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People Programming and Podcasts

Adam Sessler Finds a New Home at Rev3Games!

We’ve been wondering what would happen to Adam Sessler once he left G4, which is now currently still aflame and sinking slowly somewhere in the North Atlantic, and now we know, thanks thanks to Kotaku – he’s headed over to Revision3 Games to be their new Editor-in-Chief and all-around awesome guy!

We couldn’t be happier for Adam, and while we already love the team at Rev3Games for the fantastic video game work they do, we’re even more looking forward to what Adam has up his sleeve for the media channel. His announcement video is above, and we’re happy to see him end up somewhere that actually appreciates his talents after a long long ride at G4, ever since it ate TechTV.

Congrats Adam, and keep up the great work! Looking forward to what you bring to the table!

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Jessica Corbin Appears on This Week’s Episode of Triangulation!

jessica corbin headshot

We don’t hear too much from Jessica Corbin these days, the last we heard from her she was leaving Tekzilla (remember when she used to host PopSiren, Tekzilla, and a little program called InDigital, way back in the day when Revision3 was just starting?) to work on her own startup, Fempire.

Now she’s back on an episode of Triangulation, chatting with Leo about everything that she’s been up to, life after TechTV, and everything in between now and then. If you’ve been curious what happened to this former TechTV star and current doing-it-for-herself star, this week’s Triangulation is a must watch. You can check it out here, and we wish all the best to Jessica in everything she’s doing these days!

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Features People

Leo Laporte in The New York Times!

Leo Laporte

If you didn’t catch wind, everyone’s favorite TWiT found himself in the New York Times, with a feature article about the growth of podcasting, and how Leo Laporte started one of the first and largest podcast empires to date – when other, much larger podcasting cooperatives have fallen by the wayside, the TWiT network is large and growing, and This Week in Tech, the flagship podcast, is downloaded by nearly a quarter-million people!

If you haven’t seen the piece in the Times, hit the link below to see the whole story! Congratulations, Leo!

[ Talking Tech and Building an Empire From Podcasts ]

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People Site News

A Curious Case of Mistaken Identity


(image above from the fine folks at Penny Arcade, from this comic in 2004. Click to enlarge!)

We break from our regular coverage of TechTV-related podcasts, personalities, and news to chat about something I think is pretty important: mistaken identity, and having your identity hijacked for the purposes of authoritative commenting on random blogs.

I posted about my experiences having my name used by at least one troll over at the ZDNet blogs over at Gears and Widgets in a post called Spinning Gears :: A Curious Case of Mistaken Identity. I’d advise everyone to head over and check it out, and let me know their thoughts.

I’m reposting this to multiple sites in my network of blogs because I use my name on all of them, and because I want everyone who may look for me on the Web to know loud and clear who I am, and that I’m not the troll they’re looking for.

So what do you think? Have you ever had your identity maligned like this? Let me know in the comments, either here or over at Gears and Widgets.

[ Gears and Widgets :: Spinning Gears: A Curious Case of Mistaken Identity ]

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People Programming and Podcasts

Making Facebook More Private and How to Pick a Cell Phone on Upgrade Your Life!

upgrade your life

Becky Worley has been busy with a couple of new episodes of Upgrade Your Life, over at Yahoo! Tech!

In one episode since we mentioned her last, she explains how to choose a cellular phone, for the people who are interested in a little help picking the right one and the right carrier:

[ Upgrade Your Life // Episode 3 – How to Pick the Best Cell Phone ]

And in the most recent episode, she tackles the topic of Facebook privacy and security – how DO you go about making Facebook as private and secure as possible? Find out on this ep!

[ Upgrade Your Life // Episode 4 – How to Make Facebook More Private and Productive ]

Perhaps most notable, you can now bookmark Upgrade Your Life and come back to it that way – it’s probably the best Yahoo! is able to do since they won’t allow you to subscribe to the show in a podcast catcher and sadly there’s no RSS feed. Even so, book mark http://news.yahoo.com/upgradeyourlife to stay on top of new episodes!

