One machine in the homelab with agents and readable logs, a few pieces of glass, and a twin in Amsterdam
The existing gear has stretch; innovation is software.
- Answers
- Do I need faster hardware to work with AI agents, or is the existing machine enough?
- Topics
- AI · cloud · laptop · linux · server · work
- Full article on willem.com
- https://willem.com/en/2026-08-26_innovation-is-software/
Summary
In August 2026 my computer setup changed more than it had in years, and the lesson was the opposite of new hardware: one brain in the homelab where my files and agents live, thin glass around it, and the same setup in two houses.
Full text
The machine in the homelab does the thinking: agents run there, the logs are readable by them, and a local shell reaches everything. The laptops and the phone are glass: windows into that one brain, replaceable and interchangeable. A twin of the setup stands in Amsterdam, so the same working day is possible in either house. Infrastructure has become subordinate to concept: decide what the system should do, and the hardware follows. A machine with agents, logs and a local shell does in a day what used to take weeks. Before you order a faster machine, give the one you have some agents and a look at its logs.