For just files I’d use Syncthing or Resilio (I keep hundreds of gigs synced with ST). Resilio has a feature that’s very useful - Selective Sync. This allows you to setup a sync job that syncs the index of files, but doesn’t sync the actual files until you select a file(s) to sync on the remote device. I use this to access my media files from anywhere (3TB) which I obviously don’t want to try to sync the entire folder to my phone, etc.

But since you effectively are on the same LAN, you can use any file copy tool the respective OS’s support.

Though for WAN connections, I prefer tools with some redundancy/resilience, since those connections can be slow or experience drops, and regular copy tools aren’t designed to contend with that (in Windows the only tool I can think of off hand is Robocopy, but I think Teracopy will at least show you if a file copy fails).

It really depends on your use-case, what you’re trying to solve for.

But, no Foss dev wants to do anything about it because SMS sucks balls.

So regardless of how many messages are sent FOSS devs aren’t interested.

Yea, I’d take the approach of having the server monitor a folder, and then just drop files in that folder to be converted.

There are a number of ways to transfer files to that folder, tools like FolderSync (Android), Syncthing or Resilio (every OS) can handle this.

For backup check out SMS Backup/Restore. I have 10+ years of sms backup with it, all readable as text or using Excel.

I’ve never found a good solution to this SMS problem - there’s seems to be nothing out there (probably because FOSS devs think SMS needs to die, and I agree).

I did find my solution last year: JMP.chat - I think they’re considered a virtual cell provider. Port your number to them, then all your SMS/MMS gets piped into XMPP, which you can access with an XMPP client on any device - Gajim on Windows/Linux, Cheogram and Monocles (plus others) on Android, Snikket and others on iOS. My SMS works even if my phone is off. Prices are really good, so good that I use a different SIM in my phone for a data connection, as I no longer need an SMS/voice connection (calls are routed via VOIP in Cheogram/XMPP).

Gotta remember to enable Quantum Entanglement… Takes a lot more power, but solves the problem.

I’ve taken this approach, sometimes these boxes will act up when they can’t phone home. Definitely worth trying though.

Excellent - thanks for the remote recommendation, it’s one thing I’ve been struggling to find.

Not sure I like the gyro idea - I had a gyro presentation mouse in the past. Worked well, but how do your parents like the gyro element?

Sometimes it’s a decision between reliability and selfhosted

This is an excellent point to keep in mind.

Using something like Telegram for notifications/alerts exposes a minimal amount of info/metadata.

XMPP could be a useful alternative, since there are numerous hosts/providers available, and it’s a privacy minded community.

The proxmox server is connected to a router attached to a fiber ONT.

If you want to be extra secure, there’s no reason the server needs internet connectivity/exposure at all (it should be safe as-is). Put it on its own VLAN with only specified ports open to your home LAN. That would be one extra layer from the internet - if admin/remote ports can’t be accessed via the internet connection LAN, then no way for an outsider to get into it (you’d have to provide other ways of accessing the server to admin it, either KVM, or a machine on that VLAN, etc).

You DO NOT need to do this, just adding an idea about how to make stuff more secure.

Yep.

Rather than try to single-handedly re-engineer an old protocol to be secure, I just use it for stuff where security isn’t a big deal. Including messages with links to secure resources (and send credentials via a separate system).

I don’t see how you wouldn’t have your email on an email providers servers - that’s how email works. You send an email via a provider, they forward it to the destination address you’ve included with the email.

That destination address is another email provider’s server, which holds it until the receiver connects and downloads it. Email is a store-and-forward system, designed at a time when users weren’t always connected. It still works this way.

Email is old, so the fundamental mechanics are pretty simple, and encryption wasn’t an option at the time - so it’s sent in the clear. Otherwise it would require both sender and receiver (either at both ends, or the servers) to agree on an encryption to use.

At idle, SSD is usually better (like you said if the SSD has proper power management, and that takes research to know).

Spinning platters are generally still better for power per gig/terabyte, because write time they consume less power than SSD.

I dont really look at drive power consumption, because even with ~10 drives running in my environment, a single cpu doing anything moderate blows away their power consumption numbers (I’ve tested, not that it was needed, heat dissipation alone makes it clear).

I have a ten-year old 5 drive NAS that runs 24/7, and it’s barely above room temp. Average draw is a few watts (the number was so low I put it out of my mind, maybe 5 watts - Raspberry Pi territory).

My SFF desktop is 12w at idle, with either 2 small SSDs (500GB each) or a single large drive (12TB). So much for SSD having better idle power.

SSD isn’t necessarily less energy hungry than spinning platter.

It really depends on the specific units and use patterns.

Generally SSD has better idle power, and HD has better read and write power, but that doesn’t even always hold true.

If your device sits idle long enough, SSD is better for power, but the write time to get to idle could easily consume the power differential.

https://www.edn.com/power-vs-energy-ssd-and-hdd-case-studies/

Beat me to it. I always have the page up.

Ah hell, I don’t know anything about it, but figured I’d go ahead and download it to watch later.

The violation they target users for is sharing a video, and that’s usually through a file sharing service like torrenting.

Think of it this way - whatever you watch online via a browser you’re already downloading. Or via an app.

You know, it really tweaks me that torrenting is associates with piracy, when it could’ve become the defacto way to share files between users, if OS devs had just included the protocol in the OS (looking at you Android, but Windows and Apple too).

I’ve often questioned why it wasn’t…

Time to file the divorce papers.

I do think it’s target audience was kids. I had a younger family member (about 12) introduce me to it at the time. I got a kick out of the gameplay and styles. It was sort of a spoof of a 90’s video game (name I can’t recall) with a common theme then - sort of over-the-top, “we’re both in on the joke” kind of thing.

I’m sure they will. It’s always a cat-and-mouse game.

It’s been a while since I read about DRM, but what I recall the challenge is not being able to control end-to-end, which is what really drives trusted boot efforts in both Android and Windows.

If you don’t control the hardware and OS, then someone can use it to sidestep DRM.

Oh, I get what they’re doing, but I resent their approach.

So many just introduced the subscription to sucker the naive.

I don’t mind paying for software. So let me pay for a major version, and if I want a major update, that costs too. I have so much software where a given version works just fine (FolderSync for example, and Office 2016),that I see no need to upgrade.