As the @bsdcan list of talks and tutorials have been posted, I can officially announce my presentation:
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As the @bsdcan lists of talks and tutorials have been posted, I can officially announce my presentation:
Don't Freeze in the Cloud: Reclaiming Home Control with NetBSD
In 2010, I was taking more flights than cups of coffee. After a two-week trip, I returned home to a nasty, albeit expected, surprise: an indoor temperature of 7.8°C (46 F). Possessing more time than money, I decided to solve the problem my own way. I built a custom Python-based control system, accessible only via VPN, to manage my heating.
In 2015, after moving houses, this system was demoted to a secondary role, replaced by a shiny, commercial "smart" thermostat. However, I continued to maintain and update my custom solution for fun.
Fast forward to October 2025: major cloud providers faced significant outages. My commercial thermostat became dumber than a mechanical switch. I was reduced to manual two-hour overrides, with no visibility into settings or usage. It was a wake-up call: keeping my home warm should not depend on someone else's server.
I dusted off my solution and adapted it to modern needs - powered, of course, by NetBSD, running on the very same hardware that served my previous home for years.
In this talk, I will share the journey, the technical challenges, and the architectural decisions behind the project. I will demonstrate how NetBSD’s stability and low footprint make it the ideal operating system for long-term, "set-and-forget" home automation, allowing us to reclaim control from the cloud.
#NetBSD #BSDCan #BSDCan2026 #RunBSD #OwnYourData #Presentation #Talk
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I incentive moved this topic from Uncategorized
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As the @bsdcan lists of talks and tutorials have been posted, I can officially announce my presentation:
Don't Freeze in the Cloud: Reclaiming Home Control with NetBSD
In 2010, I was taking more flights than cups of coffee. After a two-week trip, I returned home to a nasty, albeit expected, surprise: an indoor temperature of 7.8°C (46 F). Possessing more time than money, I decided to solve the problem my own way. I built a custom Python-based control system, accessible only via VPN, to manage my heating.
In 2015, after moving houses, this system was demoted to a secondary role, replaced by a shiny, commercial "smart" thermostat. However, I continued to maintain and update my custom solution for fun.
Fast forward to October 2025: major cloud providers faced significant outages. My commercial thermostat became dumber than a mechanical switch. I was reduced to manual two-hour overrides, with no visibility into settings or usage. It was a wake-up call: keeping my home warm should not depend on someone else's server.
I dusted off my solution and adapted it to modern needs - powered, of course, by NetBSD, running on the very same hardware that served my previous home for years.
In this talk, I will share the journey, the technical challenges, and the architectural decisions behind the project. I will demonstrate how NetBSD’s stability and low footprint make it the ideal operating system for long-term, "set-and-forget" home automation, allowing us to reclaim control from the cloud.
#NetBSD #BSDCan #BSDCan2026 #RunBSD #OwnYourData #Presentation #Talk
@stefano looking forward to this.
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As the @bsdcan lists of talks and tutorials have been posted, I can officially announce my presentation:
Don't Freeze in the Cloud: Reclaiming Home Control with NetBSD
In 2010, I was taking more flights than cups of coffee. After a two-week trip, I returned home to a nasty, albeit expected, surprise: an indoor temperature of 7.8°C (46 F). Possessing more time than money, I decided to solve the problem my own way. I built a custom Python-based control system, accessible only via VPN, to manage my heating.
In 2015, after moving houses, this system was demoted to a secondary role, replaced by a shiny, commercial "smart" thermostat. However, I continued to maintain and update my custom solution for fun.
Fast forward to October 2025: major cloud providers faced significant outages. My commercial thermostat became dumber than a mechanical switch. I was reduced to manual two-hour overrides, with no visibility into settings or usage. It was a wake-up call: keeping my home warm should not depend on someone else's server.
I dusted off my solution and adapted it to modern needs - powered, of course, by NetBSD, running on the very same hardware that served my previous home for years.
In this talk, I will share the journey, the technical challenges, and the architectural decisions behind the project. I will demonstrate how NetBSD’s stability and low footprint make it the ideal operating system for long-term, "set-and-forget" home automation, allowing us to reclaim control from the cloud.
#NetBSD #BSDCan #BSDCan2026 #RunBSD #OwnYourData #Presentation #Talk
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@evgandr @bsdcan
I'll be refining and documenting it in the coming months, as for now it's just a "it works for me" project. But effective, and it saved my "life" many times, especially in the first years. I'm also recollecting some photos of the first setups. Low quality photos, high quality memories. -
@evgandr @bsdcan
I'll be refining and documenting it in the coming months, as for now it's just a "it works for me" project. But effective, and it saved my "life" many times, especially in the first years. I'm also recollecting some photos of the first setups. Low quality photos, high quality memories.
While I'm writing my home control system in 
