Botmonster Tech

Hands-on experience with AI, self-hosting, Linux, and the developer tools Botmonster actually uses

$A desktop compute box on a workbench linked to a home outweighs a stack of monthly cloud-bill coins on a balance scale$

n8n and Ollama local AI: $0/month, honest hardware math

Run private n8n and Ollama AI automations at home for $0/month in software, with real hardware costs, the num_ctx 8192 fix, and a worked example.

Smart thermostat under $30: DIY with ESP32, no subscription

A fully local smart thermostat from an ESP32, BME280 sensor, and relay, run by ESPHome and Home Assistant. No cloud, no subscription, under $30.

Build a CLI dashboard with Go and Bubble Tea

Build a CLI dashboard with Go and Bubble Tea: a single binary terminal UI with live data, responsive layouts, keyboard navigation, and clean rendering.

Three Docker management tools shown as a multi-server console, an industrial control panel, and a small single-host unit on a workbench

Komodo vs Portainer vs Dockge: a 2026 homelab decision guide

Komodo vs Portainer vs Dockge for homelabs: Git-driven deploys, RBAC, resource footprint, the Portainer migration, and where Komodo still falls short.

Hailo-8 vs Google Coral TPU for Frigate NVR: which edge AI accelerator wins in 2026

Hailo-8 (26 TOPS) vs Coral TPU (4 TOPS) for Frigate: inference FPS, power, camera limits, and cost per TOPS to pick your edge AI accelerator.

Robotic open-weight coding models compete on a podium while one shakes hands with an architect robot over a blueprint, with cost scales in front.

The Chinese open-weight coding stack in 2026: is Kimi K2.7 real?

The Chinese open-weight coding stack in 2026, ranked honestly: Kimi K2.6 to K2.7-Code, GLM 5.1, Qwen3-Coder, DeepSeek V4, cost and the hybrid stack.