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 the Internet Archive.
The following only represents the last ten episodes, you find the
full backcatalog of all episodes released so far here.
- S01E86: An episode with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation
In this episode, Martin and Chris are excited to host Taylor Dolezal from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). The CNCF is home to some tiny, lesser known (:-) projects such as Kubernetes, Prometheus and Containerd to name but a few. So if you're keen to know more about these important projects never mind the CNCF you don't want to miss this episode.
Links:
- S01E85: FLOSS and Offensive Security
Getting more and concerned about the security of your kit (read: infrastructure)? Fret not, as usual the Inlaws got you covered. In this episode, Martin and Chris discuss FLOSS tools for offensive security, i.e. software that you can use to assess the level of vulnerability of your system before the bad guys do the very same. And you make headline news - but not in a good way...
Links:
- S01E84: Thoughts on FLOSS
In this episode, the Inlaws talk to Juliette Reinders-Folmer and Elena Kolevska about FLOSS funding, commercial and contribution models. Never mind diversity, community culture and other topics normally not in the focus of the community on a daily basis.
Links:
- S01E83: DIY Linux Distros
In this episode Martin and Chris take a look at three Linux distributions for the ambitious user of the FLOSS operating system. So if you ever wondered how to install Linux from scratch on a machine or what the fuzz on Gentoo is all about or even considered Arch Linux for a computer but didn't know how to get started, you don't want to miss this episode. Plus: More from the Dark Side. Dark Side Tech Support that is.
Links:
- S01E82: Ada and Zangemann a childrens book about FLOSS
In this episode the Inlaws are proud to present a worldwide exclusive: A reading of the first children's book on FLOSS written by no other than Matthias Kirschner, president of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and also friend of the show. So if you're into free/libre open source software, a kid of any age and despise any sort of monopoly (software or not), then this is an episode not to be missed.
Links:
- S01E81: On smart phones and other fads
In this episode Chris wonders about the German postal system and its (non-existent) efficiency when trying to deliver important administrative documents (hint: possible remedies include personal collection in order to cut down on delivery times). In the tiny part of the show on FLOSS (making up for 90% or so), Martin and Chris discuss the history and woes of software driving tiny computers normally living in coats or pockets, pretending to be useful by predicting the weather, connecting on social media and making phone calls. Yes, we are talking smartphones and their software here. So if you ever wondered what the fuss about Android, iOS and the rest is all about, don't miss this episode.
Links:
- S01E80: Bottlerocket
In this episode Martin and Chris and hosting Kyle Davis, a senior developer advocate for the bookshop's Bottlerocket, a Linux-based operating system for hosting that latest fad of the hipster community known as containers :-). What sets this version of Linux apart from similar endeavours is that much of its userland is actually written in Rust rather than C or C++. So if you ever wondered about how one of the big hyperscalers does it with, for and below containers (in terms of the tech stack involved), you don't want to miss this episode. Plus bonus content on OpenSearch. And Chris really spills the beans on some rumours regarding future AWS CPU architectures. Or not :-).
Links:
- S01E79: FLOSS in space
Shpashe: Sje vinyl frontjier (ludicrous attempt at Scotty's Scottish accent :-). In this episode our two aging heroes take a closer look at how FLOSS is used for the exploration of space.
But not only from a FLOSS project perspective but also who's actually using these open source components (hint: some guy who recently bought a social network features high on this list). So stay tuned for an episode from the far corners of the galaxy :-).
Links:
- S01E78: FLOSS and Quantum Computing
Ever wanted to know the ins and outs of quantum computing but shied away from the math and other detractors? Fear not, as usual the Inlaws got you covered. In this episode Martin and Chris host Simon Cross to talk about FLOSS in a quantum computing context. Originally a from a highly academic background, Simon is known for his influential contributions in the areas of applied quantum computing and beyond. Plus: Some funky details about Limburg, a patch split in half on both sides of the Dutch/Belgian border (please send complaints about the lack of geographic details on the show / show notes to our standard inbox which has been specifically created for this purpose - it is devnull@linuxinlaws.eu).
Links:
- S01E77: Five Year Plan Update
As it has been custom at this time of year, our two ageing heroes give an update on the Inlaws world domination achievement status (being rather modest now :-), FOSDEM and time travel, the feedback process for Linux Inlaws, some weird download metrics, the way to send feedback to the show, what exactly happened with HPR and the Inlaws, (did I mention the feedback mail address?), our new logo and its difficult birth and the road ahead. If there is one. (What happened? Will the Inlaws cease to exist? Is this the end of line for Martin and Chris? Stay tuned and listen to the show for answers. All may be revealed. :-). And of course how to get feedback to the show and its producers.
ми присвячуємо випуск українському народу - we dedicate this episode to the Ukrainian people
Links:
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!