[PLUG] REMINDER: Portland Linux/Unix Group General Meeting: NixOS, with Ilya Chashchin

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> " " == Russell Senior <russell at pdxlinux.org> writes:

ALERT!

There was some kind of water anomaly overnight and the atrium of the
Engineering Building is closed. Enter through the Fourth Avenue Building
instead.

If no one is present to let you in, SMS me at: (971) 217-7534

and be a little patient, there is a hamster trail we need to follow to
get to our meeting room.

     > Tonight!
     > On 6/3/25 10:21, Russell Senior wrote:
    >> Who: Ilya Chashchin What: NixOS Where: 1930 SW 4th Avenue,
    >> Portland, Oregon 97201-5304, Room 86-01 When: Thursday, June 5,
    >> 2025 at 7 PM Why: The pursuit of technology freedom
    >> 
    >> Description:
    >> 
    >> NixOS represents a radical reimagining of the traditional Linux
    >> ecosystem—one built on the principles of declarative
    >> configuration, immutability, and reproducibility. By using a
    >> purely functional package manager and configuration language,
    >> NixOS promises system consistency, atomic upgrades, reliable
    >> rollbacks, and the ability to precisely define both development
    >> and production environments.
    >> 
    >> However, these advantages come at the cost of adopting new
    >> paradigms and tooling, including the functional Nix language,
    >> which can pose a steep learning curve—especially for users
    >> familiar with conventional Linux distributions and workflows.
    >> 
    >> This talk provides a high-level overview of the Nix and NixOS
    >> ecosystem through the eyes of a relatively new Linux user with a
    >> little over a year of hands-on Nix experience. It aims to
    >> demystify the core concepts behind Nix, outline how its model
    >> differs from traditional package management, and explore
    >> practical use cases like reproducible dev environments, system
    >> configuration, and multi-machine deployments.
    >> 
    >> Along the way, we’ll discuss the tradeoffs involved in adopting
    >> Nix—from cognitive overhead to ecosystem maturity—and help you
    >> determine whether Nix or NixOS might be a good, great, or
    >> downright painful choice for your use case. No prior experience
    >> with Nix required.
    >> 
    >> Speaker Bio:
    >> 
    >> Ilya has been administering small-scale on-premise Linux
    >> environments for nearly four years, both professionally and
    >> personally, beginning with a custom Linux deployment on a
    >> proprietary NAS to better meet his needs. With a background in
    >> computer science, he is especially interested in programmatic
    >> approaches to system administration and infrastructure
    >> automation. Outside of work, Ilya enjoys exploring topics in
    >> software engineering, staying current with the FOSS ecosystem,
    >> experimenting in his home lab, and modding computer games.
    >> 
    >> Venue:
    >> 
    >> PLUG is back at Portland State University. Thanks to the Computer
    >> Science Department and to Andrew Greenberg for hosting us! The
    >> room is in the basement of the PSU Engineering Building (also
    >> connected underground to the Fourth Avenue Building, or
    >> FAB). Enter through the Engineering Building. The outside door
    >> will be locked, but there should be someone present at the
    >> entrance to let you in starting at 6:40pm until 7pm. There will
    >> be a sign on the door with a phone number you can SMS if there
    >> isn't someone there to let you in immediately.
    >> 
    >> PS: We are going to need a volunteer to hang out by the outside
    >> door until start time to let people in, let me know if you are
    >> willing to do that. Thanks!
    >> 
    >> 

     > -- Russell Senior PLUG Volunteer russell at pdxlinux.org



-- 
Russell Senior
russell at pdxlinux.org