Pi5 8GB with SSD. Only 1 user but often sharing folders with others including Memories photo sharing add on. Syncs between several machines & mobile. Also syncs Joplin notes. Pi5 also hosts variety of other (lightweight) stuff with no issues at all (Portainer, Nginx Proxy Manager, Linkwarden etc).

Previously hosted on Pi4B (4GB) with external hard drive. I’ve found the Pi5 + SSD faster & more robust so for me it’s been a worthwhile upgrade

Wouldn’t say scam but potentially unsustainable. Some years ago I signed up for a brand new startup Nextcloud service which was priced far too low & went under very quickly. Switched to a hosted Nextcloud provider who had been around a long time (still around). They were really good but after a short time I decided to learn how to host it myself.

Hardware wise you don’t need much, I upgraded to a used Pi5 8GB with fanless heatsink case & added an m.2 SSD. Only 1 user on my instance but I often share folders with others, it’s robust & never once crashed.

If exposing to www you need to keep your network secure. There’s a learning curve but self hosting can be rewarding. Any if you’re lucky you might get to spend hours & hours problem solving when something breaks 😉😁

I use Keepass but I recommended Bitwarden to less nerdy family members as it syncs out of the box & does what they need it to do. Sync is simple enough to set up with Keepass & the big plus for me is that it allows storage of files/documents. Last time I checked this was a limited/paid feature on Bitwarden

Never knew I needed? Another vote for Paperless-ngx. I still feel like I’m living in the future using it. The trick I’ve found was initially setting up a good document naming & management convention & following it religiously for every document. The search function is fantastic at narrowing down results. Used in conjunction with specific coloured tags I can immediately see what I need from search results.

Fired up Immich recently. Amazing. Will be donating as I like their stance.

I also enjoy Linkwarden. Switched from the also excellent Hoarder as I prefer the UI.

Most used? Nextcloud with Joplin.

I moved from Nextcloudpi some time back & found THIS TUTORIAL far & away the most useful. Instead of just saying copy/paste a Docker Compose file he shows how to build it step by step using Portainer so i found it invaluable for future projects.

It seems a bit overwhelming initially but once you’ve installed it a few times you’ll be able to do it from scratch in less than an hour. Probably less as it sounds like you already know what’s what having used Ansible

I’ve found Canon printers to be generally good overall but this is BS. If its any consolation I have a Canon printer with WiFi. Win 10 is so shit the scanner literally never scans over WiFi & ive given in using the printer over WiFi for anything & just use it via a cable

A close friend sells a product on eBay. A product most households have & my friend collects when it’s no longer wanted which is cleaned, sorted & resold. Has now left 9-5 job to run it as a business.

This friend is exceptional at exploiting niches & will likely become amongst leading sellers of this type (is well on the way already having done it before with a particular collectible). Interestingly, reading through the suggestions here, previously collected & sold scrap before pivoting.

I’m very proud of them!

For me it’s the first thing i learned how to self host: Nextcloud …which in turn allows me to sync Joplin notes, which I use constantly

I only witness it whenever any of my work colleagues anyone with a phone wants to show me a video. Always have to sit through ads before & during the video. Absolutely horrific. Mind you they also have to close multiple pop up ads in every app they ever use on their phone. I couldn’t live with it & not learn how to deal with it

My other half has new Ultra, I have an older Ultra model. Stuff i find invaluable that she hasn’t used once:

• S Pen
• Modes & Routines
• Secure folder
• DeX (to a lesser degree than the above)

I try to use my phone as a Swiss army knife. Stuff I rely on that most normal users likely dont realise their phone can do:

• Using Kodi the phone becomes fully fledged mobile media player. Great for vacations in case of poor weather (in conjunction with HDMI lead, controller/wireless keyboard)
• OsmAnd navigation has an offline Wikipedia plugin. I set up a shortcut in it so i can display/hide all wiki entries nearby. Brilliant when on vacation
• All my main apps will work offline in case of data outage: navigation, notes, password manager, books, music, podcasts, media etc etc
• Password manager has more uses than simply handling passwords
• Playing video sites in the background …with a timer if desired
• Browser with uBlock “etc”
• Manipulation of .pdf files
• A good launcher. Mine is always set up the same regardless of device - I can access any app within 2 swipes & 2 taps
• A good car dock
• Most don’t realise that a simple DNS entry can help reduce the amount of ads they see
• All manner of nerdy tech shit to interact with stuff on my network. No normal human needs to know that this usage factor exists

