Random Access reaches out to help with PC and Mac problems, on the air and across the Internet

I didn't know was that Gene and I shared something that went much deeper than our love for computers.

technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Random Access reaches out to help with PC and Mac problems, on the air and across the Internet

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 1999 , Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 1999, The Syracuse Newspapers

   Gene Wolf and I want you to call.
   We have a radio show called "Random Access." It's on the air and on the Internet each Sunday, so we're pretty hard to miss. The show has only one purpose -- to help you with your computer problems. Gene's the Macintosh expert -- the "Mac bigot," as he calls himself -- and I'm the expert on PCs.
   "Random Access" is broadcast on WSYR (570 AM) and simulcast on the Internet Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. WSYR is one of the oldest and most respected radio stations in Central New York. Internet simulcasts are easy to pick up if you have a PC or Macintosh and a connection to the Web. Go to my new site at http://twcny.rr.com/technofile and click on the "Radio Show" link to go directly to the Internet site where you can tune in to WSYR's Internet feeds.
   Gene's been co-host of "Random Access" for about six years. I joined the show a year ago. We met each other some time back on the set of the locally produced TV show on computers, "Point 'n' Click," when Gene appeared as a co-host during a show on Macs. As one of the co-hosts of "Point 'n' Click," I saw right away that Gene knew his subject well.
   What I didn't know was that Gene and I shared something that went much deeper than our love for computers. We discovered, by accident, that we had both grown up and gone to school in the same small town outside of Albany. Our common hometown is East Greenbush, a town of just a few thousand residents in Rensselaer County. East Greenbush had one of the best high schools in the state, and the teachers there instilled something into Gene and me and thousands of others over the years -- the notion that the best thing you can teach someone is how to think for yourself.
   Our small-town upbringing has served us well, helping make us immune from scattershot criticism and potshots from callers and manufacturers alike. But most of all we each have a strong sense of humor, something that seems rare these days, and we like to poke fun at each other. One of our callers even insisted that "Random Access" is the funniest show on the radio. (I disagree, having heard a show out of Alberta, a Canadian province, called the "Corn and Wheat Hour.")
   Some of our most interesting shows have been done on location. We once did a broadcast from the zoo and had to tell passers-by that the real monkeys were someplace else -- that was Gene's idea of humor, folks -- and we did two stints from the State Fair in which the audio feed from the studio was so bad that we couldn't hear the callers half the time. We guessed at half the questions and did pretty well, although I think Gene might have been guessing a little too exuberantly when he asked a caller if he was really going to send us $1,000 each for being so funny. (I'm still waiting for the money. Send unmarked bills, please.)
   Anyone can tune into "Random Access" from anywhere in the world. The program is sent out over the Web using RealAudio. You can get a free RealAudio player for just about every common operating system. Go to http://www.real.com/ and make sure you choose the free player. (You can always upgrade to the one that you have to pay for later.)
   You can't save the RealAudio signal when it comes into your computer off the Internet, but the folks who own the broadcast service that handles the "Random Access" netcast say they will make previous shows available for downloading. If they do that, you'll be able to listen to previous shows at your leisure. You would just download the sound recording for any show you missed or for all the shows, if you want. You'd hear us, the callers and the commercials, just as if you had listened to the show live. I'll tell you whether those shows are available as soon as I know.