What is Athena? Do you mind going into some details about it?



...In comparison, there's no comparison.

What is Athena? Do you mind going into some details about it?

“Athena” & “Hades” are two separate Linux systems operating inside my Jersey Jam BBS private network. Optional FREE Linux Shell accounts are available by request from my users and are only accessible from within the Jersey Jam BBS; so, they have to be a member. This allows my users to use the Linux servers in whichever way they’d like, within reason. My Linux servers are NOT available from outside of the BBS private network. However, all internet ports are open for outbound access.

The servers are as follows:

ATHENA: Ubuntu Server 26.04 LTS - Mac Mini i7 16GB/1TB
HADES: Debian 13.4 - Raspberry Pi4 4GB/64GB

I’ve been re-thinking these servers and may be willing to open some ports for specialized configurations for users. Perhaps for running a Minecraft server or a Team Fortress 2 server. Etc?

The names “Athena” & “Hades” is a nod to the days I was working at an ISP from 94-2001 and were names of two Unix based servers I was running back then. “Athena” sat on my desk and was my primary machine, “Hades” was one of the Apache web servers I oversaw. Every Unix based system the ISP had was named after a Greek God. We had Apollo, Cronus, Hermes, Hades, Zeus, Athena etc. Apollo was originally on a SUN Sparc “Pizza Box” running SunOS for a long while. Then we switched to Compaq ProLiant servers and ran Free BSD on it. I think I was running Slackware or Free BSD back then on Athena & Hades, not 100% sure.

Setting these Linux boxes up for my BBS was a cool suggestion from you. Still trying to figure out more ways to utilize these servers more.

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So I take it you are really good with linux and unix? I just tried out kde for the first time in 20 years. What is your opinion on kde, vs gnome?

So I take it you are really good with linux and unix? I just tried out kde for the first time in 20 years. What is your opinion on kde, vs gnome?

I use to be very good with Linux but haven't been involved on a daily bases in a long while so not totally up on things. I was using KDE before Gnome. And you know what, it all goes back to what you mentioned in another post of yours. Linux Desktops, and apps, just don't have that "pizazz" that MacOS and Windows has. Over the years I gravitated to MacOS cause it's Unix based, and the apps and interfaces are top notch and everything matches; it's very clean and rock solid. Since Linux is open source, and there's 4,000 different "flavors", and anyone and their mother can make apps for Linux, it's not very appealing to me. Some apps look great and some look like a 3rd grader made them. Anyway, to answer your question. I would say still prefer Gnome, but haven't tried KDE in long while. However, I'd use a Mac over Linux any day unless there's something specific that only Linux can do that I need.

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I have never had the privilege of using a mac. Just Iphones and I pads. :(

You're not missing anything.:)

Have you used them before?

I use one at church all the time to do the video editing and stuff for our services and live streams. I still feel like they are overprized garbage. Apple users are all cultists :D. MACOS only accounts for about 2% of market share worldwide with the majority of those being in the US and China. 40% of mac users worldwide are in the USA.

Eh, I guess the reason why I am so interested in them, is because I never really used one. I heard Windows computers of the same build quality cost about the same.

Apple users are all cultists

LOL - I certainly would not call myself a cultist. I've been using computers since 8 inch floppy drives and CP/M. I want high quality hardware and software that works and without the BS and breakdowns. Once you become a power user of Mac's, like servicing them, reinstalling OSes, networking, iOS handoffs, using them all day everyday, etc, you will become a believer. And, there is nothing more beautiful than an Apple 5k Retina display.

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MACOS only accounts for about 2% of market share worldwide with the majority of those being in the US and China. 40% of mac users worldwide are in the USA.

"As of April 2026, macOS holds approximately 5.5% to 14.4% of the global desktop operating system market, ranking consistently as the second most popular desktop OS after Windows. In the US, Mac's market share is significantly higher, with reports indicating it reached over 17% of the US PC market by late 2024, with higher penetration in specific user segments."

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I did not see any benefit of the 5k display as most content is filmed in 4k now and if you're lucky 8k. I enjoy my 8 4k monitors for work. I don't think macs can do that without a bunch of external docking stations or port replicators which do not give the same performance as being built in. I have also used just about any type of computer you can think of all the way back since just dos on the old floppy drives. I guess I have more of a preference for enterprise grade systems that can be easily managed without having to pay the apple tax for an additional management service like jamf. I manage a few thousand windows machines at work with about 100 virtual machines including in prem and cloud based. I can ship a windows machine to an end user, and it builds itself with Intune and Autopilot with zero provisioning. I do like the way Windows has come alone and integrated more of the linux kernal with WSL which is handy on managing our hundreds of multistate sites networking. However, we have recently switched everything over to cloud managed networking which is soooo much better than the old consoleing or remoting to a site to update configurations.

