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Comment by kentonv | Hacker News Reader

Oh this was my house. AMA

Past discussion (way back in 2011): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3342044

I sold this in 2020 when I moved to Austin. I'm building a bigger, better one here, which will be done... in about a month! (4.5 years since I first saw the property... phew.)

I'll probably publish something about the new one ~next year. :)

I published a guide and helper code for netbooting Windows machines from a single copy-on-write image here (currently in the process of updating it, it has unsurprisingly bitrotted a bit): https://github.com/kentonv/lanparty/

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I really like this, it's such a fun idea and usually those never see the light of day so kudos for you to bring it to life, twice! Bringing your computer to a LAN was just annoying IMO.

I was curious maybe if you had some thoughts on the more social aspects of the project? Did you feel it made it easier to hang out on a whim for example?

For me, LAN parties were always primarily about the social aspect, not actually the gaming. The games are there to give people an excuse to get together and spend way more time in the same place than they'd normally want to.

I'd definitely say it served the purpose. We didn't really do them on a whim, but once or twice a month on a regular schedule.

It was also great for networking -- as in, people, not computers. Whenever I met someone new I'd invite them to a LAN party. People would bring their friends. Made some good connections that way. Hope to make more in Austin once the new house is ready...

Austin is a great town to be in and make connections. I've been here since 2011 and love it (except maybe the heat during some summers).

I can guarantee you that you'll be able to start some conversations based on a cool house like this! Personally, LAN parties were something I always wanted to hold more of but just didn't have many friends playing on PC while I was growing up. It's cool you've made it into such a central component of your home!

Hey, Kenton! I had the honor of attending a few events at your house. How goes?

The gaming landscape has changed a lot in the last twelve years, and I'm now a Linux-first gamer. Are you considering trusting in Proton and using Linux as the primary OS for the new house?

I had basically the same question and Kenton answered it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37382414

Why not hide the screens in default setting? That way you cannot damage them (for example during vacuum cleaning or with kids) or get dust on them.

I’m based in Austin. Do you think we could be friends and play LAN party at your house? Primarily interested in SC2 but open to other games as well. -dude in his 30s

I regret not finding an opportunity to check the old place out on one of my many visits to the SF office, but it's awesome to see that the new place is finally coming to a close.

Didn't realize it had been so long, but I suppose I left Cloudflare like 3.5 years ago and I know it was a bit of a pain in the ass just trying to buy the property here in Austin in the first place.

Eh you didn't miss anything at the old place if you see the new one. Hope you can make it to a party later this year!

How much did this cost?

I _love_ the idea. I host LAN parties with friends, but it looks less organized than yours.

I built the house for $1M and sold it ten years later for $2M. So, uh, I guess it earned me a million bucks, minus mortgage interest.

To be fair, that's just how much housing prices went up in Palo Alto over that period, not really anything to do with the specifics of the house. Got pretty lucky.

(The computers were a relatively insignificant cost compared to the house. Like $20k?)

Congratulations on doing well enough to be able to afford a $1M dollar house in the first place! :)

I was hired by Google in 2005, single, no kids, no expensive hobbies, I basically didn't know how to spend money. So the bank account just kept growing and after 5 years I had enough for a down payment.

In retrospect I often regret that I never once just randomly got on a plane and flew somewhere new for fun, when it would have been easy to do so. (Kind of hard now with two young children.) But if I'd done more of that maybe I wouldn't have saved so much money.

The guide is so cool. I never knew you could netboot to multiple machines and use overlays to allow per-user modifications. It seems like a solution that could be used in a "computer lab" type scenario. Thanks for sharing!

First of all: amazing.

Secondly, have you followed Linus Sebastian's ultimate tech/gaming home videos at all? He has a slightly different objective, but he's done some creative things which you may appreciate.

I've heard of him, but TBH I'm generally not into that format of YouTube video, regardless of topic. I think I'm just too impatient to wait through the parts of the video that aren't actively interesting, or are telling me things I already know.

May I fly in when you're done with setting this up in Austin and play at an epic LAN party? No joke!

flights be cheap nowadays, I could very well swing this.

If that is something you'd be okay with, happy to exchange details

Sorry, invites aren't open to the public, too risky. But people I invite are allowed to bring friends, so if you discover you know someone who knows me, maybe they can invite you.

Fair is fair! I get that.

Would it count if we chatted a bit on google talk due to a cancelled cloud flare technical interview 4-5 years ago? Haha.

Didja get any inspiration from TaKe‘s place where he hosted HomeStoryCup?

That place was my dream home for a sliver of my mid 20s when gaming was the end all be all.

I've actually never heard of that. Trying to Google and I see some stories but not a lot of pictures. What is it like?

Modern mansion in Germany. He invited the entire who’s who of Starcraft 2 pros and had a multi-day live-streamed tournament / house party. It was cool seeing all the big names in SC2 hanging out for much longer than an awkward five minute interview on stage at Blizzcon or IEM etc.

A half-sober iNcontrol casting on a couch with a bunch of the Koreans was just chef kiss.

It wasn’t so much the house layout or design. Just that feeling of getting everyone together for a weekend long LAN party.

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