April 9, 2026
Server or space heater? You decide
Old laptops in a colo as low cost servers
€7-a-month “server” for your old laptop sparks cheers, side‑eye, and fire‑hazard panic
TLDR: A startup wants to host your old laptop in a pro data center for €7/month, pitching more power than pricey cloud rentals. The comments split between bargain‑hungry fans and skeptics worried about fire safety and legitimacy, especially since the site uses a pages.dev address and a Google Form.
A wild idea just dropped: ship your dusty laptop to a pro data center, plug it into Hetzner’s infrastructure, and for €7/month it becomes your always‑on “server.” The pitch promises a real internet address, remote screen/keyboard access (so it feels like it’s on your desk), and help installing tools—no kidding—even Kubernetes (that’s tech for “run a bunch of apps easily”). Bonus points for less e‑waste. The community? Oh, they showed up with popcorn.
On one side, deal hunters are thrilled. One user bragged old laptops are “a lot faster” than a $150/month big‑cloud machine, and another called it an “interesting option” with hardware prices through the roof. On the other, skeptics hit hard: battery flames, thermal meltdowns, and “laptops aren’t servers” warnings. The comment section lit up with doomsday imagery—20,000 aging batteries in a rack—cue the space‑heater memes. Then came the trust storm: the site runs on Cloudflare’s pages.dev and uses a Google Form for signups. Commenters poked holes—“is this real?”—and groaned that the domain doesn’t even resolve. Even supporters asked for proof, photos, anything beyond promises and “we’re still figuring out logistics.” Verdict from the crowd: genius budget hack or sketchy startup vibes—and everyone’s refreshing to see what catches fire first, the idea or the batteries.
Key Points
- •Service offers colocation of users’ old laptops for €7/month, including hosting, static IPv4, KVM-over-IP, and monitoring.
- •Provider is based in Amsterdam and plans to host in Hetzner’s US and European datacenters.
- •Each laptop receives a fully routable static IPv4 address and runs in facilities with 24/7 security, climate control, and redundant power.
- •Free setup help includes installing Linux distributions, Kubernetes clusters, and Proxmox; WiFi is not available, so ethernet/USB is required.
- •Logistics include a prepaid shipping box; laptops must be functional, and batteries/wireless radios may be removed or powered down for safety.