Post B38dVWGAHOGdyJ3qaW by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) More posts by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) Post #B2u3JRwy9yXCZGaaEC by Niall@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T05:50:47Z
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Boost for reach please!Does anyone know of a turnkey 'de-bigtech' solution, service or facilitator? My attempts have stalled and fallen into the 'too hard' basket. I am willing to pay. Not sure how much.. what's your price? Preferably NZ based but most locations except USA and hell considered. My main email is somewhere I'm happy with but I need to point a number of my subscriptions to it instead of Google.Photos are all in GoogleFiles mainly Dropbox Phone AndroidOS Linux on a laptop, win on desktopSoftware almost all FOSS/Linux except a couple of things which only run nicely on windows. Nexcloud plus graphene(?) phone plus Linux seems like it could work but I am 100% sure I'm not the one to do it.#EscapeBigTech#TechHelp#DeGoogle
(DIR) Post #B2u3JTHDECJygL4GQ4 by lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-02T06:57:34Z
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@Niall the best replacement for Google photos is Immich - https://immich.app - I've been using one for a few years for my phone's photos & video (can optional share media with family & friends, or even let them use it for their backups as well). It's superb. A couple of us are currently exploring offering it commercially among other services, right here in Aotearoa. And yeah, NextCloud is also an excellent option. Happy to chat about it if you're interested.
(DIR) Post #B2uD0XltI7fMf61y3U by Phil_Tanner@mastodon.philtanner.com
2026-02-02T08:45:34Z
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@Niall @lightweight I'm also a recent convert to (self hosted) Immich and NextCloud to ditch Google Photos and Dropbox respectively. I'm also running SyncThing to backup the data to other places
(DIR) Post #B38dVV6CawhiN7ONQ8 by aarbrk@mstdn.mx
2026-02-02T06:49:23Z
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@Niall I support your goal and I hope you succeed. Hypothesis: the reason no alternatives are exactly “turnkey” is that Google has invested so heavily in the user interfaces and the integration of their many products, that it's hard to compete with the convenience they offer.
(DIR) Post #B38dVWGAHOGdyJ3qaW by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-09T07:49:36Z
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@aarbrk > Hypothesis: the reason no alternatives are exactly “turnkey” is that Google has invested so heavily in the user interfacesOther possible reasons;a) BorgSoft and Goggle strong-arming hardware vendors into making deduce hard to put a different OS onb) You can't just download and install server software yet. Even with tools like Docker, deployment is still an expert task. Plus you need a server, a dedicated computer with good net connection and a fixed IP (or Dynamic DNS).@Niall
(DIR) Post #B3A8EcofwMez7YaTD6 by essjax@essjax.com
2026-02-02T07:37:44Z
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@Niall Just a slightly different option: Synology servers come with a whole bunch of ready to go services. Photos, music, backups, office suite with browser apps. You can host your own without having to get technical.It's not open source but you pay once for the box then you own it.
(DIR) Post #B3A8Ee3xJ2TczEkBfM by leighelse@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T08:49:56Z
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@essjax @Niall We run a Synology box that does most of these things for us. However, in the last two years Synology has made moves which would put me off buying their product again, and we've avoided updating to the latest OS version because we would lose functionality we depend on.There are, however, alternative NAS platforms which are just as good and not in danger of being enshittified.
(DIR) Post #B3A8EfBR8i3USjFfxw by Niall@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T09:25:13Z
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@leighelse @essjax yes, you lot kindly spent some time introducing me to Synology last time I tried to get off Google. Then they almost immediately pulled that shady move and I ran away to focus on other life challenges instead.I really have a dislike for computer admin. In my perfect world I'd buy some kind of a NAS with enough redundancy to survive a simple local hardware failure such as an HD. I would only need to plug it in and it would work as easily as my fridge.It would have a small portion dedicated to torrent-like storage for reciprocally backing up other people's data so we would all have decentralized peer to peer disaster recovery. There would be some friendly, knowledgeable person that i paid fairly to migrate me to this and to maintain the infrastructure so that I didn't have to do anything but use it. I realise this is never going to happen but I can dream!
