graffeo

hi,

just a thought…i think you shouldn’t sensor the blog..tell it like it is

we like to you the up side as well as the down. the ups are better.

Leo-

Just giving a shout out of encouragement. We’ll watch/listen wherever life leads you. Hang in there and ….FIGHT THE POWER!

-Wes

Don’t fret Leo. I think no matter what you do in life you’ll come out on top. You always have a wonderful wife and family to come home to. Your fans will never quit watching you no matter where or what you are doing. I’m sure if you weigh out all the good and bad things in your life you’ll find yourself smiling.

Leo,

Your are one of the reasons I watch the network.

As a matter of fact your the guy that got me watching the station.

I have watched the shows since the very beginning, I watched the station grow and get better, I watched you and Kate on The Screen Savers, I watched as the station became more popular.

I have seen many changes.

I remember when the station was small, when the only way I could get it was in the clear on C-BAND your distribution method.

And when you could go into Virtual Places and on Sundays actually talk with you as you were surfing and replying to your email.

I remembered when Kate left TSS and was heart-broken.

I saw ZDTV get sold to Paul Allen, then watched as it became techtv.

And thats when it happened.

Things started changing, it didn’t seem like we were one big happy family anymore, shows were canceled, hosts moved around.

However, myself and many of your devoted fans stuck through it.

We kept watching you.

We missed Kate, and Alice.

We grew to like Patrick and all his knowledge with hardware (and how to effectivly burn it up in a matter of minutes).

Again, changes were in the air.

TechLIVE comes on air.

You get to spend more time with your family (big plus for ya Leo)

Then you left Call For Help.

That show was your baby, and even though I was more of a TSS person the first time I ever saw you was on CFH.

You started seeming more and more sad about leaving the show.

The extra 30 minutes of TSS and the additions of Jessica, and Meghan and having the couch there on the set kind of made up for it.

But we miss seeing you on Call For Help, yes Becky does a great job, and having Scott on there makes it even better however, its just isn’t the same.

I am appalled to read your without contract, you need an agent.

Watching you on PBS wouldn’t be so bad.

I watch all the CMPTV shows on PBS.

However, techtv is slowly crumbling.

Things aren’t going as well as they were.

Heck (not what I want to say but this is a family site), even staff at the channel are disgrunteled. As posted at the techtv fanatics group one staff member at techtv is SO disgrunteled he actually went into the website and posted this…(I didn’t type it dont send me hatemail)

Many people shrug their shoulders about TechTV, they sit there and say,

“Hey, it’s just like any other company, terrible managers, dysfunctional

organizational structures, bad communication. Whaddya gonna do?” But these

people are mistaken. TechTV is far, far worse than most companies for the

simple reason that the people at the top – namely Larry Wangberg, Greg

Drebin, Glenn Farrell, and on the Web side, David Miller and Lynn Weiss -

are in various ways incompetent, arrogant, strategically moronic and

completely inept at keeping employees happy and motivated.

So here’s my Top Ten list on why TechTV will likely be out of money by this

time next year:

10. The driver’s asleep at the wheel. CEO Larry Wangberg can barely put a

sentence together. Here are a few examples of his handiwork when he sends an

e-mail to “ALL” -

“If you aren’t sleeping right now I hope that you are standing very tall.

What a lifetime memorable world class day.”

Or

“Sets are looking great, most of our technical infrastructure is working,

and it is great to see the rehersals. Know that there is a lot that still is

getting pulled together and that you are working very hard.”

Not exactly the words of rocket scientist, nor someone who knows how to

spell “rehearsals.”

9. The TechTV concept made sense – TWO YEARS AGO. Of course technology isn’t

going away, and of course people are still interested in it. The question is

how much do they care RIGHT NOW. Management chose to put all their eggs in

one basket: Tech Live (a.k.a. Tech Dive), a 9 = hour block of programming

that is currently driving most faithful TechTV viewers away from the

channel. They launched this flagship product at the precise moment when the

market was at its lowest, when NOBODY in their right minds is investing in

tech stocks, and when we are in the middle of a recession (or whatever it

is) during which people have far less money to buy tech products. Nice move.

Should’ve stuck with Leo TV and renamed it the Help Channel.

