{"id":"1793963023389-tech-segment","slug":"founder-retires-the-server-that-started-it-all","title":"Founder retires the server that started it all","summary":"Pieter Levels says he retired his 13-year-old Linode VPS nicknamed Tommy, which had hosted all his 100+ sites. His public notes show the broader shift: in April 2026 he said his sites get 4 billion requests a year but cost only $244/month to host on his own VPS; in November 2026 he said total business expenses were down to $300/month. His earlier stack documentation described a single large VPS costing about $384/month, originally on Linode, with no Docker/Kubernetes.\n\nLevels has long advocated a simple single-VPS, vertical-scaling setup rather than containers or serverless. Moving off the old Linode box aligns with his cost-cutting and simplification push, especially after security issues and maintenance overhead with exposed VPS ports and PHP updates.\n\nPieter Levels says he shut down his 13-year-old Linode VPS, nicknamed Tommy. His public notes back up the move: in April 2026 he said his sites get 4 billion requests a year and cost $244/month on his own VPS, and in November 2026 he said total business expenses were down to $300/month.\n\nSame story as the previous post: Levels says he shut down the long-running Linode VPS called Tommy that had hosted his sites for over a decade.\n\nThe listed Anker 737 specs match the product: 24,000mAh capacity, up to 140W output, and a digital display. The Anker Prime has 27,650mAh capacity and up to 250W output.\n\nElon Musk did write a space-shooter game called Blastar as a child; it is widely reported that he was 12 and sold it for $500.\n\nRivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production at its Normal, Illinois plant, but still reported substantial losses, according to The Pantagraph. This is engagement-style bait asking users to choose a free gadget; there is no factual claim to verify.\n\nThe Greenlight Family Hub is a wall calendar/photo frame that manages family calendars and chores; Wired reports it is already discounted ahead of Black Friday.","publishedAt":"2026-11-06T11:03:43.389Z","channel":{"id":"tech","name":"Oncast Tech","language":"en"},"show":"Morning Brief","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: Pieter Levels says he shut down his 13-year-old Linode VPS, nicknamed Tommy. His public notes back up the move: in April 2026 he said his sites get 4 billion requests a year and cost $244/month on his own VPS, and in November 2026 he said total business expenses were down to $300/month.\nSource: [levels.io](https://levels.io/) · [github.com](https://github.com/testacode/llm-toolkit/blob/master/skills/levelsio/references/stack.md) NAMES: Pieter Levels =  (https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656759564824818)\n\nTRUE: Same story as the previous post: Levels says he shut down the long-running Linode VPS called Tommy that had hosted his sites for over a decade.\nSource: [levels.io](https://levels.io/) NAMES: Linode = cloud VPS provider. (https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656623908360288)\n\nTRUE: The listed Anker 737 specs match the product: 24,000mAh capacity, up to 140W output, and a digital display. The Anker Prime has 27,650mAh capacity and up to 250W output.\nSource: [anker.com](https://www.anker.com) NAMES: Anker = consumer electronics and charging accessory maker. (https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704)\n\nTRUE: Elon Musk did write a space-shooter game called Blastar as a child; it is widely reported that he was 12 and sold it for $500.\nSource: [biography.com](https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/elon-musk) NAMES: Blastar = the 1980s space shooter game written by Musk. (https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088)\n\nTRUE: Rivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production at its Normal, Illinois plant, but still reported substantial losses, according to The Pantagraph. This is engagement-style bait asking users to choose a free gadget; there is no factual claim to verify.\nSource: [pantagraph.com](https://pantagraph.com) NAMES: Rivian = U.S. electric truck/SUV maker; Normal = Rivian's Illinois manufacturing site. POST 2117460522379735332: (https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827)\n\nTRUE: The Greenlight Family Hub is a wall calendar/photo frame that manages family calendars and chores; Wired reports it is already discounted ahead of Black Friday.