LKML Summary Podcast

Welcome to kernelpodcast.org. This site provides a semi-daily summary of email traffic on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) in the form of a podcast and audio transcripts. It was started by Jon Masters as a means to force himself to keep up with the LKML.

If you would like to follow the semi-daily summaries, you have several options:

• Use a Podcasting client, such as Rhythmbox (Linux), or iTunes (Mac/Windows/iPhone), or an online service such as podcast.com to listen to each summary as it is released.
• Use a web browser or RSS reader to subscribe to new transcript posts to this website via the transcript RSS feed. This is updated shortly after the podcast itself goes out (the podcast audio files actually also contain the full transcript in an unusually long comment section).
• Use a web browser to read the the transcripts directly from this website in a blog-style format.

Don’t forget to get involved! Leave feedback, post comments, engage in healthy discussion and help your fellow Linux kernel hackers to grow from your expertise, kindness, and wisdom.

Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML)

The Linux Kernel Mailing List is a high-traffic, deeply technical email mailing list upon which daily discussion takes place and code patches are posted for peer review. The podcast aims to make these more accessible by condensing traffic summaries, and adding some explanatory content to ease understanding the context behind each posting to the list. Although this is not intended for beginners, you might find some value in listening to the LKML summaries in combination with reading a good book, referring frequently to the kernelnewbies website, and of course keep up with the Linux Weekly News.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q). Why don’t you release in Ogg Vorbis Format? I think MP3 is evil and I want you to endorse open standards.

A). The podcasts are intentionally released in an iPhone/iPod compatible format, as 25% of listeners are using one. There will be Ogg Vorbis versions in due course, but the author did not want to cut out those with car players or media devices without ogg support. This does not mean that I am happy with the MP3 state of affairs in general.

Q). Why don’t you just have one feed? Do you know it’s technically possible to have a single feed containing everything?

A). Note that the transcript feed is not the same feed as the podcast itself for various (intentional) reasons mostly related to production and staging of the content, and because the existing Wordpress podcasting plugins are insufficient to publish a podcast at this time – believe me, I have experimented. I am working on scripting the back-end production so that it gets far more automated, however.

Q). Why are you doing this? Are you paid to do it?

A). I am doing this because I want to force myself to keep up with LKML traffic and decided there’s nothing better for that purpose than having to read, comprehend, and summarize activity. I am not paid to do it and I don’t speak for my employer in producing this podcast, although I happen to think they’re pretty awesome for their involvement in Linux in general.

Q). What license do you use?

A). Everything here is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States license. Music samples are provided by Magnatune. You are encouraged to take this content and do cool Creative Commons things with it.