Plex users are concerned about privacy and data collection, leading to interest in alternative self-hosted media streaming solutions like Jellyfin.
The changes made by Netgate to the pfSense licensing and distribution model have sparked discussions about the balance between open source and commercial interests in the community.
The ESP8266 and ESP32 S3 microcontroller units offer enhanced capabilities for IoT development, including voice assistant applications, making them popular choices in the homestead community.
Deep dives
Plex privacy controversy: Sharing of watch history without explicit consent
Plex, the media streaming platform, has faced backlash for sharing users' watch history with their friends and family without explicit consent. The feature, which allowed users to see what their friends were watching and start conversations around it, was opt-in by default and caught many users off guard. The sharing of titles and metadata raised concerns about privacy and data collection. While Plex provides some settings to opt out of data collection, the controversy has led to many users turning off the feature entirely and considering alternative self-hosted media streaming solutions like Jellyfin.
Netgate's changes to pfSense licensing spark debate
Netgate, the company behind pfSense, a firewall distribution built on FreeBSD, made changes to its licensing and distribution model. They introduced the pfSense Plus license, aimed at commercial users, and made a home lab version available for free. However, recent restrictions have upset the community, leading to accusations that pfSense is no longer available for free. The new restrictions impose limitations on how the software can be deployed and redistributed. The controversy has sparked discussions about the balance between open source and commercial interests in the pfSense community.
ESP8266 and ESP32 S3: Exploring IoT Development
The ESP8266 and ESP32 S3, compact yet powerful microcontroller units, have gained attention for their IoT development capabilities. The ESP8266, widely used for various projects, offers Wi-Fi connectivity and has been used for tasks like running a Wi-Fi D-Auther. The recently released ESP32 S3, with its touchscreen, microphones, voice processing, and customizable keywords, opens up possibilities for voice assistant development. The ESP32 S3 is expected to be a go-to choice in the homestead community due to its enhanced features and specific design for voice assistant applications.
Netgate's Revoked License and Communication Issues
Netgate introduced a home and lab license but later revoked it, causing dissatisfaction among the community. They then offered a TAC Light subscription at a reduced cost, which still angered users. Netgate's actions, including going after third-party hardware sellers and mentioning potential supply chain attacks without evidence, raise concerns about their motives and communication.
Plex's Direction and the Future of Plex Media Server
There is a prediction that Plex is shifting towards becoming a single pane of glass for consuming media from various streaming platforms. The speculations suggest that Plex might prioritize obtaining more client users, eventually reducing focus on the home lab and phasing out the server version. This could lead to a future where Plex solely operates as a streaming service, potentially abandoning Plex Media Server altogether.
We break down the state of the pfSense changes and the red flags we see. Plus, we're joined by Wolfgang from Wolfgang's channel to dig into his homelab and much more.
Restricting ASRock Rack BMC to dedicated IPMI_LAN port only — During this process I came across a frustrating "bug" in the Asrock Rack BMC implementation. No matter the settings I gave the BMC it was getting two IP addresses. One on the IPMI_LAN port as expected in my management VLAN, and another on eth0 which is undesirable.
Addressing Changes to pfSense Plus Home+Lab — Today, we are announcing that the Home+Lab version of pfSense Plus, the commercial fork of the popular open-source firewall pfSense, is no longer available for free download.
