Joe Rice-Jones

Baltimore

Features Writer at SlashGear

Tech Product Evaluator at XDA Developers

Managing Editor at KnowTechie

Words at @xdadevelopers | jricejones at gmail dot com | reddit gold hoarder

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Articles

Looking for something better than Gmail? I self-host my own email server on my NAS, and you can too

1 week ago | xda-developers.com | Adam Conway |Joe Rice-Jones

We're big proponents of self-hosting services you can't live without because you never know when a company will disappear, and keeping your data on a device you control is a huge privacy boost. Whether that's saving backups of your devices, running a media server, or a mesh VPN service, keeping it in-house on your own network-attached storage (NAS) means you're in control. One account that should be firmly under your control is your email.
Is Tailscale the safest way to access your home network remotely?

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

At some point along your self-hosting journey, you'll realize that your local services aren't quite replacements for cloud subscriptions unless you can access them when away from your home network. You could set up a reverse proxy (and you should) to connect to them more easily, but you still have to worry about leaving those ports open to the wider internet. Plus, you'll have to set up a ton of other services, including firewall rules, DMZ, port forwarding, and worrying about CGNAT issues.
I already installed SteamOS on the Asus ROG Ally X, and I regret it

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Despite the long list of PC gaming handhelds arriving on the market, the Steam Deck is still our favorite. SteamOS's tight integration with the Steam Deck hardware makes for a streamlined experience that can't be rivaled easily by Windows-based handhelds. It's not that Windows is bad, exactly, but it's not designed for the smaller screens and alternate control schemes of handheld consoles, and that makes it a bit janky to use.
6 best open-source options for project management

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

If you've got a dozen big projects on the go, juggling the tasks and responsibilities of each is nearly impossible without a good project management (PM) app. And while you could do all the planning in Excel or set up Kanban boards in Obsidian, nothing quite beats a fully featured PM suite. The best project management tools give you all the planning you need while keeping out of your way, so the project is being managed, not a million settings.
5 ways to turn a NAS into the heart of your smart home

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Your home NAS will be powered on 24/7 to back up your devices, so why not add some services that make your home smarter at the same time? The best part is that almost any NAS can run containers to bring your smart home to the next level, from a Raspberry Pi to more turnkey solutions. You could build your own NAS, too, and put your choice of operating system on it, getting you the customized storage solution of your dreams.
Microsoft is 50 this week - 6 times they pushed the industry forward

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Microsoft turned 50 on April 4, and among the revelry, it released some spiffing new Windows wallpapers in celebration. We thought we should do a word (or so) in celebration as well; after all, it was a Windows Mobile PDA, the O2 XDA, that spawned our site over two decades ago. That's right; we might never have existed as a forum or a blog without Microsoft, but we're far from alone in that.
What are Zigbee networks, and should you use them in your smart home?

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Smart home connectivity often needs to work between very different devices like lights, sensors, door locks, and thermostats. Making things more complex is the fact that some of these devices are low-power and use batteries, so any wireless connectivity would also need to be low-power and likely, low-range. Several overarching connectivity protocols, such as Matter, Z-Wave, and Zigbee, have been developed to avoid vendor lock-in and platform plays like those of Alexa, Google Home, and HomeKit.
6 differences between NAS and traditional network backups

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Nobody can argue that you shouldn't back up your data, but there are differing opinions on how to go about the task depending on the scale you're working at. For home users, having a NAS to centralize backups and storage at home is the best option for large amounts of data, although cloud storage services are also goodif your data usage is fairly modest or if you want to park data for a long time. Both of these options are simple to implement and are designed for anyone to set up and maintain.
How to work backups into your cyber hygiene routine

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

Cyber hygiene might not be a term you're familiar with, but chances are you know at least some of the practices that make up the overall process. Simply put, it's a set of common practices to reduce the likely attack surface that cybercriminals target. This improves security while also reducing the amount of sensitive data that's exposed if an attacker does get through your defenses. It's important to know that cyber hygiene is a lifelong process, just like any other type of cleanliness.
5 ways a NAS enables collaboration in creative industries

2 weeks ago | xda-developers.com | Joe Rice-Jones

If you're a creative professional, you know that nothing slows you down quicker than not being able to access the files you need. Maybe the network connection is overloaded, so your cloud-hosted tools are glacially slow, or you're waiting for someone to email you the latest revision on the presentation deck you need for that client-facing meeting in the afternoon. Whatever the reason(s), the answer to your creative conundrums is to centralize your storage needs on a NAS.