I didn’t particularly like the layout styling in Pop!_OS and being so new to linux, I didn’t know how much I could change aesthetics wise. KDE looks more appealing to me, I don’t know if it’s because it looks like windows, but that might be a factor? it’s the default on the distro I wanna give a try (Bazzite) which also has nudged me in that direction.

I wasn’t expecting so many people to have used Debian for things other than servers. I have it on a server myself, but I decided I needed something more set up for gaming already on my desktop. what led you to Debian specifically? the stability?

this is actually what I’m going to be giving a go! I have very little experience (I have servers that run Debian and DietPi, but I get help with those) with linux but I’m really excited to give the KDE version a try. and I’ve been trying to learn, too, because also my partner is going to be moving to a dual boot setup as well. been watching a lot of videos and reading a lot too, especially while my desktop is out of commission.

do you find that anything is missing in Bazzite for you?

I live with my mom and she has to have the news on borderline 24/7 while she’s awake. I hate it because I have very good hearing so I constantly listen to music instead.

when I lived alone, I simply didn’t have any sort of streaming service or cable, or what have you. my tv was exclusively for music and gaming on. that was even years ago.

frankly, I hate having to be around the news for the most part. I will sometimes read stuff on beehaw, but otherwise, no, not for me.

I don’t talk here but I am a user and this community has helped me a whole hell of a lot. I’ll see if I can get a donation heading your way when I next get paid! thanks for your hard work.

I really enjoy the Hardware Haven videos. He makes things more understandable for a newbie like me.

why no hope for Revolt? I had looked into it self hosting wise, but when I realized they had made it really difficult, I lost interest and haven’t been following it since.

So relieved to see my usual charity to donate to (K9s for Warriors) is highly rated on charity navigator. I was hoping they were a good one.

My other one is Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, but they have a tiny bit lower score.

Thank you for sharing the site for charity navigator. Ultimately I agree that the best charity is subjective. I heard about those two from other people and they’re subjects I feel passion about.

I’ve admittedly added an Intel NUC to my wishlist even before you mentioned it, hahahaha, in case the thin client ends up not working out. it only accepts m2s, and only two of them, but they can’t be nvmes which kinda sucks.

from what I’ve read, though, apparently AMD stuff doesn’t gel well with transcoding, but I could have read incorrect info.

I don’t actually have a clue on how to run a server that isn’t an RPi (since DietPi installs certain things for you) but maybe there’s hope I could copy the info from the old server to the NUC if things go that route in the future.

how do you like audiobookshelf? I really have been enjoying podcasts lately (though they’re all writing related, so far) but I don’t really want to pay a subscription to listen to them on my computer, so I was considering trying audiobookshelf out.

thank you much for the list, and the links for Lemmy communities!

I really just wanted something that could have separated recipes and grocery lists, because my partner is long distance and I wanted this to help them out too. those were my only requirements, I just hadn’t known my full range of options at the time.

and thank you too for mentioning to look to solve problems. I’m trying to do that, and not go too deep off into trying to host things I don’t need. I had been looking for an RSS reader to keep up with some news things since I don’t go on reddit anymore, but I found out that Homarr has a widget for it. trying that out now.

KitchenOwl seems to be newish? it has multiple accounts and households, which is nice, but my family member complained it was unnecessarily complicated.

I’ve seen Paperless around, I feel like it might potentially be useful for me, since I have a lot of medical stuff going on, plus doggo vet things. but that’s probably a future project, since I still have to add more things to my Jellyfin. thank you for reminding me it exists!

valid, one day I’ll figure out ssh! until then I physically hook up my Raspberry Pis to my monitor.

for something that I don’t think a lot of people consider…I got a wrist rest for my mouse and keyboard as a present that I had asked for. it’s significantly reduced my wrist and hand pain while typing or using my mouse, which is nice, because I already have pain issues.

additionally! my other mention would be my weighted blanket. I got one as a gift (but it wasn’t heavy enough, make sure if you get one it’s the right weight) and basically tried it and slept better than I ever had. it only sucks during summer because it makes me warmer. but, other than that, I highly recommend one if someone is thinking about it.

I think one other thing (as many other posters have mentioned great resources already, so I’d just be reiterating what you’ve already said) to consider is that …it doesn’t have to happen all at once. You can move one thing at a time, you don’t have to burn yourself out or exhaust yourself trying to set up everything in one day, or read up on every little thing. take your time, evaluate your options. don’t feel locked in to anything, since things can always change.

I personally use:

• Proton Mail (and their other apps as well, including SimpleLogin, aside from their password manager. I personally find it worth it to pay for their services. I used Tutanota in the past)
• Librewolf (as a browser, I used to use Vivaldi but I wanted to move away from Chrome, however I still like Vivaldi, for the record)
• Bitwarden (password manager)
• Kagi (as a search engine, I’m very fond of it and splitting the cost of a duo subscription with my partner. I used to use Ecosia)
• various web browser extensions (canvas blocker, uMatrix, Librewolf has uBlockOrigin baked in)
• Pi-hole (was my first raspberry pi project ever! I’m still very proud of figuring this out on my own)
• Invidious (I use it instead of Youtube specifically, as a Youtube front-end, and I prefer it a lot, it’s so much less busy and thus easier for me to focus on the video)
• Yubikey (for what it works for, I just feel safer using one)

I have plans to move to a home media server where I can store my photos, shows, and music. although this is kind of above what I’m capable of, so I’m getting help.

I think it’s awesome you’re trying to get more opinions, and I hope you find things that work for you!