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

In this episode of Linux Out Loud, Matt takes squad leader role while Wendy and Nate rejoin the party for a high‑FPS catch‑up on life, Linux, and loud gaming sessions. They swap updates on Wendy’s robotics teams heading deeper into competition season, Nate’s battle with basement water and building a proper home lab spawn point, and Matt’s quest to keep a local‑only media server running on modest hardware. From organizing racks and labeling gear to wrestling with Starlink latency and debating cloud gaming versus real ownership, the crew dives into how their real‑world chaos shapes the way they run Linux, host services, and play games. If you like robots, home labs, and arguing about whether you really own your digital library, this one’s for you.

Show Links:
Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/73bDDATDAK
Bookbinder JS (booklet maker): https://momijizukamori.github.io/bookbinder-js/
Bookbinder JS on GitHub: https://github.com/momijizukamori/bookbinder-js
PS4 controller USB‑C upgrade guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGKyBJVDXDQ
BattleTech on GOG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/battletech_game​

This week on Linux Out Loud, the gang gets totally rad as they dial into the mainframe and get down to business! Nate and Bill go head-to-head in a network showdown, discussing the merits of building a custom, open-source network versus the "set it and forget it" convenience of prosumer gear. The team also tackles Nate's Framework Laptop firmware woes, Wendy's "Robot in 7 Days" build, and a deep dive into UPS power monitoring.

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://tuxdigital.com/podcasts/linux-out-loud/lol-115/

Support the Show
Toss in your two cents: https://tuxdigital.com/contact/
Find more great shows: https://tuxdigital.com
Show off your love for your favorite shows: https://tuxdigital.com/store
Connect with the Hosts:
Matt – @MattTDN on Twitter
Wendy – @WendyDLN on Mastodon
Nate – CubicleNate.com
Bill - ctlinux

Special Guest: Bill.