All TWiT.tv Shows (Audio): Untitled Linux Show 244 – "Torture the Metaphor"

Recorded: March 1, 2026
Host: Jonathan Bennett
Panel: Rob Campbell, Jeff, Ken
Producer: Leo Laporte

Episode Overview

This episode of the Untitled Linux Show blends hardware reviews, open source software developments, Linux desktop innovation, benchmarking nostalgia, pressing legal issues, and the ever-relevant intersection of open source and AI. The team provides lively debate, practical tips, and plenty of side banter, delivering both substance and wit to their deep-dive discussions. Notable topics include the Lenovo Legion Android tablet, LibreOffice’s return to the web, the implications of new Android app restrictions, age verification legislation for Linux, what’s new in Ardour, the heated “asterisks in sudo” debate, and more.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hardware Review: Lenovo Legion Tab 3 Android Tablet

[01:06–06:36] Jonathan Bennett

• Review Focus: Jonathan shares hands-on impressions of the Lenovo Legion Tab 3, an 8-inch Android tablet.
• Pros:
  • Great high-res screen (2560x1920, 8"), dual speakers.
  • 12GB RAM, dual USB-C ports (potential for pass-through charging).
  • Removable magnetic case; portability lauded—fits in a sport coat pocket.
• Cons:
  • No LTE, no GPS, no fingerprint reader (only facial recognition).
  • Presence of uninstallable bloatware—games auto-installed, but can be removed after persistence.
  • Poor delivery experience via UPS & Lenovo support.
• Performance: Good for media, basic app testing (like ATak), and emulation—even for relatively modern platforms.
• Notable Quote:
  • “One of the things I like about 8-inch tablets is that you can actually take them...and on a sport coat you have a pocket here and it will just barely pop into that pocket. I just love it.” (03:12 – Jonathan Bennett)

2. Open Source Office Suites: Collabora vs. LibreOffice Online

[09:58–14:53] Rob Campbell

• Collabora: Making a play for the desktop with a streamlined, modern UI modeled after their web offering.
• LibreOffice: Surprises the community by reviving its web-based version after shelving it in 2022.
• Rob’s UI Critique: Wishes LibreOffice would focus on aesthetic and functional improvements to its desktop version before branching out to the web.
  • “I told them ... it'd be nice if they could update their look so it’s not so much like 2005 anymore.” (13:24 – Rob Campbell)
• Community’s Role: TDF (The Document Foundation) is hands-off with hosting or enterprise support, inviting the community to pick up and modernize the project.

3. The State of Linux Desktop UI/UX

[15:35–19:52] Whole Panel

• Historical Borrowing: Linux desktops have borrowed heavily from Windows and macOS but now all platforms lack originality.
  • “[A designer] was making the comment that Linux ... has been stealing from Windows and Mac for years ... now is the time for innovation.” (15:35 – Jonathan Bennett)
• Missed Opportunities: Rob and Jeff discuss how even small quality-of-life tweaks (like ‘focus-on-release’ clicks) can improve desktop UX without radical paradigm shifts.
• Virtual Desktops: Lauded as a true Linux innovation later emulated by commercial OSes.
• UX Talent Needed: “Open Source ... needs more UI designers to really innovate.” (17:00 – Jeff)

4. Laptop Nostalgia: 18 Years of Intel Benchmarked

[20:23–30:01] Jeff

• Michael Larabel of Phoronix benchmarks every generation of Intel laptops since the Core 2 Duo (2008)—15 laptops, Ubuntu 26.04.
• Findings:
  • Geometric average performance increase: 21.5x (with some extreme 95x improvements in OpenSSL).
  • Progress is “stepwise”—plateaus over several generations, then major jumps.
  • New hardware is more efficient, but RAM, storage, and form factor have huge impacts.
  • “You might be three, four generations behind, and it's like you’re still doing pretty darn good.” (29:03 – Jeff)

5. Linux Hardware Prices & Scarcity

[30:24–31:19] Panel

• Panel laments: RAM and SSD prices are high but declining; hardware shortages and inventory cycles discussed.

