put weird linux distros on them and find something stupid to self-host for fun.
this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2025
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I have a 2012 Mac Mini. If you replace the slow internal HDD with a SSD it gives it a massive general speed boost. Maybe some extra ram will help as well. Both are easily replaceable.
I use it for retro gaming with OpenEmu on MacOS. But I’m sure there’s some good Linux distros for it.
You already answered yourself, use them as your !homelab@selfhosted.forum
You can start with an OS like YunoHost if you don’t feel comfortable. Next step, to mee, would be an immutable Linux docker machine with podman.
But YunoHost is already a good start and you can have a multimedia server, nextcloud or anything else (example, paperless ngx to scan, organize and store your important documents with OCR to search them)
Not sure what half of this is, but I will research! Thank you for the recommendations.
I'd imagine the Mac mini could be turned into a retro gaming rig similar to retro pi or batocera (spelling?)
Will look into these.
Replace the Mac mini drive with a cheap ssd.
If you have one of the early Mac minis, try the 32bit version of alpine Linux.
My pending project is to set it up as a old game server.
What would the cheap SSD be for?
I'll look into alpine Linux, thanks. An old game server could be nice.
I recently bought a Mac mini specifically to selfhost Bluebubbles
Doesn't that break iMessage encryption?
I'm not really sure? In their FAQ they say all data is encrypted, but I'm not an expert. https://bluebubbles.app/faq/
I personally would recycle them and buy/build something to fit my needs.
the mac mini would be a great osx mavericks machine btw
But to do what?
well I just find mavericks aesthetically pleasing and efficient for certain tasks (mainly doing document work without being distracted)