And most importantly …using the camera in landscape so images/video can be viewed properly on a TV or monitor. And not using digital zoom in the dark to record an entire concert from row Q

For images, on Android you could use Imagepipe.

Once you’ve set it up, simply “share” the image to Imagepipe, it does its thing then automatically passes it on to whatever app you want - for example a messaging app for you to send on to others (it stores a copy of the image minus its metadata in an Imagepipe folder in your gallery for ease of access should you need it again).

For video, from memory I think mp3tag for Windows/Mac can remove metadata from some video formats

Ha I once fell for this same issue with the exact same bars. To be fair they’re so darn tasty I’ve fallen for it again several times since!

Late to the party but just another vote for Nextcloud. I used a paid subscription initially but then took the plunge, bought a Pi 4 & SSD for storage then read up & figured out how to self host.

It was my first experience with Linux, I fell over many times but dont give in as after all the hair pulling & teeth grinding it becomes rewarding & even a little “fun” when you get there & then become confident enough to take on & complete further Pi projects.

The Pi can handle Libre Office (synced through Nextcloud, handled on mobile by Collabora Office).

Whilst you’re at it, why not sync the notes you’ll inevitability make on your self hosting journey through your Nextcloud instance? Try Joplin & do away with Google Docs, Evernote etc into the bargain

Like others I used Liftoff but had to move on when API broke it & dev is getting on with real life stuff.

Moved to Voyager. It’s good but as an android I still find it a bit strange using what looks like iOS interface. I still get a bit lost when uploading a post & usually have to edit it a few times. No biggie, maybe I should post more & get used it it 😃

I still miss the Joey app from the other place.

Voyager searches posts & communities. Looks like an iOS app (not surprising given its lineage) which a few months in is still taking some getting used to but its been a good replacement for the no longer developed Liftoff. Definitely worth trying

Voyager (F-Droid)

Voyager - Github

Came here since the Reddit 3rd party app fiasco. Initially I blocked a load of non English language communities which at the time seemed to fill the All feed. Kept adding to my subscribed communities list then in my app (Voyager after Liftoff stopped being developed) blocked a load of keywords, essentially Trump/US politics related.

Now my Home (subscriptions) feed has some great content. I check out All from time to time to see if I can subscribe to more communities.

Niche communities are still lacking but hopefully that improves over time.

Gilbert O’Sullivan - Alone Again must rank amongst the saddest & also most beautiful

Ah fair enough. This never occurred to me as we dont have a power socket in the bathroom. Also I’m a typical man so didn’t bother to read the instruction manual.

My Philips shaver does not work whilst charging. What’s that all about?

Luckily the battery is good but it gives very little warning when its about to run out. I dont grow facial hair very quickly or very thickly but several times I’ve had to leave the house partially shaved. Doesn’t make any sense. That’s the whole point of electricity, to use stuff whilst plugged in!

I never had any issues before with cheap HDMI leads over a short distance, so just to throw something else into the mix for consideration - 4k & cable length. My scenario was getting 4K picture on TV from HTPC (home theatre PC, a PC based media player) via a Dolby Atmos compatible amp. Cable length approx 10m.

Standard HDMI cables tend to be labelled as “HDMI 2.0/a/b compatible for 4k at 60Hz”. I bought several of these cables & had same issues with all of them - they would not display image on TV (though mysteriously they displayed an image if a games console was used rather than the HTPC). They sell them in all kinds of lengths but in my experience they dont work beyond about 5m.

Close to giving in, I bought a 10m “active” HDMI optical lead which is directional - one end is labelled source & the other end labelled display.

First one I bought worked perfectly.