[bcrosby95]

I've long wondered why something like a general computing device maintenance service hasn't become a thing. I guess cloud storage stepped in and removed the need.

When my AC unit broke I didn't need to know the finer decisions surrounding which unit to choose.

I have weekly visits from the pool guy for a pool and gardener for the landscaping. A yearly termite check and AC/furnace maintenance. And so on.

[swatcoder]

Your pool, landscaping, and traditional appliances are all fairly mature and stable in a way that lets local workers learn basic, repurposeable maintenance skills that last a long time and cover a large number of clients.

We won’t have that for home compute appliances until hardware/interface innovation slows down, and that’d actually been trending in the other direction for a while now. It will stabilize, even while innovation happens at other layers, but core stability plays a huge role in what you have in mind here.

Cloud stuff basically hid that that stuff on the other side of a pipe for a while, but has its own drawbacks and we’re likely seeing the start of a turn away from it.

[rlyshw]

Linux has been pretty stable for decades now. I’ve been using the same core configs and bulk data in my home compute environment basically since I started using Linux. Remote repos for any syncing needs, then just tar/rsync bulk archive data over. Store longer term or stale data on older decommissioned HDDs.

I’ve been running more or less the same services through hardware, hypervisor, and now kubernetes migrations and revisions. It seems to me doing things “the Linux way”, sticking to open source where possible, is resistant to the fast pace of the consumer innovation market. When anything new comes along, it’s usually relatively trivial to transfer over.

[ClumsyPilot]

> Linux has been pretty stable for decades now

Really? I installed Ubuntu after a 5 year holiday from it - Now you have some kind of Snaps, and flatpak. There is whatever is happening in wayland. To install handbrake, you need to install flatpack.

There used to be 4 different drivers for intel GPU, now there are 7, and I still can't get Quicksync to work in Handbrake. There seems to be some kind of plugin you can download from their website, but that doesn't install.

After tinkering, I realised that Quicksync works in ffmpeg and in Jellyfin, but not in Handbrake

Mind you, I have a home server that runs 20 docker contsiner for things like home assistant. I deploy applications to kubernetes in my say job.

But this shit is still frustrating

Who do I call to fix this for less than $500 an hour?

[ilyt]

Just install Debian honestly.

Ubuntu is slowly turning into clown fiesta.

[chaxor]

If you're looking to get away from the massive crowd and the effects of it (new devs aimlessly reinventing wheels) you have to move to something like BSD, and then learn to deal with not having the tools made by said new aimless devs.

[rlyshw]

I know that this is a typical HN post, assuming everyone should become a Linux sysadmin. But related to the parent, and recent developments in Zero Trust Access products, I wonder if there is a pathway towards neighborhood-scale sysadmin services.

I mean, I essentially provide that to my small social community with a private media tenant.

With ZTA systems in place to accommodate remote access, maybe there is an appetite for neighbor-to-neighbor network sysadmin services? Hard to compete with the sleek silos of big box brands and their infinite marketing budget, plus 5 9s of service, though.

[zamnos]

If only there were some sort of regional authority, a local group of people to whom we all gave money to, that could hire someone to administer such a system. This group could take on the responsibility of running, not just this neighborhood network system, but also, I dunno, the fire department and the police department and maybe also the schools?

I know it's an "out there" crazy silicon valley leftist idea but maybe something like that could work?

Okay no but for reals, the USPS could do that!

[rlyshw]

USPS might be mired in fed scale problems. Maybe a Library is more appropriate? At least, more directly accessible at the local level. I’m just not sure how exactly that would work, or operate thru existing library organization…

I think the incentive of a trade/artisan economy would make more sense, and justify individualized labor (house calls for NAS reconfiguration, for instance). Like a plumbing contractor vs inspector… I like the socialized idea, but I don’t see how the implementation would work under current social service labor system and organization…

[froggit]

The posted article is about the problem presented by police overreach into data that the average person has a mistaken expectation of privacy for. I may be misunderstanding what you're proposing, but it seems to me like having the same organization run things for both the neighborhood and police would actually facilitate police access to this kind of data moreso than provide any benefits in privacy.

[zamnos]

Which is exactly why I proposed the USPS as a solution! They are an independent agency of the executive branch, and are the perfect fit for such a service.

[CrazyPyroLinux]

Odd that you pick USPS of all possible examples: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/23/usps-covert...

[zamnos]

It's not clear to me from that article, what the supposed crime the USPIS committed here. Maybe I'm butchering the reading, but it sounds like they looked for, and read public Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc posts by extremists, looking for threats made against the USPS; their buildings and their workers, the hard working mailmen and women who deliver the mail, and also the mail itself. which like, good? That's literally their job! I know ACAB and all but like, be real. If you're making a plan, in public, to commit violent crimes against mail carriers, then shouldn't the cops investigate? Instead of waiting for someone to shoot up a post office and then realizing they left a cry for help and warning signs after they've already committed their henious act?

Am I just totally misunderstanding the situation here?

[ilyt]

....would you give your video footage to the neighbour?

....would you want to as sysadmin now manage them any time police comes and wants some footage ?

I think that can definitely work for stuff like internet access, but anything where "private files" and copyrighted content comes to play will be messy

[jedberg]

I'm not sure that's necessarily true. For example when need maintenance on my heater, I have to call someone certified in support for my brand. Same with my washer, dishwasher, refrigerator, and stove.

If GE made a home security product for example, it would make sense for vendors to get certified on GE home security support. Even if the underlying tech changed a lot, if they had access to support docs and a support portal it could work.

[swatcoder]

That’s true and that’s probably what first entrants will do (are doing), but it takes a big capital expenditure and a lot of time to set up a program like that and recruit local shops to participate in, and your market opportunity is constrained by that growth.

It’s easier to certify techs at an existing HVAC repair on your specific heater than it is to convince somebody to set up shop just for your new and peculiar product. Maturity of industry matters.

[ilyt]

I mean, there are companies doing that. Just not at the price homeowner will want.

[apercu]

Innovation doesn't seem that fast to me. I've been in tech since the mid-90's and all I see is iteration when it comes to storage technology.

What is faster and faster is anti-consumer activities and the general acceptance of it.

[jollyllama]

Even then, there are contractors who will not work on systems installed by contractors not adhering to certain standards of workmanship.

[deepakhj]

Fully managed security camera solution with LTE. They'll repair or service it if there's vandalism or any issues. https://www.flocksafety.com/

[vault_]

It's not "general purpose computing" maintenance, but the service you're talking about does exist, though AFAIK mostly at the very high-end. It's typically for things like home theaters, whole-home audio systems, or smart-home type setups (predating and now merging with current consumer IoT/home automation platforms). Not sure how much that's "maintenance" in the typical sense so much as support for their custom install work, but I bet if you had a Sonos or Lutron system where your installer went out of business you'd be able to find a different guy to deal with it.

[r3trohack3r]

You can't offer a similar service at a substantially reduced priced by centralizing maintenance of your pool. Same for termites. Those have to happen on site.

For software, there are strong incentives on both sides of the transaction (buyer and seller) for a system to be remotely managed.

[link_108]

I think services like Geek Squad fill this need

[froggit]

I used to work for geek squad. They actually subcontract any work that can't specifically be done in store. I'd hardly call their service "general purpose computing maintenance" as it only extends to things they've done the install for and that's limited to items sold at the store. However they will provide maintenance, via those subcontractors, to items that fit that scope, such as replacing the bulbs for home theater projectors when they burn out.

[ikiris]

It's called the cloud. You're arguing against it.