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“The Best Self-Hosted Photo Solution in 2025? Why I Chose Immich

I am a big believer in the concept of multiple redundant backups. And few things are more important than memories and the family photos. I have built a NAS and have been keeping my important files on it, with the files backed up in two other locations. However, I had not done that for my photos. I have them in multiple locations, but I am paying for hosting.

One of my solutions is free…in a way. I back up to Amazon Photos, as it is included with Amazon Prime. However, so was Prime Video until they added ads, so it is not a guarantee this will continue and I never use it to retrieve photos, just as an extra location. The most popular photo sharing and storage site is probably Google Photos right now, though there are plenty of alternatives. I have stuff there as well.

I needed a place under my control to organize and share my photos, not just a disorganized archive. It was time to migrate to a less expensive self hosted solution, backed by my NAS for storage. Then I could incorporate my existing multi location backup system to keep the files safe.

Immich

I had heard a lot about different self hosted solutions, but the most popular one I keep hearing about of late is Immich. Immich is in beta, but it is meant to reach stable this year. It already seems to be extremely stable, but it warns that you should have a backup strategy outside of it, as it is not meant to be a backup strategy by itself. I already have one, once I include this in the pipeline.

immich screenshotImmich is a full fledged system for photo sharing and organization. It supports showing photos on a map, face and object recognition, and more. I can easily share photos with expiring links or ones that will last forever. There is an API I can use to integrate with other systems.

While there are alternatives, such as Photoprism, Immich has a familiar design language, modern features, and offers a mobile app which can automatically backup your photos into Immich.

Please remember, if you simply upload to Immich, or any service, and purge all other copies, that isn’t a backup.

Published on August 25, 2025
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Using QMK to Maximize Smaller Keyboards

As I have continued my keyboard journey, my keyboards have gotten smaller and smaller. While many people use forty percent keyboards as their daily drivers, there are some who use them for when portability is a must. I am writing this on one of those keyboards.

The most common way to allow for smaller keyboards would be layers. Layers are second keymaps triggered usually by holding down a key. Your keyboard may have that as a Fn key. I continue to try to tweak my layers on various keyboards, and looking to optimize my typing. But I had not really conceptualized how to use some of the other features that QMK, the most popular open source keyboard firmware, supports.

I recently turned to two other QMK features: Tap Dance and Combos.

  • Tap Dance is a feature that allows you to set different keys based on tap, double tap, or hold.
  • Combos allow two or more keys to produce a key output

The keyboard above is the Acai PCB in a 3d printed case. I built this from components and typed this post on it. The Acai is a 4×10 ortholinear keyboard. The bottom row is customizable with a variety of different spacebar lengths from a single key to the full width of the board.

I have spent a fair amount of time with 4×12 ortholinear boards, like the popular Planck. The extra two columns allow for modifiers along the sides, depending on how you configure the keys. Modifiers would be things like Ctrl, Enter, Shift, and so on. If you look at the Acai, there is no room to the left and right of the alphas(letters) for that. The only modifiers would have to be places on the bottom row in most configurations.

Until recently, I had solved this mostly with layers. I would press a key and that would remap the other rows. But this meant for some keys, I needed to press a key on the bottom row and one on far from it on the board, which is not always ideal configuration wise.

Scrolling through advice one day, I was reminded of combos. With them, instead of holding a layer key, two keys could produce what I wanted…so I started with their suggestions.

  • P and O, occupying the space a backspace key might, when pressed together produce a backspace
  • A and S generate a TAB
  • Q and W an ESCape

This worked more efficiently for me and I experimented with a few more. With customizable firmware like QMK, or QMK firmware with Vial compiled in, which allows you to play with these things in real time without having to recompile, the limit is memory capacity and your imagination.

For Tap Dance, I have made holding down the T key scroll up, and B down. The challenge for tap dance is when you are typing a word with the same letter in a row, like the word letter. If you don’t retrain yourself, you’ll trigger your secondary key. I recently traded something for a Ploopy Nano, which is a tiny trackball, which has no buttons. With tap dance, I can make a key combination be my mouse, allowing for an even smaller setup.