You tell em' sir!

I did not see any benefit of the 5k display as most content is filmed in 4k now and if you're lucky 8k. I enjoy my 8 4k monitors for work. I don't think macs can do that without a bunch of external docking stations or port replicators which do not give the same performance as being built in. I have also used just about any type of computer you can think of all the way back since just dos on the old floppy drives. I guess I have more of a preference for enterprise grade systems that can be easily managed without having to pay the apple tax for an additional management service like jamf. I manage a few thousand windows machines at work with about 100 virtual machines including in prem and cloud based. I can ship a windows machine to an end user, and it builds itself with Intune and Autopilot with zero provisioning. I do like the way Windows has come alone and integrated more of the linux kernal with WSL which is handy on managing our hundreds of multistate sites networking. However, we have recently switched everything over to cloud managed networking which is soooo much better than the old consoleing or remoting to a site to update configurations.

Apple has never been good in the enterprise environments, we're talking the home user.. the college student, the retro bbs computer sysop user, the audio engineer in a million dollar recording studio or in his tiny little apartment mixing audio, the graphics artist or film editor. Mac's have their purpose and what the door well in, they excel in it. Business and enterprise level stuff... goes to Unix/Linux and Windows - hands down - and no doubt about it. I've been a network engineer for over 30 years and you mentioned above is exactly what the business enterprise is all about and rules corporate America. Nothing is gonna change that, not even if Steve Job himself returns from the dead - LOL

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I did not see any benefit of the 5k display as most content is filmed in 4k now and if you're lucky 8k.

It's not all about film & video, Its also about the razor-sharp clarity of the fonts at 5k+ screen and lush colors. The visual aspects of using a computer all day long, day after day, week after week, year after year. :)

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I guess 5k in the terminal really doesn't help much :D I've been in network/server administration since 2007 when the economy crashed and I decided to go back to school to get out of the construction business. I currently have 2 48 port racks full of gear in my office, one 2-post full of networking hardware from Cisco, Juniper, HPE/Aruba, Fortinet, Ubiquiti, Watchguard, crappy Netgear and all sorts of other networking hardware as well as a 4-post rack almost full of servers and storage. I could host all sorts of crap at home if I wanted to, however I hate paying power bills and my roof can only hold soo much solar :D

I could host all sorts of crap at home if I wanted to, however I hate paying power bills and my roof can only hold soo much solar :D

LOL!! Sounds like you need a full power plant just for yourself! Energy is pretty expensive right now. Keep them unplugged!!

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I've been in network/server administration since 2007 when the economy crashed and I decided to go back to school to get out of the construction business.

My company has been slowly scaling back as we are shutting one company down and refocusing to the other. We used to have tons of shit, and way too many things to even start listing. The last few years we have been migrating most of our servers, and software as service, to AWS Cloud. We only have 1 Win 2025 server in house running AD/DNS/DHCP/VPN/File & Print Services and our Pick/D3 VM (most important service). We backup EVERYTHING to LTO-6 Tape every single night using ArcServe. Starts at 7:30pm and goes until 6am the next day. We've been backing up to LTO every night for decades. President is past retirement age and I'm getting up there. He's looking to sell the company for a pretty penny. I started working there in Dec 2001. I work 99% from home now, which has been nice.

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What is Athena? Do you mind going into some details about it?

Annnnnd..... it's now also a Minecraft server accessible from the outside.

Team fortress 2 server is gonna be next on it. - LOL

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I love me some team fortress

And I like the Minecrafts :D It's fun to play with the kids. I just got tired of hosting it myself, so I got a Realm server instead.

Now, after Biggie sets up his Minecraft server, you can use his! Team Fortress is really fun dude, it's got cartoon graphics, and it's a first person shooter. There are different classes, like in Battlefield. I don't know why it got more popular than Unreal Tournament, but it did. Now there is no more Unreal Games being developed.

Now, after Biggie sets up his Minecraft server, you can use his! Team Fortress is really fun dude, it's got cartoon graphics, and it's a first person shooter. There are different classes, like in Battlefield. I don't know why it got more popular than Unreal Tournament, but it did. Now there is no more Unreal Games being developed.

My son (aka Bozz) has been running a Discord channel for years now centered around Team Fortress.

Check it out! https://discord.gg/sJD8bSm6

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How much bandwidth does it use?