I had the same problem, in a similar sized townhome. My solution was similar to your first option. I bought and installed a wireless thermostat. This was back in the late 2000’s, so it predates the “smart” thermostats like the Nest. It’s just a basic programmable thermostat you can move around.

It works well enough. In the summer, I can move it upstairs so the upstairs stays cool. In the winter I could move it downstairs, but generally I leave it upstairs anyway because that’s where the bedrooms are. I remember the thermostat was a bit pricy back in the day, but I’m still using it some 15 years later so I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it.

The old Podcast app was simple, it did one thing, and it did it well. YouTube Music seems to be trying to do a dozen different things, and it does a shit job of all of them.

It certainly could. That’s the gamble you’re taking.

I usually replace drives after 5 years if they are doing anything I consider important. So those drives to me would have 1-2 years left in them. Of course, I have seen a good number of drives I have repurposed to things less important still manage to rack up impressive numbers of hours.

The issue seems to be that the build-it-yourself market caters almost exclusively now to the gaming crowd. If you want a gaming PC then you can still get a good deal building it yourself, but if you just want an inexpensive computer it’s going to be tough to beat a prebuilt.

The last time I built a PC for myself was 2012 and I’ve been looking at replacing it. I have to say the state of the DIY market today compared to 10 years ago was a bit surprising.