6. Ardour 9.x: Audio Production for Linux

[32:16–35:15] Ken, Jonathan

• Rapid Patches: Ardour releases 9.1 and 9.2 after 9.0 due to regressions and bugs.
• Key Updates: MIDI note chasing/duplication, fixes for UI issues, crash prevention.
• Advice: Wait for several hotfix releases before upgrading after major version bumps.

7. Open Source & AI: Mesa’s Draft Policy

[40:51–51:22] Jonathan, Panel

• Mesa is debating how to handle AI-generated code:
  • Options on the table: total AI ban, transparency requirements, directory-based policies, and more.
  • Concerns:
    • Flood of low-quality or irrelevant PRs from AI, ethics of AI training on open code, and project direction governance.
  • Two philosophies:
    • Is AI learning like a human (fine), or always derivative (potentially unethical)?
  • Rob wryly notes: “A person could do that too ... If they don’t want it, they decline the commit.” (49:54 – Rob Campbell)
  • “Now with AI, you're getting one or two of those a day.” (50:11 – Jonathan Bennett)

8. The Coming Android "Apocalypse" – Sideloading Restrictions

[51:37–62:47] Rob, Jonathan, Panel

• Google’s Policy Shift (Sept 2026): Only verified developers may sideload apps, even outside the Play Store, on certified devices.
• Security vs. Freedom:
  • Good for blocking malware, bad for user/device freedom and hobby development.
• OpenLetter & Campaign: keepandroidopen.org fights for the right to sideload freely.
• “My device, my choice:” Rob laments Android drifting toward Apple-like lock-in.
• Potential Need for Linux Phones: Calls for a renewed push on mobile Linux alternatives (e.g., Fedora Pocket Blue, see below).

9. Sudo_RS & The “Asterisks” Kerfuffle

[63:01–73:10] Jeff, Panel

• Change in Ubuntu 26.04: New Rust implementation of sudo shows asterisks as you type your password by default.
• Divided Community: Some hate the change (leaking password length), others say it helps usability.
  • “All it needs is to add ... ‘default !pwfeedback‘ in their sudo config file and it’ll operate like it always has.” (66:30 – Jeff)
• Security Realism: Unless you’re in a high-threat environment, password length is a minor leak; real attacks more likely shoulder-surf keystrokes.

10. Gaming & GNOME's Clever Use of GitHub

[74:05–81:42] Ken, Jonathan, Panel

• 0 AD v28 Released: Popular open-source RTS removes “Alpha” label after 15+ years; now includes the German faction and technical updates.
• GNOME’s Hosting Hack: To save costs, GNOME redirects git clones to its GitHub mirrors, sidestepping expensive private hosting. Irony: GitHub, which many FOSS projects avoid for AI reasons, is now their “sidewalk.” If many projects follow, GitHub may crack down.

11. Fedora Pocket Blue: Linux Phone Distro Work-in-Progress

[83:13–92:29] Rob, Jonathan

• Project: Builds Fedora Atomic (immutable) images with GNOME/Plasma/Phosh UI for select phones & tablets (notably, smattering of Xiaomi/OnePlus 6/6T).
• Key Limitation: Hardware is typically several generations old; newer phones lack upstream kernel/device support due to vendor apathy or active obstruction.
  • “You would need somebody that makes these mobile processors ... to start pushing code upstream ... until some big player steps up ... it’s going to lag so far behind.” (89:08 – Jonathan Bennett)

