Introducing Always On, coming June 19 on CNET
Molly Wood's new CNET show, Always On, will torture test new gadgets, put them to the real-world test, spotlight amazing new future tech, and show you how to use your current and future gear.
Welcome to Always On (almost)!
This is the home of my new show, Always On, which premieres right here on CNET on Tuesday, June 19, at 11 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern (and I could not be more excited). Every episode will air with a live chat, hosted by me, so make sure to tune in at "showtime" to get a behind-the-scenes pre-show and so that I can get your thoughts on the episodes in real-time!
Oh, right, what's the show about. Think of it as "the CNET show," on steroids. Each weekly, 20 to 30-minute episode will show you what new tech is out there, how it works, how well it stands up to our battery of tests, how to use it better, and what's coming in the future.
Or, more specifically, each episode will feature some or all of the following segments:
Unboxing: A fresh-from-the-box look at the latest new tech to make its unfortunate way through our doors, for the sole purpose of expending nerdy joy on the latest in consumer electronics.
Torture testing: Phones, laptops, tablets, computers, and more will be subjected to our custom battery of tests, week after week. This isn't just a sadistic thrill: life is hard on devices! They get left in hot (and cold) cars, dropped from purses and pockets, dunked in tea cups and ... well, worse places. We've devised a series of tests to push gadgets to their limits: some won't survive, but you'll know what they can take, and the ones that do survive will take their places in our gadget leader-board.
Road tests: You want to know more than just specs and durability, you want to know how your tech survives in the real world! We'll find tough subjects to take on product challenges and send us diary entries about how the gadgets are holding up. I'll test products in the real world, like my current head to head with the Nike+ Fuel Band and the FitBit, which I'm testing by training for a half marathon (what's wrong with me?).
How-to: CNET's How-To diva, Sharon Vaknin, will contribute her DIY spirit and device expertise in our How-To segments, which will not show you how to download drivers for your printer, but will show you how to make your own accessories, add a mirror to your iPhone, and generally improve the tech in your life or make it work better for you.
Future tech: A look at the amazing and developing tech that will change the way we are living or will live our lives--everything from more efficient solar tech to autonomous flying robots to futuristic transportation, mind-controlled skateboards, and so on. If it's happening or in development somewhere in the world, we'll find it and put it on the show--and hopefully, I'll either ride it, drive it, fly in it, drink it, try it on, or do whatever I have to do to actually experience the full potential of the world we're going to live in. I'm going to need a lot of helmets (and maybe more insurance).
Mailbag: Not many of you probably remember the old Mailbag show I used to do here at CNET, but it was one of my favorite things: reading your emails, warts and all, and trying to respond to your feedback as best I can. These days, we have Twitter, Facebook, your YouTube/Tout/SocialCam videos, and good old trusty email, and every episode of this show will feature that feedback in all its angry, complimentary, and hilarious glory. No show is complete if its viewers aren't part of the show, and you'll all be part of this one.
I am so excited about this show--it's a dream job for me already, as you can see from some of the behind-the-scenes photos in our slideshow. It's a new and exciting project for CNET, too: it's one of the most ambitious shows we've taken on since since CNET was on actual TV back in the '90s. I hope you'll love it, I hope you'll tell your friends about it, I hope you'll learn something here and there, and I hope you'll have fun watching it! Stay tuned!
