I’ve shoved my Switch to the back of a cupboard somewhere and don’t use that hardware at all. I use Eden emulator to play Switch games on my Steam Deck and my Retroid Pocket 5, and also my PC (if my kids want their save game progress there). Syncthing is set up on my home server and all these devices. The save data gets synced across all devices. I’ve been loving it. I’ve ditched the shitty Nintendo hardware and always refused to pay for Switch online since it didn’t work for a bunch of games anyway. The emulated games get better performance with better screens and controllers on these devices, and all games sync reliably at no extra cost.

I’ve got Switch games on my phone as well (Into the Breach works great with touch controls alone), but I haven’t figured out synchronising save data from here since Android locked down app data folders.

I can give you more details or resources with instructions if you want, but this won’t apply to actual Nintendo hardware and certainly not Switch 2.

Normies don’t get it. Privacy means nothing to most normies. I tell them about things they would understand an appreciate:

I don’t need to pay for the following anymore because I have my personal version of Netflix, Spotify, Dropbox, Google photos, etc.

I can tell them about a home server also saving me from Onenote, Google Calendar, etc as well; but they tend not to understand this and say “but that’s free anyway”. In which case it becomes a more prolonged conversation of trying to explain why privacy and data ownership are important.

There’s also the hobby/interest/learning aspect of this. But even my wife sees what I do and says she doesn’t understand how I can stand troubleshooting server problems; because she gets hugely triggered if tech doesn’t immediately work as intended. Tinkering and troubleshooting tech is most people’s idea of hell (the equivalent of saying it is fun to have to unclog a public toilet).

Also I can get services not possible otherwise, like Nintendo Switch save game sync across devices (emulation on a number of devices and Syncthing with save data folders).

How do you use it in you setup?

Others explained what it is. To implement it, I basically followed this guide: https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/qbittorrent-with-gluetun-vpn-in-container-manager-on-a-synology-nas/

My organisation is going through this right now. The overarching management “corporation” is looking at our numbers and saying that we’ve got more employees and spending than 5 years ago, but have the same output metrics… So we’ve got to cut back staff and spending because there’s dead weight that’s not adding to productivity. The problem is that these will be small ineffective parts of people’s otherwise useful jobs. You can’t do what Elon Musk did and start firing people across the board to correct the numbers. It’s a complex problem to solve.

I don’t know much about Home Assistant, but you could keep that separate on an R.Pi of its own. Or install it as a native app on Debian if you use a desktop OS on your server.

Tinkering is fun. Home server is one of the few projects that have gone through to full completion. Silksong will take up my time for now till I find a new project. Might just make a new macropad for work.

Let me know if you want any details of my setup. I basically used 2 weeks off in July to set this whole thing up. There are lots of great Docker apps once you learn to set it up. AI has made this much easier to get into now.

I’ve heard of Docker Desktop, but sounds like it was not well received.

Don’t know what this means. Docker is universally loved and works perfectly on desktop OSs.

I’m running Debian on my server mini PC. Docker will work on any installation of Windows, Linux, etc and work perfectly well. I played around with it initially by setting up a virtual machine with Debian on my gaming computer and seeing if I could get Docker apps working.

Fast forward to now, and I’m kinda sad that my server is all set up and stable and I have nothing to tinker with.

I started with a 2 bay Synology NAS (still have this as storage only and no computing) and added a 12the gen i5 mini PC I got on eBay for £230. That’s worked out great and I would highly recommend it. If you’re on a budget then look for some older hardware.

Docker is also not that difficult to get started with and worth messing around with to learn. I started on with Docker on my Synology and out grew that quickly and have been really happy with my mini PC.

This looks a lot more complicated that Watchtower. Is this something different or add other functionality?

E-ink is easier on the eyes, especially for extended reading. Same for the lack of backlight.

The screen is bigger than a phone.

The battery lasts much much longer. Reading doesn’t need to kill the phone battery when it is on it’s own device.

Reading can be done in places where phones are not permitted (I take my Kindle with me when I take my kids to the pool).

Readers can be cheap enough that it isn’t really a problem having both devices.

Sounds like normal UK freeview terrestrial TV. I think there are freeview streaming sites and apps if you search.

This is the correct answer. Very beginner friendly. Very capable of growing on from this. Great way to onboard beginners.

I started with a 2 bay Intel CPU Synology. Used it for a couple of years.used it to learn about Docker. When I started using too many Docker apps and Synology couldn’t keep up, then I got a mini PC for compute and kept the Synology as just a plain NAS.

People recommending manual options for any “make your own” solution is throwing someone way into the deep end. OP can do that if that’s what he’s up for. But my first recommendation to anyone would be to pick up a secondhand Synology and bookmark:

https://mariushosting.com/

It might work for you, give it a shot.

But I found it was never really a viable use case to have a desk and monitor and KB+M and USB hub and charger…yet somehow be more inconvenient to have a laptop.

Androids don’t have great performance on desktop mode. It’s noticeably slow and kinda less responsive.

Almost no app is made for KB+M interface and a big screen.

Browser interface isn’t as you expect compared to PCs (context menus, extensions, link handling that might go straight to some app, etc).

It’s hard to describe completely, but it’s just a really poor experience that doesnt work at all for me. If I were going to rely on a portable device with me, then I would just use a Steam Deck to actually have a proper PC. I got a small 13 inch laptop for £150 with an 8th gen Intel and it works infinitely better. The only reason I would connect my phone to a monitor is for emulation gaming.

I’m sure others will chime in to disagree…but Samsung Dex has never been able to replace a laptop for me. Even an 8 year old laptop will do basic tasks better than trying to make the Android desktop experience work. Most apps aren’t designed for this. I’d recommend sticking with your phone and buying a used dirt cheap laptop.

Phones are not at all worth upgrading within 5 years for most people. Laptops and PCs don’t need upgrading in even longer. The cycle of trading in for new devices is a scam that everyone seems to be happy to fall for. The most dysfunctional this gets is where people do this with cars!

There’s no direct replacement. The features I use are in Pear launcher so I use that. You have to look through launcher comparisons to find the features you need.

I’ve made a post about this and some people are giving recommendations. Check out comments here: https://europe.pub/post/4256799

100%

I stuck with Neo for ages waiting for updates to fix the last few issues…and they never came. Neo would be perfect if someone forked it and continued development.

For those coming looking for alternatives, this mega comparison chart is what I used to select an alternative launcher when I switched.

I would strongly recommend checking this site for the trackers in an app if you’re at all concerned about privacy. Links to each app’s exodus privacy report is also at the end of the table linked above.

It has been owned by a data mining company for a number of years.

There’s no direct replacement. The features I use are in Pear launcher so I use that. You have to look through launcher comparisons to find the features you need.

Also, I’m surprised purple are still using Nova. I thought most people abandoned it after it got sold.

This?

https://plasma-bigscreen.org/

They could make a Steam style store for movies to buy individual movies that then stay on your account. Deep deep discounts on some oldie movies intermittently. People would eat that shit up and buy whole movie libraries to keep. Way more movies than they could watch (like people do with a Steam library).

I’ve got my server more stable now so it works a lot more reliably for Jellyfin. Before now, my wife would wholeheartedly agree with this and insist on paying for Netflix