Linux Outlaws was a

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

produced by Sixgun Productions and hosted by Fabian Scherschel and Dan Lynch. The show was based in the United Kingdom, and had a community forum as well as multiple

social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

accounts dedicated to fostering inter-communication among fans.

Presenters

Fabian Scherschel

Fabian Scherschel is a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

at Heise Verlag in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He originally was a system administrator in Bonn. Later on he worked for a while for

H-online Heise Gruppe GmbH & Co. KG is a German media conglomerate headquartered in Hanover. It was founded in 1949 by Heinz Heise and is still family-owned. Its core business is directory media as well as general-interest and specialist media from the ...

in London. Fab also co-hosts a

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987 ...

podcast, Angels of Death, with David Megins-Nicholas. Since December 2015 Fabian has been co-hosting Geek News Radio with David.

Dan Lynch

Dan Lynch is a programmer, musician, and producer from

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, UK. He formerly worked for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

as a

.NET The .NET platform (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a free and open-source, managed code, managed computer software framework for Microsoft Windows, Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. The project is mainly developed by Microsoft emplo ...

developer before turning his back on Microsoft technologies to become an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

enthusiast. Dan is an occasional co-host of

FLOSS Weekly Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the former host of '' The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and founder of TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology ...

. In early 2010 Dan formed the band 20lb Sounds. He also produces the Free as in Freedom podcast

Format

Each episode generally had a global download count of over 20000 and was often presented with both a serious attitude and a humorous bent. Both Dan and Fabian are described as "down to earth, normal, everyday people" by listeners and reviewers alike. The presenters claimed not to be Linux experts, but only to be trying very hard to provide listeners with a good time, entertainment, and interesting Linux-related information. Linux Outlaws was segment-based, and focused the show on discussion of various topics throughout the show. Regular features included News and Releases, a look at recent development in free culture and at new releases of

Linux distributions A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel (operating system), kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply distribution (marketing), product distribution pe ...

and notable pieces of

free software Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed open-source license, under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, distribut ...

. Episode 43 saw the introduction of a Micro-watch sub-segment, concentrating on

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

-related news. The Linux Outlaws show aimed to broadcast live on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

most Monday nights (7 p.m. UTC), but they were always late. In-Depth Topics and Listener Feedback included content from both presenters and listeners. Other segments included Tip of the Week and Beer of the Week, where Fabian recommended a brand of

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

. On occasion some shows were produced as specials to focus on one single topic, such as the release of Ubuntu 8.04 or an interview with

Bradley M. Kuhn Bradley M. Kuhn (born 1973) is a free software activist from the United States. Kuhn is currently Policy Fellow and Hacker-in-Residence of the Software Freedom Conservancy, having previously been executive director. Until 2010 he was the FLOSS ...

History

The first episode of Linux Outlaws was released on 5 September 2007. At the time both Dan and Fab were also hosting another

Podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

Rathole radio. As Stefano Forenza says on his website "you know you're someone when you get cited twice in a single episode of LinuxOutlaws". Dan revived the name Rat Hole Radio as a music podcast in 2009.

Production

Linux Outlaws was recorded simultaneously by the presenters in their respective homes –

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and Merseyside, England – and published in both the

Ogg Vorbis Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression, libvorbis. Vorbis is most common ...

and

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

formats. The process involved recordings made by each presenter on his own machine, as well as a backup analogue recording by Fabian. Recordings were usually made on Monday in a live show, using

IRC IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat ...

and releases of the show usually occur on Wednesday. Some changes in schedule occurred when a special show is released, such as an interview.

Episodes

Linux Outlaws reached their 100th Episode on 6 July 2009. They reached their 200th Episode on 10 April 2011. They reached their 300th Episode on 17 February 2013. Their 370th and final Episode was released on 29 December 2014.

References

Notes

* * * * * * * * It also received mentions from several other related podcasts, such as

LugRadio ''LugRadio'' was a British podcast on the topic of Linux and events in the free and open source software communities, as well as coverage of technology, digital rights and politics. The show was launched in 2004 as a result of discussions betwe ...

and The Linux Link Tech Show.

External links

*
Fab, Linux Outlaws Podcaster
– interview on the site of

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

. {{Linux Technology podcasts Creative Commons-licensed podcasts 2007 podcast debuts Audio podcasts British podcasts