Tech without the corporate bloat.

“The Unknown Universe” was the name of my very first home Wi-Fi network in the early 2000s. Back then, the internet felt like a vast, limitless place for discovery rather than a map of trackable user data. I’ve carried that name with me through decades of tweaking servers and learning how the web works. This blog is a continuation of that early spirit, an attempt to reclaim a bit of that “unknown” space for myself away from the prying eyes of modern corporate tech.

I believe software should be transparent, not a black box you’re forced to trust. If you rely on proprietary code, you’re essentially agreeing to a terms-of-service contract that you have no control over. FOSS isn’t just about the price, it’s about having the ability to audit your tools, strip out the bloat, and verify that your computer is actually doing what you told it to do.

No. This website is clean. I do not track you, I don’t use analytics scripts that phone home, and I don’t use ad networks. Please see the privacy policy if you want the full legal details.

Yes, but I’m pragmatic about it. Achieving “zero privacy” perfection in the modern world is a near-impossible task that leads only to burnout. I have a Microsoft account for legacy gaming reasons, for example. My goal isn’t to be a purist; it’s to be thoughtful. If a FOSS alternative works for me, I choose it. If not, I limit the damage by sandboxing what I can and tweaking every privacy setting in sight.

Start small, and don’t buy a giant server rack yet. Most people over-engineer it right off the bat. Grab an old mini PC, throw Proxmox on it, and try running a single Docker container. The best lab is the one you actually understand how to rebuild from scratch when (not if) you break it.

I follow the standard 3-2-1 strategy because I know how easily I break things. I have a dedicated Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) running locally for quick recovery, and for the truly “if I lose this, my life is ruined because the wife would kill me” data, I push encrypted, offsite copies to Scaleway S3. If it isn’t backed up, you just didn’t care about the data enough to keep it anyway.

I don’t. Everyone is different, and there is no right answer. I use CachyOS for my desktop, Fedora for the kids’ PCs, Bazzite for handheld gaming, and plain, boring Debian for my servers. Pick what works for you and don’t worry about what the internet tells you to use.

Yes, but only in the Fediverse. I avoid corporate platforms that rely on algorithm-driven engagement. I’m on Mastodon, hosted on my own self-hosted Akkoma server. You can find me at @unknownuniverse@unkn.uk.

If you really want to, yes. I use Liberapay, which is an open-source, non-profit platform that actually respects your privacy.