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FreedomBox

freedombox.org

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Re: FreedomBox

#41

Post by mgkimsal »

bradbatt wrote: post #32
cozicoolmail wrote: post #4

Even if these things were dead simple, I cannot see any of my non-technical friends using products like these. It is simply prohibitively complicated compared to dropbox - that "just works". I even recall a comment on here when Dropbox launched saying something like "why not configure an FTP server to do this". This is that FTP server. Also, personally, I would never host any content on-prem at my home. It is far too…

Dead on. And the comment you referenced is one of my favorite all-time HN comments… "For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem." This is a perfect example of when tech-minded people get blinded to how complicated some things are for the masses.

"For a Linux user"

No, if you're capable of doing all that, you're a Linux sysadmin, not a user. Too many tech folk blur those lines, but there's a huge difference (and yes, I know the dropbox comment has been beaten to death over the years - I just never got my 2 cents in before!)

Re: FreedomBox

#42

Post by kelnos »

ReAzem wrote: post #23
vinceguidry wrote: post #22

Yay, another distro. /s Seriously though, software isn't the issue here, hardware is. Anybody with the skills can slap Linux on an old computer and turn it into a server. It's packaging it up into something you can sell to the non-technical that's the real win. I wish free software advocates would take more lessons from Jobs instead of blindly idealizing Woz.

FreemdomBox is a Debian package. It isn't another distro. They are focusing on exactly what you are saying, putting together a UI that non-technicals can use.

I don't think you understood the parent's core point. The "masses" aren't going to find or buy an old server and install Debian and FreedomBox on it, and then set it up to run headless in a corner of their house. That's not in the area of technical expertise of most people. They might, however, buy a pre-built, pre-installed appliance that just needs to be plugged in and have a web browser pointed at it to get started.

Re: FreedomBox

#43

Post by 77ko »

cozicoolmail wrote: post #4

Even if these things were dead simple, I cannot see any of my non-technical friends using products like these. It is simply prohibitively complicated compared to dropbox - that "just works". I even recall a comment on here when Dropbox launched saying something like "why not configure an FTP server to do this". This is that FTP server. Also, personally, I would never host any content on-prem at my home. It is far too…

Doesn't the rise of containers and cloud companies which will host and run them make this easier? if not now, later on? companies like Digital Ocean are pretty close to the one click upload container and run it model.

i.e you have companies which will securely and redundantly host a (encrypted?) container, which gets backed up and so on, and runs the freedombox of your choice.

So you have control/freedom/ponies and the cloud compute becomes just plumbing.

Re: FreedomBox

#44

Post by aphextron »

cozicoolmail wrote: post #4

Even if these things were dead simple, I cannot see any of my non-technical friends using products like these. It is simply prohibitively complicated compared to dropbox - that "just works". I even recall a comment on here when Dropbox launched saying something like "why not configure an FTP server to do this". This is that FTP server. Also, personally, I would never host any content on-prem at my home. It is far too…

>Even if these things were dead simple, I cannot see any of my non-technical friends using products like these. It is simply prohibitively complicated compared to dropbox - that "just works". I even recall a comment on here when Dropbox launched saying something like "why not configure an FTP server to do this". This is that FTP server.

This is the problem with every attempt at decentralized, federated social media as well IMO. To be sure, the privacy concerns of a centralized service will never really go away. But the benefits of centralization on the web are massive from a UX standpoint. This seems like a solvable problem. It seems to me like it shouldn't be too hard for a company to be verifiably private in their handling of your data.

Re: FreedomBox

#45

Post by quadrangle »

dijit27 wrote: post #20

The copy and design of the landing page led me to believe that FreedomBox is an actual box that has all that great software preloaded and ready to go. Which made the unlabeled download button jarring. The text should be changed to something like: FreedomBox is designed to [run on/create] your own inexpensive server at home. It [includes/is built with] free software and offers an increasing number of services ranging…

There was indeed, as I understand it, a plan to sell all set up hardware, ready to go. The original stuff got delayed when the main developer had his house burn down in a forest fire or something. But the software is usable.

Apparently, they were selling some all-set-to-go boxes at LibrePlanet…

Re: FreedomBox

#47

Post by sincerely »

mgkimsal wrote: post #41
bradbatt wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dead on. And the comment you referenced is one of my favorite all-time HN comments… "For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem." This is a perfect example of when tech-minded people get blinded to how complicated some things are for the masses.

"For a Linux user" No, if you're capable of doing all that, you're a Linux sysadmin, not a user. Too many tech folk blur those lines, but there's a huge difference (and yes, I know the dropbox comment has been beaten to death over the years - I just never got my 2 cents in before!)

I'm guessing the overlap between linux sysadmins and linux users is much larger (not counting phones etc) than the overlap between windows sysadmins and windows users, though :)

Re: FreedomBox

#48

Post by ryukafalz »

quadrangle wrote: post #45
dijit27 wrote: post #20

The copy and design of the landing page led me to believe that FreedomBox is an actual box that has all that great software preloaded and ready to go. Which made the unlabeled download button jarring. The text should be changed to something like: FreedomBox is designed to [run on/create] your own inexpensive server at home. It [includes/is built with] free software and offers an increasing number of services ranging…

There was indeed, as I understand it, a plan to sell all set up hardware, ready to go. The original stuff got delayed when the main developer had his house burn down in a forest fire or something. But the software is usable. Apparently, they were selling some all-set-to-go boxes at LibrePlanet…

>Apparently, they were selling some all-set-to-go boxes at LibrePlanet…

They weren't as far as I know. They had a one-off prototype running at their booth, but that model never made it to production.

Re: FreedomBox

#49

Post by subway »

I'm kind of curious what the little blue system on the front page is. It looks very similar to a CuBox (speaking of; I'm kind of sad there are no iMX6 images), but with slightly different port placement.
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