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

New Video Show! Becky Worley Returns with Upgrade Your Life!

upgrade your life

Remember the days of Yahoo!’s technology show, Hook Me Up, and our interview with her back then? Well, she’s back with another Web video show at Yahoo! in addition to doing regular episodes of Green Tech Today on the TWiT Network!

Her new show at Yahoo! is called Upgrade Your Life!, and on the first episode she walks you through some of the best ways to get great photos from your cell phone’s camera – especially useful since we carry our cell phones everywhere and all too often use them to capture just about everything!

[ Upgrade Your Life // Episode 1 – Taking Great Cell Phone Photos ]

On the latest episode, just released this week, Becky gives us her purchase recommendations for tech this holiday season. Should you pick up a 3D HDTV, or maybe an iPhone or iPad for the holidays? What about an Android phone? All this and more in this episode!

[ Upgrade Your Life // Episode 2 – Buy Now or Wait? ]

Unfortunately it’s not like you can subscribe to the show through iTunes or your favorite podcast catcher, you’ll just have to pay attention to Yahoo!’s Upgrade Your Life site to stay on top of when new episodes are posted – or you can follow Becky Worley on Twitter – she’s mentioned when new episodes are live!

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Features People Site News

Happy 5th Birthday, Revision3!

revision3 logo

As you’ve probably seen on a number of Revision3 video podcasts lately, the internet TV giant celebrated its 5th anniversary at the end of May, and celebrated last week with a massive party in San Fran with the live taping of Diggnation from last week, tricks and performances by Brian Brushwood of Scam School and stand-up by Alex Koll of ROFL!

Here’s what the Rev3 Blog had to say about it:

Five years ago, a handful of frustrated technology and video professionals surveyed the TV landscape, and were not happy with what they saw. A promising and much-loved network, TechTV, had just been emasculated by the cable equivalent of Dunder-Mifflin. Hope, however, was on the horizon, as Apple had just announced a photo-iPod, and video was on the way. New encoding techniques, coupled with broadband advances finally made it possible to actually deliver compelling video through the World Wide Web. And so these intrepid pioneers decided to start making shows the way they wanted, covering the stuff they wanted to cover. And five years ago, the first episode of SYSTM was released to the world.

From iTunes to Youtube to full-on HDTV, we’ve come a long way since then. Our roster of 20+ shows have been enjoyed by hundreds of millions of viewers, we’ve given birth to an entire industry of content that lives apart from – and is now rivaling – the same lowest-common-denomiator pablum served up by almost all traditional TV.

Even more impressive, we’ve actually changed traditional TV – and the Internet – along the way. More than one traditional show now incorporates our signature host-sponsorships, we’ve spotted shows that incorporate drinking in their narrative, and our hosts have become frequent guests on traditional TV.

And that’s the same spirit that started our blog here, and the communities that live around it and from which TechTV Forever was formed. TechTV is long long gone, and this site has likely had a longer shelf-life than TechTV ever did, but I’m glad Revision3 is still here delivering quality video programming, defining IPTV, and I’m glad we’re here to support it.

Happy 5th Birthday, Rev3!

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People Programming and Podcasts

Leo Laporte Asks: What’s TWiT Worth to You?

Over at his Posterous blog, Leo poses the question of what TWiT – the network, not just the single podcast – worth to those of us who listen every day to podcasts coming out of the TWiT cottage. He rightly goes back and remembers when the TWiT Network was just one or two shows, all orbiting the main show, This Week in Tech, which was clearly originally a tech roundtable spawned from the death of TechTV and subsequently the sweeping under the rug of all the good programming when it was absorbed by G4 so many years ago.

