Segments
The show focused on answering viewers' technology related questions that had been submitted via the show's website. During each show, as many as four callers asked Laporte for solutions, on-air, to their technology questions. Questions were chosen by Laporte in advance of show taping, and callers appeared on the show via telephone (audio) and via Skype (video) simultaneously. Kate Abraham, call coordinator (ep.1-180), scheduled the callers and introduced them to Laporte during the show; Abraham also appeared in several segments throughout the show's run. Briana McIvor replaced Abraham as the call coordinator for episodes 181-195.
The Lab also featured guests who presented technology products and technology tips, demonstrated software, and discussed technology issues, such as Internet security, with Laporte. Among the regular guests on The Lab were tech personalities Steve Gibson, Alex Lindsay, Chris Pirillo, and Andy Walker. Walker, along with Amber MacArthur, was Laporte's co-host on the Toronto-based Call for Help; Pirillo was the show's host for part of its earlier U.S.-based run. Members of Vancouver's technology community, such as Rick Yaeger and Kris Krug, became regular guests on The Lab.
Each show also included a number of regular features. Yewell's Jewels was a free-file segment presented by chase producer, Ryan Yewell. The featured files included utilities, productivity tools, and entertainment software. Yewell also scheduled the guests that appeared on the show. Another regular feature was What the Tech? which served as a transition into and out of one of the show's commercial breaks. What the Tech? invited viewers to identify the subject of a close-up photograph of technology. Content producer Sean Carruthers created the segment and took the photographs used. Carruthers was also an on-air presence whom Laporte queried for additional suggestions regarding caller questions. In addition, Carruthers developed a regular segment entitled Sean's Shinies during which he demonstrated an interesting/unique tech product. One feature that served as a commercial transition was the Quick Quiz Question, a multiple-choice technology trivia game that occasionally had errors that made it to air.
Read more about this topic: The Lab With Leo Laporte
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