(DIR) Post #B3A8Eg1C2HSJ3FT0dc by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T01:08:32Z
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(1/?)@Niall > I realise this is never going to happenWhy not?All the core technologies needed to provide the products and services you describe already exist. There are plenty of people like yourself who desperately want them to, and are prepared to pay. There are plenty of people who'd be happy to make a living supplying them, rather than working EvilCorp jobs.We can do this.@leighelse @essjax @lightweight @stephen@puck @futuresprog @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3A8fQCWx3g9oXWTUu by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T01:13:29Z
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(2/2)The main thing we're lacking is a way to coordinate all these people, in ways that bring the required organizations into existence. It's a classic collective action problem.Funding to cover the startup costs would help. But anyone likely to be interested in supplying that - in enough volume to move the dial - will likely want evidence of a) demand, b) capacity for sustainable supply, c) a realistic plan to bring it all together.Which brings us back to the collective action problem.
(DIR) Post #B3A9WLpzuBlHd4Dp20 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T01:23:03Z
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(3/3)For anyone willing to put some time into a nuts and bolts discussion about how to coordinate the transition so many of us want to happen, I've opened forum a discussion here;https://community.iridescent.nz/t/supplying-ethical-tech-products-and-services-in-aotearoa/166
(DIR) Post #B3AEkkpOHx4KxZcpyC by lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T02:21:40Z
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@stephen @ygathgoch @Niall are they still owned by Smugmug? If so, I have experience with Smugmug doing massive rate-limiting on exports from their system, like to the point it's unusable if you've got a large collection that you want to shift. They're major enshittifiers, and of course in my experience, no corporation is really 'less evil'.
(DIR) Post #B3AS7Nd00gHb4TwrnE by puck@mastodon.nz
2026-02-10T04:51:24Z
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@Niall @leighelse @essjax @lightweight @stephen @futuresprog @oseiler @Kay @strypey How about the FreedomBox?https://www.freedombox.org/
(DIR) Post #B3ASaHURuSDcQtjLG4 by nlmunro@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T06:54:51Z
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@Niall Jottacloud is good (Norway) and covers photos and files pretty well. For more comprehensive photos, immich is amazing, but not turnkey and requires tech knowledge to install.
(DIR) Post #B3ASaIPAVZaZGoGdfM by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T04:56:38Z
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(1/2)@nlmunro > Jottacloud is goodThey're transparent about the Free Code libraries their service depends on, which is great;https://docs.jottacloud.com/en/articles/2096789-third-party-librariesThese seem to be their code repos;https://github.com/jottaBut I'm struggling to figure out whether their full software stack is under free licenses. I can't see anything on their website that clarifies.@Niall
(DIR) Post #B3ASvvtKtRWDohhAMi by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T05:00:35Z
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(2/2)RMS would say it's only the apps and JS you run on your own devices that matter in this respect. In a sense, if you can't use their service with your choice of apps, or keeping using their apps with a different service, you're still locked in even if 100% of the software they use us under a free license.But I guess it's akin to seeing an organic certification on a food product. It's not a guarantee that it's sustainable or health my, but it suggests the company cares about these things.
(DIR) Post #B3ATe5ITHktzjFVO2C by paulk@writing.exchange
2026-02-02T06:43:16Z
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@Niall If your issues mainly is around files and photos, look at a Nextcloud provider. I can't tell what else you need from your description. Online Office? Magic?
(DIR) Post #B3ATe6fuA7F00DTcCO by Niall@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T06:56:31Z
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@paulk i don't need online office. I need a phone solution, as stated. I don't know if you're being facetious with your magic comment so I'll ignore it.
