In this spring‑cleaned episode of Linux Out Loud, Wendy, Bill, and Nate dust off their homelabs and see just how far Linux can push “retired” hardware. Bill talks about guiding a Linux‑first startup, Fyra Stack, as they build a colo and VPS business in downtown Chicago, wiring it all together with Proxmox, PostgreSQL, Snipe‑IT, and osTicket—plus a few cursed Zigbee light bulbs along the way. Nate dives into one of his favorite pastimes: installing openSUSE Tumbleweed on everything from a 2007 white MacBook to a 2015 MacBook Air and a pair of well‑worn Surface Pros, comparing battery life, sleep quirks, and how “modern” Plasma feels on ancient gear. Wendy rounds things out with creative test‑taking workarounds using ChromeOS Flex and a quick look at VDO.Ninja for remote recording, before the trio wraps up the cleaning spree.

Show Links:
Fyra Stack – Linux‑focused startup (colo and VPS) – https://fyrastack.com/
Proxmox VE – virtual environment and homelab hypervisor – https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-ve
PostgreSQL – open‑source relational database – https://www.postgresql.org/
Snipe‑IT – open‑source IT asset management – https://snipeitapp.com/
osTicket – open‑source support ticket system – https://osticket.com/
openSUSE Tumbleweed – rolling release Linux – https://get.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/
MX Linux – lightweight Linux for older hardware – https://mxlinux.org/
Arch Linux – general‑purpose rolling Linux distribution – https://archlinux.org/
ChromeOS Flex – ChromeOS for older PCs and Macs – https://chromeenterprise.google/os/chromeos-flex/
iFixit – repair guides (example: Surface Pro 7 battery replacement) – https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Microsoft+Surface+Pro+7+Battery+Replacement/144417
Framework Laptop 12 – modular, repairable laptop – https://frame.work/laptop12
StarLabs Starlite – Linux laptop – https://us.starlabs.systems/products/starlite
VDO.Ninja – peer‑to‑peer live video – https://vdo.ninja/

Special Guest: Bill.

In this episode of Linux Out Loud, Wendy, Nate, and Bill start in the server room and end up staring down new “for the children” age‑verification laws aimed squarely at your operating system. They talk through wrangling tablets and printers with CUPS, why Framework laptops keep surviving industrial abuse, and how Deskflow brings Synergy/Barrier‑style magic to Wayland setups. From there, they dig into the new FIRST LEGO League robotics kits and what might be lost when classroom‑friendly AI kits replace hands‑on engineering. Finally, they unpack California and Colorado’s OS‑level age‑verification bills, what “OS providers” really means, and why small Linux and BSD projects are already threatening to block entire states rather than bolt surveillance rails onto their distros.

Show Links:
CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) – https://www.cups.org/
LibreNMS – network and printer monitoring – https://www.librenms.org/
Framework Laptop – https://frame.work/
Deskflow – seamless multi‑computer control – https://cubiclenate.com/2026/02/13/deskflow-seamless-multi-computer-control/
Third Reality Zigbee devices – https://3reality.com/
LEGO Education Computer Science & AI kit (new FLL robots) – https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-computer-science-and-ai-45522
LEGO Education SPIKE Prime set – https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spike-prime-set-45678
California AB 1043 – Digital Age Assurance Act overview – https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca/2025-2026/ab1043
Nate – Data has weight (but only on SSDs) – https://cubiclenate.com/2026/03/04/data-has-weight-but-only-on-ssds-blathering/

Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:52 Bill is a pro, trust me bro!
00:02:19 Printer monitoring, SNMP & copier contracts
00:07:01 Framework laptops in industrial environments
00:09:24 Framework durability, cases & drop protection
00:14:14 Deskflow – Wayland-friendly Synergy/Barrier
00:19:59 New FLL robots – kits, AI & concerns
00:33:10 Age verification laws hit Linux & BSD
00:38:58 Fines, liability & open-source maintainers
00:40:02 What counts as an “OS provider”?
00:44:43 Surveillance, mission creep & “for the children”
00:46:22 Future of OS compliance & responses
00:50:54 Guard rails
00:55:16 Wrap-up, jokes & closing banter
00:57:30 Data has weight
01:00:27 Outro

Connect with the Hosts on Discord:
Matt – @Dark1ltg
Wendy – @Wendy.sh
Nate – CubicleNate.com @CubicleNate
Bill – @ctlinux on Mastodon

Special Guest: Bill.

In this level of Linux Out Loud, Nate takes player‑one controls with Wendy and Matt as co‑op buddies for a run‑and‑gun through data disasters, platform drama, and hopeful Linux gaming news. Matt kicks things off with a catastrophic cold‑storage failure that turns into a hard‑earned reminder about backups and the limits of data‑recovery tools on both Windows and Linux. Wendy then opens a side‑quest about Discord’s upcoming age‑verification changes, why that’s a problem for community privacy and moderation, and what it might mean for the future home of the Lobby of Loudness. Nate rounds out the host updates with Linux Saloon going fully independent, moving show notes and polls onto CubicleNate.com so he controls the platform and the ad dollars. For the main mission, the crew dives into GOG calling Linux its “next major frontier” for GOG GALAXY and hiring a senior C++ engineer to help make Linux a first‑class gaming citizen instead of an afterthought. Along the way they talk heroic launchers, Proton and Wine, and what a “good citizen” GOG client on Linux should actually look like for home‑labbed and multi‑PC setups.

Show Links:

• GOG job posting – “Senior Software Engineer (C++ GOG GALAXY)”:
  • https://www.gog.com/en/work/senior-software-engineer-c-gog-galaxy
• Linux Saloon show notes and polls:
  • https://CubicleNate.com/LinuxSaloon
  • https://CubicleNate.com/polls