There are many reasons to try an ortholinear keyboard, or a forty percent keyboard. However, the fact you can can carry around an even smaller keyboard when on the go is not usually one people think about. With these features and a little practice, you can have your own tiny keyboard that suits your needs.

 

Published on August 22, 2025
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Tasmota vs ESPHome: Why I am Migrating to ESPHome to Increase Control

I have been running smart light switches for a while, and using the Tasmota firmware on them. Let’s be clear, Tasmota is a great piece of software. It’s reliable, open-source, packed with features, and in many cases, works right out of the box.

But over time, I found myself chafing at the limits.

Tasmota, for all its strength, is kind of like a Swiss Army knife. It is not always the most efficient or most effective for your needs. You either need to use its limited syntax, or rely on external systems.

So, recently I’ve been migrating a lot of my lights and plugs over to ESPHome. a platform I was already using for sensors.

Why I’m Moving to ESPHome

ESPHome is more modular and streamlined than Tasmota. You don’t flash a generic firmware – you compile a custom one. The configuration of the device is set in YAML, a text format, you define exactly what the device needs. What sensors or relays are connected, how buttons behave, what actions they trigger, and more.

  • Want a web interface? That’s a component.
  • Need to calculate sunrise and sunset for dawn/dusk functionality?
  • Need to sync to an NTP time server for that dawn/dusk?
  • Want two ESPHome devices to talk to each other independently?
  • Track bluetooth devices?
  • Communicate over a VPN?

There are components for all of these. I was able to fine-tune the behavior of each smart switch and plug, beyond what I could do in Tasmota. I installed dawn to dusk programs on external lights. I tied a light into a remote motion sensor, also running ESPHome to activate a hallway light. I even built countdown switches that automatically turn off after a set period of time.

Local Control

One of the major advantages of Home Assistant is local control. Both Tasmota and ESPHome allow for some logic on device, but with Tasmota that logic is very limited. You don’t have to rely on Home Assistant or Node Red to create automations.

That said, not all logic belongs on-device. I don’t use ESPHome for high-level automation or multi-device coordination. That’s where Home Assistant or even Node Red still shines. But for device-specific behaviors—like button presses, countdown timers, or dusk/dawn triggers – having that logic on the device itself makes the whole system more resilient. No lag, no missed automations if those systems are offline.

Final Thoughts

Switching from Tasmota to ESPHome takes time. There’s a learning curve to create the configuration files. But once you get the hang of it, the freedom to define exactly how your smart devices behave is game changing.

If you are looking for something to install on your first switch, Tasmota is still a great place to start. But if you reach the limits of what you can do with it, it might be time to switch over to ESPHome. Some things take effort, but by with that effort you can build a smart home where every piece is smart on your terms.

Published on August 20, 2025
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Can DIY Solar Panels Eclipse My High Energy Bills?

 

The Solar Panels Experiment: My Journey Toward Energy Self-Sufficiency

DIY Modular Solar

I’ve always been a tech optimist. If there’s a gadget or piece of infrastructure that promises to make life more efficient, more automated, or more independent, I want to understand it—and if it works, adopt it. That mindset is what originally led me to install sensors throughout my vacation property, experiment with remote home monitoring, and try out new smart home technologies as they’ve emerged. It’s also what led me to install heat pumps at the house.

But this year, optimism turned into skepticism.

When Promises Meet Reality: My Heat Pump Debacle

Like many homeowners looking for a greener, more modern solution to heating and cooling, I was lured by the promise of heat pumps. No more oil or propane deliveries. Whisper-quiet operation. Environmentally friendlier systems. Substantial government and utility rebates. It all sounded like a win-win. And for a while, it was.

Then the winter utility bills started rolling in.

And they kept rolling in.

What had once been a manageable heating bill tripled, year over year. And the culprit, according to my utility provider? “Usage.” Allegedly, I had used nearly three times the energy I had the previous winter, despite no notable changes to my use of the property or the weather.