8. Target audience doesn’t exist. TechTV wants to become the destination

channel for all those sophisticated technology professionals and financial

market guys who are watching TV in their cubes. Um, yeah. Here’s the big

problem. Those guys don’t EXIST, because the only people who have TVs in

their cubes are TechTV employees. The financial guys are all tuned in to

Bloomberg and CNBC. To believe that these guys would turn away from these

channels to watch Carmine Gallo or Pam Krueger fumble over the day’s tech

market news is not just laughable, it’s pathetic. They should have been

happy with TechTV’s original audience: horny teenagers harassing female

talent, shut-ins who use the Internet as their only form of social

interaction, and techie geeks who count their mothers among “women they’ve

kissed.”

7. “Business strategy” is a term that makes people at TechTV snicker. Most

people employed at TechTV know that the content and business strategy at

TechTV is likely to change every few weeks. Of course, I didn’t know that

when I was hired in October under a system that had the site divided into

five stand-alone zones, each with an executive producer. The five-zone

system lasted about three months. The funny thing is, most of the “new”

strategies that the braintrust comes up with are actually old strategies

that didn’t work revisited. Is it any wonder that the latest “business plan”

for the Web constructed by gurus (or idiot savants, depending on how you

look at it) David Miller and Glenn Farrell was taken with a grain of salt?

This was the FIRST business plan for the Web side, and it came nearly four

years after the site launched.

6. The best people at the company are either laid off or kept in menial

positions. Damn right I’m talking about me. But really, that’s not the whole

picture. There are definitely smart, talented people at TechTV – the problem

is that they are in no position to have an impact on the direction of the

product, company or anything else. We have two terms for the people with an

“associate” or even “producer” title: web monkey and gerbil. The verbs, “to

web monkey” or “to gerbil (gerbiling)” also have common usage. These mean

the same thing. People are trained to get on their wheel and wrestle with an

archaic publishing tool eight hours a day to get stories up on the site. In

the meantime, their talent and creative power goes circling down the drain.

5. The company is chocked full of, and run by, TV people. For TechTV to

claim it is remotely a Web or technology company is, again, a big joke. It

is a TV station, run by TV people, with a TV focus, and the Web, as a friend

once told me, is and always will be the “red-headed stepchild.” I don’t want

to stereotype here – well, wait a second, yes I do. TV people are in general

more stupid, shallow and less pleasant professionally than anyone I’ve ever

worked with. I think this is because of the medium they work in – which by

its very nature is superficial, stimulating without being intellectual, and

sometimes outright boring. They don’t call it the boob tube for nothing. I

just wish the boobs had stayed away from TechTV.

4. The Audience of One. Everyone at TechTV knows what this means. Whether

you know him as “Uncle Paul,” “The Man,” or simply “God,” he’s the only

reason TechTV even exists. When rich guys have visions, strange creatures

are born. When extremely rich guys have visions, really screwed up, mutant

monster-freaks are born. Hence TechTV. Content on the channel and the site

are geared to please Paul, and nothing else, no matter what management tells

you. Simple reason: if you don’t please the guy who’s cutting your paycheck,

it’s all over. But having an audience of one is extremely dangerous – when

the One gets bored and gets up to walk out of the theater, the show’s over.

Paul Allen loves the idea of TechTV – but even he, with his abyss-like

pockets, won’t keep this charity case afloat forever.

3. Lying to employees. Though nobody in upper management would ever admit

it, there’s a serious trust problem within TechTV. It’s all about the now

infamous “need-to-know” policy, meaning information is only shared at the

exact moment when you need to know (which is always too late). This

translates to a top-down decision-making process: a few idiots assemble for

“off-sites” (oh, be very afraid when that happens), people and structures

are moved around like toy soldiers on a battlefield chart, and stupid

decisions are handed down a week later, after rumors have already destroyed

the credibility of the managers. Employees and their input are completely

ignored in this process, so it’s no big surprise that paranoia, low morale

and a “cover-your-***” approach to everything are par for the course at

TechTV.

2. B-Grade talent (OK, maybe C-Grade). Channel and program loyalty is built

on personalities. Ted Koppel and Peter Jennings made Nightline. Willow Bay

made Moneyline (at least for me). And the only guy who TechTV viewers love

is Leo Laporte, who I’ll grant has a real personality that touches people.

TechTV’s response to this was to move him off his show, make him read the

news and be less funny, and reduce him to occasional help tips on Tech Dive.

