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Archive for the ‘LUGRadio’ Category


Posted on November 4, 2009 - by jono

Don’t Listen Alone: The LugRadio Documentary – Now Available Online

Last year we wrapped up LugRadio after five seasons, over 2million downloads and six live events. For over a year now Tony Whitmore from the excellent ubuntu-uk Podcast has been working on a documentary chronicling the history of the show, and packed with interviews, behind-the-scenes footage of how we planned a show, the studio, LugRadio Live USA and more. He premiered the hour-long documentary at LugRadio Live 2009 to resounding applause and acclaim, and it is now available online, and freely available.

You can watch it from your browser here:

Part 1


Can’t see it? click here

Part 2


Can’t see it? click here

You can also download the full documentary from here.

You can read more about how he created the documentary (on Linux, no-less) here. Thanks so much, Tony!


Posted on November 2, 2009 - by jono

Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame: Laura Cowen

A few weekends back I was in Wolverhampton for the power and glory that was LugRadio Live 2009 and I just wanted to write up a quick blog entry about someone who never ceases to impress me with her work: Laura Cowen.

As usual, Laura was knee-deep in crew responsibilities at the event, and she could be found operating video cameras, coordinating other crew members, helping with A/V and also stepping in as one of the presenters at OggCamp the following day. By day she is a technical writer, user experience advocate, and geek, but by night she joins the other reprobates on the rather excellent ubuntu-uk Podcast and she was heavily involved in the planning of the hugely successful OggCamp. Laura is not only accomplished in both her work and Open Source activities, but she always brings an incredibly warming atmosphere to the projects she is involved in, including many LugRadio Live events both in the UK and the USA.

I just wanted to say a huge thanks to Laura for all her contributions to LugRadio over the years and her continuing work with the Ubuntu community. Thanks!


Posted on October 22, 2009 - by jono

Wild And Wicked Wolverhampton Weekend

Tomorrow I fly to England back to Wolverhampton for LugRadio Live 2009. I have been over in California now for over a year and it will be the first time I have got to see many of my friends since I moved. It will also be the final re-union of the LugRadio team for the last ever live show and last ever LugRadio Live. It is going to be a blast!

Although LugRadio Live is entirely sold out of tickets, there is going to be one hell of a party on the Friday night at The Hogshead, 186 Stafford Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1NA from 7.30pm and also on the Saturday night at the The Connaught Hotel, 40-50 Tettenhall Rd, Wolverhampton, WV1 4SW from 8pm. On the Saturday there will be Karaoke. Oh yes. Everyone is welcome to both parties, and I would love to see you all there! :-)

The fun doesn’t end there though, oh no! On the Sunday, the first ever OggCamp is going to take place at The Connaught Hotel in Wolverhampton, and it is shaping up to be an incredible event. The organizers behind it, the venerable Ubuntu UK and Linux Outlaws podcasts, have worked hard to make it a rocking event and I can’t wait for it! I really hope it becomes a staple in the UK Open Source event calendar. So, good people, get your delicate arses over to OggCamp too. :-)

What a rollicking weekend of Open Source goodness, firmly seated in the great British heartlands:

  • Friday 23rd October – Party at The Hogs Head in Wolverhampton.
  • Saturday 24th October – LugRadio Live 2009 and party at The Connaught Hotel in Wolverhampton.
  • Sunday 25th October – OggCamp at The Connaught Hotel in Wolverhampton.

I look forward to seeing you all there!


Posted on September 8, 2009 - by jono

LugRadio Live 2009 Announced

I am proud to join my fellow large gents in announcing the power and the glory that is LugRadio Live 2009 in Wolverhampton on the 24th October 2009! Although LugRadio may be no more, LugRadio Live is alive and kicking and we are all tickled pink about the forthcoming fun-fest.

Featuring such legends as Andy “blackadder” Robinson (OpenStreetmap), Brock Craft (tinker.it), Bruno Bord (LugRadio Community), Craig Rothwell (OpenPandora), Des Burley (A Real Lawyer Speaks), Gervase Markham (Mozilla), Martin Meredith (Hack The Planet), Matthew Paul Thomas (Ubuntu), Matthew Somerville (MySociety), Patrick Finch (Mozilla), Steve Lamb (Microsoft), Tom Edwards (Linux Supercomputing) and more as well as the first live re-union of the LugRadio team, Stuart Langridge, Adam Sweet, Chris Procter and I, it is shaping up to be a rocking day. To top things off that little bit more, the inaugural OggCamp happens on the day after, also in the glorious city of Wolverhampton. Finally, don’t forget that on the Friday night before LugRadio Live 2009, we will be having our usual pre-show get together at The Hogs Head.

Two rocking events, one rocking weekend. If you are not there, the terrorists will have won.

So, what are you waiting for? Go and see the LugRadio Live and OggCamp websites and start making plans. I can’t wait to see you all there!


Posted on July 3, 2008 - by jono

Thanks

Wow. That is the only way of describing how we all feel in the LugRadio team regarding the response to Monday’s news that we are wrapping up LugRadio. I have been, in a word, stunned at the incredibly generous and kind comments that we have been receiving. It was incredible to see so many comments on that blog entry, as well as Aq’s write-up, the LugRadio forums thread that announced the news, and the mountain of email to the show email address.

I have read every one of those comments, posts and emails and I am stunned at the incredibly kind things people have been saying. Some of the things that people have said have really made us all feel incredibly proud of the show. I love the fact that many of you said that LugRadio helped you get enthused about free software and the community, and many of you said that you feel part of something with LugRadio. A long time ago, Bruno, a LugRadio community regular said “LugRadio is my LUG“; it seems he is not alone in that sentiment based on many of the messages we have received.

So with all the thanks we have received and well-wishes for the future, I want to use this as an opportunity to say thanks to every one of you too. As some of you will know, I am rather fond of communities, and I am incredibly proud of the LugRadio community. It has demonstrated all the traits of a good community; it is a friendly, welcoming environment, and one that has never been short of people enthusiastic about getting involved. Heck, the foundation of LugRadio is a testament to this, with every single show being mirrored by a large number of contributors – this was a conscious decision that we made from day one to help make the show possible, and low-and-behold the community once again stood up and helped. Not only that, but had community contributions with sys-admin work, the planet, the facts database, the clan, the forums, the IRC channel, at LugRadio Live, with ideas for the show, emails and more.

There is though one little story though which I would like to share with you that really demonstrated to me what the LugRadio community is capable of. Back when we were organising LugRadio Live 2006, we spent months preparing for the event. It was twice the size of 2005, two days instead of one, three stages instead of two with more talk slots, had far more activities and events going on and involved a lot more coordination, sponsorship and more. We worked our respective arses off to get everything in shape, and the community was psyched up about it. People had booked flights from all over the world to attend, hotels were reserved and we were a few weeks away from the big weekend. Then, one evening while doing some recording, I logged onto the LugRadio Forums from my studio computer and noticed a comment that a rail strike was scheduled for the weekend of LugRadio Live. Crap. I can safely say that in 28 years of being on this planet, I have never been so angry as I was in that moment, and was fuming at not only the incompetence of the people who run the rail network but also the union deciding to throw their toys out the proverbial pram. Who the hell did they think they were? Did they not consider other people who rely on the rail network? Were they aware of how disruptive this was going to be? I stood there and envisaged all of our hard work slowly going down the drain as people could not get to LugRadio Live.

In all the commotion, the LugRadio community…unasked…and unprompted, jumped right into action and started organising car sharing, investigating alternatives and getting a plan in place. Discussions happened, wiki pages were created, capacity was developed. We even had someone volunteer to pay or a nationwide coach service out of his own pocket. When I went to work at OpenAdvantage the following day with a black cloud hovering over my head, I was touched by just how much the community had pulled together. In my mind, this is the definition of what this is all about – we are all coming together to not only do incredibly cool things with technology, culture and new perspectives, but there is a noticeable atmosphere of people looking out for each other. The greatest communities in the world are not just places where you feel empowered, they are places in which other people empower you.

…oh and for the curious, the conclusion of this tale was that when I got into OpenAdvantage that day I called the rail network officials and the union and gave them equal doses of my derision. Fortunately, said strike was called off and everyone lived happily ever after. I even shaved off that insane beard at that LugRadio Live. Retrospectively, that was a deeply wise move. :)

So in conclusion, thanks everyone for everything you have been saying to us, we really do appreciate it. :)

Come to LugRadio Live UK 2008 for one last shindig

So everyone, with the show wrapping up, you absolutely, utterly have to come along to LugRadio Live UK 2008 on the 19th and 20th July 2008 for our farewell LugRadio Live. Of course, its not just our last recording of a show – there will be three stages of speakers, a full exhibition, parties and other fun for the weekend. Its only a few weeks away, so get booked into a hotel and come and join us. :)


Posted on June 30, 2008 - by jono

The End Of LugRadio

DIGG THIS!

Today we announced that we have decided to call it a day with LugRadio. Our last show will be LugRadio Live UK 2008 on the 19th and 20th July 2008 at The Lighthouse in Wolverhampton. We announced this in the latest episode of LugRadio, Season 5 Episode 21 – go and have a listen to the show to hear more.

In a nutshell, we have decided that LugRadio has had a good run for the last four years and five seasons, and a show such as ours has always faced the risk of getting old and tired unless the formula is changed to keep it fresh. This growth and evolution has happened to a decent degree over the seasons as we introduced interviews, musical comedy skits, points based segments, competitions, focusing on different types of content etc, but as we near the end of Season 5 we came to the conclusion that the show was nearing its natural conclusion. From the beginning, when we have discussed if and when LugRadio was to finish we were always determined to take it out on a high, and this is part of the reason we feel now is a good time. The last thing we would want people to say is “yeah LugRadio was fantastic, well apart from that dire sixth season“. We feel we have had five good solid seasons under our belt, so now is probably a good time to wrap things up.

Now, as with when Matt left, some people are bound to jump to conclusions why we are calling it a day. To clarify:

  • We have not fallen out. We are all still best friends.
  • Severed Fifth is not why I am leaving.
  • Adam’s business dreams is not why he is leaving.
  • Aq has not decided to join a travelling circus.
  • Chris has not set up a cult around the Network Block Driver. Actually, that’s a lie. He has.
  • We have not been acquired by the Linux Action Show and Jupiter Enterprises.

A am massively proud of what we have managed to achieve. Over 100 shows, 7 full-time presenters and countless guest presenters, 200+ hours of audio, 100+ guests, 2million+ downloads, 1000+ forums members, 40000+ forums posts, 5 live events in two countries, 5000+ emails to the show and an incredible community of people who have surrounded the show, discussed it, got involved in some way, and otherwise given us all an immense enthusiasm to keep doing LugRadio. I am also proud of every one of my co-presenters over the years – Steve “Sparkes” Parkes, Matt Revell, Ade Bradshaw and the current roster of Adam Sweet, Chris Procter and Stuart “Aq” Langridge. I am particularly proud of Aq, my best mate and someone who has been my partner in crime in LugRadio since Season 1 Episode 1.

The thing I am most proud of about LugRadio is that it shook things up. It has always been raw, unexpected and at times uncomfortable to listen to. We always set out to do a show on our terms, knowing full well it would not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we forged ahead and I am proud of how the history looks.

Everyone has their favorite moments, and I just wanted to highlight just a few of mine:

  • Our many incredible guests – Nat Friedman, Jeff Waugh, Eric Raymond, Miguel de Icaza, Mark Shuttleworth, Matthew Garrett, Rob McQueen, Sacha “Sago” Goedegebure, Alexandre Juillard, Havoc Pennington, Colin Walters, Quim Gil, Greg Kroah-Hartman and many more.
  • The many strong debates Aq and I have launched into on the show. We have a somewhat unusual style of debating and some people have been worried we were on the verge of falling out, which has never happened. I know, its odd, and something that started back in 2001 at LUG meetings. It never stops being fun. :)
  • The Gong-a-thong was an idea that Aq and I concocted late one night while on the phone. The first time we did it in Wolverhampton, we both stood at the side of the stage and it was a very surreal, proud and frankly hilarious moment. We replicated such insanity in San Francisco with Aaron Bockover and it was another comedy gem. The final gong-a-thong will happen at LugRadio Live UK 2008 in a few weeks.
  • Ade’s random stories, and strange expectations of life. Who can forget Ade asking if any of us looked at our arses in the mirror, expecting a fully reasoned and learned discussion about said activity. Oh, and Ade’s perspectives on women in technical roles and his idea of compliments to a lady in a nightclub (“You sit well for an old girl…“). Bonkers.
  • The booting of Matt Lee and GNU/FSF on the show and his admirable efforts at retort. Oh, and RMS refusing to come on the show as we use the words “Open Source” in the description of the show.
  • Theatrics and comedy skits – The National Lottery segment, musical efforts (Pigeon Street, Lion Sleeps Tonight), Mrs Mudchild appearing because Matt was late for the show, Stallman only wanting a kipper, the What The F**k Book Truck, Filthy Gamble and more.
  • LugRadio Live USA 2008. Wow, what an experience – a lot of fun, and a lot of work, but well worth it.
  • LugRadio Live And Unleashed – there is nothing like doing a show in front of hundreds of people. It is a lot of fun and a real buzz.
  • Sparkes availing us of his many stories, particularly the girl taking the piss out of his shoes in Wolverhampton. When I was editing his best bits segment I had tears streaming down my face laughing.
  • Filming the LugRadio Live 2007 promo videos. It was a lot of fun making them. Actors, we are not.
  • The emails. Our emails were always eclectic. Sometimes random, sometimes wise, sometimes hilarious, sometimes deeply offensive, but always inspiring. We loved every one of them, even the ones we thought were crap. :)
  • The competitions – Stupid Hat For Corporate Tat, Look Queer In The New Year, Pimp My LugRadio, Asa Raskin’s Hat Dilemma and more.
  • Bruno’s talk at LugRadio Live 2006 about how much we all swear in LugRadio and his rather amusing delivery and graphs.
  • Matt’s impressions, particularly his Irish leprechaun impression. Specifically, Matt’s leprechaun impression that he used to impersonate Lucky Charms when at Skycon in Limerick.
  • The Finger Of God.

It is certainly going to be unusual not having my mates around to my house every two weeks to record a show, drinking endless amounts of tea, taking an average of 15 takes to record an intro (really), regularly ribbing each other about everything under the sun, and then releasing a show and hearing about how it was received by our community.

So, the last episode of LugRadio will be recorded in front of a live audience at LugRadio Live UK 2008 on the 19th July 2008 in Wolverhampton. Why not come and share it with us, and the Saturday night we will be toasting to four years surrounded by our friends from the community; I can’t think of a better way to get off the roller-coaster. :)

Also see Aq’s write-up.


Posted on March 31, 2008 - by jono

Rambling Brit in TV Shocker!

A few months back I did an interview with the Sun Developer Channel and it was released today. The interview covers Ubuntu, MOTU, community building, developer communities, extremists, LugRadio, LugRadio Live USA 2008 and more:

Can’t see it? Click here!

You know what, I have done interviews before, but in this one I found it pretty nerve wracking. Something about a video camera poked in your direction in nerve wracking enough, let alone a full-on studio, like the one buried away at Sun’s Silicon Valley campus. Thanks to Barton for the interview. :)


Posted on March 16, 2008 - by jono

Couple o’interviews

For the bored, last week I did a few interviews:

Thanks to both shows for the airtime. :)


Posted on February 28, 2008 - by jono

First LugRadio Live USA 2008 Exhibitors Confirmed!

Organisation for LugRadio Live USA 2008 on the 12th and 13th April 2008 in San Francisco coninues apace, and we are in the process of confirming exhibitors. Our first raft of exhibitors have just been confirmed, and I can announce them as:

  • Google
  • Dice
  • GNOME
  • PostgreSQL
  • O’Reilly
  • OpenSuSE
  • Linden Labs
  • Magnatune
  • gOS
  • Neuros
  • Sun
  • Texas Instruments
  • South California Linux Expo
  • Komputers 4 R Kids
  • San Francisco LUG
  • BytesFree.org
  • Ontario Linux Fest
  • Frets on Fire
  • OpenNMS
  • One Course Source

We are currently working to add another twice as many exhibitors. If you would like to exhibit you’re project, organisation or company, get in touch with us at show AT lugradio DOT org.

Of course, LugRadio Live USA 2008 is much more than just exhibitors, we have 35 speakers who will be speaking across three stages:

  • Miguel de Icaza (Mono / Novell / Co-Founder Of GNOME)
  • Ian Murdoch (OpenSolaris / Founder Of Debian)
  • Robert Love (GNOME / Google)
  • Aza Raskin (Mozilla / Humanized)
  • Benjamin Mako Hill (Ubuntu / Debian / FSF)
  • John Buckman (Magnatune)
  • Val Henson (Kernel / VAH consulting)
  • Christopher Blizzard (Mozilla / GNOME)
  • Mike Linksvayer (Creative Commons)
  • David Schleef (GStreamer)
  • Matthew Garrett (Power Management / Kernel)
  • Danese Cooper (Intel / OSI)
  • Aaron Bockover (Banshee / Novell)
  • Liana Holmberg (Second Life / Linden Lab)
  • Emma Jane Hogbin (Hick Tech)
  • Joe Zonker Brockmeier (OpenSuSE / Novell)
  • Kristen Accardi (Kernel)
  • Joe Born (Neuros)
  • Selena Deckelmann
  • Stewart Smith (MySQL)
  • Dan Kegal (Wine)
  • Ben Collins (Ubuntu / Kernel)
  • Jason Kridner (Texas Instruments)
  • Jeremy Allison (Samba / Google)
  • Christian Hammond (VMWare)
  • Ian McKeller (Songbird)
  • Alison Randall (Parrot / Perl / OSCON)
  • David Huffman (LVM)
  • Brian Will (Pigeon)
  • Belinda Lopez (Ubuntu)
  • Ilan Rabanovich (SoCal Linux Expo)
  • Eddy Mulyono (Packaging)
  • Matthew Walster (Demo Scene)

It is going to be a kick-arse event. And remember it is only $10 for the entire weekend. Thats it. Ten bucks. If you want to come and join in the fun, please go and pre-register, it guarantees you’re entry, and also includes a bunch of other benefits. Look forward to seeing you all there! :)


Posted on February 26, 2008 - by jono

LugRadio Birthday Drinks

Just a quick note – the chaps on the show (Aq, Adam and Chris) and I are heading out with ex-presenters Matthew Revell and Ade Bradshaw for a few celebratory birthday drinks this Friday (29th Feb). Everyone is welcome.

We will meet at 8pm at The Varsity in central Wolverhampton (address is Stafford Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LZ). If you can get along, let us know.