The IT Guy Show

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 more focused. The mechanics got faster. The judgment, taste, and narrative instinct? Still 100% human. They dig into what AI actually removes from knowledge work, why being widely read and broadly educated matters more in an AI-saturated world, what "vibe coding" means for engineers, and what higher education needs to do to prepare students for a world where fluency can be generated but wisdom still can't. If you've ever felt uneasy about where AI fits in your work, this one's for you. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric as he shares his wealth of knowledge, insights, and experiences gained from years of working in the IT industry. From troubleshooting common tech issues to exploring the latest trends and innovations, each episode is packed with practical tips, skilled advice, and engaging discussions. Connect with me! https://linktr.ee/itguyeric [https://linktr.ee/itguyeric] Article: AI Didn’t Replace My Work. It Changed How I Work https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-didnt-replace-my-work-changed-how-i-karl-abbott-eqbbc/ [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-didnt-replace-my-work-changed-how-i-karl-abbott-eqbbc/] Chapters: 00:00 Stream Start 01:14 Karl Abbott 02:41 AI Didn’t Replace My Work 16:59 AI Replaced SOME Work 30:27 What is Vibe Coding? 41:33 AI in Higher Education 54:20 Closing Thoughts 01:05:59 Wrap up ---------------------------------------- Graphics and bumpers by Free Hive Agency Photo by Luke Jones on Unsplash Special Guest: Karl Abbott. Support The IT Guy Show [https://www.patreon.com/itguyeric]

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 booths, moderating Reddit, and serving on the Ubuntu Community Council since the early days of the distro. This episode is less a technical deep dive and more a conversation about what makes Ubuntu different at a human level. Nathan walks through the early days of the community, the real relationship between Debian and Ubuntu, what it looked like to set up a booth with plastic tablecloths from Party City at SCaLe 6x, and why the "distro wars" online are mostly theater compared to the genuine camaraderie between open source contributors behind the scenes. If you have ever wondered whether Ubuntu is still the right distro for someone just getting started or coming back after years on other platforms, this episode will give you the honest answer from someone who has watched the community evolve for more than twenty years. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric as he shares his wealth of knowledge, insights, and experiences gained from years of working in the IT industry. From troubleshooting common tech issues to exploring the latest trends and innovations, each episode is packed with practical tips, skilled advice, and engaging discussions. Connect with me! https://linktr.ee/itguyeric [https://linktr.ee/itguyeric] Special Guest: Nathan Haines. Support The IT Guy Show [https://www.patreon.com/itguyeric]

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 doing manual CUDA setup, and why a "pre-installed" stack and a "validated" stack are two very different things. From driver conflicts and framework dependency failures to the CIQ Linux Kernel (CLK) and NVIDIA authorization, this episode covers the infrastructure decisions that determine whether your AI program ships fast or gets stuck in configuration hell. Whether you're an ML engineer tired of fighting CUDA every time a kernel update drops, a sysadmin managing a growing GPU fleet, or a tech leader wondering why production AI is harder than it should be, this one is for you. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric as he shares his wealth of knowledge, insights, and experiences gained from years of working in the IT industry. From troubleshooting common tech issues to exploring the latest trends and innovations, each episode is packed with practical tips, skilled advice, and engaging discussions. Connect with me! https://linktr.ee/itguyeric [https://linktr.ee/itguyeric] CIQ Press Release: https://ciq.com/blog/rlc-pro-ai-is-here/ [https://ciq.com/blog/rlc-pro-ai-is-here/] RLC Pro AI: https://ciq.com/products/rocky-linux/pro/ai/ [https://ciq.com/products/rocky-linux/pro/ai/] NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit: https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit [https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit] Chapters: 00:00 Stream start 00:50 Introduction 02:43 Sponsor: CIQ 04:08 AI at CIQ 06:02 State of AI 19:20 General-purpose limitations 31:37 RLC Pro AI 43:53 What's next in AI? 52:47 Wrap up ---------------------------------------- Graphics and bumpers by Free Hive Agency Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash Sponsored By: * CIQ [https://ciq.com/products/rocky-linux/pro/ai] Support The IT Guy Show [https://www.patreon.com/itguyeric]

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-hosting and open source alternatives. This episode kicks off a new arc focused on building a personal homelab, reducing reliance on cloud services, and reclaiming your tech stack one app at a time. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric as he shares his wealth of knowledge, insights, and experiences gained from years of working in the IT industry. From troubleshooting common tech issues to exploring the latest trends and innovations, each episode is packed with practical tips, skilled advice, and engaging discussions. Connect with me! https://linktr.ee/itguyeric [https://linktr.ee/itguyeric] Chapters: 00:00 Stream Start 00:33 What’s the Problem 06:38 Eric’s Setup 14:13 Self Hosting Stack 23:08 Planning 24:15 Upcoming and Closing ---------------------------------------- Graphics and bumpers by Free Hive Agency Photo by Christina Radevich on Unsplash Support The IT Guy Show [https://www.patreon.com/itguyeric]

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 window managers to PipeWire, gaming, and remote desktops, this episode covers the past, present, and future of the Linux desktop experience. Whether you’re a veteran sysadmin who lived through the xhost + days or a curious distro-hopper wondering why Wayland keeps breaking your screen sharing, this episode has something for you. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to The IT Guy Show, your go-to destination for all things tech with Eric, your friendly neighborhood IT guy! Join Eric as he shares his wealth of knowledge, insights, and experiences gained from years of working in the IT industry. From troubleshooting common tech issues to exploring the latest trends and innovations, each episode is packed with practical tips, skilled advice, and engaging discussions. Connect with me! https://linktr.ee/itguyeric [https://linktr.ee/itguyeric] Connect with Brodie: https://brodierobertson.xyz/link_tree [https://brodierobertson.xyz/link_tree] X Window System: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System] Wayland Homepage: https://wayland.freedesktop.org/ [https://wayland.freedesktop.org/] Wayland Protocols Table: https://absurdlysuspicious.github.io/wayland-protocols-table [https://absurdlysuspicious.github.io/wayland-protocols-table] Awesome Wayland: https://github.com/rcalixte/awesome-wayland [https://github.com/rcalixte/awesome-wayland] Chapters: 00:00 Stream Start 00:13 Introduction 01:21 Brodie Robertson 04:45 What is X11? 11:56 What did X11 solve? 19:42 What is Wayland? 36:18 Full Wayland mode 44:52 Wrap up ---------------------------------------- Graphics and bumpers by Free Hive Agency Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash Special Guest: Brodie Robertson. Support The IT Guy Show [https://www.patreon.com/itguyeric]