While I am not as frequent of a blogger as I’d like to be, there are many areas of interest I am currently looking into and/or will be exploring this year (2025). I will share my wins, loses, and any lessons learned that I find.
The bottom lines for almost all of them are feasibility and proof of concept. If other people find use in them, it might extend the life of the projects, and maybe I’ll hand them off to maintainers.
I’m certain that my ideas are not new or unique, but I would like to share my journey.
Project 1
I am exploring multi-platform/open source options for storage management. For now, I separate the platforms by file type and will not store multi-media types. The storage options include encryption, encrypted transit, and zero knowledge software. Why? Since I transitioned to self hosting, I’ve seen the value of reliable and encrypted storage as a form of digital preservation.
Exploring new storage platforms and applications is a fun task. The cost of storage has decreased significantly over the last decade, so I want to create a few small scale storage “systems” with free and low cost platforms.
Project 2
I have recently set up a VPS hosting project internationally and am working with a distributed team of developers and engineers to provide usable tools for application developers and cloud professionals/engineers.
This project is a proof that small scale cloud platforms can provide suitsble solutions for big markets. Also, building securely in public is doable and preferred for engagement.
It would be really interesting to note all of the challenges I run into, like not being able to pull public CSS due to IP location. I have not yet come across these types of issues for previous projects, because most of the resources I use are readily available in regions I frequent. The goal is not to set up “on-premises” platforms or systems, but to make tools that are already published available to more people.
Project 3
I wanted to share my advocacy for digital preservation and online gaming access. I have a few ideas that may or may not be implemented by myself this year. Here I will share the ideas in case other people want to apply it themselves. These have already been done a thousand times over, but I think another set of instructions may push more people to act on their own.
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Self managed Calibre-Web with backups. For personal digital library preservation.
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Mirroring bookshelves from Project Gutenberg - a small scale e-library.
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Online video game development and publishing - from a non-gamer.
Other Things to Come
I have become interested in gardening, and in turn, farming waste collection and management. So, I will have a short series of posts about what I learn and try out from farmers and researchers in India, China, and Uganda. These might split over 2025 and 2026 because growing things is slow and requires patience.
I hope that 2025 has been decent to you, and that you also have really engaging projects coming along as well.