Leo Laporte

Updated: 11/16/2019 by Computer Hope
Leo Laporte

Name: Leo Laporte

Born: November 29, 1956, in Manhattan, New York City, USA

Computer-related contributions

  • While running a BBS (bulletin board system), Leo Laporte wrote a program called "Demon Dialer" for the Mac that could be used in the background to dial his BBS.
  • Worked on broadcasting projects, including Dvorak On Computers in January 1991 (co-hosted with John C. Dvorak), and Laporte On Computers on KGO Radio and KSFO in San Francisco.
  • Voiced the Dev Null character in The Site, a TV show about the Internet revolution that ran from 1996 to 1997.
  • Emmy award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, speaker, and entrepreneur.
  • Hosted Internet! on PBS, and The Personal Computing Show on CNBC.
  • Joined KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles as The Tech Guy in January 2004.
  • Former managing Editor at Ziff-Davis Television, where he wrote and co-hosted The Personal Computing Show.
  • Hosted Call for Help and The Screen Savers on TechTV (formerly ZDTV), a 24-hour cable channel dedicated to computers and the Internet.
  • Leo Laporte owns and operates a netcast network, TWiT.tv that he started on April 17, 2005.

Significant publications

  • 101 Computer Answers You Need to Know.
  • Leo Laporte's 2005 Gadget Guide.
  • Leo Laporte's Guide to TiVo.
  • Leo Laporte's Guide to macOS X Tiger.
  • Leo Laporte's PC Help Desk.

Honors and awards

  • In 1997, he earned an Emmy Award for his work on MSNBC's The Site, where he created the motion capture character Dev Null.

Quotes

"I've never liked the word podcast. It causes confusion … people have told me that they can't listen to my shows because they 'don't own an iPod' … I propose the word 'netcast.' It's a little clearer that these are broadcasts over the Internet. It's catchy and even kind of a pun."

Related computer pioneers

Websites