So Leo has proposed a solution, so he can stay in touch with exactly how much the listeners really appreciate TWiT and all of the podcasts and live video streaming and recorded video that they do every week – Leo, as the CEO of TWiT, will only pay himself using listener contributions. He’s not breaking himself doing this, and the TWiT general fund, supplemented by advertising and donations, will still live on, but here’s what he had to say:

My original plan was to run TWiT solely on your contributions, and indeed, you have been very generous. I always liked the idea of the audience supporting the network. It’s the best way for us to know whether we’re on the right track or completely off track. You got us started, but the expansion of TWiT over the past four and a half years required more money than listeners were willing to give. That’s why we started taking advertising. We never have more than one ad per half hour of programming, and we’ve limited advertisers to a handful of products I personally use and can endorse.

Lately, however, I’ve been wondering (and some have been asking) what role contributions play in an ad-supported network. The money is very helpful, certainly, but it only covers a small percentage of our operating expenses. I like being able to provide listeners with a way to show their support for what we are doing, but the connection between what we do and what you pay is getting more tenuous all the time. I want to get back to the old days where your contribution really meant something. So I’m going to make a change that gives your contribution vastly greater importance; to give you a way to vote with your dollar (or pound or Euro or peso).

Wouldn’t it be great if customers could determine how a much company’s chief executive is paid? Well I can’t speak for AT&T or Apple, but at TWiT that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Up to now I’ve been taking my pay from TWiT’s general fund (along with all the other employees). Not any more. From now on you’ll pay me directly with your contributions. I won’t take a penny out of the operating funds.Think of your contributions as a tip jar. If you like what I’m doing with TWiT I hope you’ll contribute $2 a month (or more or less depending on what TWiT is worth to you). If you are unhappy with our direction, you can cancel your contribution completely. Believe me, I’ll notice. Your contributions will have a direct impact on how TWiT is run – because they’ll have a direct impact on my personal bottom line.

Leo goes on to point out that he does have a day job and we won’t be putting him in the poorhouse if we stop donating, but as much as I’ve disagreed with him in the past, I’ve always appreciated what he’s doing here – and this is an incredible and respectable move. He didn’t HAVE to do this, but he CHOSE to because he wants to get back in touch with the listeners like you and I who support the shows because we love them, not because we expect to get something out of it – and if things change and listeners trend away from the show for one reason or another, Leo will be the first to know about it because the donations will fall off. Similarly, if things change and something on the network is incredibly popular, Leo will be the first to know what we like and why we like it, because he’ll see more money.

Well done, Leo – it’s a huge change, not so much for bank accounts and profits, but for the community and reinforcing that sense that we really really do matter to the folks behind the microphones at TWiT.

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

New Show! :: HD Nation // Episode 1

HD Nation Logo

Patrick Norton and Robert Heron are back together, just under a different banner now! Together they make up the crew of HD Nation – a new video podcast at Revision3 dedicated to all things high-def, and making sure you’re picking up the right TVs, the right monitors, the right cables, the right accessories, and more!

It’s a shame that Patrick and Robert seem to be leaving DL.TV behind, but at least there’s another show where we can get our Patrick and Robert fix. Since HD Nation will be targeted directly at home theatre gear, they’ll have plenty to talk about!

On the first episode, they discuss bargain HDMI cables, YouTube upgrades for HD video, the contrast ratio myth, and much more! Subscribe today!

HD Nation // Episode 1
[ episode notes | HD video download ]

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Features People

Congratulations Amber!

amber macarthur

We’re probably the last people on the block to hear this, but Amber MacArthur had a baby! The reason she’s been away from commandN and net@night for the past couple of weeks is because the Web’s favorite video podcasting pioneer is now a new mommy!

On February 8th, Amber gave birth to Connor, and I understand that both mother, father, and child are all happy, healthy, and well. In fact, Amber is already back to blogging and tweeting about the experience!

Congratulations!

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People Programming and Podcasts

Morgan Webb Ends WebbAlert

webb alert

It seems like only yesterday Morgan Webb started her daily tech news roundup, Webb Alert. But in reality, we were there when she started, and it’s been about a year and a half.

