I've recently run across a few (new to me) great macOS apps that really enhanced my productivity. This post covers ALL of my top macOS apps, including new additions such as BetterDisplay, Warp, Raycast, Dropover, Rectangle, and more. Each of these apps are amazing in their own way.One aspect of...
Do you want to trigger a macOS shortcut when you connect or disconnect a USB device? Look no further than the FREE app Stecker. There can be occasions when you would like to trigger a macOS Shortcut when you connect or disconnect a specific USB device. For example, maybe you have...
If you are using Home Assistant and want to determine if the Apple Sleep focus mode is on or off so you can use it in automations, this post is for you. While on the surface this may seem like a trivial task, due to Apple's limited Focus APIs and...
Today, on June 28, 2023, Proxmox Virtual Backup Server 3.0 has been released to the public. This post will walk you through an in-place upgrade of Proxmox Backup Server 2.4 to 3.0. Proxmox is a very popular virtualization platform for home enthusiasts to run their servers on. It's a great...
This post covers using an Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake) CPU with Proxmox VE 8 to do VT-d vGPU passthrough to a Windows 11 Pro VM. This enables multiple VMs on the same Proxmox host share the GPU via virtual functions (VFs). What is VT-d vGPU and how is it...
If you are running Home Assistant and wish to increase its security by using a FREE trusted SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt, then you are in luck! This post will walk you through the entire process. The process is quick and easy, assuming you already have a public domain via...
For the last couple of years I've done a yearly My Dream Desk Setup post, where I go into great detail about my home office setup. One way that I've kept the desktop so clean is by mounting key peripherals under my desk using custom offset mounting brackets. This post...
Hot off the press is Proxmox VE 8.0, which GA'd on June 22, 2023. It is based on Debian Bookworm, and has a number of new features like defaulting to Linux Kernel 6.2. This post is a completely refreshed version of my popular Home Assistant: Proxmox VE 7.4 Quick Start...
Today, on June 22, 2023, Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.0 is now out of beta and has been released to the public. This post will walk you through an in-place upgrade of Proxmox VE 7.4 to 8.0. Proxmox is a very popular virtualization platform for home enthusiasts to run their servers on....
One the most important aspects of maintaining Home Assistant is regular backups. Implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule with Home Assistant is now easier than ever, with the 2023.6 release. The 3-2-1 rule states you should have (at least) 3 copies of your data (production + 2 backups), on two different...
A very popular NVR solution that integrates well with Home Assistant is Frigate. It provides fantastic object and person detection from your camera streams. The Frigate project is a Docker container, so it's easy to deploy. You can run Frigate within Home Assistant, but I prefer to run it in...
Matter, the promised home automation wiz kid, is here and some devices are now shipping with native Matter support. But what if you want Home Assistant and Apple Homekit to control the same matter device? What if you don't have a Thread radio on your Home Assistant server? No problem! This...