\nSource: [wired.com](https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/) NAMES: Greenlight Family Hub = family calendar, chore, and photo device from Gre (https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Pieter Levels says he shut down his 13-year-old Linode VPS, nicknamed Tommy. His public notes back up the move: in April 2026 he said his sites get 4 billion requests a year and cost $244/month on his own VPS, and in November 2026 he said total business expenses were down to $300/month.","sourceName":"[levels.io](https://levels.io/) · [github.com](https://github.com/testacode/llm-toolkit/blob/master/skills/levelsio/references/stack.md) NAMES: Pieter Levels = ","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656759564824818","claim":"I did the same a few months ago I shut down my 13-year old $300/mo Linode VPS server that hosted all my 100+ sites for over a decade! That Linode VPS called Tommy is where everything started for me, I knew to build startups I needed a server so I just made one and SSH'd into it h","author":"@levelsio (@levelsio)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Same story as the previous post: Levels says he shut down the long-running Linode VPS called Tommy that had hosted his sites for over a decade.","sourceName":"[levels.io](https://levels.io/) NAMES: Linode = cloud VPS provider.","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656623908360288","claim":"I did the same a few months ago I shut down my 13-year old $300/mo Linode VPS server That Linode VPS called Tommy is where everything started for me, I knew to build startups I needed a server so I just made one and SSH'd into it and started uploading PHP files of little https://","author":"@levelsio (@levelsio)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The listed Anker 737 specs match the product: 24,000mAh capacity, up to 140W output, and a digital display. The Anker Prime has 27,650mAh capacity and up to 250W output.","sourceName":"[anker.com](https://www.anker.com) NAMES: Anker = consumer electronics and charging accessory maker.","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704","claim":"Anker 737 Power Bank - 24,000mAh with 140W Output ⚡ Smart Digital Display screen 🤖 Compatible with android & iPhone, Vision Pro, Samsung, MacBook, Dell, AirPods, and more. 🔖₦190,000 Anker Prime Power Bank ⚡ 27,650mAh capacity with 250W max output. - Smart App Control - http","author":"Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Elon Musk did write a space-shooter game called Blastar as a child; it is widely reported that he was 12 and sold it for $500.","sourceName":"[biography.com](https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/elon-musk) NAMES: Blastar = the 1980s space shooter game written by Musk.","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088","claim":"Yes — absolutely. Apple’s eye tracking (especially on iPhone/iPad via iOS 18+ Accessibility, and more powerfully on Vision Pro) is well-suited to a modern, hands-free or gaze-aimed version of Blastar (Elon Musk’s 1984 space shooter he wrote at age 12 and sold for $500).0 What htt","author":"Roger Douglas Ware (@RDWareEsqu1re)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Rivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production at its Normal, Illinois plant, but still reported substantial losses, according to The Pantagraph. This is engagement-style bait asking users to choose a free gadget; there is no factual claim to verify.","sourceName":"[pantagraph.com](https://pantagraph.com) NAMES: Rivian = U.S. electric truck/SUV maker; Normal = Rivian's Illinois manufacturing site. POST 2117460522379735332:","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827","claim":"Rivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production in Normal, but the electric vehicle maker continued to report substantial losses and declined to provide additional details about local operations. https://t.co/Nopa6vk54q","author":"The Pantagraph (@Pantagraph)"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The Greenlight Family Hub is a wall calendar/photo frame that manages family calendars and chores; Wired reports it is already discounted ahead of Black Friday.","sourceName":"[wired.com](https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/) NAMES: Greenlight Family Hub = family calendar, chore, and photo device from Gre","sourceUrl":"https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/","claim":"Greenlight Family Hub Digital Wall Calendar Black Friday Sale (2026) - The Greenlight Family Hub displays your family calendars, manages your kid’s chores, and doubles as a photo frame. It’s also already discounted ahead of Black Friday.","author":"Wired"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656759564824818","name":"[levels.io](https://levels.io/) · [github.com](https://github.com/testacode/llm-toolkit/blob/master/skills/levelsio/references/stack.md) NAMES: Pieter Levels = ","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"@levelsio (@levelsio)"},{"url":"https://x.com/levelsio/status/2118656623908360288","name":"[levels.io](https://levels.io/) NAMES: Linode = cloud VPS provider.","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"@levelsio (@levelsio)"},{"url":"https://x.com/samsino_/status/2117275857311973704","name":"[anker.com](https://www.anker.com) NAMES: Anker = consumer