I chalked it up to a few possibilities—yes, heat pumps use electricity rather than combustion fuels, and in very cold climates, they can struggle to operate efficiently. But the scale of the increase was baffling. It didn’t align with reality. And then I remembered something else: around the same time the heat pumps went in, my utility provider installed smart meters.

Smart Meter, Dumb Results?

Now, I want to be clear—I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think there’s a cabal of utility engineers huddled around a dial cranking up my bill to fund their quarterly bonuses. But I am a technologist, and I know that technology—particularly rushed, wide-scale deployments—can be flawed. Especially when there’s no customer-side auditability.

There’s something uniquely frustrating about seeing a bill that’s three times higher than it used to be, accompanied by usage data you have no way to independently verify. The old meters spun. You could watch them. Smart meters? They hum silently in the background, collecting data and sending it off somewhere. You have to trust that they’re correct.

I don’t.

And that brings me to the reason for this article—and for what I hope will be an occasional series here on GadgetWisdom: my exploration into solar.

The DIY Solar Panels Experiment Begins

Let me be clear: I am not making a massive investment in solar overnight. This isn’t a sponsored, all-in, “I just installed a 20kW Tesla roof and Powerwall system” kind of post. This is a cautious experiment. It’s a project. And like many of you reading this, it starts with a desire to understand—really understand—how something works, and what kind of value it can provide.

My goals are as follows:

  1. Buy and install a small solar setup: I want to start with a small number of panels and a basic grid-tied inverter system. Nothing fancy. No batteries (yet). Just enough to monitor output, offset a bit of consumption, and see how it integrates with my existing power setup.
  2. Ensure expandability: Any system I install now must be modular. That means using microinverters or a hybrid inverter setup that allows me to add more panels in the future without ripping everything out. It also means laying the groundwork—electrically and logistically—for future energy storage.
  3. Monitor performance obsessively: I want to track production vs. usage as granularly as possible. This means smart monitoring systems, independent usage logging, and some good old data nerding.
  4. Build toward self-sufficiency: Over time, the goal is to generate enough power to offset a significant portion of my usage—especially in winter. That might mean batteries, backup systems, or even some creative load management.
  5. Document the process for others: Solar is full of hype and half-truths, and I want to provide something a little more grounded. Real-world data. Real-world frustrations. Real-world results.

The Challenges Ahead

Going solar sounds simple in the abstract: slap some panels on your roof, plug them in, and start saving. But in practice, it’s more complicated. Some of the challenges I’m already anticipating:

  • Shading: My property is surrounded by trees. Not directly overhead, but enough that seasonal shading may affect panel output. I’ll need to map this out carefully and possibly look at ground mounts or pole mounts.
  • Installer cooperation: Many solar installers aren’t thrilled about small, modular installs. They want to do big 10kW+ systems, not 1kW proof-of-concept setups. They also make their money from financing and tax credits, making pricing as opaque as possible. So my plan is to use my trusted roofer and electrician to do the work.
  • Utility cooperation: Getting a grid-tied system approved and interconnected with my local utility can be a bureaucratic maze. Add to that my lingering skepticism of their smart meter data, and you can imagine how thrilled I am to begin that process.
  • Rebates and tax credits: There are local and federal incentives for solar, but they vary wildly and can change year to year. I’ll need to track them closely to make sure I maximize returns without getting buried in paperwork. Many of these may be going away next year thanks to President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill
  • Batteries… eventually: Energy storage is expensive and complex. But it’s the key to resilience and off-grid capability. That will be a future phase of the project—probably next year if this first stage goes well.

Why Start Small?

Some people go big on solar because they’ve run the numbers and are convinced of the return. I’m starting small for the opposite reason: I don’t trust the numbers I’m seeing, either from installers or from my utility. I want to build my own dataset, see how panels perform in my exact conditions, and make decisions based on real data.

Plus, the tech changes fast. Inverters get smarter, panels get more efficient, and storage options evolve. By starting small, I give myself the flexibility to adopt the best solutions over time instead of locking into something big—and potentially obsolete—right now.

