Who are we?
Dr. Chris Zimmermann is a FOSS fanatic, communist (sometimes) and expert on esoteric software aspects how to configure Mail Transfer Agents while not carving in to insanity, troubleshoot computer networks without the use of recreational drugs and the advanced enjoyment of craft beverages. He mostly lives in Frankfurt, Germany. In contrast to Mr. Visser the size of his brain has a reverse correlation to the size of his head.
Martin Visser is a slightly less egocentric (actually far from egocentric) computer scientist and engineer, non-communist from Birmingham, UK. In contrast to Dr. Zimmermann, he has human interaction and social protocols down to a fine art.
Why another FOSS podcast?
For those who use any means of transport on a regular basis it is a great way to stimulate the brain.
Others have come before us, tried and failed to achieve this level.
What's in it for me?
Great entertainment
Invaluable tech tips helping with aspects of everday life including the proper recital of Vogon poetry in that worst-case scenario that Brexit finally shadows the Vogons’ landing and how to take care of the proper biological foundation for recreational drugs
A chance to feedback your comments. Glowing ones will be published, others ignored.
The opportunity to request expert knowledge and discussion on a topic of your choice!
What's in it for the Inlaws?
The impending fame and successful broadcasting careers (Martin’s vision) play a small part in this decision.
Which is of course totally overshadowed by the reason of world domination. Donations are encouraged. Ideally in liquid wheat brew format (of course rye, barley, spelt and other assorted grains go as well).
How to get up and running?
(this is how we do it, your mileage may vary)
- Pick an open source operating system of choice that features a decent package management system (unless you’re really technical and know what you’re doing) and is Posix-compliant. In this instance Ubuntu 19.10 was the preferred candidate
- Don't worry about Mumble. Many have tried, most have failed to use this piece of
software for synchronous podcast recording
- Get some really cool music licensed under CC-BY(-SA) from places like Jamendo
- Install a Synapse server on a publicly accessible server and use Riot-Web as a front-end for this instance
- Get Audacity and tty-clock (if you really want to accurate synchronise your system clock with an NTP server)
- Using Audacity and tty-clock, record your friendly podcast locally using Riot-Web's audio call feature to synchronise the hosts and guests
- For the post-production, simply mix the individual streams together and edit to your
heart's content.
- Stick to mono when producing the final ogg or mp3 file, adding music and other content as appropriate
- Upload the audio file to HPR
- Create associated website using some cool HTML/CSS framework
- Watch it go viral (the important bit!)
The kit?
- One home server running Ubuntu 19.10 with mumble-server and Synapse (a reference implementation) of the federated protocol known as Matrix for comms
- One cheap bit of kit running somewhere in Germany at a snails pace (Martin’s opinion before the D-Wave upgrade - little did he know :-)) => much patience is required attempting to use this
- Two laptops for remote access, running a Murmur client (typically Mumble itself), Audacity and various text editors in addition to riot-web or another Matrix / Synapse client
- One MPow USB headset and one interim Logitech 2 Pro (thank you MPow for the countless hours of debugging x-talk issues - we learned a lot! :-)
The Episodes
All episodes are hosted
on Hacker Public Radio
for now.
The following only represents the last ten episodes, you find the
full backcatalog of all episodes released so far here.
- http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=S01E60: The Job Interview
Shownotes:
- http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=S01E59: The Show with Red Pandas Mosaic Killers and Metal Corrosion
Shownotes:
- http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=S01E60: The Job Interview
Shownotes:
- S01E58: Kubernetes and Friends and Sarah
In this continuation of S01E57 our two chaps discuss how you can take containers from
single instances to production-ready, scalable deployments handling large app stacks
and that new-fangled hipster concept called micro-services. Using the once Google-owned project called Borg which later evolved into something now known as Kubernetes (k8s) as an example,
Martin and Chris discuss typical challenges when using containers as the main infrastructure
to modern workloads. Including such gory topics such as what happens if a container dies and
doesn't go to heaven, contradictions in terms such as ephemeral storage and why many k8s developers
have defected to VMware.
