The IT Guy Show
Welcome to the IT Guy Show with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy. Each episode covers practical tech tips, troubleshooting advice, and discussions on the latest trends and innovations. Eric draws on years of IT industry experience to simplify complex concepts for everyone from professionals to enthusiasts. He also brings in special guests to explore the digital landscape, making technology accessible and engaging for all listeners.
Episodes
Episode 27: Open, Repairable Homelab Hardware with 45HomeLab | The IT Guy Show 027
I've got a Dell PowerEdge R720 in colocation that sounds like a jet engine, it's six to eight years old, and I refuse to pay Dell a thousand dollars just to unlock its IPMI port. So instead of guessing my way into a replacement, I brought in someone who builds this hardware for a living.
Zack Perry is a Solution Specialist at 45Drives and the face of 45HomeLab, the homelab side of a comp
Episode 26: Open Source Password Manager?! | The IT Guy Show 026
Most password managers ask you to trust them blindly. Bitwarden opens the hood and shows you the code instead. I sat down with Kasey Babcock, a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Bitwarden, to get into why that openness matters when a tool is holding every credential you own.
We start with the trust argument for open source, then walk through what is new at Bitwarden lately, from the ar
Episode 25: The Homelab SLA
Most of us treat our homelabs like a junk drawer. Something breaks, we shrug, we fix it whenever we get around to it. Mathias Palmersheim does not operate that way. He's a Solutions Engineer at VictoriaMetrics, where he spends his days helping companies monitor infrastructure at serious scale, and he's brought that same discipline home. He runs his personal homelab against an actual SLA,
Episode 24: Learn to Play Tabletop Role Playing Games
At SouthEast Linux Fest, I did something I've never attempted before: a live, hands-on intro to tabletop role playing games for a packed room of Linux nerds. No idea how many people were showing up. No idea how many had ever touched a d6. Somewhere between 10 and 100, they said. Cool. Cool cool cool.
We covered the basics of TTRPGs, walked through systems like D&D, Savage Worlds, and
Episode 23: Keep It Techie
Home labs have evolved from hobbyist experiments to essential infrastructure for tech professionals, but knowing when to build one…and how…isn't always clear. Josh from Keep It Techie joins Eric to discuss the practical realities of home lab ownership: the cost-benefit calculations, the apartment constraints, and the decisions that actually matter when you're running real workloads. From
Episode 22: A Human in the Middle
AI is everywhere, and so is the fear that it's coming for your job. But what if the real story is more interesting than that?
Eric sits down with returning guest Karl Abbott, tech leader and podcaster, for a conversation sparked by his recent article "AI Didn't Replace My Work. It Changed How I Work." Karl shares how leaning into AI tools didn't make him feel replaced. It made him feel m
Episode 21: Ubuntu Community: Years of "Just Works"
Teaching a Linux course will humble you fast, especially when your students ask about apt and you realize the last time you logged into an Ubuntu server was when you were still a sysadmin. That embarrassing moment is what sent Eric looking for someone who lives and breathes Ubuntu every single day, and it led him to Nathan, a two-decade Ubuntu community volunteer who has been running boot
Episode 20: First Boot, First Inference
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric sits down with Damen Knight, CIQ Sr. Principal Automation Engineer, to talk about something every AI team knows but nobody budgets for: the hidden cost of configuring Linux for GPU workloads.
Together they dig into why general-purpose Linux distributions were never really built for AI, what actually happens when you spend 30 to 60 minutes per node
Episode 19: The Problem with Subscriptions
We’re starting 2026 with a reality check: subscriptions are eating our wallets. From streaming services to password managers, cloud storage to to-do apps — the "monthly drip" is everywhere.
In this solo episode, Eric breaks down why recurring subscription models have become the default, how they impact both consumers and creators, and what it looks like to take back control through self-
Episode 18: Wayland and My eX-11 | The IT Guy Show 018
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric is joined by Linux content creator Brodie Robertson to dive into the display server drama of the decade: the end of X11 and the rise of Wayland.
Together they explore the history of X11, its weird quirks, and why it stuck around so long, before unpacking what makes Wayland different, better, and sometimes frustrating. From screen tearing and windo
Episode 17: Reality-based Approach to LinkedIn Jobs
Applying online and hearing nothing back? You’re not alone—and it’s not your fault.
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric sits down with Jeffry Ullman, job search coach and creator of the LinkedIn Job Search Masterclass, to break down what really works when trying to land your next role. Drawing on experience, strategy, and a wealth of practical tips from his two-part presentation ser
Episode 16: When the Layoff Comes
Getting laid off is hard. It can shake your confidence, your routines, and your sense of direction. But it doesn’t have to define you.
In this solo episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric shares his own experience with being laid off including: what helped, what didn’t, and what he wishes he’d known earlier. He also rounds up the most practical, compassionate advice from others who’ve been thro
Episode 15: DevLife with Chris DeMars
What happens when two nerds who love the community side of tech get together? A whole lot of stories, laughs, and insights.
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric sits down with his coworker Chris DeMars to talk about Developer Relations, technical advocacy, and what it really takes to support and empower devs in today’s fast-moving ecosystem. From browser wars to burnout, open source
Episode 14: Life as a SysAdmin with Nate Lager
The role of the system administrator has changed a lot in the last couple decades, but some of us are still proudly flying the flag. Eric sits down with longtime friend Nate Lager to talk about his career journey, lessons learned from the trenches, and what still excites him about tech today.
