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.
- 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:
- S01E76: FLOSS in Healthcare
In this episode, Martin and Chris host an industry veteran to get the user's side perspective on FLOSS usage especially from a health provider perspective. As FLOSS components are a vital part of any of today's enterprise IT systems, medical providers and health care in general are no exception apart from the much higher regulatory and compliance requirements this industry postulates. The discussion centers around these requirements and how to fulfil them in addition to a more security-focussed conversation as these medical IT systems present a prime target for attackers not only due to the sensitive personal information many of these systems process and store.
Links:
- S01E75: The Onion Router Network
As privacy is becoming more and more of a concern even outside of the shady regions of international arms trading, contraband smuggling and selling relatives on the Internet, even your ordinary man/woman/diverse is turning to virtual private networks and other means for obfuscating personal communications. The Onion Router Project (or Tor for short) plays a central role in this context. Essentially implementing an overlay network on top of the Internet, it not only allows journalists working under less-than comforting regimes (for wont of a better expression) and political oppositions in similar contexts to but rather anybody who uses it communicate freely and without any censorship. As there are quite a few myths and misconceptions surrounding this project, this episode will dispel them all :-) apart from giving an overview of the technical and non-technical side of the implementation. If you're concerned with the your privacy and happen to use the Internet (and who isn't these days), then this definitely an episode you shouldn't miss.
Links:
- S01E74: GIMP - From a Users Perspective
In this episode our two hosts discuss on one of the most popular image manipulation called GIMP. Almost a quarter of a century since its inception, it has been the foundation for much more than than image processing; gtk is probably the most widely-known example for the surrounding technology stack beyond GIMP itself. Martin and Chris host Kevin O'Brien, a long-time user of the project over the years and authority on the software and its technology (he runs a regular show on GIMP on Hacker Public Radio among other things). So if you ever wanted to know more about GIMP's rise to fame, its current state and where this may be headed, this is an episode not to be missed.
Links:
- S01E73: The Xmas and New Year Special 2022
In this Year-End episode, our two heroes take a look back at 2022 not just from a FLOSS perspective and hazard guesses about next year's shenanigans (listeners only interested in these predictions: please fast-forward to the four hour forty-five minutes and twenty seconds mark in your podcast player). Anybody else please keep listening... :-) Plus: The truth about Truth Social, Twitter and Elon Musk.
Links:
- S01E72: Of streams rivers maelstroms and tsunamis And messages
In this episode, Martin's utmost phantasy has become reality. He finally managed to talk Chris into discussing the wonderful and weird kingdom of streaming and messaging technology. So if you ever wondered how global portals like LinkedIn, Netflix and other new-fangled shenanigans work, you may find this episode vaguely interesting and remotely funny. A word of caution though: please do not listen to this episode if operating heavy machinery or while driving as the Inlaws cannot be held responsible for any resulting damages caused by instantly falling asleep... You have been warned. Plus: a discussion of the Russian annexation of certain Ukrainian territories from a yesteryear's perspective in addition to royal developments in the kingdom after Lizzy's untimely demise (for all you history buffs out there).
Shownotes:
- S01E71: An interview with Ran Levi from Malicious Life
In this episode our two heroes host Ran Levi, a black magician in the area of IT security and himself host of the famous Malicious Life podcast. So for some fresh perspective on cybersecurity not just from FLOSS perspective, don't miss this episode.
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!
