Linux After Dark

Some of our hot takes and some from other people. Your OS is a passive gateway to apps and services, OSTree sucks, when you need to reboot Ubuntu is a mystery, stop hiding things from users, Chris needs an “I use Debian by the way” t-shirt, and more.   Zak's post on Mastodon Luke Miani's … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 97"

We recently talked about the lowest-end hardware we'd be willing to use as a daily desktop machine, but what about headless boxes? It turns out that it depends on what exactly it's doing and to what extent we have to actively interact with it. Ultimately we could probably use slower hardware than we actually do … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 96"

What Linux and FOSS technology should Joe learn next? Is it a case of waiting for a problem to present itself before even trying?       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to get in touch. … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 95"

What do we wish had happened in the Linux and open source world? Successful mobile Linux, convergence, Snaps winning, and Amigas still being around.           Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to get … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 94"

Two years after we talked about the lowest-end hardware we'd be willing to daily drive, the Web has bogged machines down to the point where our thresholds have gone up significantly. We channel our inner Linux Luddites, but don't really come up with any solutions.         Support us on Patreon and get … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 93"

We look at postmarketOS on various devices old and new, Arm and x86, and are impressed.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

A dreadful backup box mistake was made but then rectified, whether to take on the technical debt of an older Ubuntu LTS, and why there are more important battles to fight than advocating for FOSS.   2.5 Admins episode where Joe talks about his ZFS setup           Support us on Patreon … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 91"

It's the alternative open source OS challenge! May got OpenIndiana, Joe got ReactOS, Gary got GhostBSD, and Chris got Haiku.   Haiku Package Management         Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to get in … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 90"

The search for the ideal cheap and small off-site backup machine, and our advice on learning the ins and outs of desktop Linux.           Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to get in … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 89"

When a certain task has both options, what do we only do with the command line and what do we only do with a GUI? Plus May's Linux win that wasn't quite enough to avoid going back to the Windows desktop.   Boomstick Vesktop       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 88"

We share the stories of our various tech wins and fails over the holiday period including updating Ubuntu, getting mad at Docker, trying to recover Microsoft passwords, building a PC over a video call, wireless access points that mostly just work, and more.           Support us on Patreon and get an … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 87"

We look back at what we wanted to happen in the Linux and FOSS world in 2024, and talk about what we want to happen in 2025.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 86"

Gary observes that non-FOSS people don't understand or care about licences. Chris admits that he too is somewhat clueless in this area so we try to explain the basics, and then get to the bottom of why “normal” people aren't interested.     Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 85"

Our FOSS frustrations, and our satisfying open source wins.   ncspot py-spy OggCamp Distrobox BoxBuddy audio-visualizer-python         Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes   1Password Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 84"

We all compete to create the worst possible RAID array and network storage device. The mantra here was “what would Jim and Allan from 2.5 Admins NOT do”. Guess who won with this monstrosity.           Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes   1Password … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 83"

Where do we draw the line when it comes to being made to use software that we don't want to at work? Plus why only half of us use Linux on the desktop.           Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes       … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 82"

We revisit our home networking setups including using MoCa (network over coax), Chris searching for a unicorn, and relying on an Apple TV for home automation.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes           See our contact page for ways to … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 81"

Framework sent Joe a 13 DIY edition (for free and to keep) so we do our best to talk about it honestly. It's a great machine, but you pay a premium for the ability to repair and upgrade it.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 80"

Social media was a mistake that has caused polarisation through the spread of misinformation by grifters. We try to come up with some ideas for what to do about it. Dalton mentioned cohost to shut down at end of 2024.         Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 79"

Is a proprietary games company driving all the innovation on the Linux desktop, and is that OK?       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes   1Password Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device. Support the show and check it out … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 78"

We need to talk about Ubuntu (again). The updates situation is a confusing mess, a lot of enthusiast users have had enough and are starting to move to other distros, but ultimately millions of normal users will quietly carry on and not care. Ubuntu Security Updates Are a Confusing Mess       Support us … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 77"

We once recorded an episode about GNOME that was so negative that we decided to delete our recordings and not publish it. Our opinions of GNOME have changed significantly since then so we explain why.         Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes   1Password … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 76"

How we learn, remember, and document new Linux and FOSS technologies.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes       See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

We all customise our phones and computers to one extent or another, but does it make sense to inflict our defaults on other people's machines when we set them up? Or should we set them up with normal defaults on mainstream distros like Ubuntu?       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 74"

Having been given an Asus Eee PC netbook back, Joe wonders what to do with this ancient 32-bit machine. Plus the oldest machines we currently have in production. Batocera       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 73"

We are joined by Florian Beijers who is a full time screen reader user to talk about how the accessibility experience differs on various operating systems and Linux desktop environments, and what open source software devs could be doing better.   Florian's links: Mastodon YouTube channel Twitch IC_Null Twitch LinkedIn       Support us … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 72"

Gary is organising OggCamp this year, so we wonder what makes the perfect Linux and open source event. Plus why we don't use multiple partitions for home and swap etc. Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 71"

How we make our Web experiences better with various plugins, websites and services. Plus the ethics of blocking ads, bypassing paywalls, and supporting creators.   uBlock Origin archive.is Better Twitter Shut Up DF YouTube Youtube-shorts block Consent-O-Matic Privacy Guides Pi-hole Quad9 SponsorBlock         Kolide Kolide ensures that if a device isn't secure … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 70"

