Hello fellow hosters,

I recently had to purchase a new laptop because my old laptop(MSI - PS63 Modern 8RC) had its hinges finally give in, so the screen(lid) can barely be opened and closed anymore. The laptop isn’t totally outdated yet in terms of specs. I already have a server that hosts most of my day to day apps, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to what i could host on this retired laptop, that I would manage remotely.

Are there any specific services that makes more sense to host on a laptop that would be sitting turned on but put away somewhere? Or should I just tear the PC apart for it’s parts and throw the rest away?

Let me know if you have any similar experiences or tips 🌻

  • wildbus8979English
    71·
    9 months ago

    Librelec. Or just a regular Linux with Kodi.

    • MaggiWuerze@feddit.deEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      I always wanted something like SteamOS for media. basically an opensource AndroidTV. is there nothing like this?

        • MaggiWuerze@feddit.deEnglish
          41·
          9 months ago

          No. Librelec is just kodi. I’m looking for something that can start arbitrary applications behind an overlay like SteamOS or AndroidTV. I don’t want to use the buggy Plex or Jellyfin plugin for Kodi.

          • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            21·
            9 months ago

            Just to stave off anyone else coming in and going “ackshuallee”… it’s true that you could technically do that with libreELEC. It’d be a fool’s errand of using SSH to get to the terminal and install all the programs and dependencies, and you’d still need some way to do arbitrary terminal commands from the kodi menu (I think there are plugins for that and for launching arbitrary programs though).

            I played around with that myself for a few hours and gave up.

            I’d love something actually good, but the closest you’ll get probably is running Kodi or whatever media frontend you want on top of a stripped down “normal” OS, with a separate frontend for games/programs like HyperSpin. Find a way to launch one from the other and you’d be set.

            You’d still have to deal with Kodi not being able to pull full quality video from streaming platforms too, assuming you aren’t just sailing the high seas for your media.

          • richmondez@lemmy.worldEnglish
            11·
            9 months ago

            Arbitrary applications isn’t a TVOS like the original poster asked for, it’s a general purpose OS.

              • richmondez@lemmy.worldEnglish
                11·
                9 months ago

                Can you install arbitrary apps on androidtv or only what is available in the appstore for it without jumping through hoops that possibly involve some command line shenanigans? Similar to how you can install plugins in kodi in libreelec from the official repos perhaps but have to jump through hoops for arbitrary programs? Your real issue then is that libreelec’s ecosystem isn’t as vibrant perhaps and that it doesn’t run on locked down hardware the user doesn’t really control so the media companies allow high quality streaming to them?