Shownotes:
- S01E57: Operating System Level Virtualisation and Martins Faith
In this episode our two ageing heroes take a closer at operating system (OS) level
virtualisation. The main different legacy virtualisation technologies
like virtual machines (VMs) and this new-fangled approach is that the OS kernel
remains the same across virtualisation domains, thus giving the hippsters and
other followers of fashion a cheaper and potentially much faster solution than virtualising
the kernel and surrounding hawrdware and all the rest of it. Plus more details on Martin's
real faith. Don't miss out on this episode if you're interested in any of these...
Shownotes:
- S01E56: Slackware - A User's Perspective
In this episode Martin and Chris managed to ensnare a member of the Linux User Group
Frankfurt (FraLUG) to talk about his history with Slackware, currently the oldest
Linux distribution still maintained. If you ever fancied to know more about this grandfather
of a distribution and its ins and outs, this is your show. Plus we get to know
more about one of Chris' well-kept secrets...
Shownotes:
- S01E55: Get yer boots on for a fresh look at init systems
In this episode, Martin and Chris discuss init systems and Chris outs himself as a
systemd fan boy (Devuan followers take note :-). Even Linux and other FLOSS OS geeks
not interested in what happens when you flick the power switch on a computer may find this
epsiode (vagely) interesting as some light is also shed on the philosophy of the different
system architectures and their history (Ever wanted to know what an /360 IPL really is? Then
stay tuned...). Disclosure: The following text may resort to regular expressions to keep things
concise and simple. Some of the PCRE-challenged readers may take offence - you have been warned.
Shownotes:
- S01E54: Electronic Freedom Never Mind the Civil Rest
In this episode our two hosts talk to an eclectic panel consisting of members of the Georgian
affiliation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called Electronic Frontiers Georgia. Among
other topics, civil rights (especially in the digital age), sharing of ideas never mind
other intellectual capital and why this still matters in socialist America are the focus
of discussion. Plus Chris manages to recount most of the founding fathers of the US (gaps may be
present... :-)
Shownotes:
- S01E53: Rust Marketing
In this episode our two heroes explore the depths a new (?) hipster programming
language called Rust. Being an obvious piece of blatant technology marketing,
the Linux Inlaws are still waiting for the funds to arrive from the Rust
Foundation :-) (@Foundation: If you want to get in touch please send a mail
to sponsor at linuxinlaws eu). Jokes aside, the episode give a short overview
of this new programming language without going into deeper technical details
as this podcast is only the usual four hours long.
Shownotes:
- S01E52: The Zig Project
In this episode Martin and Chris have a very special guest: Loris Cro of Zig fame. Zig fame?
Stay tuned. Not only is Loris an ex-colleague of our two aging heroes, he is also the community
vice president at the Zig Software Foundation. So this episode will be all about this
new programming language, why you should use it (and perhaps why you shouldn't) and life,
the universe and the rest. And Rust. Of course. :-) Full disclosure: In contrast to other
episodes, this one is really tech-heavy and may offend the less technical listeners. Listen
at your own discretion if you want to into the weeds of Clang, LLVM, typing and
cross-compilation - you have been warned. If this is up alley, you may want consider
seeking professional help just in case:-).
Shownotes:
All content licensed under
The DarkSide Tech Support (DSTS)
The DSTS is loosely inspired by the Bastard Operator From Hell,
where a somewhat misguided support specialist tends to break all hell loose on innocent callers who expect help
and guidance on various computer problems. In contrast to this purely fictional prototype, the DSTS deals with
real-world problems such as rewriting history aided by computers, how American presidents tackle virus issues and
how an ancient Egyptian pharaoh tries to remedy the seven plagues inflicted on his empire by talking to God herself.
More episodes in the making - stay tuned!
Similar to other parts of the show, DSTS welcomes listeners' suggestion about topics they would like
to see covered. So if you have a plague you cannot get rid of or need divine intervention otherwise, don't
hesitate to send us a mail.
Contact
Joking aside, we do appreciate feedback. So please email us at feedback@linuxinlaws.eu
Or talk to us at various open source events!