And then there’s the rest of the talent. Um, yeah. In the TV world, second

or third-tier cable channels are just launching pads to bigger and better

things. Problem is, nobody at TechTV, with the possible exception of

Michaela, Erica Hill and a couple others, has a chance at the big time.

Nothing against them, they try hard, but attempting to do ad lib on Tech

Live for people who aren’t used to thinking original thoughts is like

throwing a cat into a swimming pool.

And the No. 1 reason TechTV will fail:

Over-ambition: We’re not “all experts” on technology. This is a mantra that

Jim Louderback likes to throw out there. But there are a couple of harsh

realities to face: First, TechTV does a couple things well. It puts out

product reviews as soon as new gadgets are released, and it (or I should

say, Leo) does a great job with techie help questions. Had TechTV stuck with

what it knew, namely those two strengths, maybe a niche for it would have

been found. But no, TechTV has to be the “CNBC of tech.” We have to explode

everything into some big supernova of tech programming, because we’re all

“experts” and can provide so much more insight into the tech world than

multimillion dollar media giants on cable, network TV and the Web.

But you can’t build a mansion with toothpicks. Anyone with an ounce of

knowledge about technology can watch five minutes of Tech Live and see that

TechTV is following the news, not breaking it, and it is speaking down to

the lowest common denominator Grandma-who-just-got-email, not up toward the

digerati of the Valley. Trying to break news is admirable, but you have to

be realistic about what resources you have to actually do it. And it doesn’t

help that TechTV has as much name recognition among tech sources as a small

community weekly newsletter.

Right now the best “up-to-the-minute” stuff the network can do are things

that happen in San Francisco and are technically easy to cover (see Napster,

ad nauseum). Have a story break somewhere else and you’re looking at a

couple hours of arguments on renting crews, trucks and feeds, and then more

delays in getting those things to actually work. You only have to look at

the digitizing process – namely, actually having to physically bring a tape

over to some poor slob in the dig room, who takes several hours to manually

run it through (welcome to broadband) – to realize that TechTV overstepped

its bounds. It will never match the quality of news coverage that other

cable channels can give, and for management to think that we can do “more,

with less” was just a pipe dream. Maybe that’s all it ever was, a whimsical

dream from the imagination of old Uncle Paul.

—

I really want to keep going on here.

But I don’t want to annoy you Leo or anyone else, I have went on enough as it is.

I know you have plenty of fans, when I was running the Leo Laporte Fan Club site I had to stop running it because the tons of people joining it, it was getting to hard to keep track and run it all. Just about 3,000 members in just a few months before I had to quit.

No matter what you do people will follow you.

–Raymond Angel

^[2]

P.S

You have LeoTV.net

Lets create the All Laporte All The Time Network!

Sheesh, and I apologized for the length of _my_ post?!

-Chuck

Yes, I agree Ray Angel. Ray is right. Anyway, I’ll always follow Leo if I don’t watch TechTV anymore (which is a possibility). The only show I watch now is- Leo’s Tech Live hour (some of it), CFH (only leo’s mac tip), and TSS. TSS is all TechTV has now in my opinion. Leo you’ll be great where ever you go. Don’t worry, the fans TechTV has are because of you. You leave- TechTV has NO viewers, believe me on that one. I know most of you have the same views as me. I just want the old days of the ZDTV show re-runs during the day, and funny and lively new content at night. Cya Leo. You’re good anywhere you are.

~Tony Thomas Mark Santos

Loyal LEO LAPORTE viewer.

^[3]

I have to agree with Tony here. The Screen Savers is all that TechTv has. Lose that show, and I think the channel would go down.

Whoa guys. He did NOT say he’s leaving. He might still sign a contract. (They are grade A schmucks for not securing his place months ago.)

Also, I’m not sure Leo wanted someone posting that secret rant here, although a) a link offsite might have been more appropriate, b) it was a darned fine read, and c) if the Surf Guru wrote that then I may have misjudged Mr. Fife.

By the way, Leo, here’s another model for you, in addition to the suggestions I made in the now-deleted thread: Charlie Rose. The guy supposedly does very well since he owns the whole shooting match. Of course there’s also Garrison Keillor (ugh) and of course Emeril and Julia (I have said before you are our Julia Childs). You’ve said you wanted to do radio as well as TV, and being your own juggernaut (self syndication, diversification, etc.) might enable you to do it all, and still have a family life…

– Brandon

I do love Tech TV and most of the personalities there. I do have to say that you, Leo, are my main reason for watching though. Personality goes a long way and it’s been fun too see you every night helping folks with problems. I love chatting with Robyn and Laura in the chatrooms throughout the day, and I enjoy everyone else on the air… but if they ever get rid of you or you decide to leave I think I’ll probably have to find something else to watch on TV. Right now it’s Tech TV 24/7 except during infomercials and when Iron Chef is on the Food Network

If you ever get your contract, make sure they put a More Kate and Leo clause in there. You miss working with her, I can tell whenever she comes on for her brief segments, and we miss seeing her in an unscripted environment.

