221: Old Hardware, New Penguins: Installing Linux on All the Things | Linux Out Loud 123

Linux Out Loud — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0600

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.

103: Spring Time Betas | Linux Out Loud

Linux Out Loud — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0600

This week, Linux Out Loud chats about the distro betas in the spring air.

Welcome to episode 08 of Linux Out Loud. We fired up our mics, connected those headphones as we searched the community for themes to expound upon. We kept the banter friendly, the conversation somewhat on topic, and had fun doing it.

00:00 Introduction
02:42 Linux Saloon Early Edition
06:06 Fedora in a Surface Pro 6
17:53 Spring Time Betas
32:51 Imposter Update
38:38 Spike on VS Code
45:35 Close

Main Topic

OpenSUSE
- https://news.opensuse.org/2022/03/02/leap-reaches-beta-build-phase/
Linux Mint
- https://linuxmint.com/rel_elsie.php
Armbian 22.02
- https://www.armbian.com/newsflash/armbian-22-02-pig-release-announcement/
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-22.04-NV-Wayland

Join in the chat on the Discourse forum here: https://discourse.destinationlinux.network/t/spring-time-betas-linux-out-loud-08/5033

Nate

Linux Saloon Early Edition
- https://youtu.be/9rw-Mf06Ois

Wendy

Fedora 35
https://getfedora.org/
Coding the Robot
- Visual Studio Code
  - https://code.visualstudio.com/
- Extention
  - https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=PeterStaev.lego-spikeprime-mindstorms-vscode

Contact info
Matt (Twitter @MattGameSphere)
Wendy (Mastodon @WendyDLN)
Nate (Website CubicleNate.com)

Linux Out Loud - Episodes Tagged with “Surface Pro”

221: Old Hardware, New Penguins: Installing Linux on All the Things | Linux Out Loud 123

103: Spring Time Betas | Linux Out Loud