LINUX Unplugged

366: Linux Server Salvage

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We refurbish a special machine from the Jupiter Broadcasting Hardware Archive and try out Matrix, the one chat platform to rule them all. Plus Dan and...

365: There's a Hole in my Boot!

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We explain why BootHole is getting so much attention and break down the key issues. Then we review our favorite Linux-compatible headsets. Plus commun...

364: Linux Arm Wrestling

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The past, present and future of Linux on Arm. The major challenges still facing full Linux support, and why ServerReady might be a solution to unify A...

363: Return of the Terminal Server

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fedora makes a bold move and Microsoft seems to be working on their ideal "Cloud PC", we ponder what Linux has to offer. Plus an easy way to remotely ...

362: The Hidden Cost of Nextcloud

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our team has been using Nextcloud to replace Dropbox for over a year, we report back on what has worked great, and what's not so great. Plus why Linus...

361: Buttery Smooth Fedora

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fedora's getting to work and reconsidering some long held-assumptions. Plus the best tool for getting things done on Linux, we take a look at openSUSE...

360: The Hard Work of Hardware

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by two guests who share their insights into building modern Linux hardware products. Plus we try out Mint 20, cover some big Gnome fixes,...

359: Death of the Mac

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Why we think Apple just handed market share to Desktop Linux, and why you can kiss running Linux on the Mac goodbye forever. Special Guests: Drew DeVo...

358: Our Fragmented Favorite

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to challenge some long-held assumptions. Today's Btrfs is not yesterday's hot mess, but a modern battle-tested filesystem, and we'll prove i...

357: The Little Distro That Could

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The lightweight distro that stole our hearts, the four of us each try out a different contender and come away with what we think will be the leanest a...

356: Linux Hardware Love

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From the low-end to the high-end we try out both ends of the Linux hardware spectrum. Wes reviews the latest XPS 13, and Chris shares his thoughts on ...

355: Chris' Data Crisis

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Chris' tale of woe after a recent data loss, and Wes' adventure after he finds a rogue device on his network. Special Guest: Drew DeVore.

354: Microsoft FINALLY Gets It

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Windows is getting more competitive by adopting core Linux features, so we cover the latest Linux-inspired additions to Windows. Then review the new r...

353: Feeling Elive

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're blown away by the Enlightenment desktop, and its little known features, and we share a quick way for you to try it out yourself. Plus our exper...

352: Three Course Battery

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Manjaro has a new hardware partner so Phillip joins to share the details, and we have the Lemur Pro in house for a battery endurance test like no othe...

351: Lenovo Loves Linux

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller joins us to discuss Lenovo shipping ThinkPads loaded with Fedora, and our review of the new 32 release. Plus Ubun...

350: Focal Focus

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The latest Ubuntu LTS is here, but does it live up to the hype? And how practical are the new ZFS features? We dig into the performance, security, and...

349: Arm: A New Hope

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We build the server you never should, a tricked out Arm box, and push it to the limit with a telnet torture test. Plus what we're playing recently, co...

348: OK OOMer

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today we make nice with a killer, an early out-of-memory daemon, and one of the new features in Fedora 32. We put EarlyOOM to the test in a real-world...

347: Arm is Here

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We discover a few simple Raspberry Pi tricks that unlock incredible performance and make us re-think the capabilities of Arm systems. Plus we celebrat...

346: The One-Click Trap

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We debate the dangers and advantages of one-click deployments. Then Dan from elementary OS shares an AppCenter for Everyone update. Plus a big batch o...

345: Don't Go Viral, Go Virtual

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It was the first of its kind, and the first forced to go virtual. We get the behind the scenes story of WSL Conf from the organizers. Plus our impress...

344: Our Week with Windows

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We load up Windows 10 with WSL2, the new Terminal, and give it a go to see what it does better than Linux. Then we dive into the deep end and attend t...

343: What Linux is Best At

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We try the Mac desktop for 30 days, find out what we think it does best, and where Linux will always have it beat. This episode kicks off the start of...

342: Shrimps have SSHells

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A radical new way to do SSH authentication, special guest Jeremy Stott joins us to discuss Zero Trust SSH. Plus community news, a concerning issue for...

