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Literally on the LAST day of this quarter I am FINALLY making this post. I'll be upfront I've been procrastinating on this post for the last 3 months straight. To be honest I am not sure why, as it is more of a documentation type of post, like what am I using, rather than a creative type thing.
However I somewhat think it has to do with that for the previous few posts in this series not much had changed. Just new tools here and there that I was testing, but nothing replacing my tech stack.
Despite this, literally as of this last week or so I have been working on my home server. Which can host a variety of docker images. For those unaware a home server is like a computer that is dedicated for you to do stuff on. Not directly, but rather to send to your main computer, phone, or tablet.
Docker is like an individual program that can run on your server.
Many of the apps you use on a daily basis often have open source alternatives that you can replace them with. Hence why I am doing just that, i.e. instead of Google Photos I am using Immich. Etc. I will be experimenting with alternatives to content creator tools too where I can.
Note on sponsorships
I did a section on the last one and I wanted to mention again. This post is not about who and what tools I work with. Rather it is what I USE, either actively, or what I am currently looking into. I like to think of it is that if you like what I do, and you wonder how I do it. Then these posts are a window into my tool stack.
If it is appropriate I include affiliate links without discretion in this series, although usually its pretty obvious. Its also not the important part of this, as what is more important are the categories. Alternatively, if there is a strong change in my stack.
Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator
If you want to get an idea of what I am talking about, and some of the tools I am trying out!
Personal Knowledge Management
Now of course I am not leaving Obsidian, if anything I'm tripling down. I've seen all of the competition/other tools out there. I've used dozens of them myself even too. None of them can do AS MUCH as Obsidian can do, and if you want to contest that statement. Don't, until you've seen all 4000+ plugins there are for the app. I have, multiple times (give or take a 100 or so new beta plugins). As of until recently I was up to date on those too, but ObsidianStats went offline for a bit. Then when it came back on the Beta tab still doesn't work. I digress.
Obsidian is powerful if you know what to do with it, and with a variety of features/plugins it can replace a lot. You can do web browsing (sorta), full RSS feed dashboard, project management, task management (not my favorite for this though), and of course note taking / journaling.
Databases
Now despite what I just said about Obsidian being able to do PM, and the Bases core plugin actually DOES do most of what I need for databases. There are sometimes where I just need a powerful database, or being able to share it with the world. In the case of The PolyTools Database.
Which I hosted on Airtable, NocoDB, prior, and now moved it back to Notion. As I needed a way for it to be public. However I may end up moving it in the future, especially if I bring back the website directory.
I have been looking in to SELF hosting NocoDB, as I left them in the first place due to their pretty crazy price hike. Following Airtable's price rise too, and I wasn't convinced by Baserow yet for self hosting.
Social Media Scheduling
Still nothing comes close to Nuelink, as far as automations and bulk scheduling in one tool. People try to rave about metricool, but I clearly remember so many people complaining about their interface, customer service, and most of all their accounts getting banned for using the tool. Most of that was earlier on, but I'm not quick to forget something as drastic as your account getting banned.
As for other tools nothing on the market seems to come close to those. I used to use Publer, but that tool kept breaking on me almost every time I used it. This category of tools is something near and dear to my heart, as I have quite literally been looking for something for over a DECADE. I have written many posts about it, but here is one for your comparison.
Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator
The only other option...
Is self-hosting. Things like Postiz are out there, and you basically host your own SMM tool. Now I probably won't do that, due to the annoying complexity of authenticating accounts and logging in, etc. However if I were to ever not use Nuelink, then I think that would be the first thing I'll try.
I've tried around 100 SMM tools, and looked at 100 more. There's a reason I am so opinionated about this topic! haha
Creation Tools
What am I supposed to say here, Canva? To be honest I sort of forgot what this category even fit into. Some creation tools are AI based, so I would just call that an AI tool or auto-generated tool. Canva is more graphics design, and videobolt is auto-generated but by human templates.
I have been getting more use out of Videobolt as of late. I will mention them, as I have been a lifetime user of them for nearly a decade at this point.
Perhaps the only thing that I would mention here, is that I am looking for a self-host alternative to Canva. Their tool is pissing me off almost every time I use it, lag in the initial load. Stupid UI changes that prevent me from getting from point a to point b, and their "download" modal has been broken for years. Only recently getting an update, that I don't think really made it any better.
Worth a mention, is an alternative to WebFlow/Framer:
https://github.com/corebunch/instatic
Recording/Streaming Tools
While this hasn't "changed" much, I will say I don't really touch Meld Studio at this point. I had too many issues, and whether that was hardware or the app itself fault. I'm not entirely sure, probably a mix of both, and while their team is always working hard to help. I wasn't able to use the tool without glaring issues. The app wouldn't even open for a while there without huge work arounds (like having to reinstall the app every time kind of thing).
