LINUX Unplugged

Is it time to fork Debian? Some Unix veterans do, and we discuss. The Linux Grandma joins us to discuss Kubuntu, KDE’s outreach, and Google Summer of Code. Plus Microsoft says they really love Linux, Steam’s secret weapon against Windows & much more!

We discuss how one software center for all distributions would work & which existing solutions are the closest. Plus looking forward to some new Ubuntu apps & how Linux bit Lightworks right in the memory manager.

The Linux community is at each others throats this week, from Lennart Poettering’s well intentioned rant, to the rage quit of GamingOnLinux’s lead writer. You’d think it was high school all over again. But what’s the larger ramifications of this public fight & what causes them? Plus can we put the blame at the feet of Linus Torvalds? Our thoughts on structuring a productive community, your emails...

Today’s show is full of robust discussion as your hosts discuss the recent criticism over our coverage of Ubuntu 14.10, the general reaction to Shellshock & the Netflixification of Photoshop on Chromebooks. Plus picking the best distro for getting a job, a little more XFCE chat & much more!

Debian moves to make Gnome the default desktop, is XFCE going the way of the Dodo bird? Our living debate will try to get to the bottom of the big elephant in the room. Plus Red Hat announces its refocusing on the very thing Canonical makes all its money from & why we may be on the precipice of a massive new competition between the two companies.

Is the role of “Community Manager” a fraud perpetrated by companies trying to exploit the fruits for their community? We debate if things are really that black and white, and how a community advocate can make all the difference. Then we discuss your systemd follow up, the various desktops touch screen features, Microsoft buying Minecraft, and the recent purchase of openSUSE’s parent company Attach...

The majority of systemd hate appears to be coming from just two sources. At least that’s what we suspect & call them out. Plus a review of OpenMediaVault and how it compares to FreeNAS, a quick look at Tox & what the heck is Fedora’s DNF?

The systemd group has a proposal for universal software management scheme for all Linux distributions. We’ll share the technical details, debate the philosophical impact & explain why it’s all powered by btrfs. Plus some thoughts on the ultimate desktop manager, the true cost of a MacBook, and much more!

We’ve got exclusive interviews from LinuxCon 2014, learn about Linux in big networking, what the future holds for SUSE & much more. Plus, are you feeling a bit down? Maybe it’s because Linux users are being told to shut up about Desktop Linux & move on. We’ll discuss why this an absurdly short sighted idea.

Sam from the Moka project stops by to chat about the business of making Linux look better. Then we get into the role open source plays in self driving cars. Plus we bust some of the FUD around Munich’s much reported plan to abandon Linux and switch back to Windows.

The new Beta of ElementaryOS has shipped and we discuss where they are heading, the problems with their community interaction, and the genius move they are taking with some tricky hardware support. Plus the long term cost of Ubuntu Touch becoming successful, using ZFS on Linux successfully, and much more!

Our team reviews the famous CRUX Linux and we discuss this unique distribution with one of its long time developers. Plus details about Fedora COPR and is Desktop Linux stuck in an uncanny valley? We debate.

We’ve got more exclusive interviews from OSCON 2014, and then debate if fragmentation is simply the result of winning. Plus why the Linux community needs a reality check about the popularity of Apple’s MacBook, and how poor the solutions are for MacBook owners who want to run Linux.

We look back at five years of Linux memories, and reminisce about the bad old days of the Linux desktop. Then the exciting future for PC-BSD, and it’s new unique desktop. Plus our favorite ways to track performance, desktop Linux app containers that are already here and shipping and much more!

We chat about our time with the new Plasma 5 desktop from KDE, then using the latest situation with Manjaro we discuss the poor state of Linux news, root causes, and what the real solution is that has major ramifications for the open source community. Plus some fantastic feedback, a Command Line challenge update and our big plans for next week!

We chat with Jos Poortvliet about the future of KDE, Plasma 5 Desktop, then review a KDE distribution with a direction: KaOS. Plus: The great news for the Blender project, our OSCON plans and much more!

We come clean on our struggle with loving every Linux desktop, until we start up the hate. Plus we discuss the huge news for CoreOS and take a closer look at OwnCloud 7’s server-to-server syncing. Plus troubleshooting KDE sound problems, and a new community initiative!

We’ve got another round of great exclusive interviews from the floor of SouthEast LinuxFest 2014. Find out why Slackware is still going strong, the BSD kindness brigade & more!

Chris shares his experience with triple booting Firefox OS, Ubuntu Touch and Android on his Nexus 5 and the surprising results. Plus some grounded feedback and much more!

The founder of Bedrock Linux joins us to discuss their ambitious distribution that lets you utilize the userland of all your favorite distributions at once Plus Alienware slaps Linux users in the face with a dead fish, your feedback, and more!

We’ll take a look at the new features of Linux Mint 17, and discuss the new Cinnamon release. Then we’ll debate if distro derivatives are a bad thing. Plus: Is Red Hat too over controlling of Gnome? Candidates for the Gnome Foundation’s board think so, we’ll discuss.

Liam from Gaming on Linux joins us to discuss the Witcher 2 port fiasco, and why Linux’s reputation as a gaming platform could be on the line. Plus a heated Manjaro discussion, your feedback, and a BIG announcement!

Is this the year of Arch? We dig through the results from our listener home server survey, and compare our audience’s answers with another recent large survey, and find some surprising results. Plus how the “Power Linux User” is underrepresented by developer attention, and we share some Linux switching stories that go horribly wrong!

We chat with two of the LXQt developers, and find out what’s behind this major undertaking. Then we discuss our favorite packages for a Linux home server, and the brand new Ubuntu Orange cluster box. Plus your feedback, our follow up, and much more!

In the not too distant future the Linux desktop will face a landscape comprised of users running Wayland, Mir, and X11. Ubuntu will be rolling out their first generation Qt based desktop environment, and developers are crying fragmentation. But how would we shape the future if we could wave a magic wand? And is fragmentation a real problem in practice? Plus: Our thoughts on Magea, producing video...