What You Can Expect

In future articles, I’ll be covering:

  • My research process for selecting panels and inverters
  • Tools and apps for tracking solar production
  • Permitting and interconnection headaches (hopefully not too many)
  • Installation decisions: roof vs. ground, angle, orientation
  • Performance analysis: how much power am I really generating?
  • Integration with my existing smart home and monitoring setups
  • First steps toward energy storage and load shifting
  • And eventually—what it all costs, what it saves, and whether I’d do it again

This won’t be a rapid journey. I’ll be documenting things as they happen—warts and all. If you’re a fellow DIY enthusiast, off-grid dreamer, or just someone who’s tired of paying power bills you don’t trust, I hope you’ll follow along.

Why This Matters

For me, this isn’t just about saving money (although I’d like to). It’s about taking control. It’s about not being at the mercy of a utility company whose math doesn’t add up. It’s about learning how to be more self-sufficient. And yes, it’s about the joy of tinkering—of building a system, testing it, improving it.

GadgetWisdom has always been about that impulse: to explore, to question, and to build. This solar journey is a natural extension of that spirit.

So let’s get started. Next up: choosing my first panels and inverter.

Stay tuned.

Published on August 18, 2025
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Smart Apartment Renovation: Wiring Upgrades for a Smarter Home

When it comes to smart home upgrades, wiring is the unsung hero. Without a solid electrical foundation, your smart tech is only as reliable as the weak link in your power or network infrastructure.

Many older structures have poor or insufficient wiring for your modern needs. In my renovation, it was essential I modernized the electrical system and laying the groundwork for smart lighting, fans, Ethernet, and security—all while respecting building codes and future-proofing for the long haul. Bringing an apartment up to modern code starts with safety.

I will be covering each of these in more detail in future posts, and will provide recommendations and thoughts on specific items.

Why Wiring Matters in Old Buildings

The building I live in was constructed in the 1970s, and my new apartment—unlike others in the building—hadn’t been touched since then. That meant it required a ground up redo of the electrical wiring, beginning with GFCI.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) are required in areas with water exposure, like bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. But they weren’t mandatory when the building went up, and even if a few had been added later, chances are they’re outdated. Today’s Smart Lock GFCIs, required since 2003, provide added safety by locking if the mechanism fails.

Full Outlet Replacement and Smarter Circuit Planning

Every receptacle in the apartment had to be replaced. Over time, as outlets age, plugs will not hold within them.  Outlet placement was uneven and sparse, so I had additional outlets added to ensure consistent spacing across rooms.

More importantly, the electrician found that multiple rooms shared a single breaker—an overload risk waiting to happen. He split the circuits, rewired the panel, and even repositioned the breaker box to make space for slightly larger kitchen cabinets.

Let There Be Light—And Ceiling Fans

Like many older apartments, none of the main rooms had ceiling lights—just switched outlets. That changed. In 2025, LED disc lights have become a preferred option over traditional recessed cans (high hats). Why? They’re easier to install, offer better light distribution, and sit flush with the ceiling. Perfect for smart lighting systems.

We also installed junction boxes in the bedrooms, dining room, and entryway to allow for ceiling fans. In an apartment with baseboard heating and room air conditioners, fans play a key role: improving airflow, enhancing comfort, and even supporting better air quality.

Safety First: Wired Smoke and CO Detectors

Since ceilings were being opened up anyway, I had the electrician wire smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Hardwired systems are more reliable than battery-powered ones, and ensure that you don’t have to worry about battery failure. In New York, where I live, as of 2019, new and replacement smoke detectors must be either hardwired or powered by a battery with a ten year life. Replacing batteries is no longer an option if you are complying.

