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Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

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Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#61

Post by harichinnan »

z0mbie42 wrote: post #45
spurgu wrote: post #30

Wouldn't "G Suite" be more descriptive than "Google"? Putting it in quotes kind of makes you think you're not referring to the search engine, but still... However that may be I love the mission, awesome work!

Hi, Productivity is the current foundation, but you can think having an open source Bloom tractor in some years. I've dared the Google comparison, because I see Google as an innovative tech giant who have an app for all our needs. We have the same goal. But open source.

Why target Google? GSuite is a far cry from Microsoft Office. Checkout office.com

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#62

Post by Fej »

paxys wrote: post #37
Fej wrote: post #34

For Bitflow, how are you going to handle copyright infringement? You're going to be flooded with takedown requests. Surely you have realized this? Good luck, this looks to be a good start.

Not if the files aren't public.

It works like any other torrent client, if a rightsholder finds a torrent of their content they can attempt to sue whoever was downloading by looking at the IPs in the swarm. In this case that would be Bloom's servers.

It's like a free VPN.

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#63

Post by z0mbie42 »

dustfinger wrote: post #60

> Bloom is an organization which use open source / access / data... to redistribute freely its production, relying on new technologies to do it cheaply at scale, rather than using them as an imperialist weapon. FYI to the site maintainer: The above excerpt is repeated in subsequent paragraphs.

Thank you! I've pushed a fix.

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#64

Post by imagine99 »

I like the audacity and hope you succeed.

I have actually wished for someone to create an open-source self-hostable copycat of Gmail (the UI) for a long time. Having trialled a multitude of alternatives (both commercial and open-source) I haven't found anything that doesn't require a huge adjustment re: usability and many compromises feature-wise.

Unfortunately, both in design and feature philosophy, Gmail is and has been for years the "non plus ultra" imho (and I gladly left Outlook-style emailing behind for it). Of course it too still has room for improvements but they will probably never happen (such as a one-touch PGP integration or better usability with many aliases), as we have most likely already reached "peak-Gmail". (Many other services, incl. Google Search, have also been deteriorated slowly, de facto killed (Google Books) or "optimised" to fit Google's/Alphabet's new strategy).

As a user of pretty much the first hour (when it was still invite only) and having moved several companies over to Gsuite from Exchange, I've felt more and more queasy over the last months and years...

When I found out recently thanks to a HN post that even my highest-paid Gsuite accounts track ALL my purchases (and many that aren't actually mine) and this CANNOT be switched off or deleted, it sort of finally broke the part of my heart that kind of still hung on to the old and long-since gone spirit of "don't be evil"...

Sorry for the rambling.

Bottom line: I do not know if you have any plans to add a "Gmail"-type email client/front-end (which could easily utilise one of the many very good open source email servers and spam filters) but I for one would welcome it with open arms.

Bonne chance!

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#65

Post by z0mbie42 »

shmerl wrote: post #51
z0mbie42 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think so. I didn't mention it because Mozilla is not really known for mere mortals (non geeks). But Mozilla is a great inspiration for me (their privacy first designs...)

I thought Mozilla is relatively well known, due to wide usage of Firefox.

Unfortunately, I do not share this point of view. At least in France.

My friends from CS school know it well, but my friends from Business schools does absolutely not.

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#66

Post by kingnothing »

imagine99 wrote: post #64

I like the audacity and hope you succeed. I have actually wished for someone to create an open-source self-hostable copycat of Gmail (the UI) for a long time. Having trialled a multitude of alternatives (both commercial and open-source) I haven't found anything that doesn't require a huge adjustment re: usability and many compromises feature-wise. Unfortunately, both in design and feature philosophy, Gmail is and has…

What does "non plus ultra" mean?

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#67

Post by shmerl »

z0mbie42 wrote: post #65
shmerl wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Mozilla is relatively well known, due to wide usage of Firefox.

Unfortunately, I do not share this point of view. At least in France. My friends from CS school know it well, but my friends from Business schools does absolutely not.

Interesting perspective.

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#68

Post by imagine99 »

kingnothing wrote: post #66
imagine99 wrote: post #64

I like the audacity and hope you succeed. I have actually wished for someone to create an open-source self-hostable copycat of Gmail (the UI) for a long time. Having trialled a multitude of alternatives (both commercial and open-source) I haven't found anything that doesn't require a huge adjustment re: usability and many compromises feature-wise. Unfortunately, both in design and feature philosophy, Gmail is and has…

What does "non plus ultra" mean?

Literally, it means "not more further", i.e. it is the peak, there is nothing better, this is the ultimate thing compared to others (like, you could say "my Model X is the non plus ultra of electric SUVs", just for example). I guess it is not a common expression but I like the phrase. ;-)

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#69

Post by paxys »

z0mbie42 wrote: post #54
paxys wrote: post #39

I don't know if it is intentional or not, but the Bloom logo is an almost exact copy of Google Drive's.

Some friend said the same thing, I've to admit that I'm not a designer and found the inspiration from the brand who spend big bucks on their logos.

In case the product gets popular you are 100% getting a copyright notice from Google, so may as well change it now rather than after the brand is established

Re: Show HN: Bloom – A free and open source 'Google'

#70

Post by JohnFen »

dougk16 wrote: post #3

Wow, ambitious! Your sheer nerve is enough to click on the link and check it out. :) As a potential early adopter that has seen countless would-be world-changing technology efforts come and go, in order to personally get me on the bandwagon, it would help to know a few things that didn't stand out to me at first, even after visiting the https://bloom.sh website. (1) When I think Google I think "search" first and fore…

> When I think Google I think "search" first and foremost, and I didn't see a search demo or anything.

I was expecting something related to search as well. This project is about the Google applications, though. That's ambitious and a great thing! I wish the devs the best of luck!

Sadly, though, I don't use those sorts of online apps and so I'm not in the target market.

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