Is Linux hard to use? It turns out the answer is both “yes, absolutely” and “not at all!”         Kolide Kolide ensures that if a device isn't secure it can't access your apps.  It's Device Trust for Okta. Visit kolide.com/linuxafterdark to learn more. Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 69"

Dalton asks us when consumer computers peaked which stirs up a debate about various generations of XPS and ThinkPad laptops, trackpads vs trackpoints, P-cores and E-cores, and more. Plus follow-up on the devices and software we trust.       Kolide Kolide ensures that if a device isn't secure it can't access your apps.  It's … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 68"

We are joined by Jorge Castro for an update on the world of what used to be called immutable Linux. Jorge doesn't really like that word. He prefers “composable” Linux. Whatever you want to call it, we're talking about an image-based approach to desktop Linux – built with cloud native technologies – that allows you … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 67"

Ubuntu is nearly 20 years old so we wanted to see how the first versions compare with the upcoming LTS. Unfortunately installing Warty turned out to much harder than we thought it would be. Dalton talks us through his adventure with a turn of the century Mac, Gary had a much easier time with an … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 66"

We wonder what old concepts in the Linux and open source world are due for a comeback.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes   See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Gary's recent (mostly) good experience with an Arm Chromebook makes us wonder about the current state of proper Linux on Arm laptops. Plus follow up on why the Wyse 5070 has some limitations, but is still a great little x86 box. Chris mentioned a FOSDEM talk         Kolide Kolide ensures that if … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 64"

Gary's recent trip to FOSDEM made him wonder if the type of Linux user who goes to FOSS events has changed. Has the demographic shifted more towards “normal” people who use Linux as a tool rather than something to tinker with? Plus more on planned obsolescence, and a quick prediction about the Apple Vision Pro. … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 63"

We come up with our FOSS extremes. The funniest, the coolest, the cleverest, the most useful, the dullest, the most exciting, the most dangerous and problematic, the [something]est open source software. Projects we mentioned: alsamixer Glow Apache nginx HAProxy Redis VLC Kodi Nextcloud Coreutils Audacity Asahi Immich antennapod UniversalBlue       Kolide Kolide ensures … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 62"

How do we decide which devices and which software we trust?         Kolide Kolide ensures that if a device isn't secure it can't access your apps.  It's Device Trust for Okta. Visit kolide.com/linuxafterdark to learn more.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 61"

We look back at what we wanted to happen in the Linux and FOSS world in 2023, and talk about what we want to happen in 2024.       Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact page for ways to … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 60"

The child's toy that Chris hacked makes us remember the various other proprietary hardware and software that we've taken control of using free and open source software. Plus our mixed feelings about doing an accessibility challenge. Lunii       See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

When the Raspberry Pi 5 was announced, we all said that most people would probably be better off repurposing an x86 thin client so we bought some dirt cheap new in box Dell Wyse 5070 machines to see if we were right. Spoiler: we were. Dalton's post about trying to break Synology RAID Parky Towers … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 58"

Our memories of early positive experiences show us how communities have changed over the years, and the best ways to keep the experience positive these days. Late Night Linux Family communities Practical ZFS   Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes         See our contact … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 57"

Half of us constantly change our hardware and software setups, and the other half like to keep things as constant as possible. Are we changing things to avoid personal technical debt, or are we just bored? Plus more on locking down phones.   Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 56"

It's the spinning rust challenge! We try installing and running our operating systems on mechanical hard drives and learn that Linux is much less painful than Windows on a spinning disk.   Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes       See our contact page for ways … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 55"

The vast majority of desktop computer users in the world use a Windows-like interface, so why do all the major distros ship GNOME which is totally different? It can't just be because of accessibility and inertia, can it? Plus more on government attacks on end to end encryption.     HelloFresh With HelloFresh, you get … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 54"

Something has gone wrong with the timeline and all software is free and open source. What does that world look like? Plus more on biometrics and desktop scaling.   Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes     See our contact page for ways to get in touch. … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 53"

What hardware we recommend for desktop Linux users in 2023. Is it really as simple as buying a 5 year old ThinkPad?       HelloFresh With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep.  Get 50% off plus 15% off the next 2 months at hellofresh.com/50linuxafterdark using the … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 52"

Governments around the world are trying to undermine end-to-end encryption. Are they going to get away with forcing in backdoors, and what does it mean for open source? Plus what we stubbornly refuse to use our computers and phones for. Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes.   … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 51"

The bits of Linux and open source software that we regret putting off trying, and what made us wait. From the security and complexity of containers to the hype of ZFS and WSL. Plus why we still haven't embraced Nix. Support us on Patreon for ad-free episodes that are sometimes a day or so early. … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 50"

All four of us have been Ubuntu users for a long time but we've been dabbling with different distros to see how they compare. Fedora, Debian, and openSUSE all have their appeal, but are we likely to switch permanently? Support us on Patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes.     … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 49"

What ever happened to convergence? The dream of having one computing device just never came true, and we get to the bottom of it. Plus how to avoid drama in open source projects.       HelloFresh With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep.  Get 50% off … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 48"

The things we feel like we are missing in Linux, and what we miss from Linux when we use proprietary platforms. We mentioned Dalton's tool called Boomstick.     HelloFresh With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep.  Get 50% off and free shipping at hellofresh.com/linuxafterdark50 using the … Continue reading "Linux After Dark – Episode 47"