It's week one of our FreeBSD challenge, and for one of us, that penalty Windows install looks uncomfortably close! Plus, Zach Mitchell joins us to update us on Planet Nix.

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• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
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• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
• 📻 LINUX Unplugged on Fountain.FM
• LINUX Unplugged - 2025 FreeBSD Challenge Rules.md
• Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit
• FreeBSD 14.0 on aarch64 Raspberry Pi 4/400 - Download, Install & Configure
• LinuxBoot: Booting FreeBSD from Linux
• EuroBSDCon booting FreeBSD using Linux
• Provisioning LinuxBoot Images for FreeBSD
• FreeBSD Handbook: Chapter 1. Bootstrapping and Kernel Initialization
• FreeBSD Handbook: Chapter 15. The FreeBSD Booting Process
• How to Manage FreeBSD Boot Process?
• LinuxBoot: let Linux do it!
• LinuxBoot Introduction
• LinuxBoot on GitHub
• Annual Membership — Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!
• Planet Nix — March 6th-7th, 2025 in Pasadena, CA
• Zach Mitchell
• LINUX Unplugged 554: SCaLEing Nix
• LINUX Unplugged 538: Surprisingly Smooth Transition
• LFNW2025 - April 25 - 27, 2025 • Bellingham Technical College
• Pick: GarminDB — Download and parse data from Garmin Connect or a Garmin watch, FitBit CSV, and MS Health CSV files into and analyze data in Sqlite serverless databases with Jupyter notebooks.

We celebrate 600 episodes, announce a new show feature, and officially launch the FreeBSD challenge.

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• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
• 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps.

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• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
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• nixbsd: An unofficial NixOS fork with a FreeBSD kernel
• The Rules of the FreeBSD Challenge
• Speedruns - FreeBSD Wiki
• Pick: direnv-vscode — This extension adds direnv support to Visual Studio Code by loading environment variables for the workspace root.
• Pick: Warehouse on Linux | Flathub — Warehouse provides a simple UI to control complex Flatpak options, all without resorting to the command line.

On the eve of episode 600, we introduce our next challenge and explore the new wave of Linux phones.

Sponsored By:

• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
• 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps.

Support LINUX Unplugged

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• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
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• Liberux – Privacy, Security, Freedom
• PinePhone Braveheart Linux smartphone begins shipping January 17th - Liliputing
• Mecha Comet - Modular Linux Handheld Computer powered by Open-Source Software — The Comet is a handheld Linux computer that brings extensibility in hardware and software adapting to your needs.
• Mecha Comet - Modular Linux Handheld Computer by Mecha Systems Inc. — Kickstarter
• Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers — The Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers will provide a neutral space where industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community can work together to support projects within the Chromium ecosystem.
• Wine 10.0 Released With Native Wayland Support, Better HiDPI — Wine 10.0 brings more than six thousand changes that built up over the past year in the bi-weekly Wine 9.xx development releases.
• LUP 600 Pacific Northwest Party · Colony Events
• Comprehensive Audio Stack Improvements for Modern Hardware and Software
• Detailed AMD IOMMU Driver Development for Enhanced Core Support
• FreeBSD Foundation's Sponsored Development Projects for 2024
• metapac: multi-backend declarative package manager
• decman: declarative package & configuration manager for Arch Linux.
• aconfmgr: a configuration manager for Arch Linux
• GeneBean's Dots
• Replit
• OliveTin — OliveTin gives safe and simple access to predefined shell commands from a web interface.
• Open-tv — Ultra-fast, simple and powerful cross-platform IPTV app.
• ErsatzTV — Stream custom live channels using your own media
• Deepin Linux 25 Goes (Almost) Immutable
• deepin 25 Preview Release Note – Deepin Technology Community

With more criticisms of NixOS than ever—do they have a point? We'll dig into the tough critiques and give our perspective.

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• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
• 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps.

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• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
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• NixOS is interesting, but has fatal flaws
• LUP 600 meetups!
• Planet Nix — March 6-7, Before and Alongside SCaLE
• SCALE 22x — March 6-9, 2025 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA.
• LFNW2025 - "25 Years of Community Excellence" — April 25 - 27, 2025
• Nix - Death by a thousand cuts — TLDR: In its current state (2025), I don't generally recommend desktop use of Nix(OS), even for seasoned Linux users.
• Rich Hickey: Simple Made Easy — Rich Hickey emphasizes simplicity’s virtues over easiness’, showing that while many choose easiness they may end up with complexity, and the better way is to choose easiness along the simplicity path.
• Simple Made Easy Transcript
• Ansible is a Lisp
• Should I use NixOS? Short answer: no. — If words like "declarative", "generational", and "immutable" don't put your sexuality in jeopardy, you're considering NixOS for the wrong reasons.
• Annual Membership — Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!
• OliveTin/OliveTin: OliveTin gives safe and simple access to predefined shell commands from a web interface.
• Pick: isd — Simplify systemd management with isd! isd is a TUI offering fuzzy search for units, auto-refreshing previews, smart sudo handling, and a fully customizeable interface for power-users and newcomers alike.
• Pick: planify — Task manager with Todoist & Nextcloud support designed for GNOME
• Pick: Super Productivity — A to do list to get your head free
• Super Productivity on Flathub
• Super Productivity GitHub — Keep organized and focused!
• LUP 553: Portably Predictable Productivity