Streamlabs I want to use, but the interface is just not it. They don't seem keen to fix it either, they did the same thing with Crossclip. Got it usable, and then never updated the UI/UX.
I will say I am trying out Restream again, I know I've been a bit opinionated about them in the past. Given their pretty high price tag, but they reached out for me to give them another chance. I'm a tools nerd at heart, and that means more than my own feelings if a tool is GOOD then I'm going to tell you that.
However I need more data before I say anything pros and cons based.
Editing Tools
Once again no change here, OpusClip and Davinci Resolve. I will say that Opus has something they're working on that is really cool. I think I am allowed to mention it now, and that is their "Producer" tool.
A side of Opus that basically does overlays, motion graphics, and enhances your already made video. I've not gotten my hands dirty with it enough to give you any more details, but STAY TUNED!
Monetization Tools
Sorry not much to share here. Please see last quarter's post to get more information on this category. Nothing has really changed much, as I haven't been able to finish my PIOS template.
Hardware:
Due to some fb marketplace trade deals I have been able to get my hands on more hardware. By trading my retroid pocket 4pro, I was able to get a Pi 3 with a Screen case, BatleXP gaming handheld, and a Kamrui mini pc.
Now I soon traded the pi to my uncle for some other equipment, such as a folding keyboard which would be useful for making content on the go.
The mini pc is actually what got me started on the home server kick, as I didn't want to do it on my NUC for some reason prior. Or really I thought I needed to have a dedicated machine for Home Assistant OS, which isn't necessarily true. Yet it likes having dedicated bare metal, but you can run it in a docker container. For my use case, that is actually fine, and I may not even need it at all.
My point is that I was able to use the Kamrui to get started, and I soon realized I wanted something a bit newer. Plus the NUC had a metal frame, which helps keep it cool. This being said I am stilling getting used to having a server, and still setting everything up. Experimenting with different apps, etc.
I hope to get my hands on a new daily driver mini pc, or maybe a laptop if that ends up being the case. That will help me with my content creation for sure, and would be useful when I become a digital nomad someday. Technically my One Plus pad could work, but I hardly use it surprisingly.
Tools I'm Looking at:
I mentioned a lot in the home server post, but something worth mentioning here is that I could self-host Ghost CMS now. Which is an easy thing for me to do now, but dealing with the traffic would be something I don't want to do. I often get 300k impressions a month, and many thousands of visitors. Nothing crazy, but one viral post and that can put a huge load on my system.
PLUS! I actually really love using MagicPages, and they have been really great to use. Especially compared to Ghostpro whom I used prior.
When it comes to something I really WANT to look at, which would be an alternative to Canva. I can't seem to find an open-source option the closest thing I got was this https://github.com/clawnify/open-design or https://github.com/Yashwanthgouda/CanvasLite. Both depreciated, and unfinished.
Finally, the only other thing I am looking at (besides the aforementioned trying of Restream), is simply hardware! I want new machines, but if I am being honest... I'm broke. Thus I've gone to the extents of trading and bartering, which I have a knack for anyways. Kills two birds with one stone as they say, as I am able to downsize, while also upgrading my technology in some ways.
Home Lab - Home Server
I'll probably make this a repeated section for a while. Today I won't be sharing a bunch of self-hosted links. I sort have been already a lot lately on social media.
I think if there's a particular tool that stands out to me, or that I use it a lot then I'll mention it.
Currently I'm digging around some of the basics, like replacing spotify with navidrome, google photos with immich, and best of all doing my own Obsidian Sync with Syncthing. By moving my vault to be on the server by default, then everything will sync with it as the source of truth.
Making my ability to work across devices 10X better.
🥡 Takeaways
I would definitely look into making your own home lab, it really isn't as daunting as it might seem. I mean I am a techie, and even I avoided it for a while. Had I just tried Zima OS sooner I think I would have been fine. It made things so easy, and I should also mention the Ugreen or Minisforum NAS machines are also really out of the box easy too. I hear good things about the Ugreen NAS OS too, even from non-techies, and they don't limit you to just that OS on their hardware.
So it would be an easy start for you! I'm not affiliated with them, but I would like to be.
Always take these tool stack posts with a grain of salt. I test so many tools, or at the very least look into every option I can. Mostly because I'm insane, and I want to have the best option as I can get. However unless I repeatedly state that a tool is amazing, i.e. Opus/Nuelink/Obsidian, then I'm just sharing with you what I find. Maybe I'll be experimenting with something for a time, or I'll have a falling out with a tool. Honestly I did with Riverside, but they're still one of the best recording tools for podcasts NGL.
Since these are a quarterly series, if you want to check out what I was using earlier this year. Maybe a tool there will be useful to you too, then here is the link! https://www.polyinnovator.space/my-current-tech-stack-7-q1-2026/
