I also tried TrueNAS scale once (but I think at the time it was quite new so maybe not how it is now) and didn’t like it either so I won’t speak about that.

If it were literally just for network storage and nothing else I guess the way to go might just be to hook up a usb drive to ones router (if it supports that). So most people probably do want slightly more or at least the option to expand capabilities without having to fundamentally change their setup.

But in general I would say that yes, the web interface is definitely part of the appeal. I think what something like Openmediavault offers is that someone else chooses sensible presets, it gives an easy to use gui that allows oneself to get stuff done without any major technical knowledge, and it also creates a community with a shared similar setup that can offer support.

I guess it depends on what one wants from the server. Of course you can have a plain Debian or whatever installation and do everything yourself. But for most, especially the less technical knowledgeable, it is nice to have some interface for setup and maintenance stuff.

I guess if you want specific recommendations you need to define your needs and requirements a bit more.

Since I was wondering if Cockpit is an option for immutable distros I stumbled on this video, which seems to suggest it might since it is used on one there. So I guess you could pick your favorite immutable distros and see if Cockpit works to have a easy gui for managing the server stuff.

You could of course also go for something like NixOS and make everything declarative.

For me Openmediavault was easy to set up and just works for the little stuff I want it to do.

I (very much an amateur) briefly tried TueNAS scale in the past and didn’t like how they did apps. So I switched to Openmediavault, which since then has served me very well.

With a plugin I could easily add my zfs raid and I use their build in docker compose gui to run the few programs I need.

I didn’t try out others, but there are more options. CasaOS and yunohost already got mentioned, there is also Cosmos or just running a basic server with e.g Debian and maybe adding Cockpit for some management gui.

Imo they also has their charging network, which was a differentiating feature. But imo it was clear that eventually it was something that becomes less important the wider general adoption progresses.

Not sure, but I think they also were early or at least better than legacy car makers with over the air software updates.

But nowadays I don’t see any standout thing that sets them apart. Tesla got the early lead due others imo facing the inventors dilemma, but they didn’t progress further and now others caught up.

Is he actually selling shares? Imo this move might actually be more about gaining more control percentage wise.

Similar to how he increased his control when he folded Twitter into xAI (at a imo very favorable valuation for him), which gave him a larger share of the combined company.

If he merges space x and xAI (especially at a high valuation of the latter), he would own more of the combined company as he owns more of xAI then space x.

For me the only surprising thing is how existing shareholders seemingly just let him dictate these mergers and valuations. But I guess they face a dilemma where valuation depend so much on Elon that they have to play by his rules or risk loosing even more.

Since I just saw this in the self-host weekly post:

Do not upgrade to 13.0.0

Seems like there is a bug and one should use 13.0.1

See here