One problem with Garrison Keillor. He only WORKS for Prairie Home Companion. HE has admitted in public that Minn Public Radio OWNS PHC, like TechTV owns TTS but Leo and Pat IS TSS. Big difference. Go get’um Leo!

Hey Leo,

I think you are doing great on The Screen Savers, I like all the people you interview. But I think Call For Help was VERY valuable to TechTV. I think they ruined it. The new “environment” is more confusing for a newbie then the more “home style” look of the old set. I’m no computer newbie myself, but I have talked to people who agree with me on that. I think TechTV is a great station (otherwise I wouldn’t run a fansite), but i think they are moving in the wrong direction — esepcially cancelling a show like Internet Tonight and You Made It. They may not have had enough footage for You Made It, but there were too many rules:: 2 minutes, 50MB, certain formats. We would rather do like 5 minutes, 500MB and send it on a CD to maintain quality.

I hope you stay @ TechTV, but I hope they change, they have disconected the fans more and more. ZDTV was great, but TechTV, well, it’s good. I hope you continue to do what you do we all love you on The Screen Savers. In fact, in my technology class at school we had to pick a presentation to do on a person and I picked you. You have provided valuable information and insight (along with humor) to geeks on The Screen Savers. As long as there is a Screen Savers I will be tuned into TechTV.

I like TechLive a lot but it is a little too long, but better then the old way. Just Call For Help shouldn’t share that set. Anyway, thanks for being a great host and geek Leo!!

James Fintel ((visit Support Laporte–supportlaporte.freeservers.com))

–we still support you Leo!

I say forget techtv! Leotv! All Leo almost all the time! It could be like the CBS show “Big Brother”, We could get Leo to live in a house with cameras just about every where and brodcast a live feed all day and every now and then Leo would answer a netcam call. There could also be a Leo & Freinds hour, where other people come over and talk about stuff.

It’s the perfect balence! We get to watch Leo all we want and Leo get to stay home all day!

But you know, whatever.

(BTW: Click My Name!)

I also agree with Brandon (not Clark)…Leo DOES remind me of an elderly French woman who enjoys cooking sometimes disgusting items (must I remind everyone of the gym-sock-stew episode?).

Hello Leo,

I used to watch ZDtv and now TechTV. Although I am very glad you guys are now doing 90 mins of THE Screen Savers, I just dont seem to enjoy the rest of TechTV anymnore. Unless of couse XtendedPlay comes on or CFH,SS.. I just dont care so much for STOCKS!!! That’s all it is anymore…. I am sad:( I have to wait around for something cool to come on and you never no when. ENOUGH STOCKS ALREADY!!! AHHHHHHH. I know this should be posted at the correct site, but as long as you know..

I work for DirecTV and promote the show whenever I can (it is my favorite channel). Well, keep up the good work Leo, and don’t let them just make it a “stock” show.

Ever since I started watching, I have now become a network administrator..and love the schooling.

THANKS again,

Jamie

Hello Leo,

I used to watch ZDtv and now TechTV. Although I am very glad you guys are now doing 90 mins of THE Screen Savers, I just dont seem to enjoy the rest of TechTV anymnore. Unless of couse XtendedPlay comes on or CFH,SS.. I just dont care so much for STOCKS!!! That’s all it is anymore…. I am sad:( I have to wait around for something cool to come on and you never no when. ENOUGH STOCKS ALREADY!!! AHHHHHHH. I know this should be posted at the correct site, but as long as you know..

I work for DirecTV and promote the show whenever I can (it is my favorite channel). Well, keep up the good work Leo, and don’t let them just make it a “stock” show.

Ever since I started watching, I have now become a network administrator..and love the schooling.

THANKS again,

Jamie

I think we should start a Web site supporting the return of Leo to CFH, and try to bring some of the spirit of ZDTV back.

