Series 7 Episode 1 – The guys open the show with some excitement after a mention on OMGUbuntu, Marh has received a new gamepad and keyboard, Wayne has been delivered a Pinebook Pro, he reviews his initial experience here with more to follow, the guys chat about the ethics of The Binary Times Show, more under the hood tips and another epic Irish saying. Enjoy.
00:29 Wayne welcomes us to Series 7 Episode 1 by wondering what on Earth happened in the last decade. It’s cloudy in Bristol, and cloudy and cold with rain in Kilkishen. Mark apologises for any background snoring noises as his dog blissfully sleeps on his lap.
02:40 Wayne asks Mark what he’s been at, and Mark tells us he’s been making the most of Christmas festivities. He tells us he received a present of a G213 logitech gaming keyboard and a G203 gaming mouse. Unfortunately changing the key colours aren’t natively supported in Linux, but he found a python script by Sebi Time Waster on Github to help with the keyboard config and derEisele’s addition of G203 mouse support and GUI using his script.
04:13 Mark asks Wayne what he’s been at, after a little prompting. Wayne got the Automate the Boring Stuff 2nd Edition book for Christmas. With some fanfare, Wayne goes on to tell us he also got a Pinebook Pro and goes on to describe his experiences with it. Overall, he loves his new quiet robust device and looks forward to using it as a mobile computing device. Wayne provides a link to the fix for the trackpad issue he found.
24:39 The guys get onto their topic of conversation for the show, which is what the Binary Times is all about! Mark kicks it off by saying why he does the show is to talk about free software, free hardware and free culture because these things are important in modern life to retain control and bring power back to the people and away from other vested interests. Wayne agrees and goes on to say that the show encourages the use of free software, and he personally would be prepared to take the time to learn and maintain free software solutions so as not to be tied into proprietary services. Mark points out that privacy respecting services using free software like Kolab Now and ProtonMail do exist to replace these proprietary services. The guys discuss the dilemma of convenience versus freedoms.
Wayne’s second point is to point out that there will never be advertisements on the Binary Times. Mark agrees. The guys discuss then the fact that they do this in their spare time and that the Patreon account is there to help them fund the whole enterprise.
Wayne’s third point goes on to say that we don’t track our listenership. While frustrating, this ties in with our own wish not to be tracked. Mark makes the point that this is why they value feedback so much.
Wayne’s final point is that the show just represents two enthusiasts views on free software, hardware and culture of which neither two are experts and both are still learning. Mark agrees and thinks it mirrors life in that no matter how much you know, every one is still learning and the fact that two “normal” people can do a show like this should encourage others to get more involved in all this stuff too.
Wayne provides a couple of links to important information that can be found on the web, the first being Protect your Freedom from the Free Software Foundation. Mark plauds the fact that the Free Software Foundation has been mentioned as he sees it as the foundation of the free software that makes all this possible through the GPL. He goes on to say that free software is an enabler for creative people to be creative as it makes it possible to produce content for a cost that wouldn’t have been possible in the past. Wayne tells us his current setup for the show consists of a Focusrite Sapphire 6 and an Audio Technica 2020 microphone for audio and a Lenovo T430 as his general purpose computer. Wayne does a quick search of ebay and finds a T430 available for under £80.
48:30 Under the Hood – Mark kicks off Under the Hood by describing the Four Essential Freedoms as defined by the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Definition as defined by the Open Source Institute. Mark mentions VM Brasseur’s talk at Freenode Live, Four Ways to spread the Four freedoms, as a good one to watch.
Wayne’s under the Hood starts with a mention of the latest Humble Bundles, like the New Year, New You 2020 bundle. He goes on to talk about the latest prototyping board from the Pi-Hut. He finally mentions hacksplaining, a series of lessons on vulnerabilities explained well.
56:51 – Irish saying of the show is Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit or Happy New Year!
We hope you enjoy the show as much as we did making it!
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