But after doing daily (well, mostly daily) news roundups for that long, Morgan Webb has decided to call it quits on WebbAlert – she’s just got too much going on in other areas professionally and personally, and she says she needs to free up some time for other pursuits. I don’t blame her! Even so, I know I’ll miss Webb Alert appearing every day in my podcast updates. Regardless, here’s wishing Morgan the best in everything she does.

[ Webb Alert: Thanks for Everything! ]

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Tech Closeup Update with Marc Levneson…Airing This Week!

tech closeup site sm

Marc Levenson, 3-time Emmy Award winning science and technology correspondant and all around awesome guy, just provided us with another update on his new segment going into syndication, Tech Closeup!

The show will be going into syndication in multiple major markets this week, and he’s even provided us with a promo video that will show you what the show is all about that you’ll probably see on your local channels. If you’ll remember, Marc was a familiar face on TechTV in the good old days, and has been steady at work bringing real technology programming and content back to mainstream television.

Great job Marc, and we all look forward to seeing Tech Closeup on television very very soon!

Check out the promo video and visit the Tech Closeup homepage here:

[ Tech Closeup Promo Video | TechCloseup.com ]

If you’re new to Tech Closeup and don’t know what this is all about, check out the backstory:

[ Tech Closeup with Marc Levenson Update! ]
[ Tech Closeup with Marc Levenson…Coming Soon to a TV Near You! ]
[ Tech Closeup Update from Marc Levenson ]
[ Marc Levenson’s New Show :: Tech Closeup! ]

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Features People Programming and Podcasts Sites and Downloads

Amber MacArthur’s New Show: WebNation!

webnation logo

Brian McKechnie, the man (sometimes) behind the scenes (and sometimes in front of the camera!) of CommandN and Bamcat.com, emailed me to inform me of something I’ve been missing, most importantly, Amber MacArthur’s new show on CityTV, WebNation! The show is available as a video podcast, and runs as a 30 min. bi-weekly television show on Citytv in Toronto, Canada. I knew that Amber had left Call for Help for better and brighter things at CityTV, but now her exploits aren’t just available to the lucky viewers that get to see her in Toronto, you can subscribe to the show via iTunes or download it directly from the CityNews website anywhere in the world!

WebNation is already in its 5th episode, and we’ll start tracking it from here out! You can check out the show at the WebNation site at CityNews and download the most recent episode, and check out past episodes! Looking at the breakdown of show topics, it rings a bit like CommandN, but it’s definitely got some good and different stuff. Head over and subscribe now!

[ CityNews: WebNation | WebNation: Subscribe via iTunes ]

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Tech Closeup with Marc Levenson Update!

tech closeup site sm

If you’re new to Tech Closeup and don’t know what this is all about, check out the backstory first:

[ Tech Closeup with Marc Levenson…Coming Soon to a TV Near You! ]
[ Tech Closeup Update from Marc Levenson ]
[ Marc Levenson’s New Show :: Tech Closeup! ]

Marc Levenson just provided us with another exciting update, and it looks like Tech Closeup will be available in even more venues than previously thought! Here’s the scoop, straight from Marc:

It seems there’s a lot of demand out there for fun, easy to follow science and technology programming aimed at the average non-scientific layman. Tech Closeup has increased its broadcast clearances to include some dominant major markets. We’ve got commitments now in San Diego (Fox), Sacramento (ABC), as well as Detroit, Tampa, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Dayton, Saginaw, and at least ten other cities. We’re expecting at least ten to fifteen more markets to commit by the time Tech Closeup launches in September. Stay tuned!

That’s great news, not just for the old TechTV fan crowd, but for anyone who’s eager to see good, comprehensive, intelligent, and fun technology programming on television. A lot of the old TechTV heads simply don’t think it’s possible to be successful on mainstream television when talking about technology, but it looks like there’s more than one way to bring tech to the small screen! Good job Marc, we’ll be looking forward to seeing you on our TV screens!

