Official Gladys starter kit launch! 🚀

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Small question. I’m wondering whether using Ubuntu Server is the right choice for a long-term installation. Ubuntu LTS releases have 5 years of support; after that you have to pay or move to another Ubuntu release. It’s not a trivial update and it’s not without risk either.

One solution might be to use an OS with continuous updates, automatic updates and possible rollback (atomic). I’m thinking of CoreOS and NixOS. As a bonus, it would be for Gladys to manage the reboot to apply updates as well as the rollback if something goes wrong.

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Hi @ArMour85, good question!

I should note that Ubuntu already applies security updates automatically thanks to the package unattended-upgrades, installed by default.

For my part, in Gladys, I favor the most widespread and proven solutions to avoid obscure or hard-to-diagnose problems.

I looked into CoreOS some time ago: the promise is nice, but for our use it’s really over-engineering. Besides, CoreOS was abandoned after being acquired by Red Hat, and what’s left of it today is rather unclear


Ubuntu is very solid: it has existed for a long time, it’s widely used, and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon.

The only Linux distribution that could compete in our case would be Debian, but it’s ultimately very close to Ubuntu Server.

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I agree that Ubuntu is a distribution but a bit heavy for the way we use it. The only downside is having to manually upgrade the OS from one LTS version to another.

I was referring more to Fedora CoreOS, which is an integral part of Fedora. I ran tests; it works well but I’m blocked by Gladys’ deployment of Docker because « /var/lib/gladysassistant Â» is used as the storage area. It’s hard-coded in the Node-RED code, for example. Being able to change the storage location when creating the Docker container would be convenient.

I plan to create a new post specifically about this issue.

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Yes, it’s a workaround that could work, but if we can change that value with an environment variable it would be cleaner.

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Hello everyone,

These past few days, I took the time to dig deep into the issue of reselling mini-PCs with Gladys pre-installed.

And I came across a reality I couldn’t ignore: when you import electronic hardware yourself from China (AliExpress, etc.), French law makes Gladys Assistant SAS the principal liable party in the event of a major problem.

In short: if a mini-PC catches fire, the customer’s home insurance would almost always go after the French seller (Gladys Assistant SAS), not the Chinese manufacturer. And the compensation can quickly reach several hundred thousand euros.

Even with professional liability insurance (RC Pro), I don’t have multi-million coverage like Amazon, Fnac or large resellers. These insurances are expensive and it’s simply not profitable to insure me for such large risks just to sell a few mini-PCs per month.

One major claim = end of the Gladys project.

I obviously don’t want to take that risk! :smiley:

The solution I chose (and that lets me sleep at night)

→ I will only sell mini-PCs purchased through a reseller based in France or Europe (Amazon.fr, LDLC, Materiel.net, etc.).

In that case, the European seller is considered the importer and bears most of the risk. Gladys remains just « the one who installs the software Â», and that’s largely covered by my current insurance.

The mini-PCs remain the same.

What this changes concretely

Unfortunately, I could only find the Beelink T5 at €99 via AliExpress; on Amazon France it’s €185
 I think for now I won’t be able to continue offering it because at that price it’s not competitive compared to a Beelink S12 at the same price :sweat_smile:

As for the Beelink S12 and S13, they’re available on Amazon France and I will continue to offer them.

Unfortunately I had made a small stock of 5 Beelink T5 units that I planned to sell on Black Friday, but I’ll have to find a way to clear them out, then I’ll permanently stop buying mini-PCs via AliExpress.

If you have any ideas/feedback, don’t hesitate!

Thanks for your understanding :slight_smile:

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I don’t have any more ideas to offer you, but it seems much wiser to end the import adventure here! :folded_hands:

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We are on the eve of Black Friday and no discounts in sight for Beelink

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I’ll make offers on Gladys’ side in any case :innocent:

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