We're taking on some of the toughest critiques of the Linux desktop, then taking a look at CachyOS and what makes it feel like a million bucks.

Sponsored By:

• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
• 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps.

Support LINUX Unplugged

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• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
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• Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition
• Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition | Hacker News
• Why Desktop Linux Matters, Even If (Almost) No One Uses It
• Colony Events
• CachyOS — Blazingly Fast OS based on Arch Linux — CachyOS is designed to deliver lightning-fast speeds and stability, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable computing experience every time you use it. Whether you're a seasoned Linux user or just starting out, CachyOS is the ideal choice for those looking for a powerful, customizable and blazingly fast operating system.
• CachyOS/linux-cachyos: Archlinux Kernel based on different schedulers and some other performance improvements.
• firelzrd/bore-scheduler: BORE (Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer) CPU Scheduler — BORE (Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer) is enhanced versions of CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) and EEVDF (Earliest Eligible Virtual Deadline First) Linux schedulers. Developed with the aim of maintaining these schedulers' high performance while delivering resilient responsiveness to user input under as versatile load scenario as possible.
• oracle/bpftune: bpftune uses BPF to auto-tune Linux systems — bpftune aims to provide lightweight, always-on auto-tuning of system behaviour.
• Annual Membership — Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!
• Self-Hosted Toronto Crew -- Meetup2 · Gathio
• Amazon.com: Wi-Fi Smart LED Controller | WLED Pre-Installed | Internal Antenna | Designed to Control WS2811 or WS2812B 5volt Smart LEDs : Tools & Home Improvement
• Cryptomator on Flathub
• cryptomator on GitHub — Cryptomator for Windows, macOS, and Linux: Secure client-side encryption for your cloud storage, ensuring privacy and control over your data.
• Flatsweep on Flathub — When you uninstall a Flatpak, it can leave some files behind on your computer. Flatsweep helps you easily get rid of the residue left on your system by uninstalled Flatpaks.
• Buffer
• Buffer on Flathub — Celebrating transience, Buffer provides a minimal editing space for all those things that don't need keeping. Designed for keyboard workflows on desktop.

We make our big Linux predictions for 2025, but first, we score how we did for 2024.

Sponsored By:

• Tailscale: Tailscale is a programmable networking software that is private and secure by default - get it free on up to 100 devices!
• 1Password Extended Access Management: 1Password Extended Access Management is a device trust solution for companies with Okta, and they ensure that if a device isn't trusted and secure, it can't log into your cloud apps.

Support LINUX Unplugged

Links:

• 💥 Gets Sats Quick and Easy with Strike
• 📻 LINUX Unplugged on Fountain.FM
• LinuxFest Northwest 2025: Call for Speakers — Call closes at 11:59 PM PST on
• Planet Nix CFP - Jan 6th
• Colony Events
• LUP was the #2 top show on Fountain.fm for 2024. THANK YOU!
• LINUX Unplugged 545: 3,062 Days Later
• MAGI OS: AI powered Linux
• MakuluLinux AI podcast – MakuluLinux
• MakuluLinux X – AI Integration Update – MakuluLinux
• OpenZFS Native Encryption Use Raises Data Corruption Concerns
• Debian Installer Trixie Alpha 1 Brings RISC-V & Drops i386 Installer
• After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
• mesa-dri-drivers-24.2.4-1.fc41 - Fedora Packages
• UbuntuUpdates - Package Search (all versions of mesa)
• Open-Source NVIDIA Driver Moving To NVK + Zink For OpenGL On Newer GPUs - Phoronix
• Mesa's NVIDIA Vulkan Driver "NVK" Now Exposes Vulkan 1.3 Support - Phoronix
• NixOS-based distributions - NixOS Wiki
• It's time for change, it's time for Linux. - YouTube
• How I Broke up with Adobe
• Automotive Grade Linux Launches New Expert Group Led by Toyota to Help Automakers Manage Open Source Activities - Automotive Grade Linux
• Annual Membership — Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!
• Enclosed - Send private and secure notes — Minimalistic web application designed for sending end-to-end encrypted notes and files.
• enclosed - GitHub