Stuart Langridge, Jono Bacon, and Jeremy Garcia present Bad Voltage, your fortnightly recommended dose of vitamins and minerals. Featuring a still virulently ill Jono, the uttering of the phrase “FreeBSD” in these hallowed halls, and:

[00:02:26] In the news this week, the Guardian wrongly declare WhatsApp to have a “back door” and get huge pushback from security experts demanding a retraction, Google is big enough to develop a trusted hardware solution for internal use only and isn’t going to sell it, possibly heralding a new era of hardware that nobody will be able to buy, and Facebook are doing something with VR thus confirming one of Jono’s predictions and he almost dies of smugness

[00:13:00] We review the ACPAD, which calls itself “the electronic orchestra for your guitar” after its successful Kickstarter; what’s it all about?

[00:27:30] Is ChromeOS “desktop Linux”? We asked this question in the last show, and it’s a bigger one than we might think. If it is, do Chromebook successes count as “the year of the Linux desktop”? If it isn’t, is it a threat? A rival or a friend? Should we buy a Chromebook?

[00:50:07] People are using the GPL less and permissive licenses more; this isn’t just a feeling, it’s confirmed by research. Why is this? Is it a problem? And do we think that anyone should care?

Also, Bad Voltage are returning to SCALE in Pasadena in March for a live show! Keep your ears open for more details, and buy your SCALE tickets now!

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