A launchpad for the things I am passionate about
I've not written an article, review or blog in a few years, so I might be a bit rusty.
One of my defining personality traits is that I love sharing the things I'm passionate about, so for the past year or so I've felt a bit lost.
With the recent end of the Steam Deck Podcast over on the FlipScreen Games YouTube channel, I find myself as a bit of a nomad. No time or desire to create weekly podcasts, and no space to talk about the things I care about right now.
I've spent the past 18 months engaged in so many different tech hobbies, and have learned so many amazing things about technology, self hosting, open-source software, and custom firmware that improves inexpensive hardware.
I wanted a space to be able to share these things with others, show how easy it can be, and reduce some of the friction or fear around tinkering with tech, as well as just get my thoughts out there.
There is a universe of free, open-source software (FOSS) projects out there being maintained by dedicated volunteers who deserve to be celebrated. It's projects like these that give me optimism in an increasingly pessimistic, SAAS driven, licence-heavy modern world where you'll own nothing and be happy about it.
Tech corporations have spend over a decade commodifying convenience to kill the competition, and through this convenience, have nurtured our reliance on their services in our everyday lives. Now that there are no other options, those same companies have started stripping the convenience out and selling it back to us piecemeal, knowing that we rely on them. Oh, and they've all added useless AI features we never asked for.
I haven't paid a monthly subscription for a streaming service in over 2 years now. I maintain my own library of movies, TV shows, eBooks, audiobooks and retro game ROMs. I access all of my media through FOSS apps, and since I am able to back it up and access it anywhere and any way I see fit, it feels like I actually own it, even if it is just digital media.
So, maxlwright.com is going to be my launchpad. A space where I can package my excitement, enthusiasm & expertise and share it with the universe. You can expect reviews of hardware, videogames & FOSS projects, guides & ideas, successes & failures, experiments & ideas.