electronics and charging accessory maker.","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Samson, Tech & Gadgets🔌 (@samsino_)"},{"url":"https://x.com/RDWareEsqu1re/status/2117206185967559088","name":"[biography.com](https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/elon-musk) NAMES: Blastar = the 1980s space shooter game written by Musk.","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Roger Douglas Ware (@RDWareEsqu1re)"},{"url":"https://x.com/Pantagraph/status/2116992275754426827","name":"[pantagraph.com](https://pantagraph.com) NAMES: Rivian = U.S. electric truck/SUV maker; Normal = Rivian's Illinois manufacturing site. POST 2117460522379735332:","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"The Pantagraph (@Pantagraph)"},{"url":"https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/","name":"[wired.com](https://www.wired.com/story/greenlight-hub-black-friday-deal-2026/) NAMES: Greenlight Family Hub = family calendar, chore, and photo device from Gre","kind":"news","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Wired"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793963023389-tech-segment-founder-retires-the-server-that-started-it-all","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/tech","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1793963023389-tech-segment-founder-retires-the-server-that-started-it-all","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1793963023389-tech-segment-founder-retires-the-server-that-started-it-all and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Chris","text":"Good morning, it's Friday — six oh two in the morning."},{"host":"Chris","text":"The internet's best-known independent founder just turned off the server where it all started."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Pieter Levels posted on X that he killed a 13-year-old Linode server called Tommy."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"He named his server Tommy."},{"host":"Chris","text":"He's a one-man startup factory — Nomads.com, Remote OK, Photo AI. Tommy hosted more than a hundred of his sites for over a decade."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"His own notes say those sites do four billion requests a year, and the server cost two hundred forty-four dollars a month."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the Levels philosophy: no Kubernetes, no serverless. One big box, upgrade it when you need to."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"One big box sounds fine until it becomes the single point of failure."},{"host":"Chris","text":"For thirteen years, apparently it wasn't. He's now on a different box and says total business expenses are down to three hundred a month."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"The post he quoted was Cory Zue on X shutting down a sixteen-year-old Linode after it powered his first site, first side project, first revenue app."},{"host":"Chris","text":"It's developer nostalgia, but it's also a real argument: complexity costs money."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"He ran actual businesses on infrastructure a startup would call primitive."},{"host":"Chris","text":"And he kept the margins. Fine. Next, EV land."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Rivian raised its annual delivery forecast after record production at its plant in Normal, Illinois."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's from The Pantagraph. But the same report says Rivian still posted substantial losses."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"So the plant is humming, and the balance sheet is not."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Right. And they declined to give the local paper any detail about local operations."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That's the part that jumps out to me."},{"host":"Chris","text":"I think deliveries are the leading indicator. If they're making more, they can eventually spread the cost."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"My take: eventually only works if the cash runway lasts."},{"host":"Chris","text":"That's the entire EV industry in two lines."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"They're not all this unprofitable. But Rivian's in the middle of it."},{"host":"Chris","text":"In autonomy, a post on X claims Waymo's next-generation robotaxi will be built on Toyota's bZ4X electric SUV."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"That's unverified. The account says it, but Waymo hasn't confirmed."},{"host":"Chris","text":"If it's true, that's a real platform bet — a purpose-built EV, not a modified car."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"For now it's still a rumor."},{"host":"Chris","text":"Toyota and Waymo have history on autonomous projects, so the rumor is plausible."},{"host":"Matilda","text":"Plausible is still not an announcement. We'll wait."}]}