[sbarre]

I think that attitude is (very) slowly changing though and might not be the default forever.

My elderly parents have asked me about "local backups" of their cloud stuff, their Facebook history etc..

If they're thinking about the risks/tradeoffs of being in the cloud..

I think people use the cloud because there's no better/easier option today.

But at some point there might be. A home appliance (which may be similar to a homelab under the hood but the user experience is where things change) that provides a bunch of automation and home services could be quite attractive if it got to a point of being very turnkey for the average family.

Just like a TV or a gaming console is today.

[beoberha]

There’s no better option today because it’s impossible to make it a better experience. That machine at home will need upgrades, it could fail, it costs thousands, it sucks lots of power. There is no mass market appeal.

[sbarre]

Maybe today.. But my TV has been sitting on my stand for years, and it doesn't need upgrades.

My Raspberry Pi pi-hole is a Pi 2b that has been running for over 5 years and it's totally fine. It has automatic security upgrades turned on but nothing else, and it doesn't need any time or attention. It just does its job.

I have a Homelab that's a mini-PC that's quiet and does not suck lots of power and is tucked away neatly in a closet.

I think it would be completely possible to provide an appliance-like machine that would not have the problems you're outlining.

Impossible is absolutely the wrong qualifier.