Building a Wired Backbone: Ethernet and Network Planning

When the walls are open, there is an opportunity to add not just new outlets, but the electrician also knew how to run ethernet cable. I didn’t go overboard with Ethernet jacks—each room has one drop, which limits placement flexibility, but this setup ensures stable wired connectivity and reduces Wi-Fi dependency. I had him run:

  • Dual Cat 6 cable drops in each bedroom and living room
  • Runs to both entrances for PoE security cameras
  • A ceiling drop in the dining room for a PoE wireless access point
  • A centralized network hub in the old linen closet, with added power and conduit to the provider junction outside

Everything terminates in that closet, giving me a homegrown mini-server closet if needed. I briefly considered a full rack setup… but let’s not get carried away (yet), although if you have the opportunity, get wires placed where you want them and future proof your home.

Modular Design for Marketability

Remember: Everything in this renovation must be removable or acceptable to future tenants.

  • Ethernet jacks are unobtrusive if unused
  • Cameras and access points can be disconnected or left unpowered and the access covered with a plate.
  • Fans can be skipped in favor of pendant lights or left off entirely
  • Network gear can be removed.

What’s Next?

This phase took the electrician about a week, and he returned after painting was finished to install the final fixtures. But with wiring and foundational infrastructure out of the way, the work for me is just beginning.

Subscribe for updates as this smart apartment transformation continues.

Published on July 4, 2025
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Smart Apartment Renovation: Upgrading a Wreck to a Connected Home

I haven’t been contributing as much to Gadget Wisdom in recent weeks because of several new developments in my life. But, I decided it was time to write about one of them that is simultaneously exciting and overwhelming. I’m moving.

This was somewhat unexpected, as the space just became available. I’m relocating from my long-term, one-bedroom first-floor apartment to the third floor of the same building—a larger space with more potential and, unfortunately, a lot more problems.

A Time Capsule

The building was constructed in the 70s and has three apartments, one per floor. The third floor recently vacated after decades of occupancy and since the building is owned by relatives, I was offered the chance to take it over before they listed it publicly.

It’s a bigger apartment, which is great. But it’s also a total wreck with poorly maintained original fixtures. The kitchen and bathroom had deteriorating, non-functional drop ceilings. Industrial piping used as safety railings ran along the walls and even cut into door moldings. The kitchen cabinet doors were falling off, the flooring was peeling up, and the balcony wood was rotting. Every window in the unit needed replacing.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Professional Renovation and Smart Tech Planning

Luckily, much of the renovation is being handled by professionals. While they work, I’m able to plan and integrate smart home upgrades and modern tech enhancements before I move in, and have them add in features in support of that before I implement my work.

The large amount of pre-planning is a huge shift from my current apartment, where I added upgrades piecemeal over time. Not only can I do things right the first time, but I can learn from my previous experience and try to share that experience with others.

Some ground rules apply: Since I’m related to the owners, I have more freedom than a typical tenant—but any upgrades must either be easily removable or acceptable to future occupants.

Extending Home Assistant to Multiple Apartments

I’ve already set up Home Assistant to unify the various devices and control all aspects of my home. It already controls every smart switch, light, and sensor in the rest of the building. So, from its perspective, I have just added a third floor to the building when it thought there were only two.

What would you do with a Blank Slate?

If you had the chance to outfit an empty space into your home with contractors already on-site how would you enhance it? What tech would you install? What infrastructure would you build into the walls, the wiring, the layout?

That’s the question I’m facing now. And over the coming weeks, I’ll be documenting what I ended up with and why: from smart lighting to whole-apartment networking, energy efficiency, security, and more. It isn’t just a smart apartment in the automation sense, it is about making ‘smart’ decisions in outfitting a space.

Follow This

Subscribe via email or follow us on social media to get updates as this project unfolds. Whether you’re rehabbing your own place or just dreaming of the ultimate smart home setup, I hope this series inspires your next tech upgrade.

 

Published on June 17, 2025
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Bye, Bye Google Fi: Choosing My New Cell Phone Service

Google Fi: Value Lost

I have been a Google Fi user for years. When it started, then ‘Project’ Fi was innovative. A flat rate $20 for text and voice, plus $10/gb. You could switch between multiple providers to expand coverage. But that is still what it is for their base plan. They do offer Simply Unlimited($50 a month for a single person), and Unlimited Plus($65 a person). But their unlimited plans only work if you have multiple people. You need 4 or more people to pay $25 a person. They do have a limited time promotion for new customers going on, but I’m only looking at what I’d ultimately end up paying.

