Marginly.
Notes on a very small server
I moved my family photos to a computer the size of a paperback. Here is what I learned about owning my data.
Outline
A few months ago I shut down three subscriptions and started running my own photo library on a computer that lives behind the television. It cost less than one year of the cloud storage I replaced.
The setup is dull in the best way: a small box, two disks, an open-source gallery and a backup that runs overnight to a drive at my sister's house. Nothing about it is clever. Everything about it is mine.
What it costs in attention
Self-hosting is sold as freedom, but freedom has chores. Updates need applying. Disks need replacing. When the power fails, I am the support desk. I would not recommend it to anyone who treats their photos as disposable.
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Technology writer and former engineer. Interested in what software does to attention.
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