Case Study: KRUU-FM achieves simple, reliable, and easy-to-manage 24/7 studio operations with Ubuntu

Ubuntu proved the optimal choice for a non-profit radio station

KRUU-FM is a non-profit community radio station in Iowa that broadcasts locally 24/7 and streams to listeners in about 30 countries, with roughly 100 hosts producing 75 different programs. Facing an OS refresh, the station needed a visually simple, easy-to-use and reliable platform that Windows and Mac volunteers could pick up quickly, that was easy to manage locally and remotely, and that supported professional audio editing and mixing tools.

The station selected Ubuntu for its usability, Synaptic package management and strong community support; rollout proved simple for client machines and server-side administration was eased by Ubuntu’s clean design and custom Nautilus scripts for routine tasks. As a result KRUU smoothly migrated to an all-Linux workflow—including Ubuntu Studio tools like Ardour and Audacity—benefiting from easier application installs, reduced technical support overhead, and active online communities for troubleshooting.

KRUU-FM

Sundar Raman

Presenter