Fi used to offer more, even with that plan. The occasional gift, a vending machine at the airport, good deals on hardware. But the deals only seem to be for new customers now. Long standing customers like me got nothing. You had full integration with Google Hangouts…which is An innovative little carrier has stagnated. Fi is also unique in that it has the top level of network prioritization on T-Mobile. It also offers extra data only SIMs on several plans. MVNOs usually, in congested areas, fall behind the provider’s service.

In the end, the price hasn’t gone done, and it is still $10 a GB when everyone else is reducing that cost.

So I started shopping around. I’m not including taxes by default below, so consider that on top of this. Also, unless I mention otherwise, unlimited text and voice and I’m not mentioning hotspotting at this time. For those of you outside the US, I’m only looking for myself. Apologies. For those Americans who travel outside the country, I did factor that in, but I’ll address that in a separate post.

 

Mint Mobile

Mint is very popular, however, its plans are most economical when bought in annual increments. So, we’re going to look at their annual plans. I’m willing to plop down 100% to start with.

  • $15 a month for 5GB
  • $20 a month for 15GB
  • $25 a month for 20GB
  • $30 a month for unlimited

Ting

I’m not sure I would have looked at Ting if they hadn’t been the first prepaid carrier I switched to when I left my parent’s family share plan. Ting isn’t who it once was. Ting was once the leader in ala carte pricing. Now their plans are more conventional and unimpressive.

  • Set 5 – $25/month for 5GB
  • Set 12 – $35/month for 12GB
  • Unlimited – $45/month for 22GB

After you reach your limit, you’ll be slowed to a crawl. Any unused data carries over to the next month

MobileX

MobileX is the first MVNO I’ve mentioned that is running on Verizon, not T-Mobile. It has top priority on Verizon.

  • Unlimited 10 – $14.88/month for 10GB
  • Unlimited – $24.88 for unlimited

US Mobile

US Mobile offers a discount if you prepay annually. It is a bit more month to month

  • Unlimited Flex – $17.50/month for annual, not available month to month
  • Unlimited Started – $22.50/month for annual, $25 month to month
  • Unlimited Premium – $32.50/month for annual, $35 month to month

The differences are in hotspot data, Starter includes International data, and Premium offers a free smartwatch plan and network transfers(which otherwise cost $2 each). Network transfers are interesting. They offer service on different major networks…without naming them. If you want to switch which one, you pay the $2 to change.

Either way, $210 for a year of unlimited isn’t bad.

Visible

Visible is actually a prepaid carrier owner by Verizon. But don’t call Verizon.

  • Visible – $25/month for unlimited data on 5G/LTE, throttled video.
  • Visible+ $45/month for unlimited at premium speed on their wideband network

 

Tello Mobile

I ended up giving Tello a chance. Tello offers ala carte plans like Ting once did, as well as unlimited.

  • 1GB – $9/month
  • 2GB – $10/month
  • 5GB – $14/month
  • 10GB – $25/month
  • Unlimited Data(Really 35GB)/Minutes – $25 a month

You also don’t have to do unlimited phone/text, for example, $5/month gets you 1GB of data, and an extra $1 gets you 100 minutes and unlimited texts.

Conclusion

Picking a wireless carrier is extremely hard. There are a lot of good choices. And I only covered the ones that I considered because they fit my needs. I don’t stream video regularly. Since I got more data, I have been streaming music more, but I prefer my own music collection stored locally.

I was paying $20 a month for 2GB just to read and browse on my phone. That used to take less than 1GB…but all these sites are not concerned about data savings anymore. They are embedding autoplay videos, precaching resources, etc. So, without my behavior changing, I was using more data.