Leo,

I know part of you took down the blog entry because you probably got some sleep, ate a good meal, took the time to confide in some friends, felt better, and just wanted it to end. Well, I don’t think it has ended.

First off, your employer knows you are unhappy. I think you are an excellent person and a great asset to your employer, but your posting probably went over the line. You are still employed by TechTV. If you have problems with them you should have spoken to them before speaking to us. I can’t help but think that some other people in similar positions to you wouldn’t have posted publicly like that unless they had already quit and were looking for advice on what to do next. And that may mark you in the business as “less than professional”.

Second, the problem didn’t go away because you just don’t overnight accept to be content with a situation that obviously rubbed you enough to go to extreme measures. You can blame it on being “weak” because of working long hours under stress, etc., but that means that the situation will probably arise again in the near future once you again get overworked and tired. There is a saying I wish I had written down that goes something like, “If you keep on doing what your doing you will keep on getting what your getting.”

The good news is that you are a successful, may I say very successful, television and radio personality that has a faithful following. People like you for what you have done, because they can tell that you both genuinely liked doing it and that you did it well. I doubt that you would have any financial troubles if you just took a bit of time off and shopped around for another gig. Spend some time with your family. It seems to be a bigger priority in your life right now judging by some of your recent comments. Also take some time to ask around and find a good agent. Not just somebody who can get you a good job, but somebody who knows what you want and finds it for you. The first is like just doing a key word search on some job search site. The latter is like having a friend and counselor that can provide “value add”.

It appears that Paul Allen can’t give you what you want. Maybe somebody like Woz can. He has money and a as strong desire to teach as you do. You two could probably make a wicked team both doing what you love, and at the same time, maybe directly see the people you help.

For some reason I just felt compeled to write to you. I almost wrote personally to you, but couldn’t find your email address. After I while I felt that your blog is as good a place as any and also has the added benefit that others can comment on my thoughts. I am a true believer is open source. Why not open advice?

Take a moment to look in the mirror and you will immediately feel better, because you are able to look at yourself eye-to-eye in the mirror with pride knowing you are right any only you know what is best for you.

Best of luck (although I don’t think you will need it.)

–Chaim

Dear Leo,

I am sorry about the last post.

I got going on the topic until I cried.

Then realized I shouldn’t have posted them top ten list from that guy Josh that use to work at techtv.

Well I feel very strongly on the matter, I got several emails withen a few emails of the last post, and most people agree that Josh hit somethings right on the head.

He may have been cruel but he did get a few good points across.

I understand if you want to remove my post above if you find you have too.

Will always be your fan no matter what.

–Raymond

Raymond,

TechTV is not going to fail. Your post was just an angry rant from a former ZD lover. Time to suit up, because it is an entire new ball game.

I used to watch CNBC in the day, and ZDTV/TechTV at night. Now I watch TechTV 24/7. Hmm, I don’t quite think they are losing viewers.

If you were really a Leo fan, you wouldn’t post such garbage. How’s that old saying go “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”

Yes you are entitled to your opinions, and I’m entitled to mine.

Peace, love, kumbaya, and all that funky stuff,

Yo Yo Ma

Just discovered leoville. Love it, love the comments.. what freedom. Some thoughts from someone smarter than I.

“TV is cruel and shallow trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs.

There is also a negative side.”

Hunter S Thompson

I will merely say that my brother works at TechTV and he truly despises his job. Which is too bad because his job is what I trained to do in my master’s degree and I can’t think of a place I would rather work than with the (pre-changes) TechTV. I don’t know what the work environment is like but my brother is a fairly reasonable person.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I missed the ‘dreaded’ post!! Man…ya blink and you miss out. (Sigh) Just goes to show ya gotta check in EVERY DAY!!!

LOVE YA LEO! No matter what you are doing. You’re the SWEETEST!

Chris

Oh my gosh….I just read the post by Jason P….LEO TV!!

ALL LEO ALL THE TIME!

I LOVE IT!!!!

But….when on earth would I sleep?? Work?? Oh my…what a QUAG! But what a way to go!