[ TechCloseup.com ]

Check out the full press release announcing Tech Closeup’s pending arrival below the jump!

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Tech Closeup with Marc Levenson…Coming Soon to a TV Near You!

tech closeup site mockup

If you’re new to the whole Tech Closeup story we’ve been following, check out our previous updates:
[ Marc Levenson’s New Show :: Tech Closeup! ]
[ Tech Closeup Update from Marc Levneson! ]

We just received exciting news from Marc Levenson regarding the future of his show, Tech Closeup, slated to air on major networks later this year:

Here’s a little update: Tech Closeup has been cleared to air in St. Louis, Washington D.C., Tampa, Nashville, Dayton, Saginaw, Shreveport, Huntsville, Spokane, Springfield Mo., Tallahassee and Yakima Wa. We’re also cleared in San Juan and The U.S. Virgin Islands. By the end of May, our syndicator expects we’ll be cleared in a minimum of 35 TV markets for our initial rollout in September. The show has been reformatted for commercial broadcast and the feedback has been wonderful. I’ll have more as we get closer to our airdate. Stay tuned!

We’re getting closer, and personally, my being in the Washington DC area never looked better for bringing quality technology programming back to the airwaves. We’re looking forward to it, Marc!

[ TechCloseup.com ]

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Features People Site News Sites and Downloads

Branching Out: Writing More Tech Content!

Gearlog Logo

AppScout logo

If you’re looking for more technology content, I mean several posts a day of great technology news, reviews, gadgets, gear, applications, updates, and more, then I have a couple of blogs that you definitely should add to your bookmarks:

[ Gearlog.com is a gadget blog by geeks, for geeks, with tons of gadgets and gear every day, from robot sharks to RFID protecting wallets. ]

[ AppScout.com is an app blog whose writers scour the web for the coolest sites, best applications, new services, and more. ]

And I’m not just plugging these two because I write for both blogs.

That’s right – if you’re a Gears and Widgets fan, you can catch several posts per day from me at AppScout and Gearlog by heading over there and looking for my name! Read lots, comment often, and enjoy!

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Tech Closeup Update from Marc Levneson!

tech closeup site

Good news on the Tech Closeup front, and for everyone who wants to see more technology programming on television!

Marc Levenson, who I had the pleasure of speaking with about his new show, Tech Closeup, a few weeks back, dropped me a line yesterday to give me some great news to share!

Tech Closeup has received initial clearances on stations in Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C., Dallas, Toledo, and Flint. Our syndicator is negotiating with several group station owners (Sinclair, Fox, Clear Channel, etc.) so Tech Closeup’s “reach” will grow significantly in the next few weeks. I’ll keep you informed. We’re on a march to at least 60-per cent of the nation’s TV markets for national launch in September of 2007!

Wonderful news! We’ll keep everyone here up to speed with all the information that we get, and we’re hoping to, by this time next year, have another show to tune into regularly! Keep an eye on your local listings, and we’ll be in touch with more information!

In the meantime though, head over to the Tech Closeup website for more info and updates!

[ TechCloseup.com ]

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Features People Programming and Podcasts

Marc Levenson’s New Show :: Tech Closeup!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of finding a very special note in my inbox, from none of ther than three-time Emmy Award winning science and technology reporter Marc Levenson, who all of us know well from our TechTV days.

On TechTV, Marc covered science, technology, and biotech topics on shows like TechLive, but his reach hardly ends there. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Marc’s reporting on NPR (National Public Radio), on CNN, and on various PBS affiliates. Among his other achievements are a Cine Golden Eagle, and several Associated Press Awards, all of which he definitely deserves.

Marc covers topics near and dear to my heart, being of a science background, but he contacted TechTV Forever not just because we’re fans, but because he, like the rest of his old TechTV colleagues, is up to some excellent things. He writes:

If you’re following us Tech TV alumni, keep an eye out for my new sci-tech series, Tech Closeup, which is being syndicated by Showplace Broadcasting in Chicago. Our website is www.techcloseup.com. It currently airs on cable here in the Bay area, but Showplace expects to land dozens of commercial broadcast stations in time for September of 2007. My website is www.marclevenson.com.

