Even though I write a lot about Linux myself and I am in the humble impression that I am getting a little better each time I write down my thoughts about my beloved operating system and related software, that does not mean that I think I am the only source for usable Linux information for you to follow. There are lots of great sources out there that bring information in an accessible and user friendly way. Like everyone, I also have my heroes and some of them are my favorite bloggers and vloggers that I like to visit regularly who provide me with great Linux related news and information. In this article I would like to introduce you to five Linux vloggers who have their own unique way of bringing Linux and open source information and who deserve a visit from you all.
The Linux Experiment
Nick is from Brest, Brittany, in the north-west of France, and runs the YouTube channel The Linux Experiment. Nick started his channel relatively recently, in february 2018, and since the start his channel has grown a lot. He started with recorded gameplay and some love for elementary OS, but now he brings a combination of information about open source software, Linux distro backgrounds, tips, tricks and Linux related news. Nick still has a clear love for elementary OS and for the design language the team behind this distro speaks, and he talks about this operating system with passion. I also think it is very good that Nick not only focuses on the standard Linux distro walkthroughs, but that he also discusses the use of Linux in real practice, such as using Linux for his personal video workflow or fitting elementary OS into his professional working environment as a Product Owner.
Nick focuses less on the deeper technology, but finds the user experience and the associated design language important. I share his opinion that visual accessibility, uniformity and simplicity are important factors in getting potential new users interested in Linux. I read a lot of reactions that many people have on his videos, which clearly indicate that his unique way of composing and sharing information is highly appreciated by his following. His videos are to the point, very well prepared and bring just the right amount of information in a neat presentation. I highly recommend Nick’s videos on The Linux Experiment.
You can find The Linux Experiment here:
InfinitelyGalactic
InfinitelyGalactic is the brainchild of Blaine Packer from Australia. His credo is “Master your digital life. Empowering others to make their tech work for them…not the other way around.”, a way of looking at technology which I totally support. His storytelling is very fluid, open, down to earth and accessible, but based on an enormous amount of knowledge and experience with respect to Linux and open source.
The InfinitelyGalactic YouTube channel focuses on product reviews, Linux distro reviews, desktop deep dives, videos for potential switchers, tips & tricks, and how-to’s, and with 60K subscribers it seems that a lot of people value his content and genuine way of presenting. Blaine says in one of his videos that he only creates a new video if he really thinks that he has something extra or different to share with the community. The videos Blaine personally enjoyed the most to make are interviews (like the nice interviews with the creators of Akira or Zorin OS), comparison videos, nerdy stuff videos, and the best of type of videos.
You can find InfinitelyGalactic here:
Level1Linux
Wendell, formerly known from the Tek Syndicate, but now the face of Level1Linux, is a man with an enormous amount of in-depth Linux knowledge. If you are at the point that you are comfortable using your Linux distro, you may want to go to the next step and get some deeper technological knowledge. In that case you should definitely visit Level1Linux. According to Wendell they cover on their channel “more in-depth videos for mostly basic and intermediate level projects with open source operating systems based around (but not limited to) Linux and FreeBSD”.
Even though on my website RealLinuxUser.com I focus mainly on the productive use of linux and related software and much less on the technology, because I think that’s the way to warm up potentially interested people to make the move to linux, from a personal point of view I also love to read or hear about the nerdy stuff as well and like to grow my knowledge on the underlying technology. If you are interested in this stuff as well, you will definitely find this depth and authority on the Level1Linux channel. Level1Linux is all about Linux gaming, modding, graphics adapters, processors, networking, and servers.
Wendell also has created a Udemy course:
Linux Super Cert Prep: Get Certified as a Linux System Admin
You can find Level1Linux here:
Shane Milton
One of my passions is photography. For a while I worked as a wedding and portrait photographer in addition to my regular job as a solution designer, but my real passion is in landscape photography (www.johnbeen.nl). That is why I am very interested in photography related workflows based on Linux and open source software. So I am always looking for other people who also try to base their photography workflow on open source solutions. One of those people is Shane Milton. Shane Milton is a professional wedding and portrait photographer who uses Linux as his main daily driver to run his photography business and to do all of his photo and video editing.
Shane has already built up a lot of experience with this workflow and likes to share this via his YouTube channel with others who share his passion for both photography and Linux. Shane is a relaxed storyteller who talks relatively little about Linux distributions and related issues, but focuses primarily on the pure application areas around photography. That makes his channel also interesting for people who are not specifically focused on Linux, but who are interested in for example applications such as darktable and Rawtherapee, but also in photo editing and data storage. So his channel is about photography workflow, color management, storage, darktable, Rawtherapee, Gimp, Kdenlive, Blender, Natron, Rapid Photo Downloader, etc.
You can find Shane Milton here:
TJ FREE
If you are looking for extensive tutorial series about free and open source creative applications, then you can’t ignore the YouTube channel of TJ Free created by Ryndon. His personal introduction says:
“I try to provide accurate information for people looking for free alternatives to proprietary and paid software. All of the programs I recommend here are free to download and use, and most are Free Open Source Software (FOSS)…Free software can be incredibly powerful and useful. In some cases, even outperforming paid versions of similar software.”
His tutorials are always divided over multiple videos, where he uses each video to highlight a specific focus area of an application and how to use it. When you follow these tutorials you will be taken by the hand by the applications and you will know enough at the end of the tutorial to start a creative project yourself, such as video editing, photo editing, animation and drawing. I think what he is doing is really amazing and deserves some attention from you all.
You can find TJ Free here:
Final words
Above I have mentioned and described five vloggers. Of course there are many more YouTube channels where quality content is available, so this list could have been much longer. But my intention was to share some really different types of vloggers, to show what diversity is available on the topic of Linux and open source. As I have stated before, I think the above channels deserve a visit from you. Your knowledge will be enriched by it.