(DIR) Post #B3ATe7lG7h7NN6zPBQ by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T05:08:29Z
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@Niall > if you're being facetious with your magic commentMaybe @paulk meant Magisk?"... a suite of open source software for customizing Android ..."https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk
(DIR) Post #B3AURXdkh7gjp72fs8 by paulk@writing.exchange
2026-02-10T05:17:27Z
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@strypey Nope, I meant magic, but nice to learn about Magisk!@Niall
(DIR) Post #B3AUe3kJ9U1AsA4rpI by oseiler@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T07:22:51Z
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@Niall I second Nextcloud - it works really well and you can find commercial hosting providers (not sure if nz based exist but if not plenty of EU based options).
(DIR) Post #B3AUe4kLQpdpyZ6PWS by oseiler@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T07:24:33Z
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@Niall I run Nextcloud on my nas which keeps all data nicely contained and it's not too hard to set up if (and I know that might well be the show stopper) you know your way around some docker basics
(DIR) Post #B3AUe5Sem55SBzpnai by puck@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T08:39:12Z
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@Niall @oseiler TechnologyWise offer a managed NextCloud service running on Catalyst Cloud. All fully sovereign. It is focused at business use though, perhaps still drop them a line?
(DIR) Post #B3AUe6XImIOfWh11TE by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T05:19:42Z
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@puck > TechnologyWise offer a managed NextCloud service running on Catalyst CloudGood to know. They have a list of "Open Source Alternatives" here, but TBH it seems a bit dated;https://www.technologywise.co.nz/latest-news-items/item/6-free-software-alternativesAlso they name the 2 columns "commercial" and "alternatives", which is very early-2000s, and really grinds my gears. MatterMost, for example, is on their "alternatives" list, but it would be plain wrong to say they're not commercial. They don't even publish full source code.@Niall @oseiler
(DIR) Post #B3AV91iwifl7ZwCtGa by mahadevank@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T08:06:48Z
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@Niall hi Raglan, let's connect? I'd love to help you out with this.We run a platform that makes it easy to host open-source solutions, we designed it for non-tech users.Our servers are in India, but we can easily setup an account for you in any AWS region of your choice.
(DIR) Post #B3AV92w6DFsHL1MuPI by Niall@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T09:26:47Z
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@mahadevank AWS?! Thanks but that's kinda missing the point.
(DIR) Post #B3AV93aVn0CVMMHBOi by mahadevank@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T09:33:12Z
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@Niall that's step #1 - digital surveillance still disappears the moment you run your own software, and the data belongs to you, even if you're on AWS.We are actively working with other options and as soon as we have a provider that integrates well, we'll be off AWS as well.Coming off Big Tech is a process. If we try to do it all in one go, it gets very difficult.
(DIR) Post #B3AV94LIz1dBhUAYKm by Niall@mastodon.nz
2026-02-02T09:37:30Z
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@mahadevank yes, it's a process, you're right. If AWS is involved at present then at present I'm out, sorry.
(DIR) Post #B3AV95BlpxbAKCiS6y by mahadevank@mastodon.social
2026-02-02T10:04:39Z
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@Niall Not a problem, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I’ll add an additional vote for hosting outside of big tech on our product roadmap
(DIR) Post #B3AV95vV5wB6c26yOG by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T05:25:16Z
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@mahadevank > I’ll add an additional vote for hosting outside of big tech on our product roadmapSeriously planning a move off AWS is the best way to find out of you *can* move off AWS. Even if you decide they're is your best option for now.AWS have all sorts of proprietary ways of doing things, which they justify as helping customers in some way, but it's really just to lock them in.I'm with @Niall though. A dependence on AWS is a liability.
