Nextcloud
Nextcloud is a FOSS self hosted dropbox. Why use nextcloud? Because you want to backup files. Things like emails, contacts, texts, all can and will be lost on a mobile phone if you don't have a backup. Nextcloud can sync these up.
Setting up Nextcloud
You can do a self hosted server and manage it yourself, but then you have to manage updates. Another option is to purchase hosted and managed nextcloud services. There is a list on the official website. This is the way to go, I think. Especially, if you are an IT guy and deploying this for multiple customers. If it's just you, then go ahead, use an RPI and host it from your garage / basement.
Things to look for
Make sure the nextcloud provider you purchase from manages updates for you. Otherwise, you may as well just host it yourself, if they don't. In this age of RPI nas' I don't see any reason to buy an unmanaged nextcloud. The only advantage hosted nextcloud has is if the updates are managed for you.
Keep track of where the servers are located. Most providers are EU at the moment, so that introduces latency for US users.
Things to beware of
Some companies will offer updates only on certain services. Double check! Unfortunately, there is no standard lookup for this kind of information, so you will spend some time reviewing each vendor's website.
Comparison Table
- Owncube: 5/euro a month w/multiple users but one time fee of 90 euros for managed updates.
- Webo Hosting: 25/euro a month for managed acct w/multiple users
Tips/Tricks/Traps
Pale Moon Can't Add Users
When in admin panel, Palemoon (28.8.1) can't add users. FF can.
Large Email Attachment Support
Thunderbird:
- https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/nextcloud-filelink/
- https://help.nextcloud.com/t/how-can-i-sync-the-calendar-with-thunderbird/5835/5 - Calendar
Outlook:
Useful Apps
There are phone sync apps for Android and Iphone.
There is video chat over IP:
You can have phone calls, with encryption. A step above a mobile phone call.
Webdav Setup
webdav is a way to use nextcloud with other client programs. I needed this for my i386 machine which can't use the official x86-64 appimage provided by nc.
There is some conflicting information online about what paths to use for nextcloud. I found the following path works in Konqueror, and Dolphin, and on Slackware 14.3:
webdavs://nextcloudserver.com/remote.php/webdav/
Note that it ends with 'webdav'. The following lists directories but does not work because it uses only dav:
webdavs://nextcloudserver.com/remote.php/dav/
Note: sometimes the prefix will change. webdav is for http, webdavs is for https.
Note: sometimes webdav is dav and webdavs is davs. It depends on the file manager. I've also seen others ask for only https (Storage Services Manager in slackware 14.3 works with https, but using the above path. Essentially, you pass remote.php/webdav/)
When in doubt, refer to BOTH nextcloud and owncloud docs, as they are similar (as of 2020-02).
External Links
- https://nextcloud.com/signup/ - Here you can find Providers, specializing in NC. Caveat emptor.
