CrunchBang - Code, Design & GNU/Linux

A Chat With The Ubuntu UK Podcasters

Last Saturday I received a telephone call from the Ubuntu UK podcast team. We had a chat, it was fun. Parts of our conversation can be heard in their latest podcast, S01E05 - Everybody Come Aboard. I have just listened to the podcast myself and apart from the feature with me, it's another great show :)

I would like to say thank you to the guys for allowing me on the podcast. I can now place a tick next to the item, "Appear on a podcast" on my list of things to do before I die :) Oh, and thanks also for using a picture of Daisy, an unexpected, but pleasant bonus — Daisy will no doubt grin from ear to ear when I show it to her :)

URL: http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/2008/05/07/s01e05-everybody-come-aboard/

Ubuntu UK Podcast

I've just listened to the first podcast from the Ubuntu UK LoCo team. Considering this was the first episode, the quality was very good. I listen to quite a few Linux related podcasts and this one made for a refreshing change — it was good to hear some sensible discussion and quality music. I think there's definitely a gap in the market for a "safe for work" podcast discussing Ubuntu related topics in a grown-up manner. Hopefully the Ubuntu UK team can fill that gap.

Also, I've been reading the mailing list and it's good to see lots of enthusiasm for the project. It seems that many UK team players are keen to get involved and contribute. It'll be good to hear these contributions and try to put voices to faces — why is it that nobody ever sounds like you imagine?!

URL: http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/

Tinkering & Secret Software

I've just finished listening to the latest LugRadio podcast, Episode 9 of Season 5. I've always enjoyed the podcast and this season the guys have produced some of their best shows to date.

I found today's show especially interesting as Stuart Langridge openly discussed his thoughts and ideas on the subject of software tinkering [listen to a 2 minute excerpt]. Much of what Stuart said sounded strangely familiar, I also write lots of personal scripts to perform specific tasks. I'm also guilty of hard-coding paths and producing code that'll probably only run on my own Ubuntu based systems. I tend to class these scripts as secret software, probably because they really aren't fit for general consumption, not to mention that they're embarrassingly bad :)

Anyway, Stuart's New Year resolution is to post more of his personal scripts and software on his blog, and not worry too much about whether the software is fit for general consumption. I think this is a brilliant idea and I'm going to follow suit, so look out for some of my shockingly bad secret software, it'll be appearing on a blog near you soon.

TLLTS Discuss the Gutsy Upgrade Process

I've just listened to the latest Linux Link Tech Show episode [no. 216]. At about 73 minutes into the show the guys discussed their experiences of upgrading from Feisty to Gutsy.

The two presenters who actually performed the upgrade reported mixed results. Dann talked about a few minor issues but gave the overall impression that the upgrade was a success. Pat on the other hand didn't sound too happy, and asked the question:

Do you think this Ubuntu upgrade has been a total cluster fuck?

Another of the presenters, Linc, also seems to be a little pissed@ubuntu.

I experienced my own issues when I tried the upgrade, although I think the problems I encountered were due to my eccentric desktop system. Later today I'm going to perform the upgrade on my laptop, I'll report back on my experiences when done.

LugRadio is Back!

LugRadio is back for season 5. This is going to sound sad, I know, but, I've really missed the show over the summer. There is a definite lack of good quality Linux podcasts to choose from and when LugRadio goes on a break I'm really only left with The Linux Link Tech Show [as good as LugRadio] and The Linux Action Show [not quite as good but you gotta love Burt & Ernie!]

Anyway, welcome back LugRadio!