If you’re looking to learn how to set up a server and start selfhosting, Immich is great. You can get a docker image that includes the postgres database and everything, and it’s not hard to pair it with a reverse proxy or tailscale/VPN if you want to expose it to the web. You also don’t have to do that, just open the local port and use it on home WiFi.

HOWEVER, if you’re daunted by self-hosting and just want a simple, secure experience, Ente is the way to go, IMHO. It’s end-to-end encrypted so your photos are private, and the server is maintained and managed by people who know what they’re doing. Headache-free for you. The cost is a bit more than Google Photos, so it’s competitively priced but you’re paying only with cash instead of personal data.

I’ve been distro-hopping on a 2018 cheapo Chromebook for about a year. So far, I’ve tried Debian (Bookworm) with XFCE, AntiX, PeppermintOS, and now ARCH with Sway. None of the first three were particularly snappy, but they were all running full desktop environments. With Arch/Sway, I’m running about as light as I can get: no login manager, only 441 packages installed. Web browser is Helium. It’s early yet, but I think it does feel a little faster–most of the time. Helium still takes a few seconds to load, for example.

Running bare Arch is a bit extreme, but I think the real difference probably comes down to using a WM instead of a full DE. Sway is pretty light, and from what I could find, Wayland is supposed to be a little lighter/quicker than X11, but if toy want to go that way, you could use i3. Configuration from scratch can be a bit intimidating, but I looked online for shared dotfiles I liked and customized from there.

Good luck! Hope it goes all and is a fun experiment!

My specs: Astronaut (rev 3) Chromebook. Intel Celeron N3350 dual core @ 2.4 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 500 integrated graphics, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC storage.

I’ve been running Garuda with KDE (dr4g0nized gaming spin) for over a year and have had a great experience. Arch gets a bad rep for breaking updates, but I’ve never experienced any. My Steam Link in the living room has mostly functioned fine, but it has been a bit finicky lately. As for the AUR, I think I have maybe a dozen packages from there in my machine, partially because Garuda ships with Chaotic-AUR, which has a more robust (read: existant) review process for submissions. I have used both Nvidia and AMD GPUs and both have worked flawlessly. I don’t game as much as I used to, but I’ve been nothing but happy with my Arch gaming experience.

I’ve been pretty happy with Windscribe. They are headquartered in Canada, but they have also proven they don’t keep logs. https://cybersecuritynews.com/court-dismisses-criminal-charges-against-vpn-executive-affirms-no-log-policy/

If you’re looking for a good comparison, I found the Techlore comparison table helpful: https://vpn.techlore.tech/

Congrats on your successful install! It feels good to take control of your media, doesn’t it? I found it a great project for growing my confidence in deploying my own services. Happy hosting!

I have been daily diving /e/ is on an FP4 for almost a year. I’ve encountered a few weird things with calls and texts, but that might have as much to do with my US carrier not playing well with a European phone. As for the OS itself, the only real limitation I’ve come across is that Cash App doesn’t work. PayPal and Venmo are fine, and my local credit union app works great. Sometimes the App lounge hangs, but I’ve also got Aurora store for google play apps and obtainium for FOSS stuff. Other than Cash App, there’s nothing I can’t do with it that I’ve wanted to, even if it takes finding an alternative. I’ve not regretted using it, and it only seems to be improving. It won’t be as polished a UX as stock android, but I have no reservations in recommending it.

I should clarify; porting out of GV to a different VoIP service is doable, but I’m not sure about getting it to a cell carrier.

I successfully ported my GV number out to VOIP.ms last year with very few issues. Once at VOIP.ms, it is easy to port back and forth to other services if need be. It’s not that bad.

Agreed. An old machine with extra drives is both way cheaper and more flexible. A little more work, but nothing you can’t figure out with web searches and forum help.

3 x 3TB drives in RAID 5 will get you (almost) 6TB with only 9 TB total capacity, and its more fault tolerant than RAID 1. Also, its cheaper to replace a single 3TB drive than a single 6TB drive, so it’ll spread your costs out more.

I have 4 x 3TB drives on RAID 5, and I got three of them used for cheap at a local computer place. They’ll have lower life expectancy, but unless more than one dies at a time, it’ll be cheaper to replace them as they do. I got 1 drive new, and plan to replace 1 drive every year or two with new.

Unless you need speed, definitely consider HDDs, especially NAS grade. They’re slower read/write, but your use case shouldn’t need a lot of have read/write. HDDs–even the premium ones–are way cheaper than SSDs right now with the shortage, and have great longevity.