Yes, you have to put in different hardware. (Almost definitely the same brand, maybe even same model.) It’s inaccessible until you get that hardware and replace it. I didn’t mean permanently. A software RAID will work in any system.

I’d recommend ZFS or Btrfs over mdadm. They both have data repair if something goes wrong, and mdadm doesn’t.

Why use a hardware RAID? If your controller dies, your data is inaccessible. Software RAID with something like ZFS or Btrfs is safer.

If your concern is which motherboard will perform well, you can go with any. NAS applications are incredibly easy to run. Basically no resources required.

Your biggest issue will be narrowing it down based on port requirements. Then just go with whatever is cheapest. I’d still recommend AM4, because AM5 is still expensive af. It does mean you won’t have any upgrade path, but for what you’re doing, you shouldn’t need to upgrade ever.

If you’re planning on transcoding the media you’re serving, then you may want to think about throwing an A310 in there to handle that.

You could conceivable even just get a used desktop second hand and harvest the parts.

I was on the fence about Switch 2, leaning toward not getting one. This just solidified that position. No way I’m paying for something that charges for the instruction manual.

New GPUs don’t work on Linux? Where did you get that idea from?

I got ahead of the game a little bit by switching to Linux in 2008.

I think some of their business oriented laptops are fine, but every consumer model I’ve owned, I’ve had problems with. I can’t trust them anymore, especially since they marketed an XPS as working with Ubuntu, then later changed their marketing to remove the fingerprint reader, which didn’t actually work with Ubuntu. I bought that machine solely because they promised me it fully worked with Ubuntu.

I’ve never had a Dell that didn’t have issues with Linux. The fingerprint reader never works, sometimes the webcam doesn’t work, sometimes the WiFi doesn’t work, and sometimes the ambient light sensor doesn’t work. But, there’s always a problem. After having four different Dells, I finally swore off the brand for good. Never again.

Thinkpads and Framework are top tier. Then there’s the “Linux first brands” like System76 and Tuxedo. All of those will work flawlessly.

Then the “generally work well with Linux” like Acer, Lenovo, and Asus; maybe some HP, LG and Samsung. Then the “probably runs Linux fine, but it’s a weird brand” like Redmi, Chuwi, and Gateway.

Then the “avoid at all costs” like Dell, Apple, Microsoft Surface, a lot of HPs, and anything with a Qualcomm ARM processor.

You can open windows in either click through or click mode. If they’re click through, you can focus them from the tray icon, then click on them. You can also open multiple overlay sets in different modes.

Actually, if there’s a website that shows what you want, you could use my Stream Overlay app to show that in an always on top, click through window.

I don’t know why that app would even have the code to request a login. It’s a clock.

It wouldn’t be too hard to make an open source version of this. I’d offer to do it, but I’m busy at the moment. You could ask a local college professor to make an assignment around this though. It would be a great learning project for a student.

Is this real? The alarm app requires login?

Yep. You are 100% right about that. It’s the best thing to be independent, but it’s so fucking hard because we’ve all just let these big email providers take away this wonderful system from us.

That’s why I’m super picky about which blocklists I use for my own email service. If a blocklist charges for removing your IP, or even if they make you jump through unreasonable hoops, I refuse to use them.

I also have to check regularly to make sure my own IPs aren’t on any lists. Apple is the worst, because they use a blocklist provider that has terrible communication and service unless you pay a huge subscription fee.

(One point though, it’s not the domain that goes on the blocklist, it’s the IP address of the SMTP server. You can use a custom domain name with most providers, then you’re using their SMTP servers, so their IP addresses. If you’re unhappy with them, it’s pretty easy to switch providers for your domain, then you get to keep the same email addresses.)

I don’t think Thunderbird is a direct alternative to Gmail. The best alternative is to own your own domain name and use your own email server, but that’s really impractical for most people. At the very least, owning your own domain name that you use for your email is way better than relying on a service that locks you in with their own domain name.

It’s not super easy to set that up, but it’s easier than most people probably think it is. A service with imap support will let you take all your old email with you if you switch providers.

My own email service, Port87, doesn’t have custom domain support or imap, but I’m working to add both of those features. Any service you use should have both of those if you want to be independent.

I own and operate https://port87.com/, and in no way am I even close to right wing. I don’t call myself a liberal, and get offended when people do, because I’m a leftist.

It’s not ready for business email yet, but it’ll work for your personal email.