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We stress tested open source AI agents this week. What actually held up, and where it falls apart. Plus Brent's $20 Wi-Fi upgrade.Sponsored By:Jupiter Party Annual Membership: Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free! Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We stress tested open source AI agents this week. What actually held up, and where it falls apart. Plus Brent's $20 Wi-Fi upgrade.
When your self-hosted services become infrastructure, breakage matters. We tackle monitoring that actually helps, alerts you won't ignore, and DNS for local, and multi-mesh network setups.Sponsored By:Jupiter Party Annual Membership: Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free! Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
When your self-hosted services become infrastructure, breakage matters. We tackle monitoring that actually helps, alerts you won't ignore, and DNS for local, and multi-mesh network setups.
We rebuild a small office network around Linux, with an Unplugged twist and real-world constraints. Things don't go quite as expected...Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We rebuild a small office network around Linux, with an Unplugged twist and real-world constraints. Things don't go quite as expected...
The storage apocalypse has arrived. An old friend drops by to talk survival strategies as prices explode, and we pitch our own unapologetically 90s approach to stretching storage.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
The storage apocalypse has arrived. An old friend drops by to talk survival strategies as prices explode, and we pitch our own unapologetically 90s approach to stretching storage.
We unleash a networking monitoring tool to spot new devices, track changes in real time, and fire alerts straight into Home Assistant, MQTT, and your phone.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We unleash a networking monitoring tool to spot new devices, track changes in real time, and fire alerts straight into Home Assistant, MQTT, and your phone.
We make our big Linux predictions for 2026, but first, we score how we did for 2025.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We make our big Linux predictions for 2026, but first, we score how we did for 2025.
As the end of the year rolls up on us, we attempt a little personalized year-in-review, looking back at 2025 without dwelling on the various tech crises we've already talked about ad nauseam. Instead we focus on things we thought were cool or uplifting this year, including Will's ongoing Linux desktop adventures, the inevitability of electric cars (and bicycles), when it's worth it to buy the good earbuds, convenience improvements in screen protectors, rediscovering the joy of CRTs and nerdy community, plus some listener nominations and a couple of Andy Rooney-esque rants for good measure.Linux Unplugged podcast on bcachefs: https://linuxunplugged.com/644Switch 2 grips Will mentioned: https://amzn.to/48IpFXE Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod
The Great Holiday Homelab Special! Where our community brought their absolute best, from budget busters to beautiful disasters. Plus, a boosties celebration! Grab an eggnog and join us as we attempt to choose this year's winners.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
The Great Holiday Homelab Special! Where our community brought their absolute best, from budget busters to beautiful disasters. Plus, a boosties celebration! Grab an eggnog and join us as we attempt to choose this year's winners.
We cut the streaming cord the Linux way with free, legal internet TV you can curate, DVR, and self-host via Jellyfin or Plex. Then, we talk COSMIC stable with System76's CEO.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We cut the streaming cord the Linux way with free, legal internet TV you can curate, DVR, and self-host via Jellyfin or Plex. Then, we talk COSMIC stable with System76's CEO.
Kent Overstreet joins us for a full update on bcachefs. What's new, what's next, and the surprising upside of getting kicked out of the kernel.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Kent Overstreet joins us for a full update on bcachefs. What's new, what's next, and the surprising upside of getting kicked out of the kernel.
We pull on a few loose threads from recent episodes, and some of them unravel into way more than we expected.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We pull on a few loose threads from recent episodes, and some of them unravel into way more than we expected.
Chris cooked up a wild remote-access trick for Jellyfin that skips VPNs entirely. One tiny toggle spins up a secure tunnel on demand. Simple, absurd, and shockingly effective.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Chris cooked up a wild remote-access trick for Jellyfin that skips VPNs entirely. One tiny toggle spins up a secure tunnel on demand. Simple, absurd, and shockingly effective.
We dig into the biggest Linux hardware news of the year, then fire up our new-to-us 1L PC server.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We dig into the biggest Linux hardware news of the year, then fire up our new-to-us 1L PC server.
We dive into your configs, the genius moves, the glorious blunders, and everything in between.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We dive into your configs, the genius moves, the glorious blunders, and everything in between.
After all the AI hype is over, one change for Linux will be sticking around; we put it to the test.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: Discover a Better Way to Pay for Healthcare with Crowdfunded Memberships. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
After all the AI hype is over, one change for Linux will be sticking around; we put it to the test.
Fedora 43 arrives with polish, new spins, and a smarter installer; and one decision the rest of the Linux world should pay attention to.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: This open enrollment, take your power back. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using code UNPLUGGED.Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Fedora 43 arrives with polish, new spins, and a smarter installer; and one decision the rest of the Linux world should pay attention to.
The biggest failure in seven years, right before a trip. What broke, how Chris pulled it back together, and how Wes would fix it right.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. CrowdHealth: This open enrollment, take your power back. Join CrowdHealth to get started today for $99 for your first three months using code UNPLUGGED. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
The biggest failure in seven years, right before a trip. What broke, how Chris pulled it back together, and how Wes would fix it right.
We're back from Texas just in time to chat with Jon Seager, Canonical's VP of Engineering, and their new era with Ubuntu 25.10. On the way, we visit System76 in Denver where the COSMIC team has surprises waiting for us.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
We're back from Texas just in time to chat with Jon Seager, Canonical's VP of Engineering, and their new era with Ubuntu 25.10. On the way, we visit System76 in Denver where the COSMIC team has surprises waiting for us.
Our cross-continent race to Texas Linux Fest culminates into fantastic meat, meetups, and more.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Our cross-continent race to Texas Linux Fest culminates into fantastic meat, meetups, and more.
From finely tuned to total config carnage. We review listener homelabs to share what works, and what really doesn't.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
From finely tuned to total config carnage. We review listener homelabs to share what works, and what really doesn't.
Can't get enough Linux? How about multiple kernels running simultaneously, side by side, not in a VM, all on the same hardware; this week it's finally looking real.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Can't get enough Linux? How about multiple kernels running simultaneously, side by side, not in a VM, all on the same hardware; this week it's finally looking real.
Our first look at KDE Linux, then Chris shares the latest on Hyprvibe, while Wes braves his first install.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Our first look at KDE Linux, then Chris shares the latest on Hyprvibe, while Wes braves his first install.
Chris managed to turn low bandwidth into a lifestyle, and curated a batch of self-hosted apps that make near-offline living possible.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Chris managed to turn low bandwidth into a lifestyle, and curated a batch of self-hosted apps that make near-offline living possible.
Google's sideloading lockdown has us pushing Wes' Pixel further than Google ever dreamed.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Google's sideloading lockdown has us pushing Wes' Pixel further than Google ever dreamed.
Arch is under fire, two weeks and counting. We'll break down the mess, and share a quick fix. Plus, the killer new apps we've just added to our homelabs.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:
Arch is under fire, two weeks and counting. We'll break down the mess, and share a quick fix. Plus, the killer new apps we've just added to our homelabs.
When personalities clash, the users come last. Meanwhile, Chris' hyper-tuned setup stops being a toy and starts looking like a daily driver.Sponsored By:Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love. 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps. Unraid: A powerful, easy operating system for servers and storage. Maximize your hardware with unmatched flexibility. Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks: