FLOSS Weekly is a
free and open-source software (
FLOSS
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...
) themed netcast from the TWiT Network. The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features interviews with prominent guests from the free software/open source community. It was originally hosted by
Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the host of ''The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and a host on TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology author. O ...
; his cohost for the first seventeen episodes was
Chris DiBona
Chris DiBona ('cdibona', born October 1971) was the director of open source at Google from August 2004 until January of 2023.
The open source team at Google oversees license compliance and supports the open source developer community through pro ...
and subsequently
Randal Schwartz
Randal L. Schwartz (born November 22, 1961), also known as merlyn, is an American author, system administrator and programming consultant. He has written several books on the Perl programming language, and plays a promotional role within the Per ...
. In May 2010, Schwartz took over from Laporte as lead host. May 2020 saw
Doc Searls
David "Doc" Searls (born July 29, 1947), is an American journalist, columnist, and a widely read blogger. He is the host of FLOSS Weekly, a free and open-source software (FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network, a co-author of '' The Cluetr ...
take over the host role in episode 578.
Many influential people from the free and open-source community have appeared on the show, including
Kent Beck
Kent Beck (born 1961) is an American software engineer and the creator of extreme programming, a software development methodology that eschews rigid formal specification for a collaborative and iterative design process. Beck was one of the 17 ...
,
Ward Cunningham,
Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza (born November 23, 1972) is a Mexican programmer, best known for starting the GNOME, Mono, and Xamarin projects.
Biography Early years
De Icaza was born in Mexico City and studied Mathematics at the National Autonomous University ...
,
Rasmus Lerdorf
Rasmus Lerdorf (born 22 November 1968) is a Danish-Canadian programmer. He co-authored and inspired the PHP scripting language, authoring the first two versions of the language and participating in the development of later versions led by a gro ...
,
Tim O'Reilly
Tim O'Reilly (born 6 June 1954) is the founder of O'Reilly Media (formerly O'Reilly & Associates). He popularised the terms open source and Web 2.0.
Education and early life
Born in County Cork, Ireland, Tim O'Reilly moved to San Francisco, C ...
,
["CNET reporting on Tim O'Reilly Interview"](_blank)
news.cent.com, Last verified 2010-01-22 Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum (; born 31 January 1956) is a Dutch programmer best known as the creator of the Python programming language, for which he was the "benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL) until he stepped down from the position on 12 July 2018 ...
,
Linus Torvalds
Linus Benedict Torvalds ( , ; born 28 December 1969) is a Finnish software engineer who is the creator and, historically, the lead developer of the Linux kernel, used by Linux distributions and other operating systems such as Android. He also ...
, and
Jimmy Wales. Show topics are wide in variety, and have for example included
ZFS
ZFS (previously: Zettabyte File System) is a file system with volume management capabilities. It began as part of the Sun Microsystems Solaris operating system in 2001. Large parts of Solaris – including ZFS – were published under an ope ...
,
[“ZFS on FLOSS Weekly”](_blank)
Jim Grisanzio, blogs.sun.com, Last verified 2010-01-18. Mifos,
[“Mifos on FLOSS Weekly Open Source Podcast”](_blank)
. mifos.org, Last verified 2010-01-18. Asterisk,
[Asterisk Featured on FLOSS Weekly](_blank)
community.spiceworks.com, Last verified 2010-01-18. and the
OSU Open Source Lab.
[“FLOSS Weekly Interview”](_blank)
. Jeff Sheltren, sheltren.com, Last verified 2010-01-18.
History
FLOSS Weekly was started by Leo Laporte, who runs the
TWiT
TWiT.tv, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast network that broadcasts many technology news podcasts, founded by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte in 2005, and run by his wife and company CEO Lisa Laporte. ...
podcast network, and Chris DiBona, now the open source program manager at
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
. FLOSS is an acronym for Free/Libre Open Source Software. The show was intended to be a weekly interview with the biggest names and influences in open source software. Episode one of ''FLOSS Weekly'' appeared on April 7, 2006.
Towards the end of 2006, episodes began to appear less frequently, dropping to a monthly basis. DiBona's newborn baby and commitments at Google were cited as reasons for the show's stagnation, and on the seventeenth episode, Laporte appealed for other co-hosts to share the burden. This was DiBona's final appearance on the show as the host. He returned as a guest for the show's 100th episode.
The show went on an unannounced three-month hiatus, re-appearing on July 20, 2007, with a new co-host,
Randal Schwartz
Randal L. Schwartz (born November 22, 1961), also known as merlyn, is an American author, system administrator and programming consultant. He has written several books on the Perl programming language, and plays a promotional role within the Per ...
, who had previously appeared on the show as a guest. Schwartz went on to take over organizing guests for the show, and restored the show to a predominantly weekly schedule (with occasional gaps from scheduling conflicts or last minute cancellations). Starting with episode 69,
Jono Bacon
Jonathan Edward James Bacon is a writer and software engineer, originally from the United Kingdom, but now based in California. He works as a consultant on community strategy.
History
Bacon started his work with the Linux community when he ...
was a somewhat regular co-host, even filling in for Randal when Randal wasn't available.
The show was nominated for the 2009
Podcast Awards
The People's Choice Podcast Awards, better known as the Podcast Awards, are global awards given annually to the best podcasts as voted by the general public. Founded in 2005 by Todd Cochrane of Podcast Connect Inc., the Podcast Awards changed han ...
in the Technology/Science category.
In May 2010, the show began publishing a video feed (along with many of the rest of the TWiT network shows), and moved to an earlier recording time. As a result of the new recording time, Leo Laporte stepped down as the lead host, and Jono Bacon could no longer regularly co-host.
In May 2020
Doc Searls
David "Doc" Searls (born July 29, 1947), is an American journalist, columnist, and a widely read blogger. He is the host of FLOSS Weekly, a free and open-source software (FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network, a co-author of '' The Cluetr ...
took over for Randal Schwartz.
Format
Most episodes feature the primary developer or developers of a particular open source software project. The show is an open discussion, with the host and co-host asking questions about the nature of the project. Typically, the interviewers will ask the guests about the history of the project, and its development model (such as which
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
it is written in, which version control system is used, and what development environment the author uses). Some shows, such as the interviews with
Jon "maddog" Hall
Jon "maddog" Hall (born 7 August 1950) is the board chair for the Linux Professional Institute.
Career
The nickname "maddog" was given to him by his students at Hartford State Technical College, where he was the Department Head of Computer Sc ...
and
Simon Phipps, are not specific to an open source project, and feature more general topics, such as the philosophy of free and open-source software. Shows begin and end with a brief discussion between the hosts, before and after calling the guest. Often the guests are interviewed via
Skype
Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
, with Laporte's staff at TWiT being responsible for the audio recording and production. FLOSS Weekly has been supported by advertising and donations. In October 2006, FLOSS Weekly had 31,661 downloads of episode 14.
Hosts and Co-Hosts
Primary Hosts
*
Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the host of ''The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and a host on TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology author. O ...
(April 2006 - June 2009)
*
Randal Schwartz
Randal L. Schwartz (born November 22, 1961), also known as merlyn, is an American author, system administrator and programming consultant. He has written several books on the Perl programming language, and plays a promotional role within the Per ...
(June 2009 - May 2020)
*
Doc Searls
David "Doc" Searls (born July 29, 1947), is an American journalist, columnist, and a widely read blogger. He is the host of FLOSS Weekly, a free and open-source software (FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network, a co-author of '' The Cluetr ...
(May 2022 - Present)
Rotating Co-Hosts
* Katherine Druckman
* Aaron Newcomb
* Dan Lynch
*
Simon Phipps
* Jonathan Bennett
*
Shawn Powers
Shawn Powers (born 19 July 1975) is a journalist, Open Source evangelist, cartoonist, and online personality. He is currently a co-host at FLOSS Weekly.. on the TWiT.tv network, a frequent guest host on the Reality 2.0 podcast, and an active b ...
* Guillermo Amaral
* Gareth Greenaway
* Joe Brockmeier
* Randi Harper
See also
*
List of FLOSS Weekly episodes
The following lists all the FLOSS Weekly shows that have been produced.
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
See ...
*
TWiT.tv
TWiT.tv, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast network that broadcasts many technology news podcasts, founded by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte in 2005, and run by his wife and company CEO Lisa Laporte. ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floss Weekly
Technology podcasts
2006 podcast debuts
Interview podcasts
Audio podcasts