Click on the image below for a larger view of the flyer for Marc’s new show, Tech Closeup!

tech closeup mockup

You can find out more information on Tech Closeup, watch a demo reel, and find out when you can catch the show here:
[ TechCloseup.com ]

And you can read Marc’s bio here:
[ MarcLevenson.com :: Bio ]

Thanks for writing Marc, and keep up the great work!

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Features People

Help Find and Hope For James and Kati Kim and their Family

james and his daughterskati and her daughter

I’m way behind the curve on this one, what with information and updates on the search being broadcasted on major news outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and this morning even on the Weather Channel, but the cause is incredibly dear to my heart and important to all of us that I couldn’t continue to pay attention to the search without putting in a word myself.

James Kim, whose wisdom we’ve all benefitted from from his days at TechTV as well as his continuing work at CNet, set off with his wife Kati and daughters over the Thanksgiving weekend for a drive from California through Oregon, and shortly thereafter went missing. After a wide search, Kati and the girls have been found in good spirits and in good condition, but James remains missing after having left to get help, as of this writing. We’re all holding out hope that James will be found alive and well, and the search continues with the help of many many volunteers, including our own Becky Worley and the friends and family of the Kims.

If anyone reading TechTVForever has any information on the location or condition of James Kim or any information that might help the search, please contact the Oregon State Police tip line at (800) 452-7888.

More information and updates as they happen are available at [ http://jamesandkati.com/ ].

Thank you all for your help, your thoughts, and your support-I know that the Kim and Fleming families appreciate them, and we can all hope together that they’ll all be safely reunited.

update – 4:06pm EST 12-06-2006: CNN Breaking News reports:

The dead body of James Kim — who left his wife and children in a snowbound car while he went for help — has been found in the Oregon wilderness, law enforcement officials confirm.

Our hearts and prayers go out to James, Kati, and their families for their loss – it’s a loss I think we all feel.

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People Programming and Podcasts

Amber MacArthur Is Leaving Call for Help/G4TechTV Canada!

ambermac

Amber! Don’t leave us! Okay, okay-it looks like she has a ton of new projects and good news up her sleeve, so we’ll let her slide this time.

Amber MacArthur has announced on her blog that she’s planning on leaving G4TechTV Canada, and subsequently Call for Help, Torrent, and Gadgets & Gizmos the shows that she worked on at the network. She’s planning to go to CityTV in Toronto, and will be starting there mid-September as their as their Internet/New Media Reporter for CityTV News. Step up? Step down? As large an audience? Amber certainly believes it’s a step up, regardless of anything else, and we wish her all the best and hope that we can continue to see her smiling face in video podcasts and hear her perspective in audio podcasts even after she’s left.

Sounds like she’s got the same idea though; from her blog:

I will keep blogging here at AmberMac.com and I will bring you tech news each week at commandN.tv. Leo and I have also been chatting about how we’ll keep working together, so this is not the end of us (AKA Leober)!

As for who will take my place on G4TechTV, on both Call for Help and Torrent, the team is working to find someone (or, most likely, two people). The shows we’re shooting this week will air throughout the next month or two, but I wanted to write a not-so-short post/post a video to thank all the fans so much for your many emails of encouragement and I hope you will continue to follow my work at City-TV! Thank you for accepting me into this unique tech-friendly community – now I’ll never leave! 🙂

Amber says that CityTV is aggressive about its technology content and she’ll still be working on technology programming, so we can plan to see her new programs and projects on the net, and still get to hear from her at CommandN and hopefully still at Inside the Net, both of which are excellent programs.

Best of luck, Amber, and congratulations!

Read the rest of her announcement AND watch her goodbye video below:

[ Amber Mac :: To all the G4TechTV fans: Thanks for two great years! My goodbye video ]