341: Long Term Rolling

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We question the very nature of Linux development, and debate if a new approach is needed. Plus an easy way to snapshot any workstation, some great fe...

340: IRC is Dead

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The difficult and fascinating conversations from FOSDEM 2020. Plus how elementary OS does coopertition right. And a bunch of community news, app picks...

339: The Mint Mindset

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We get into the Linux Mint mindset after years away and share our take on Cinnamon's many improvements. Plus news that'll have knock-on effects for t...

338: Success Through Vulnerability

28 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How did we get from shareware to free software? We jump in the Linux powered time machine and revisit software past. Plus a new Plasma focused laptop,...

337: Mystical Users

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We make an appeal to keep Linux powerful and avoid the Macification of the desktop, and review the latest developer-focused XPS 13. Plus some communi...

336: Linus' Filesystem Fluster

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Linus Torvalds says don't use ZFS, but we think he got a few of the facts wrong. Jim Salter joins us to help us explain what Linus got right, and what...

335: Practically Perfect Predictions

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Find out what's happening in 2020 before it happens. Our crew returns from the future with predictions so perfect you could bet some Dogecoin on it. S...

334: Particularly Poor Predictions

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We review our predictions and own up to what we got wrong, and what we got right in 2019. Special Guests: Alex Kretzschmar and Brent Gervais.

333: Linux Wayback Machine

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Open source won the last decade, but what if it hadn’t? We look back at some major milestones and reflect on a world where they never existed. Speci...

332: The WSL Secrets

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Big things are coming to Microsoft's WSL so we get the inside scoop on what's just around the corner. Plus a few new GNOME features, some Arch server ...

331: apt install arch-linux

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're myth-busting this week as we take a perfectly functioning production server and switch it to Arch. Is this rolling distro too dangerous to run i...

330: 'Tis the SSHession

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Give the gift of remote support with our neat SSH trick. Also, Cassidy from elementary OS joins us to discuss what's great about their new release. Pl...

329: Flat Network Truthers

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Build one flat network across cloud providers, personal networks, with even thousands of nodes. We feature two amazing open source solutions, and the ...

328: My Mighty Fine Pine

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Pinebook Pro gets put through the travel test, while we get an update on Pine64 projects straight from the source. Plus a few surpises from the S...

327: Distro Disco

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Get to know our Linux Users Group a little better and learn why they love their Linux distros of choice, and the one thing they'd change to make them ...

326: Dell, elementary, Fedora, oh my!

06 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dell expands their linux hardware lineup, why elementary OS's Flatpak support sets the bar, and we chat with Christian Schaller of Red Hat about Fedor...

325: DNF or Die

30 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fedora 31 strikes the right balance, we get the latest on the Librem 5 situation, and an easy graphics boost for laptops. Plus the best way to share y...

324: RAMburglars

23 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is the ZFS tax too high? We pit ZFS on root against ext4 in our laptop pressure cooker and see how they perform when RAM gets tight. Plus we take a lo...

323: It's Pronounced 19.10

16 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We risk it all and try ZFS on root with Ubuntu 19.10, and share our first impressions and what improvements we can't live without. Plus, exciting news...

322: Just Enough VPN

09 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We reveal our secrets for bridging networks with WireGuard and Linux-powered networking. Plus the future of OpenPGP in Thunderbird, a disappointing up...

321: Fresh Install Feels

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What makes a fresh install of Linux perfect? We ask our panel and share a few tools, tips, and habits that make our Linux installs perfect. Plus the b...

320: RHELhide

25 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

CentOS goes rolling and announces version 8. Find out why we're excited to take a dip in this stream. Plus we review what might just be your next Lin...

319: Positive in the Freedom Dimension

18 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Stallman has resigned as president and director of the Free Software Foundation, and that's just one of the major shifts this week. Also what ...

318: Manjaro Levels Up

11 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s official, Manjaro is a legitimate business; so what happens next? We chat with Phil from the project about the huge news. Plus we share some bi...

317: Performance Picks for Kicks

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We take a trip to visit Level1Tech's Wendell Wilson and come back with some of his performance tips for a smoother Linux desktop. Plus the story behin...

316: Self-Hosted Secrets

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Safely host your own password database using totally open source software. We cover BitWarden, our top choice to solve this problem. Plus we announce ...