Ultimately, Tello won for the fact that I could justify the $25 a month(especially with a promo for 3 months at $15), but I could also switch down to 5GB a month which is still well above what I’m using on average. They made it extremely easy to set up and use an eSIM for a month in parallel with Fi as my phone supports that, then port my number over in 20 minutes. And even if I leave…I can still, thanks to the Pixel 9, try out anything for a month just to see what the experience is during my daily routine.

I did lose international included, but I’ll talk about that separately.

 

 

 

 

Published on April 8, 2025
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Exploring Jellyfin As Media Server Options Dwindle

MythTV- My Longtime Media Server

I’ve been running a MythTV server for over 15 years. MythTV is a DVR…and I use it to record television. Increasingly though, companies are locking down the ability for you to time-shift your own television forcing you to use their often less good hardware and software experiences. I still have a cable card, but the government no longer mandates cable companies to offer them. Several companies have already stopped supporting them, and most others will let you keep them until the day they can’t.

I could stick to broadcast TV, except…guess what? The new standard for broadcast, ATSC3, are starting to become encrypted and implement DRM. So, the future isn’t too bright there either.

MythTV does do personal media as well, but its way of doing it has remained largely unchanged for years. It might be the worst time to pivot to ripping to physical media. Last year, I commented on how sales of physical video media are tanking while physical audio media are rising. Since that time, I’ve been working on upgrading how I use the digital versions of my physical media.

I am foreseeing a future where I have to just watch the same classic shows over and over again because I can’t get anything new because they won’t sell them to me anymore. Remember, buying something on a streaming site is actually paying for a license they can revoke at any time without consequence. Which is not fine with me. But, rewatching classics I can get behind. I also found out I can raid the Walmart $5 DVD bin from their website. Time to finally watch the Shawshank Redemption.

What I’m happy with software wise is a moving target.

Plex

I set up Plex a few years ago to solve this. But Plex no longer seems to call itself a Personal Media Server. If you visit their website, it starts… “Meet your TV concierge. Need something to watch? We’re on it. Plex combines free movies & TV with the best free streaming services, so there’s always more to discover.”

Under the Question of what Plex is, they say, “A one-stop destination to stream movies, TV shows, and music, Plex is the most comprehensive entertainment platform available today. Available on almost any device, Plex is the first-and-only streaming platform to offer free ad-supported movies, shows, and live TV together with the ability to easily search—and add to your Watchlist—any title ever made, no matter which streaming service it lives on. Using the platform as their entertainment concierge, 17 million (and growing!) monthly active users count on Plex for new discoveries and recommendations from all their favorite streaming apps, personal media libraries, and beyond.”

It isn’t until the last few words that they even mention personal media library. It makes me worry about their priorities, especially after they added social features and made some of them opt out by default, including for existing customers.

Jellyfin- A New Option Emerges

By comparison, Jellyfin describes itself by saying that, “Jellyfin enables you to collect, manage, and stream your media.” It is a volunteer run open source project.

I like fully open projects and Jellyfin is pretty full functioning already. Some things I had to work a bit more to set up that happened automatically in Plex, but it still didn’t take that long to do.

Conclusion

I’m running both Jellyfin and Plex in parallel on the same library, to decide what I’ll use ultimately. Expect me to write more on this. Comment if you have any advice.

 

Published on February 24, 2025
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My Mechanical Keyboard Obsession- Too Much?

Picture of keyboard to illustrate point of postToo Many Keyboards?

Last night, I happened across an article by Tanveer Singh over at XDA Developers. I don’t know the author personally, but XDA Developers started as a mobile development forum and did pivot into many other things, and I have followed them for some time. More recently, they have been posting a lot of mechnical keyboard themed articles.

The title of this article was, “5 Signs My Mechanical Keyboard Obsession is out of Hand.” Singh isuses a warning that is a good one for any hobby. Don’t let something you enjoy become something compulsive or obsessive.

Like him, I worry I may be acquiring too many keyboards because I also like to try things. I’ve had to make some compromises.