12. Other News Bites

• GNU Octave v11:
  • High-level, MATLAB-compatible, numerics language; big performance boosts and Matlab compatibility (92:39–99:18 Jeff).
• Thunderbird 14.8:
  • Improved accessibility, security tweaks (PKCE for Yahoo/ATT/AOL), and bugfixes; Exchange Web Services (EWS) nearing end-of-life (100:04–103:24 Ken, Jonathan, Rob).
• Age Verification Laws Looming:
  • New California law (Jan 2027) may force OS installers (including Linux distros) to prompt for age at setup and pass data to apps. Panel skeptical of enforcement, impact, and efficacy. (103:36–114:19 Jonathan, Rob, Ken, Jeff)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On open source UI design:
  • "The Linux desktop ... has been stealing from Windows and Mac for years now ... you guys should really innovate ..." (15:35 – Jonathan Bennett)
• On AI’s effect on open source contribution floods:
  • "Now with AI, you're getting one or two of those [random PRs] a day." (50:11 – Jonathan Bennett)
• On Android app lockdown:
  • “Suddenly we’re not choosing between two philosophies, we’re choosing between two versions of the same lockdown future.” (55:57 – Rob Campbell)
• On Linux age verification law:
  • “The problem is not that it doesn't work ... the problem is that companies will still be required to attempt to comply ... and so you’re going to see some ridiculous things happen as a result.” (113:39 – Jonathan Bennett)
• On hardware nostalgia:
  • “If you want this [Linux phone], you can get it right now. Go buy a OnePlus 6 or OnePlus 6T ... But you still have a seven year old phone.” (87:06 and 91:59 – Jonathan Bennett)
• On system snapshots:
  • “If you have a BTRFS filesystem, you should probably know about Snapper.” (122:37 – Jeff)
• On pen-and-paper backup:
  • "Printer not ready. Could be a fatal error. Have a pen handy. Have a great week, everybody." (127:13 – Jeff, departing poetry)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Lenovo Legion Tab 3 review – [01:06–06:36]
• LibreOffice Online revival & Collabora – [09:58–14:53]
• Linux desktop UI stagnation – [15:35–19:52]
• Laptop benchmarking/nostalgia – [20:23–30:01]
• RAM/SSD prices chat – [30:24–31:19]
• Ardour 9.x updates – [32:16–35:15]
• Mesa & AI contributions policy – [40:51–51:22]
• Android's new sideload restrictions – [51:37–62:47]
• Sudo_RS asterisk debate – [63:01–73:10]
• 0AD & GNOME's GitHub hosting hack – [74:05–81:42]
• Fedora Pocket Blue (Linux phone WIP) – [83:13–92:29]
• GNU Octave 11 release – [92:39–99:18]
• Thunderbird updates & EWS discussion – [100:04–103:24]
• CA Age Verification Law for Linux – [103:36–114:19]
• Command-Line Tips and Final Words – [115:47–127:41]

Command-Line Tips Highlight

• PyNetScan: Rob’s AI-assisted Python network scanner utility, fully featured and easily modifiable. (115:47–120:28)
• Snapper: Essential CLI tool for BTRFS snapshots; complements GUI options, increases system resilience. (120:37–122:40)
• MediaInfo: Extracts metadata from audio/video/image files. (123:12–124:04)
• Espanso: Text expander for quick keyword-to-snippet/text/script conversion, cross-platform. (124:04–126:29)

Final Thoughts

This week’s show brings together the Linux community’s perennial debates and real-world challenges—balancing usability and tradition, grappling with AI’s role, and preparing for increasing external regulation. At every turn, the panel keeps things grounded with practical insight, a touch of nostalgia, and a wry sense of humor.

For listeners:
Whether you’re a hardware geek, open source code warrior, workflow optimizer, or privacy advocate, there’s plenty this week to learn, debate, and laugh about.

“The Linux desktop ... has been stealing from Windows and Mac for years now ... you guys should really innovate ...”
— Jonathan Bennett (15:35)

Printer not ready. Could be a fatal error. Have a pen handy. Have a great week, everybody.
— Jeff (127:13)

For further reading and the full transcript, visit twit.tv.