I know it ain’t gonna happen (too much money at stake for M$, AWS, Google, Apple, etc.) but one can fantasize now and again:
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Thanks for posting this. I had no idea there were tech people out there who understood why people like us resist the “cloud” mentality. Most seem to be of the mind, “suck it up, old man. It’s the inevitable future!” 
“There is no cloud. There is just someone else’s computer.” That “someone else” being a corporation.
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YES - it is truly a “suck it up buttercup” mentality out there. I am TRULY enjoying having my OneNote notebook back on device - knock on wood and fingers crossed - more stable than before. A real test is coming this afternoon with another marathon Teams meeting (by the way, who the H*LL invented Teams anyway).
HOWEVER, if my pen locks up this time, it will be the end of Windows for me…
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The thing is, the PC revolution was an escape from the shackles of mainframe administration — why are folks choosing to slip them back on?
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BINGO!
I know I am antiquated and think this way too often, but it’s like we got half way into the desert and are going back to Pharoah…
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Worse still, if M$ can swing it, we’ll be asked to use both Windows and Office 365 from the cloud only - talk about a draconian return to client-server software…
AND - it only keeps getting better:
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I actually am a fan of the cloud and think it brings far more than it takes away, seriously. The almost seamless icloud links across my phone iPad and Mac are huge benefits to me fo example. Or Apple Music for another.
No it’s not perfect and yes, it’s ultimately designed to make it’s owners money but we as consumers also have the right to not participate with our wallets…
So I’ll slink back away now as you guys shout " Get off my lawn! "
Would NEVER do that to our best tech wizard - is this you by the way?
Seriously, I do like the way my iPhone and iPad (and the former MacBooks - yes, plural), but for me, on a business productivity basis, it was less than satisfactory, and OneDrive has let me down more than a few times. So, I like my self-containment…
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I have been in too many situations where i needed my computer fast and the cloud was unavailable. It is far less all the time, but it does still occur. The cloud also introduces vulnerabilities that I would prefer not addressing. Color me a cloud hater.
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My people! I made an Unraid server from an old PC years ago. I love it. I use Nextcloud to share files on my LAN, and I don’t even give my server access beyond the LAN. I also host my Jellyfin server on there too for media.
I get the upside of the cloud, but local only. The only drawback is that I don’t have access outside my home network. Small price to pay to not have to deal with Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive–both of which scan your files and do not believe in true E2EE.
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Bravo! Wish I could do something like that but circumstances don’t allow.
I don’t mind iCloud as a secondary backup and inter-device sync solution. It works well since I’m currently all-iStuff and Apple got slapped down pretty hard in their CSAM bungle. I don’t see them attempting to cross the privacy line again soon. If I ever go back to mixed devices/OSes I’ll need to consider alternatives.
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Out of curiosity, why don’t you allow access to your nextcloud server from outside? Just wondering because you would be getting many of the benefits of Dropbox/One drive without giving up control of your own data. Especially since you’re already going to the trouble of administrating your own server, why reduce its utility? 
Do you have security concerns about having a publicly accessible IP?
I’ve been running my nextcloud for a couple of years, and while the server administration can occasionally fail inexplicably at an inconvenient time, luckily this happens ever more rarely (and sometimes I learn stuff from those instances) and I wouldn’t want to miss the convenience of automatic backups of my photos, contacts, schedule, files etc, so what Google would do for other people, but on my own infrastructure. (For plain file syncing across various devices, I’d actually recommend syncthing though, I think that’s faster and more flexible in that it allows local/fast syncing between any two devices even if you’re not in your home network)
My contribution…
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Cloud storage providers hate this one simple trick:
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It’s just security. I don’t have to mess with SSLs or anything. Since I work from home, I don’t really see it as a huge drawback to not have nextcloud outside my LAN. If I had an office at a remote site, I would probably be more tempted.
Syncthing is fine, but I can’t run all the other stuff I run on my Unraid server, so it won’t work. (Like Jellyfin for instance–and eventually Anytype.)
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