(DIR) Post #B3AYlDE2hmAy7IeTtw by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T06:05:52Z
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@paulk> Nope, I meant magicThen I don't understand what your point was either. If you were implying that an online office using Free Code would be magic, that's possible with OnlyOffice. Our demo combines it with NextCloud, to create a pretty good GoggleDocs/Drive replacement;http://hub.iridescent.nz/Online office in a web app is also possible with LibreOffice;https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Using_LibreOffice_in_a_Web_Browser@Niall
(DIR) Post #B3AZhGWab4TT920bya by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T06:16:21Z
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@puck > How about the FreedomBox?Like LibreServer and YUNOhost, this is a great project. But it's still aimed at home tinkerers with either a fixed IP address, or the knowledge (or time to acquire it) to set up Dynamic DNS.A preconfigured box you could buy in Aotearoa is close to a turnkey solution, but that too needs a business to assemble and sell it, provide customer support.@Niall @leighelse @essjax @lightweight @stephen @futuresprog @oseiler @Kay @bob @yunohost
(DIR) Post #B3AZpslyH84W5NJR5c by lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T06:17:52Z
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@strypey @puck @Niall @leighelse @essjax @stephen @futuresprog @oseiler @Kay @bob @yunohost any time a person's DNS is involved (e.g. because they're already using it for something or other), or if they need to acquire a domain, things get very complicated very quickly. Which is why most businesses don't really touch it. We *may* be considering wading into that fray.
(DIR) Post #B3AekOefKCOT036Bu4 by futuresprog@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T07:12:55Z
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Synology solve the problems of dynamic DNS and trying to resolve your home-hosted device with:a. You get a VPNb. You get DDNS on a subdomain of theirsAutomatically as part of the setup.Is it top quality? NoIs it good enough? YesCan you change to your top quality self-supplied custom domain afterwards? Yes@lightweight @strypey @puck @Niall @leighelse @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay @bob @yunohost
(DIR) Post #B3AnuDghr1DlT9oQGO by puck@mastodon.nz
2026-02-10T08:55:15Z
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@Niall @oseiler @strypey The date on that post is 2020. I'll suggest they update it, and provide your feedback. Thank you.
(DIR) Post #B3AoAWnOZyI3MfiXYG by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T08:58:31Z
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@futuresprog> Synology solve the problems of dynamic DNSSounds great.Do they operate onshore in Aotearoa? In such a way that the box would keep working if there was an outage on all network links connecting Aotearoa?Can you buy a Synology box in Aotearoa, in $NZ?Do they provide customer support here?@lightweight @puck @Niall @leighelse @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay @bob @yunohost
(DIR) Post #B3AoVujKmovZg411Jg by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T09:02:20Z
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@puck > I'll suggest they update it, and provide your feedbackFeel free to link them to my post, and provide my email address (in my profile).If you think they're really interested, I'm happy to email them a list of software suggestions. For a start, I'd suggest "proprietary" instead of "commercial" and "replacements" instead of "alternatives".
(DIR) Post #B3AqfDqBIsK5ShmgxU by futuresprog@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-10T09:26:27Z
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You can buy a Synology from PB Tech right now.Their infrastructure for the VPN is controlled from overseas. I give it as an example of how onboarding a customer who has just purchased the product can lead to a “good enough” experience until that customer is ready to move to the next step.I explain here how I set it up, but again, for convenience I leap onto Tailscale rather than doing a proper site-to-site VPN:https://sdc.org.nz/notes/offsite-backup@strypey @lightweight
(DIR) Post #B3Bg1R8fdYDSjrmaBM by leighelse@mastodon.nz
2026-02-10T19:01:53Z
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@strypey @futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay @bob @yunohost You can buy a Synology box from any number of Aotearoa New Zealand retailers and provision it with whatever hard drives you choose (thankfully Synology pulled back from their plans to limit this). Apart from the remote access feature there's no operational off-shore dependency, and you don't have to use that feature; you can set up Dynamic DNS or get a static IP address.The mobile apps that give you access to various NAS services (video, audio, files) could be compromised if you have a Google or Apple mobile device.
