Linux After Dark

By The Late Night Linux Family

What's Linux After Dark about?

Sysadmin Chris, cloud consultant Gary, and developer/admin Dalton join Joe to talk about their recent Linux-related experiences, and discuss some of the more philosophical aspects of being a Linux user.

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Linux After Dark episodes:

05.10.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 69
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...
04.26.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 68
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. ...
04.12.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 67
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...
03.29.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 66
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...
03.15.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 65
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...
03.01.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 64
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...
02.16.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 63
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...
02.02.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 62
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...
01.19.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 61
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. ...
01.05.2024
Linux After Dark – Episode 60
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...
12.22.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 59
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 ...
12.08.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 58
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...
11.24.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 57
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...
11.10.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 56
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...
10.27.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 55
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...
10.13.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 54
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...
09.29.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 53
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...
09.15.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 52
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...
09.01.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 51
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....
08.18.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 50
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....
08.04.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 49
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...
07.21.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 48
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...
07.07.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 47
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...
06.23.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 46
The oldest machines we’d be willing to daily drive including a ThinkPad with Libreboot, the ways that old laptops are sometimes better, and why Microsoft’s silly Windows 11 requirements are great for the second hand Linux-friendly laptop market. Plus why...
06.09.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 45
Dalton spent 3 hours having fun playing with open source DJ software Mixxx, and wonders if the rest of us have had a similar amount of fun with FOSS. Plus a great idea for a challenge, and one that’s a...
05.26.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 44
We try to imagine what the future holds for our young kids, and realise how much the tech world has changed since we were young. Plus building a dirt cheap NAS, and more. ServerMania ServerMania offers a wide...
05.12.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 43
The times we’ve spent far too long troubleshooting simple problems – from permissions issues to unplugged cables and CDs in the wrong slots. Plus Dalton realises that he’s a happy Btrfs user. ServerMania ServerMania offers a wide...
04.28.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 42
Whether the idea of “lightweight Linux” is outdated, your feedback about taming Windows and workspaces, a quick look at Bodhi, and digital waste – all the useless data that sits on hard disks and is never even accessed. We mentioned...
04.14.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 41
Windows is much better and so much worse than Joe remembers, and it makes him very grateful for desktop Linux. Plus what preparation (if any) we’ve made for our untimely demise. simplewall Tailscale Tailscale is a VPN service...
03.31.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 40
As companies tighten their belts during these uncertain times, could there be a silver lining for open source and self-hosting? Plus our brief thoughts on workspaces. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to...
03.17.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 39
A year on from our episode about Ubuntu, we still have concerns about the direction of the project. Or should we just call it a product at this point? Plus your feedback about challenges, and Raspberry Pi alternatives. Our...
03.03.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 38
We are joined by Jorge Castro to talk about immutable filesystem Linux distros. Check out his project uBlue and his YouTube Channel. Corrections from Jorge: “I mentioned hyperreal when I really meant to say Hyprland, and one is a person...
02.17.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 37
What counts as a boutique distro, and do we recommend them? Plus Gary tells us about his experiences at the recent Fosdem conference. Tailscale Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own...
02.03.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 36
It’s the nested virtualisation challenge! How many levels of VMs can we get running at once? Plus we get the inside story from Lenovo about running Linux on their Arm ThinkPad. Challenge Red Hat article about nested virtualisation ...
01.20.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 35
Who has the most compute cores, how many are we actually using, and how many of them are running Linux? We finally find out who has the biggest stack of laptops in our core index challenge. Plus Dalton tells us...
01.06.2023
Linux After Dark – Episode 34
We look back at what we wanted to happen in 2022, and look forward to what we want to see in 2023. Episode 8 where we talked about our 2022 hopes Tailscale Tailscale is a...
12.23.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 33
It’s almost impossible to buy a Raspberry Pi for a reasonable price at the moment so we talk about alternatives, why a lot of Pi users would be better off with a cheap low-power x86 machine, and why sometimes the...
12.09.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 32
With the holiday season upon us, we talk about all the tech that we have to have with us when we travel. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
11.25.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 31
The Linux setups from the past that we miss the most, and why they are all ones that gave us the freedom to tinker and learn. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to...
11.11.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 30
Why do we stick with Linux and FOSS, even when our faith is tested? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
10.28.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 29
It’s our Halloween Spooktacular! What scares us about Linux, what we find spooky, and what seems like witchcraft. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
10.14.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 28
Is FOSS the ultimate lifeboat? If things go wrong with a tech stack, can you always just fall back on FOSS? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
09.30.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 27
Our worst Linux cock-ups, and what we learned from them. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
09.16.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 26
Where do we draw the line when it comes to our ethics and our ability to put food on the table? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
09.02.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 25
If we could go back in time, what advice would we give our younger, less experienced counterparts about Linux and FOSS? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
08.19.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 24
How efficient are our whole setups – including servers, client machines, and VPSs? Could we be doing more to save energy and money? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS...
08.05.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 23
In a world of cloud and serverless, is there any point in most people learning the command line? See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
07.22.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 22
Our smallest and our biggest FOSS wins. Things we mentioned: Homebridge FOG Project boringtun vnStat EasyTAG HAProxy See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to the RSS feed.
07.08.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 21
We all tried to live with a touch-only experience on x86-64 devices. It turns out that Linux is very close to offering a great experience. See our contact page for ways to get in touch. Subscribe to...
06.24.2022
Linux After Dark – Episode 20
Do we use Linux to avoid being locked into proprietary systems and services, or is that just as possible using any OS? Plus we bully Dalton for making us read a very American book. Digital Minimalism book ...

What's Linux After Dark about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Linux After Dark episodes:

Linux After Dark – Episode 69

Linux After Dark – Episode 68

Linux After Dark – Episode 67

Linux After Dark – Episode 66

Linux After Dark – Episode 65

Linux After Dark – Episode 64

Linux After Dark – Episode 63

Linux After Dark – Episode 62

Linux After Dark – Episode 61

Linux After Dark – Episode 60

Linux After Dark – Episode 59

Linux After Dark – Episode 58

Linux After Dark – Episode 57

Linux After Dark – Episode 56

Linux After Dark – Episode 55

Linux After Dark – Episode 54

Linux After Dark – Episode 53

Linux After Dark – Episode 52

Linux After Dark – Episode 51

Linux After Dark – Episode 50

Linux After Dark – Episode 49

Linux After Dark – Episode 48

Linux After Dark – Episode 47

Linux After Dark – Episode 46

Linux After Dark – Episode 45

Linux After Dark – Episode 44

Linux After Dark – Episode 43

Linux After Dark – Episode 42

Linux After Dark – Episode 41

Linux After Dark – Episode 40

Linux After Dark – Episode 39

Linux After Dark – Episode 38

Linux After Dark – Episode 37

Linux After Dark – Episode 36

Linux After Dark – Episode 35

Linux After Dark – Episode 34

Linux After Dark – Episode 33

Linux After Dark – Episode 32

Linux After Dark – Episode 31

Linux After Dark – Episode 30

Linux After Dark – Episode 29

Linux After Dark – Episode 28

Linux After Dark – Episode 27

Linux After Dark – Episode 26

Linux After Dark – Episode 25

Linux After Dark – Episode 24

Linux After Dark – Episode 23

Linux After Dark – Episode 22

Linux After Dark – Episode 21

Linux After Dark – Episode 20