We’ll cover everything from burnout to bash scripts, automation to authenticity. Whether you’re
Episode 13: How I Became a SysAdmin
Before DevOps, SRE, and the cloud were all the rage, there were sysadmins—tech generalists who kept the lights on, often with duct tape, bash scripts, and caffine.
In this solo episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric shares how he broke into the world of system administration, from his earliest tech gigs to becoming the go-to Linux guy. Along the way, he reflects on the lessons learned, tools l
Episode 12: Working in GovTech: What’s Different?
From AI to compliance, modernization to mission-critical infrastructure, working in the public sector versus government tech can look similar on the surface… but the reality is often worlds apart.
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric welcomes Joel Krooswyk, a former colleague at GitLab and a seasoned technical leader navigating a major life shift. Together, they unpack the difference
Episode 11: NixOS: The Distro That Thinks Code
For many Linux users, configuration means dotfiles, bash scripts, and duct tape. But what if your entire system, from packages to users to services could be described, versioned, and rolled back like code?
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric is joined by Aaron Honeycutt to demystify NixOS, the declarative, reproducible Linux distribution that’s changing how people think about system
Episode 10: GitOps for the Linux Administrator
GitOps can feel like buzzword soup, especially for seasoned Linux admins who’ve spent years mastering bash, cron, and config files. But what if it’s not as scary—or as different—as it sounds?
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric is joined by Christian Hernandez, a longtime Linux administrator who “accidentally” became a Kubernetes and GitOps expert. Together, they break down what Git
Episode 9: Lomiri - The Linux Shell That Goes Anywhere
What if your desktop, tablet, and phone all spoke the same open-source language? Meet Lomiri — a fast, lightweight, and flexible user interface originally developed for Ubuntu Touch, and now maintained by the UBports community.
In this episode of The IT Guy Show, Eric is joined by Erik Mols from the Lomiri project to unpack what Lomiri is, where it came from, and how it’s carving out a u
Rebooting Eric the IT Guy: Where I’ve Been & What’s Next
After a few months away from the mic, I’m back—and rebooting Eric the IT Guy not just as a brand, but as a mission.
In this short update, I share what I’ve been up to since leaving Red Hat, why I’m launching into a new season of my career, and what I’m hoping for next. Whether you’ve followed my journey through Linux, open source, or DevOps content creation—this is a personal, honest res
Episode 8: The Art of Continuous Improvement
We all seem to have this vision of “arriving” at some tech paradise where everything “just works”. After 17 years in IT, I’d say it's safe to say that will never happen. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for better. Teams that embrace the chaos can make huge strides towards improving their environment.
Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech
Episode 7: Battling Burnout…with a Sword
Stress and burnout come for all of us at one time or another. You may not even realize that is what is going on. Join Eric as he sits down with Jennifer and Bryan Horton, owners of Dull Made Daring, and learn the warning signs, recovery methods, and how to slash your anxiety away, with a sword, yeah, a literal sword!
Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tec
Episode 6: A Quick Look at Ephemeral Environments
In my days as a Systems Administrator, there weren’t any “non-production” environments. It was all about keeping all the systems running, all the time, even Dev for the developers. Here comes Ephemeral Environments, a concept to quickly build and test disposable systems to make building and testing easier for the entire enterprise.
Welcome to The IT Guy Podcast, your go-to destination
Episode 5: Understanding DevOps: Putting People Over Processes with Laura Santamaria
Eric the IT Guy Hendricks interviews Laura Santamaria, a Developer Advocate at Dell Technologies, about her experience with DevOps and how to effectively implement it within organizations. She emphasizes the importance of prioritizing people over processes and tools, and shares insights on how to drive cultural change as an individual contributor.
Welcome to The IT Guy Podcast, your go
Episode 4: APIs Decoded: From Basics to Production-Ready
In this interview, Eric the IT Guy Hendricks explores the world of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) with Budha, a Developer Advocate at Tyk, an API management platform. The discussion covers the fundamentals of APIs, their growing importance in modern applications, the role of API gateways in managing and securing APIs, and considerations for building production-ready APIs.
We
Episode 3: Unmasking AI: The Drive for Open and Transparent Development
In this interview, the host Eric provides a detailed introduction to his guest JJ Asgar from IBM, who is deeply involved with the open-source AI project called InstructLab. JJ passionately discusses the importance of open and transparent AI development for societal benefit. He explains the distinction between true AI and the current language models, and emphasizes the need for open data a
Episode 2: Get a Return on Your IT Investment
Are you an individual contributor looking to convince your boss its time to buy a product or pursue a new project? How do you structure your proposal? How do you calculate ROI? In this episode, I’ll discuss these concepts and more with JT Perry from VMware!
Welcome to The IT Guy Podcast, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric
Episode 1: Get Into Your Element
In this interview, Eric the IT Guy Hendricks kicks off his new show, "The IT Guy Show," by inviting Karl Abbot, a product manager at Element, to discuss the Matrix protocol, its open-source nature, and its decentralized communications platform.
The Office of the IT Guy is a show published to celebrate the people and talk about the technology that is changing our world! Our mission is t
Episode 0: The Big Announcement
The Office of the IT Guy is a show published to celebrate the people and talk about the technology that is changing our world! Our mission is to share our love for open source and build a stronger community.
Eric's Website - https://itguyeric.com
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