(DIR) Post #B3CBa0K0QomQHV30z2 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T00:55:33Z
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(1/2)@leighelse > thankfully Synology pulled back from their plans to limit thisIf the vendors have the ability to deploy software changes that limit hardware choices, without customer permission, means it's not sovereign technology.> Apart from the remote access feature there's no operational off-shore dependencyIn other words, to use it from anywhere outside your homeout-of-the-box, depends on the offshore vendor.@futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3CBstAbFI2lbQeXOi by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T00:58:58Z
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(2/2)I'm not saying that Synology is a bad product. On the contrary, it's a huge improvement on using platforms run by DataFarmers for private data. But it's not quite sovereign technology, and with a bit of coordination between potential customers ans onshore vendors (and maybe ethical investment and grant funding bodies), I think we can do better.@leighelse @futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3CEWk8kRBrX5Yv0Qy by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T01:28:34Z
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(3/2, yeah I know, but...)@leighelse > mobile apps that give you access to various NAS servicesDo you mean Synology branded apps, or just whatever apps you happen to use? If it's the former, does Synology supply full source code for all apps and support distribution by F-Droid (and other independent app distribution methods)?@futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3CPuvwvHW5eA07nkG by leighelse@mastodon.nz
2026-02-11T03:36:10Z
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@strypey @futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay > Vendors having the ability to deploy software changes that limit hardware choices, without customer permission, means it's not sovereign technology.True if true. But we have automatic updates turned off, and Synology advises us when there's an OS update, and what's in it. It's up to us to decide whether we want tto install it.> In other words, to use it from anywhere outside your homeout-of-the-box, depends on the offshore vendor.No. Just don't use Synology's remote access, and instead set up Dynamic DNS, or get a fixed IP address.I'm not saying Synology is perfect, or would even by my first choice if I were buying a replacement today. But it offers a lot for a reasonable price, and can be both safe and sovereign with trivial effort.
(DIR) Post #B3CQ6BoCenr2X5Ph3o by leighelse@mastodon.nz
2026-02-11T03:38:13Z
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@strypey @futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay I mean Synology's own apps that integrate with APIs provided by your NAS.No, Synology doesn't provide source code and, from the little I've seen, their coding standards are nothing to write home about.Yes, their apps are available from F-Droid and other app stores.
(DIR) Post #B3Celh9WQPGSyW4RXs by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T06:22:36Z
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@leighelse > Synology's own apps that integrate with APIs provided by your NASCan you use all the features of the box without them?> No, Synology doesn't provide source code> Yes, their apps are available from F-DroidThis seems unlikely, given that F-Droid only ships apps that can be independently compiled from source code.@futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3CfVztV4nLYQDegfQ by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T06:30:58Z
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(1/2)Me:> to use it from anywhere outside your home out-of-the-box, depends on the offshore vendor@leighelse> don't use Synology's remote access, and instead set upThat's no longer out-of-the-box. Anyone with the knowledge and confidence to do that doesn't need Synology. They can figure out how to install LibreServer or YUNOHost on a spare PC, and get all OS updates with no risk of a vendor imposing hardware limits.@futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay
(DIR) Post #B3CfqPnEUiZIXOSYfA by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-11T06:34:40Z
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(2/2)Yes, I'm fussy about these things. 15 years ago people told me I was being fussy about holding Goggle to exacting software freedom standards. After all, they gave workers 20% time to do Open Source, used open standards (eg XMPP) and had an engineering team working on data export. They were one of the good guys.People wondered why were zealots like me giving them a hard time. I doubt anyone is wondering that now ; )
(DIR) Post #B3CnRMWqIFzao6MGS8 by leighelse@mastodon.nz
2026-02-11T07:59:45Z
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@strypey @futuresprog @lightweight @puck @Niall @essjax @stephen @oseiler @Kay > Can you use all the features of the box without them?Yes.> This seems unlikely, given that F-Droid only ships apps that can be independently compiled from source code.You're quite right. But they are on other app stores such as Aurora, APKPure, Aptoide et al.