Wordtsar looks fun. I may try it out. I feel like converting to markdown and then using a plugin to push it into Wordpress is maybe just the precursor to going full-on static site generator ;)

I used phi3:mini-4k for tagging all my bookmarks and don’t think it was any worse than a big model for that kind of job. It will run on a 10 year old cpu and a few gb of ram. (note: ai tagging of bookmarks isn’t that great, regardless, but it helps with search).

Yeah, I don’t bother sorting and organizing old files/bookmarks/whatever. Automatic tagging and full-text search solve that need. I try to keep recent stuff organized nicely though.

And you can put a secure note in there that has all the instructions necessary for them to access anything they might need (either by taking that note to someone skilled enough to follow the instructions, or by making it dead simple enough for them to just extract everything to an empty external ntfs hard drive in a simple file hierarchy).

Does it still count as “self hosting” if one of your backups uses something like restic to push to b2 or hetzner storage boxes? It’s not consumer point and click.

I have one copy going there, and one going to a $50 thinkstation usff connected to a single external hard drive. It’s not raid, but if it dies, it just gets quickly replaced while I rely on the hosted backup.

Well, that’s what you are doing with ssh tunnels and remote browsers. If you want separation, they can put your computer in their router’s DMZ (demilitarized zone), so it doesn’t have access to their devices. Additionally, If you use the Tailscale IPs (or host names) instead of their local IPs on his network, they won’t ever change.

Yes. EBay and Amazon have a certified refurbished thing with warranties for a little more money, or monitor local classified sites if you can inspect them. I’ve bought a couple off Kijiji here in Canada, which is a bit like Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. The sellers didn’t advertise that they were a business selling off-lease stuff, but you can tell by the number of laptops they post.

Find out if there are any corporate off-lease machines being sold in your area. USFF machines are frequently used as mini desktops or point of sale computers then sold off for peanuts when warranties are done. Especially look at i3-8xxx generation, as they don’t support windows 11 fully.