This site runs on deliberately boring technology: Next.js on Vercel, all copy in two JSON files, and a Neon Postgres database that stores exactly two tables — waitlist signups and contact messages.

It went from empty folder to live on iotmaniacs.com in a single day, pair-built with an AI agent: spec first, then a step-by-step plan, then tests before code.

That's the Digital OS thesis in miniature: pick simple tools, wire them properly, ship fast, and keep everything where you can change it in minutes.

The lab philosophy is ownership, not dogma. Own your tools where control and data matter; rent them where someone else runs it better and cheaper.

This site lives on Vercel because a landing page doesn't need a home server. The automations, dashboards and experiments live on self-hosted hardware because that's where tinkering is free and data stays home.

Knowing which side of that line each system belongs on — that's half of what the courses teach.

The heart of the lab is an unglamorous Dell Optiplex running Ubuntu Server and Docker — proof that you don't need a data center to run real infrastructure.

On top of it: n8n for automation flows, a reverse proxy, secure tunnels for public access, and backups that have actually been tested.

Everything taught at iotmaniacs runs here first. If it survives the rack, it goes in the curriculum.