So i have a pi5 8gb sorta collecting dust, ive mess with it a little but i have a laptop and im not sure what use to give the pi 5? i wanted to explore ai stuff but ai requires a powerhouse of a device? Im also thought about nas but i feel i dont need nas right now?
What would you advise i do with my pi?


Home Assistant? Replace google / nest / alexa.
I have a better assistant for my home. It’s called me.
When I get home from work, I don’t rely on some app to open my door. I use my hands, and unlock the door with my keys.
When I want to know how much juice is left in the fridge, I walk my ass to the fridge and check myself.
When I want to set the house on fire to committ insurance fraud, I walk down to the gas station, fill my cannister myself, and come back home and pour it everywhere myself. No app needed!
People are SO dependant on technology these days! Jeez!
The typical advice (from anyone who hasn’t outright drank the kool-aid) is to avoid automating things like locks or doors. If your shit gets hacked, you don’t want it to allow physical access. And automating door unlocks is an easy way to accidentally allow people into your house.
Instead, most try to focus on automation for things like lights turning off when you leave home, automatically dimming the lights when you start a movie, automatically stealing from billionaires when a new movie hits streaming services, blocking ads, self-hosting your own smart speakers to divest from Google/Amazon/etc, meal planning, etc…
Leave the locks dumb, because you can’t hack a pin and tumbler system. Leave building molotov cocktails dumb, because it can be a fun family activity.
Me, disabled and using smart tech to improve a shitty situation, while reading your total lack of understanding or imagination of anyone’s situation but themselves: 🙄
Well I don’t know if dependent is the right word. I’m fully aware that Home Assistant is something I play with for fun.
I can check the app and see how much power my solar has generated today, how hot my water heater is, or see what temperature it is inside or outside. None of that is helpful for anything other than for fun.
Though it can do thinks like automaticaly bump up the target temperature of my hot water when the solar is making too much power in order to store that energy as heat, which is pretty cool (and might save me money).
What can I say, this is some people’s idea of fun. I got security cameras (that I can view through home assistant) and put them not pointed at entryways or windows because I don’t care about security, I pointed them at areas where the dog is and the kids play so I can play with object and facial recognition, all locally processed.
It’s ok to not think it’s your idea of fun, but if anyone uses home assistant in a way that they rely on rather than just for the fun of playing with the technology then I’d love to hear what that use is!
But… Fraudzoid’s app looks so nice… and my Fraudzoid Blaze subscription practically pays for itself!
I have a little person I feed drugs to do all this stuff for me.
Unclear if you’re holding a midget hostage, or are a parent. In either case, the drugs are problematic. Although for entirely different reasons depending on the answer.
They’re a big fan of drugs so it’s not problematic or any of your business.