I agree that TechTV is getting worse…and worse…and worse…LEO…DO SOMETHNG! lol – TSS RULES!! that’s about the only good show on right now…the rest sucks

hi my name is matthew i just recently got tech tv in parkersburg west virginia and at first i liked to watch it all day. i am a homeschooled student in the 8th grade and call for help and the screen savers really interested me.

since you all have tech live on all day it is no longer fun to watch tech tv.

the only tech tv shows i watch now are the screen savers and big thinkers.

i know technolodgy news is important but all day the same stuff over and over is really boring.

i hope someone will check out my site

I miss Leo on CFH. Today was very painful. I unsubscribed myself from the shownotes for TechLive/CFH and deleted the CFH program from my ReplayTV unit so it no longer records the show. I no longer watch CFH as the new hosts and the new format stink. Leo and CFH went hand in glove.

I also kinda miss The Money Machine. It was a nice 30 minute format for all of the financial news and tips that I needed. While I can’t really say I hate TechLive (cause I don’t watch it) I don’t like how it has effected the shows that I used to watch. Money Machine has been absorbed into TL and CFH has been ruined. C’mon, Mr. Allen. I’ve already got MSNBC, CNBC, et al. I never watch those channels. If you wanted a station like that, why didn’t you just buy it instead of ZDTV?

To date the only reason I have even held onto DishNetwork is because they carry TechTV while my cable company does not. If CFH doesn’t make a comeback (back to the way it used to be) and if Leo leaves the station, I’m going back to cable. I’ve been watching DAILY since October 98. The four shows that I used to watch were CFH, TSS, Money Machine and Fresh Gear. Now one is gone and one has changed for the worse. That’s not a good trend.

You’ve got a ton of fans Leo. If you switch stations, your fans will follow. (Of course, I would miss some of the babes on TechTV.)Hang in there!

Leo, I gave it two weeks from April 2. You did a spectacular job with what you had to work with. I was so disappointed with what I saw, I couldn’t even go to your web page and read what was going on — leovilledotcom. I finally did go here, I’ve tried to catch up, but too much to read.

Please email me what post you took down. I’d like to know what’s going on.

Is TechTV a comedy show like Jay Leno or Letterman? I think not. I can’t believe some of these skits are your ideas; i.e., Marty falling in the sand.

How busy are you? Do you have the time to watch TV several hours a day hoping to enjoyably learn new things at the producer’s whim? I think not.

The new TechTV has one new idea that is good: Concentrate only on tech stocks during the regular hours when the market is open. CNBC generalizes all stock info; TechTV can concentrate on tech stocks 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. M-F daily.

But after that, TechTV is a computer-only oriented TV show. That’s where your demographics lie. During the day, does a person who invested 10K into Intel want to know how to burn a CD? I think not.

I’ve posted before how perfect you were in Call For Help. Not to be redundant, but you’ve helped so many people, which must be so rewarding. Are you doing that now? Maybe. Maybe not. But certainly not like you were before.

And who the heck is working in marketing? It was funny at first, but how many times do I have to watch a guy kick, throw, hit or drop his computer. There’s thousands of software apps on the market where the companies could buy ad time on TechTV. Why aren’t they? I can’t remember the last time I saw an ad for Corel, if ever. What about hardware ads? If TechTV started at a low price, it could start an avalanche of little-known software and hardware commercials, and then boost their prices.

I’m sorry for the long post.

francinekg at home

Love Screen Savers, watch it everyday (really glad it replays btw) Im an IT guy and like the mix the show brings. I have to say CFH was better when you did it but I like you better on SS. CFH was not my fav because I know all the stuff on it. Hang in there, you fit better with the team that has been built there at SS and it shows. It’s entertaining. If I want stock info, I’ll look it up. I have not seen you on tech live but I can imagine how boring it is from watching in the morning. People like personalities and no one on tech live has one. If somebody cracks a joke it seams like no one laughs. It’s just sad to watch. Even that wacky guy (forgot his name, wears glasses runs around playing Jay Leno) is shut down constantly.

I don’t know if anyone else knows this is going on, but here is a copy of an email I sent to TechTv and following is the response I received: (I edited my email address) I think this more than speaks for itself without me adding any comments.

“Frani” on 04/11/2001 10:55:27 PM

To: ^[4]

Subject: Newsletters – Bad Links

I have saved every ZDTV/TECH TV newsletter I’ve received from you in the past

two years so that I may refer back to them when I need answers. This evening

I clicked on a few different links from your newsletters and ended up on your

current home page. Why is that?

Also, even though I re-signed up for your current newsletters, show notes,

etc., I have not received one; however, I did receive confirmation of registration

about five days ago.

Thank you,

Francine KG

RESPONSE FROM TECHTV: