IntPOD: The Interfacing Linux Podcast

Solving the case of a mysterious $300 PayPal deposit, taking a look at Epic's new vibe-coded Linux launcher, lusting over Axera's 16-core Arm DGX Spark competitor, checking out a homebrew ethernet audio interface built specifically for Linux, and a quick look at the weird product review offers currently chilling in my inbox.

Head over to the Interfacing Linux forums to join the discussion.

SUPPORT

Patreon ▶ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux⁠⁠

Other ▶ ⁠https://interfacinglinux.com/sponsorships/⁠

SOCIAL

Xitter ▶⁠ ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/intlinux⁠⁠⁠

Discord ▶ ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/rW3hAV923Y⁠⁠⁠

YouTube ▶ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux⁠⁠⁠

Twitch ▶ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitch.tv/interfacinglinux⁠

CONTACT

Email ▶ ⁠⁠https://interfacinglinux.com/contact/⁠⁠

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:05 A mysterious $300 PayPal deposit 

01:33 Tracking down the sender 

02:24 The bait and switch 

03:45 Hello, and welcome back to another IntPOD! 

05:05 Why are TechTubers experimenting with Linux?

07:58 Epic’s vibe-coded Linux game launcher 

15:09 Axera's 16-core Arm DGX Spark competitor

16:26 Sipeed MaixBlade X4

22:05 Review offers from my inbox 

26:05 Ethernet audio interface prototype eth68

31:13 BiliBili vs YouTube 

SHOW TOPICS

Epic Game Launcher MK2

https://interfacinglinux.com/community/linuxgaming/installing-official-epic-game-launcher-beta-on-linux/

AX8860 AI SBCs

https://interfacinglinux.com/community/sbchardware/axera-anounces-a-dgx-spark-competitor-ax8860-ai/

Ethernet audio interface

https://naturalsystems.io/eth68

This episode covers a bit of everything: Chase away the “idea people,” what I’ve been up to with Interfacing Linux, doing sponsored videos, negotiating with hardware companies, and why getting free hardware isn’t quite the same thing as getting paid.

I also get into the latest SBC and ARM nonsense, including new RISC-V boards, CIX 8180 hardware, Steam on ARM, Epic potentially bringing its launcher to Linux, and why having Fortnite on Linux could actually be a pretty big deal.

And finally, a look at YouTube’s monetization requirements, the realities of growing a small tech channel, and why I’m still not watching Shorts.

SUPPORT

Patreon ▶ ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux⁠⁠

PayPal ▶ ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZMNJFJULR8WJY⁠⁠

Wishlist ▶ ⁠⁠https://throne.com/interfacinglinux⁠⁠

One Time ▶ https://interfacinglinux.com/sponsorships/

SOCIAL

X ▶ ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/intlinux⁠⁠

Discord ▶ ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/rW3hAV923Y⁠⁠

YouTube ▶ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux⁠⁠

Twitch ▶ ⁠⁠https://www.twitch.tv/interfacinglinux

CONTACT

Email ▶ ⁠⁠https://interfacinglinux.com/contact/⁠⁠

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:17 Chasing off your audience

03:30 Catching up and cookin

04:37 Banana Pi BPI R4 timeline

05:07 NVIDIA vs Rockchip

05:45 Thunderbolt eGPUs on Linux

06:25 Proxmox coming to ARM!

07:06 I got an NVIDIA SBC, not that one

08:04 Landing my first sponsored video

11:01 Multi-video projects

13:56 New RISC-V SBCs weren't that great

16:41 Raxda and the mini Orion O6

18:18 Steam released an ARM client for Linux

20:18 Epic is working on a Linux client

21:53 Fortnite on Linux might happen

24:05 New YouTube monetization requirements

Do “Winbro proof” Linux reviews make sense in 2026? My native ARM port of Sonic Unleashed somehow turned into a high-frequency teenager repellent. The 2026 SBC drought, a looming US consumer router ban, and the Banana Pie R4 Pro going through my gauntlet of nope.

SUPPORT

Patreon ▶ ⁠https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux⁠

PayPal ▶ ⁠https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZMNJFJULR8WJY⁠

Wishlist ▶ ⁠https://throne.com/interfacinglinux⁠

SOCIAL

Xitter ▶ ⁠https://twitter.com/intlinux⁠

Mastodon ▶ ⁠https://mast.interfacinglinux.com/@interfacinglinux⁠

Discord ▶ ⁠https://discord.gg/rW3hAV923Y⁠

YouTube ▶ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux⁠

Twitch ▶ ⁠https://www.twitch.tv/intlinux⁠

CONTACT

Email ▶ ⁠https://interfacinglinux.com/contact/⁠

TOPIC LINKS

LTT Linus vs Linux ▶ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kluoZ9RhmVo

Sonic on ARM ▶ https://interfacinglinux.com/2026/03/26/sonic-unleashed-running-natively-on-arm-linux-is-wild/

BPI-R4-Pro ▶ https://docs.banana-pi.org/en/BPI-R4_Pro/BananaPi_BPI-R4_Pro

COMMENTS

Feedback ▶ https://interfacinglinux.com/community/intpod/linux-2026-no-longer-for-weirdos/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:01 The Linus Tech Tips Linux challenge

01:05 The problem with PopOS

02:19 When your co-host known Linux

03:09 The failures were pretty tame

03:29 Problems with normies running Linux

04:51 Hello! And welcome back.