315: Wayland Buddies

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We spend our weekend with Wayland, discover new apps to try, tricks to share, and dig into the state of the project. Plus System76's new software rele...

314: Bigger. Faster. Harder to Maintain.

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's huge, and it's getting bigger every month. How do you test the Linux Kernel? Major Hayden from Red Hat joins us to discuss their efforts to autom...

313: I Spy With My Little Pi

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We put the Raspberry Pi 4 to the desktop test, and try it as our daily driver. Plus some neat and powerful uses for recent Pis, and our thoughts on M...

312: What Modern Linux Looks Like

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Manjaro takes significant steps to stand out, and the shared problem major distributions are trying to solve, and why it will shape the future of Linu...

311: 32 Hours of Outrage

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Keynote presenter from Texas LinuxFest and established industry expert Thomas Cameron joins us to discuss the end of the distro wars, the future of Li...

310: All Roads Lead to Linux

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What’s surprised us, what we got wrong, right, and what the biggest game changers have been in 2019 so far. Special Guests: Alex Kretzschmar and Jim...

309: The Future is Open

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Open Source has taken over the world, as IBM's purchase of Red Hat closes. We reflect on this historic moment. Plus Mozilla's been labeled an Internet...

308: The One About GPU Passthrough

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our crew walks you through their PCI Passthrough setups that let them run Windows, macOS, and distro-hop all from one Linux machine. Forget multiple p...

307: What's your NextCloud?

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Go full self-hosted with our team’s tips, and we share our setups from simple to complex. Plus what really happens on a 64-bit Linux box when you ru...

306: Flipping FreeNAS for Fedora

19 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We attempt something you never should, we live flip our FreeNAS ZFS install to a Fedora server. Plus a REALLY weird PC, and our command line picks. S...

305: Resilience Is Futile

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is Resilient Linux truly an indestructible distro? Or is this our toughest distro challenge yet? Plus why openSUSE is looking at a renaming, and if we...

304: Losing My Religion

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Adopting a distro like it’s a religion is stupid. That’s one of many hard lessons we take away from Texas Linux Fest this week; we’ll share some...

303: Stateless and Dateless

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We visit Intel to figure out what Clear Linux is all about and explain a few tricks that make it unique. Plus Wes and Ell are back from KubeCon in Bar...

302: Dark Style Rises

22 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Can the Free Desktop avoid being left behind in the going dark revolution? Cassidy from elementary OS joins us to discuss their proposal. Plus we comp...

301: Peak Red Hat

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We scale the Red Hat Summit and come back with a few stories to share. Plus some big community news, finding threats on the command line, and our rea...

300: Ultimate Fedora Test

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is Fedora 30 the peak release of this distribution? We put it through the ultimate test, live on the air, and put everything on the line. Plus Red Hat...

299: Shame as a Service

01 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fresh back from LinuxFest Northwest we share a few of our favorite stories and memories. Plus our concerns with Purism's new subscription services, Fe...

298: Blame Joe

24 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discover the good word of Xfce and admit Joe was right all along. And share our tips for making Xfce more modern. Plus a new Debian leade...

297: Release the Dingo

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ubuntu's new release is here, and this one might be one of the most important in a while. But is it worth upgrading from an LTS? We review and debate ...

296: Defining Desktop Linux

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The way we’ve been thinking about Desktop Linux is all wrong. We start by defining Desktop Linux, and where it might be going in the future. Plus ...

295: Stay and Compile a While

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is there really any advantage to building your software vs installing the package? We discuss when and why you might want to consider building it your...

294: Tainted Love

27 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why we sometimes go too far with our Linux advocacy, and a few humble strategies to switch people to Linux. Plus an update to the most important text ...

293: Netflix's Gift to Linux

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Developers at Netflix are creating the next set of super powers for Linux, we'll get the details straight from the source. Plus some good Debian news,...

292: Cheese on the SCaLE

13 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A new voice joins the show, and we share stories from our recent adventures at SCaLE 17x. Plus we look at the Debian project's recent struggles, NGINX...

291: Dirty Home Directories

05 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We reveal all and look at the mess that is our home directories. How we keep them clean, back them up, and organize our most important files. Plus Gn...