  • I’ve tried to scale down purchases in certain categories
  • I sold off some inventory to others(contact me if you want to buy anything)
  • I’m trying to find unique designs, not just new versions of the same thing.
  • I want to have some aluminum cases, but that is where the money is. Either I’m buying discounted metal cased boards, or I’m going with other materials. I found a keyboard layout I wanted to try…the circuit board is on sale for $33, the case is $165.
  • I’ve printed my own cases(from other people’s designs) and am trying to get better at that. I’m printing one as I type.
  • I’ve experimented with printing my own keycaps as well. Over $100 for keycaps when all the other parts are $50 seems wrong to me.
  • I’ve turned my collection into wall art. Sitting above my work desk is an adjustable wall of keyboard in a multicolor display. I regular swap and take them off their hooks when I feel like something different.

Keyboard Construction As A Hobby

The ones I soldered together and built the cases for are akin to someone who does woodworking and keeps building bird houses. It is the activity of construction. Singh misses that aspect of it. Even if you just go for simple assembly of a hotswap keyboard(adding switches and keycaps), I have boards that turned out to be poor decisions that I have either been purging or trying to modify so they sound better. I have projects I’ve been tweaking.

When I restarted 3d printing after being turned off by my lemon of an Ender, I got the A1 Mini on the theory most of what I’d printed before was less than 180mm square. But when I started with keyboard cases a few months later, I quickly needed something larger to be able to print entire cases. I still didn’t spring for a printer that could do anything larger than a 65…maybe a 75 if I stretch it, in a single piece.

I haven’t tried designing my own case or handwiring yet. Handwiring would be designing a case and wiring it without a circuit board, instead wiring the switches directly to a controller. Credit to the keyboard community for being very supportive of my questions and encouraging me to try new things.

However, despite the fact I’ve pivoted to try to pick more interesting pieces…like collecting southpaw keyboards(southpaw is where there is a number pad on the left side as opposed to the right), there are still a lot of opportunities for diversion. I always wanted to have a crafting hobby. i’ve done many project over the years, but this is probably the most craft-like of them.

Published on February 17, 2025
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Pictures of sub-60% keyboards
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Happy 40s Day 2025

The Keyboard community is an interesting collection of people and contains many sub-communities. One of those is the 40s community…individuals who like smaller keyboards, specifically 40% layouts or smaller. On the 40th day of the year, in 2025, February 9th, they celebrate by posting pictures of their collections. Here is my submission for 40s day.Picture of 40s keyboards mounted on a wall display

 

Pictured you can see several different design variants in this area. Three smaller Vault35 keyboards with differing layouts,  three 50% keyboards(one split), a Minivan layout in 3d printed blue, a Monorail in yellow with a handle.

40s keyboards are often individually made, with parts often designed and produced in small batches. The community is full of creative designers, many of which designs layouts and boards from scratch.

They come in ortholinear variants, for example. Ortholinear would be where the keys are all the same size. There are split models, where the keyboard separates into two pieces.

There are many advantages to them I’ve mentioned before. There are also disadvantages. I initially thought I couldn’t use anything that small, but learned to do so over time and enjoy it. A smaller keyboard minimizes the movement of your fingers, even if you have to use combinations of keys to produce the keys that have no dedicated key on the board.

In addition to some people preferring them, their size makes them ideal for travel.

The problem is, with it being such a niche market, if you don’t want to construct them yourself, even with buying the circuit board pre-made, they can be expensive…although there are some more budget options. Even keycaps often lack an inexpensive option due the fact that unless you use blank keycaps, you might not be able to find a 1U Enter Key, or one of the other keys that don’t come in standard sets.

When the keycaps cost more than the keyboard they are in, that can be a choice or merely an indication of lack of choice in the market. On two in the image above, I tried 3d printing my own keycaps. Not perfect. They have the legends on them…though you might have to zoom to see them clearly.

The reason I’ve grown to love the 40s community is because of the creativity and excitement they display. And the reason I started 3d printing parts of them is not just because there are dozens of designs out there, but because it is a way of saving money on this hobby, which can be expensive.

 

 

Published on February 9, 2025
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