I think the article only mentions the prices in the Google store, which are way more expensive than other shops. The Pixel 8 128GB is currently available at 550€.

So the Pixel 8a at 570€ would be the more expensive model.

As the prices are mentioned in US-Dollar, this offer is likely only available in the USA. E.g. I’m currently getting a Black Friday offer for the full price of 1.099€ for the Pixel 8 Pro but a 100€ store voucher is included.

“Recycling brackets”, 1000 pcs bag.

This bag contains already used zip ties in various lengths and colours. You can reuse the items and be creative. Build modern art for your living room, a fan holding bracket for your server or a cool handle for your hot coffee cup.

Data centres, business, hospitals etc. run batteries to bridge the gap until the diesel starts running. It can take a minute or a few until the diesel generator takes over, but it can run for hours and days with refuelling.

Getting batteries for 8h is expensive and risky - what if the power cut suddenly lasts 9h? With batteries you have a fixed storage, with petrol or diesel you can just refuel.

Having that unreliable electricity, my home server would be the least of my problems. I would already have a generator to keep the fridge running so the food doesn’t go bad every other day.

You should get/use one external drive for backups that you store separately (can be your 2nd or a new one). Having two separate internal drives for backup is not safe, as the system can damage data on both at the same time (e.g. malware/encryption, data corruption etc.).

RAID is for availability/uptime. I like to compare it to a shop system at the checkout. You can’t have shop payments halted if one drive fails, so you have a RAID. It allows you to repair/replace while the system keeps running and your business keeps operating. In a large business, every hour of downtime can cost you hundreds of thousand of currency, so RAID gets even more sophisticated. Downtime is not an option.

At home this is up to you. RAID can save you some hassle and grant performance, but likely costs you more money than it saves you. Backup is key, so have at least one separately stored copy and depending on the importance of your data, also have an off-site backup.

I’m quite disappointed by most comments so far talking about RAID and data loss. That is not what RAID is for at all.

RAID is for uptime/availability. When a drive fails, the system will keep running and working. For companies, that would lose thousands of currency per hour with a downtime, this is super important that the system keeps running. At home, it’s convenience that you can order a new drive and replace without hours of setting up and copying before you can watch the next episode again.

Backups are against data loss. If a single drive fails, a RAID fails or you get some encryption malware or an employee destroys stuff on purpose, then everything is destroyed. It doesn’t matter if it was a single, any RAID, HDD or SSD. You order a new drive, make a new volume and restore the data from your backup.