> > Off topic somewhat, .. but is it just me, or do others
> > too
> > prefer to READ these interviews (and other such)
> > on-screen,
> > rather than listen to an audio stream?
>
> I'm with you, and I think it is a quite a common
> preference. However I suspect that others will just say
> that we are out of sync with our time.

Thanks for the feedback. We typically focus on text-based content on Artima. The very few exceptions where we posted audio were following last year's JavaOne, and then again post-JavaOne this year.

We generally prefer to publish in-depth technical interviews in text format, for the reasons you all mentioned. Some of the benefits of a text-format interview come not just from the fact that it's text that can be quickly scanned, but, I'd hope, also because we typically invest a lot of time editing and polishing what starts out as a transcript of an audio recording.

In the process of turning an audio interview into a text interview, a transcription often has to be extensively edited in order to make the resulting text readable. Very few people speak so clearly as to allow us to just publish an unedited transcript. In addition to editing out "ums," "ahhs," false starts, etc., we also sometimes re-arrange the order in which the person we talk to describes something, etc.

BTW, such editing is necessary even in the case of these short audio interviews.

I think the audio snippets give back some of the feeling of walking through the JavaOne show floor and striking up conversations with people. We also did some longer interviews, too, at JavaOne that will appear as full-length edited pieces in the coming weeks.