Being able to tinker with Linux distributions and applications is yet another reason why I love my home server. However, you don’t really need a separate machine just to access Linux packages. Between WSL2, virtual machines, and dual booting, you have multiple ways to access this FOSS ecosystem, even when you have just one system … Read more
If you were to conduct a random survey of desktop and laptop owners asking them, “When was the last time you updated the firmware on your SSD?” “, there is no doubt that the overwhelming majority would answer “never”, and a select few would not even know that this option existed. Modern NVMe drives are … Read more
I have been on a The Legend of Zelda retro gaming’s kick lately, whether it’s revisiting Classic Nintendo 64 Ocarina of time via the excellent unofficial Ship of Harkinian-powered PC port on my ROG Xbox Ally X, or by spending time playing the Game Boy Advance The Minish cap on the 34XXSP type GBA SP … Read more
There’s never been a better time to become a Linux gamer. Over the past few years, Linux gaming has made some pretty big strides, and none of it has been wrapped up in flashy marketing or benchmark graphics. This change has been buried deep in kernel patches, memory controllers, and the type of engineering work … Read more
Self-hosting your own LLM is usually born out of the desire for two things: absolute privacy and total control. You configure the hardware, extract the models, and finally see that familiar chat box on your screen. It feels like a victory, but for most people, that’s where the journey ends. We’re so conditioned by the … Read more
As a self-hosting enthusiast and someone who writes about cool new open source tools, I install and test way too many tools and services every week. Yes, I have a separate environment fully set up for testing, and things break sometimes. For the longest time, I thought that backing up my Docker configuration just meant … Read more
I used a wide range of PC monitors over the years, from early monochrome CRTs to high-speed 480Hz OLEDs, using a diverse range of connectors during this time. However, since switching to digital from VGA and DVI, I use a single standard display cable exclusively for my desktops and laptops. It’s DisplayPort, whether on a … Read more
For more than two decades, Windows has had a bizarre, almost stubborn, relationship with folder views. You set things up correctly, and somewhere down the line, File Explorer decides one day that it knows better. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t, and somehow he always chooses the worst possible moment to reset everything. So suddenly you’re back … Read more
Before AI, I rarely heard non-developers talk about building their own apps, tools, or automations. Now it’s everywhere, and this is largely due to “vibe-coding” tools, including Claude Code. The reason I’m specifically highlighting Claude Code is because Claude has become the tool that everyone (and I mean literally everyone) has been talking about lately. … Read more
One of the big changes now that I’m no longer renting is that I’ve moved to wired for most of my devices. Before that, the only things that actually had wired connections were my hotspots, which helped but never seemed quite complete. And there’s a good reason for that. Ethernet isn’t affected by your neighbor’s … Read more