05:12 No new single board computers in 2026

06:55 Building a XBOX 360 game on ARM Linux

07:23 What is Sonic Unleashed Recomp

07:50 Two strange comments on my latest video

08:19 I accidentally created a sonic weapon

10:09 BPI-R4-Pro Router Board review unit arrived

10:30 The US just banned all foreign routers

11:30 The BPI-R4-Pro needs time to cook

12:07 First rule of OpenWRT club

13:27 Comments! Smoke and FIRE!

14:17 Banana Pi PCB build quality

14:47 Have a witty retort?

When was the last time you visited a forum?

A simple question about adding a front panel USB C hub to a motherboard without a Type E connector got me thinking about how differently we answer questions now. Discord replies are fast. Forum replies used to sit in your brain for a day or two while you worked out the best answer. Turns out that might be something we lost along the way.

Also in this episode

Five months of Interfacing Linux projects including the Orange Pi 6, Dragon Q6A, a Ryzen AI mini PC, a goth hedgehog, and a FireWire ZIP drive.

Behind the scenes reality of TechTube which mostly involves answering emails from marketing and PR departments.

Upcoming hardware nonsense including the BPI R4 Pro router and a possibly terrible idea involving an AMD Xilinx Alveo MA35D media encoder and OBS.

Plus an upcoming Linux LTO tape backup project and where I actually buy audio gear without paying new gear prices.

If you would like to support my work on Interfacing Linux:

Patreon ▶ https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux

PayPal ▶ https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZMNJFJULR8WJY

Wishlist ▶ https://throne.com/interfacinglinux

SOCIAL

Xitter ▶ https://twitter.com/intlinux

Mastodon ▶ https://mast.interfacinglinux.com/@interfacinglinux

YouTube ▶ https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux

Twitch ▶ https://www.twitch.tv/intlinux

CONTACT

Discord ▶ https://discord.gg/rW3hAV923Y

Forums ▶ https://interfacinglinux.com/community/

Email ▶ https://interfacinglinux.com/contact/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 A thought about thinking

02:55 It's only been what? Five months?

04:20 Reviewing an insane ARM router

05:00 Asking AMD for enterprise video encoder

07:22 Archival backups at home on Linux

09:04 Finding affordable recording equipment in 2026

12:00 Avoiding monitor reviews

12:26 Thanks for all the support over the past few months!

13:23 A place for upcoming Interfacing Linux projects

14:04 LTT vs Linux watch party next week, maybe?

Going live for the first time in 2025, TechTube view counts crashing due to ad blockers, bizarre PR email about a Raspberry Pi 5, a 1991 Radio Shack ad showing a recording setup in your pocket, and my NAS kit review sample literally exploded.

Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux⁠

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux⁠

Website: ⁠https://interfacinglinux.com/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:09 Going live for the first time in 2025

01:52 A decade of podcasting

02:05 Rethinking streaming live setup and new gear 

06:04 Welcome to episode 1 of IntPOD

06:25 Tech-Tuber view counts hit by adblockers

08:30 Why view count is super important 

09:58 Story: Asking Intel for a GPU review sample

11:26 A sketchy Raspberry Pi 5 review offer, scam?

14:56 90’s Radio Shack ad has everything you need to get started 

16:03 You don’t need to buy new equipment starting out 

19:16 Publishing your content is the only way forward 

21:09 What to do when the review sample EXPLODES 

23:45 A Linux gaming PC headed my way for review

24:26 Thoughts, hints, suggestions?

Story Links:

Tech-Tube crash: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/digging-deeper-youtubes-view-count-discrepancy

1991 Radio Shack: https://www.trendingbuffalo.com/life/uncle-steves-buffalo/everything-from-1991-radio-shack-ad-now/

In the first episode, I talk about working with companies as a small Tech Tuber, from honest gear offers to sketchy review demands. Then I chat about Valve’s Fremont appearing on Geekbench, modern digital effects pedals, and Framework’s upgradeable laptop GPU.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/interfacinglinux

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InterfacingLinux

Website: https://interfacinglinux.com/

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:08 About the podcast

00:31 My background in media production

01:10 Origins of Interfacing Linux

02:06 Why make a podcast?

02:20 My history with YouTube content creation

02:43 Trying to make a proper Tech Tube channel

02:59 You get a lot of free products

03:17 Documenting what goes on behind the scenes

03:34 The two types of companies that offer review samples

03:53 The good

04:42 The bad

04:55 Companies reach out to you

05:17 Free stuff for a video review

05:25 They only want a review video

06:43 Beware the second email

07:46 Advice for review emails

08:56 Finding a compromise with the company

11:00 Welcome to In Exchange For Review

11:31 Mr. Ting and the Mele mini PC

14:41 Willing to negotiate?

16:17 Some of the good from Ice Whale

16:37 ZimaBlade DIY NAS kit

18:32 I want some of a product

18:49 Hey, I need a NAS anyway

20:29 Tale of the mystery review sample

21:23 Careful with your personal information

24:36 Vintage digital effects pedals

26:35 BOSS effect pedal runs plugins

27:45 Challenges making a DIY effects pedal

28:33 Is Valve working on a living room gaming console?

29:53 Valve Freemont appears on Geekbench

30:53 Quest for the PC living room console

32:11 It's all about the price

32:34 Upgradable laptop GPU from Framework

34:44 Next week: Getting the computer-2 and dodgy Amazon sellers