That was an interesting read, thank you. An unexpectedly depressing ending though 😆

I don’t think so. It would be pretty pointless if you did.

Do you selfhost anything? Apparently it’s possible to selfhost a matrix server with a bridge to Whatsapp. I’ve been procrastinating testing this, so I don’t know exactly how it works, but I assume someone on the self-hosting community can provide more info.

Edit: spelling

In Switzerland Galaxus overtook Amazon years ago. Brack appears to be improving lately, offering faster delivery options.

I don’t want to end up with a duplicate Amazon problem though, so for 3rd party sellers on Galaxus, if they have their own website, I often buy directly from them.

A different google account in the private space.

Currently everything in owner, with banking apps in my private space.

I was tempted by the idea of owner as an app repo but the private space is only available in the owner profile.

Someone else in this thread mentioned they were using another device for their app repo and sideloading from there. That’s an intriguing idea for keeping even sandboxed Google off my owner profile. An idea for the future maybe.

There are a couple of apps that work just for ticket files (.pkpass). I’m currently using FOSS wallet. Catima works too but I didn’t love the layout.

I’ve been following this community for a while now and have not yet found the courage to selfhost anything.

I find the answers generally either assume a lot of knowledge, or throw out a single solution provider (synology, nextcloud, yunohost). Neither of these approaches helps me advance the big picture overview that I’m lacking, or a way of evaluating what the best setup is for me. I’ve started drafting an overview document for myself with the vague idea of asking for feedback here but I’m not sure such a request would be welcome.

So, yes, I would be interested in a solution that makes self-hosting more accessible.

I recently came across this 2023 Mozilla article on data privacy in cars and it’s horrendous. This was based in the US, so one would expect some differences in the EU to comply with GDPR, however who even thinks of asking about the data their car collects?

Suffice it to say, I’m rather hesitant currently to buy any data greedy product from a company headquartered outside Europe. It’s not entirely avoidable but with cars, we do have options, so please do ask lots of questions before making a choice.

Yay, some success :D

The squabbling is, ugh, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Everyone agrees that the current duopoly of apple and google app stores is bad, but instead of supporting a variety of alternative options, they expect every option to offer a perfect solution for whatever they’re a purist about.

Some relevant comments from the developer on another forum from about a year ago, when they only had 10 apps:

Developer of Accrescent here. Yes, there are only a handful of apps available right now. The reason for this is that the recent focus hasn’t been directed on getting more apps in the store, but instead on internal changes to allow Accrescent to include more features and scale to more users. It will be able to include more apps once more of those changes are implemented.

Yes, we may take on some additional apps over time. This depends on how much the project can handle maintenance-wise and how willing those app developers are to deal with the early and changing nature of Accrescent. We’re not directly reaching out to any developers at this time, however.

So apparently it’s been a deliberate choice so far.

My understanding is that the whole point to trying to hire a full time developer is to be able to finally scale their services.

Yes, that is a weakness with many FOSS projects. Developers with great ideas lacking business acumen.

That said, I expect that they can become financially self-sustaining from selling proprietary apps if they can get enough scale. I wouldn’t mind making a small monthly donation long-term but it needs to be less than what they are currently asking.

Here is a link to F-Droid’s Open Collective page. If this is accurate, they seem to be doing OK for funding right now. I’m sure they’d appreciate another sponsor though, if you’re not already donating.

Last I heard, the intention is that users will be able to filter for open-source apps if they want.

I haven’t seen anything warning against proprietary apps specifically. As a minimum, I would hope that they implement an agreement similar to the play store where the app developers are legally bound by the privacy terms in the app description (re data, advertising, etc.). This statement could maybe include an alternative wording for OS vs Proprietary apps? Definitely something to think about.

Edit to add: I can’t comment on 3rd party repositories. Too technical for me.

That’s an absolutely valid choice.

It’s not however the choice that the majority of people make. Weaning them off the play store needs an alternative with proprietary apps.

Yes. I assume that’s partly what this is about.

To date the majority of the coding has been done by one person after work. Their infrastructure was also too slow.

They released a progress update and roadmap a few days ago. They’ve already implemented some infrastructure upgrades and are prioritising back-end updates. Presumably this will make the store more attractive for app developers.

The funding push is to make it possible to have a developer working on the project fulltime.

Edit: a word

2nd edit to add: I found this thread from about a year ago, when they only had 10 apps. Relevant quotes from the developer:

Developer of Accrescent here. Yes, there are only a handful of apps available right now. The reason for this is that the recent focus hasn’t been directed on getting more apps in the store, but instead on internal changes to allow Accrescent to include more features and scale to more users. It will be able to include more apps once more of those changes are implemented.

Yes, we may take on some additional apps over time. This depends on how much the project can handle maintenance-wise and how willing those app developers are to deal with the early and changing nature of Accrescent. We’re not directly reaching out to any developers at this time, however.

So apparently it’s a deliberate choice.

F-Droid is great for the FOSS market but not everyone only wants FOSS apps, Microg and the Aurora Store exist for a reason. Accrescent could theoretically (eventually) make it possible to wean more people completely off the play store.

If F-Droid meets your needs, then that’s great, and this post is not for you :)

They released their roadmap a few days ago.

Agreed.

Also, I’d love it if we would track how much the loss in income from US tarifffs is and reduce Swiss spending on US technology by at least that amount. Let’s spend that money at home, in Europe, and in other markets that partner with us instead.