290: Proper Pi Pedigree

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We head to the Raspberry Pi corner and pick the very best open source home automation system. Plus some great news for Gnome users, OBS studio has a n...

289: The Meat Factor

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Will there ever be another "big" Linux distro, or has that time passed? Plus two popular Linux desktop apps see a big upgrade, and Wes explains to Ch...

288: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Repo

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The hype around a new security flaw hits new levels. Fedora has a bunch of news, and we discover what's new in the latest Plasma release. Plus we fall...

287: Clean up After Yourself

06 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why FOSDEM might be the quintessential community event, and our thoughts after playing with Pi-Hole. Plus community news for everyone’s favorite vid...

286: Ell is for Linux

30 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're playing Robin Hood with the content, and a new member of our team joins to tell you all about it. Plus some hard details on the Librem 5, we vis...

285: Pain the APT

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

An embarrassing vulnerability has been found in the apt package manager, we’ll break it all down. Plus Alessandro Castellani tells us about his plan...

284: Free as in Get Out

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

ZFS on Linux is becoming the official upstream project of all major ZFS implementations, even the BSDs. But recent kernel changes prevent ZFS from eve...

283: The Premiere Shell

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Joe joins Wes to discuss the state of Adobe's Creative Cloud on Linux and why the Fish shell might be your favorite new tool. Plus community news, a r...

282: Wishing Upon a Kernel

03 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We start off the new year with our hopes and dreams for Linux and open source in 2019 and beyond. Plus Clear Linux aims to build the ultimate Linux de...

281: 2019 Predictions

27 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We get serious and bring in a special referee to help us lock in our Linux predictions for 2019. Special Guest: Alan Pope.

280: Handmade Desktop Linux

18 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We’re just back from touring System76’s new factory, and getting the inside scoop on how they build their Thelio desktop. This is our story about ...

279: WireGuardians of the Galaxy

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We have a WireGuard success story to share, and it's probably not what you're expecting. Plus we check in on Ubuntu 19.04, start the search for an Emb...

278: Shell in a Handbasket

05 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with a developer who's gotten Linux running on iOS devices, do a deep dive into Clear Linux, and discuss Xubuntu ending 32bit support. Plus wh...

Episode 277: Skipping Fedora 31

28 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Fedora might take a year off, to focus on it self. Project Lead and Council Chair Matthew Miller joins us to explain this major proposal. Plus Wimpy s...

Episode 276: Very Long Term Support

21 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Android and Ubuntu are working exceptionally hard to create longer support cycles. We’ll highlight the work that makes this possible, and what’s m...

Episode 275: Year of the Relevant Desktop

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Christian F.K. Schaller from Red Hat joins us to discuss seamless Linux upgrades, replacing PulseAudio, some of the recent desktop Projects Red Hat’...

Episode 274: Open Source by Default

07 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Have the revolutionaries won the war against proprietary software? That’s the argument being made. And we argue, what else did you expect? Plus some...

Episode 273: International Hat Machines

31 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We speculate about a future where IBM owns Red Hat, and review the latest Fedora 29 release that promises a new game changing feature. Plus Chris retu...

Episode 272: Prepare for Pipewire

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The lead developer of PipeWire Wim Taymans joins us to discuss Linux’s multimedia past, and its exciting future. They promise to greatly improve han...

Episode 271: Juno Jubilation

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

elementary OS’ latest and greatest released today, and we talk with Dan and Cassidy from the project about their biggest release yet. Then community...

Episode 270: Stratis Pulls it All Together

10 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Red Hat developer Andy Grover joins us to discuss Stratis Storage, an alternative to ZFS on Linux and its recent milestone. Also Google subtracts Plus...

Episode 269: Alternate Desktop Universe

03 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What if desktop computing went a very different direction in the late 90s? Deeply multithreaded from the start, fast, intuitive, and extremely stable....

Episode 268: Elementary, My Dear Plasma

26 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We chat with Nate Graham who’s pushing to make Plasma the best desktop on the planet. We discuss his contributions to this effort, and others. Plus ...

Episode 267: People Patches

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Linus takes a break and the Linux kernel adopts a new Code of Conduct. We work through these major watershed moments, and discuss what it means for th...