The Uncast Show

In the February episode of Ed & Stefano Unleashed, we cover a wide-ranging set of topics shaping the future of self-hosting, open source, and consumer technology. From new Unraid features and internal boot teasers to the rise of local AI workloads, this episode blends practical homelab insights with big-picture tech trends.

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Ed and Stefano break down the ongoing Jellyfin vs Plex debate, explore how RAM shortages and GPU demand are impacting everything from AI to gaming, and take a close look at OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant pushing local, privacy-first automation forward.

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The conversation expands into the broader tech landscape — including data centers and their impact on local communities, advances in storage technology, the shift from VR headsets to smart glasses, and more!

Episode Takeaways• Why VRAM matters more than GPU speed for local AI workloads• The 3090 as a sweet spot GPU for running LLMs at home• Jellyfin vs Plex: Samsung Tizen support and Plex's new paywall• OpenClaw: what it is, how to set it up, and the security risks• RAM shortages are real, data centers will consume 70% of memory chips in 2026• 40TB hard drives are coming, but they're SMR, here's why that matters• CMR vs SMR: what every Unraid user needs to know before buying drives• Internal boot teaser: booting Unraid from SSDs and hard drives is coming• Paperless NGX: the self hosted document manager you've been waiting for• Smart glasses vs VR: cool tech or just a gimmick?• Meta Pixels, privacy laws, and OpenAI's HIPAA workaround• France ditches Teams and Zoom for sovereign platforms• Cloudflare vs Italy: when piracy laws break the internet• MTV is officially goneChapters00:00 Housekeeping! Uncast Show on Audio+Video Spotify Feeds02:01 Unraid Customer Survey + Internal Boot Teaser07:02 Paperless NGX and Document Management11:43 Jellyfin vs Plex: The Streaming Wars17:08 The Rise of Local AI and GPU Workloads32:34 OpenClaw: The Future of AI Assistants?47:11 The Impact of RAM Shortages on Technology and Gaming54:01 Data Centers and Community Impact59:18 Western Digital 40TB Drives and SMR vs CMR Explained1:07:05 Smart Glasses: Cool or Just a Gimmick?1:10:19 Why VR Still Isn't There Yet1:13:07 Meta Pixels and the 1988 Privacy Law1:17:06 OpenAI's ChatGPT Health and HIPAA Concerns1:18:07 Social Media Bans and the Impact on Kids1:22:25 France Goes Sovereign: Ditching Teams & Zoom1:22:54 The UK Digital ID Backtrack1:23:31 Notepad++ Hacked by State Sponsored Attackers1:25:10 Bazzite Is Dead, Nobara and Linux Gaming1:28:55 LG Wants You to Rent Your TV1:31:48 Cloudflare vs Italy: Piracy Laws Gone Wrong1:34:00 The Splintering of the Internet1:37:01 Kids Can't Read Clocks After Phone Bans1:39:02 The End of MTV and Cultural Shifts

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​ @SPXLabs is back to bring you all the main highlights for Unraid in January 2026 including:

1. Unraid Internal Boot First Look
2. The 2026 Unraid Customer Survey is here! Let us know your feedback in 5-10 minutes and score 20% off Unraid Merch for your troubles!
3. Apprise-Go is Live! Learn More here.
4. January App of the Month= Paperless NGX!  

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We kick off 2026 by revisiting the biggest Unraid 7 changes (native ZFS, optional Unraid array, UI refresh, built-in file manager, official API) and what actually matters in daily homelab use: foreign ZFS imports, VM snapshots, GPU acceleration, and where containers still win on efficiency as RAM prices climb.
We also cover:
HDMI 2.1 on Linux (what’s blocking it) + why DisplayPort may be the practical choice
RAM market chaos + counterfeit return headaches
Plex transcoding comparison: P2000 vs iGPU vs Intel Arc + AV1 wins
GitHub walking back a plan to charge for orchestrating self-hosted runners
A GPL enforcement case (Vizio) and what it could mean for compliance expectations
Privacy creep: ACR TVs, GPS-locked streaming, and “smart” appliances collecting too much
Practical exits: self-hosting where it counts (Nextcloud, LibreOffice, etc.)

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In the final Unraid digest of 2025, ‪@SPXLabs‬ brings you everything that went down with Unraid in December 2025 and gives a peek at what's coming for Unraid in 2026!

Also, don't miss the Unraid Year in Review for more details on what changed for Unraid and what's coming in the new year!
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🎄 Holiday Deal Alert
All Unraid merch is 15% off through December—perfect time to gear up or grab something for the Unraider in your life.
 

🆕 Unraid OS 7.2.1 Released
The latest update to Unraid 7.2.1 is live and packed with fixes, refinements, and performance improvements.
Check out what's new: https://unraid.net/blog/unraid-7-2-1

✨ Brand-New Unraid Account + Checkout Experience
We’ve fully rebuilt the Unraid account app and checkout flow to make license management, purchases, and account settings smoother than ever.
Learn more here: https://unraid.net/blog/new-unraid-account

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