The Vergecast An impossible journey into self-hosting
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Oct 30, 2023 
Peter Van Hardenburg, a researcher at Ink&Switch, and Cory Doctorow, an author and activist, dive into the world of self-hosting and local-first software. They discuss the challenges and benefits of self-hosting applications, highlighting privacy implications and technical complexities. Doctorow emphasizes the importance of interoperability, critiquing the influence of tech giants on user autonomy. The conversation also touches on the need for user-friendly tools and the future of technology that prioritizes flexibility, ownership, and meaningful design.
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Self-Hosting Challenges
- David Pierce bought a B-Link Mini PC to experiment with self-hosting.
- He found the process difficult and gave up halfway through, highlighting the complexity of self-hosting.
Immense's Origin and Simplification
- Alex Tran created Immense, a self-hosted Google Photos alternative, because his wife wanted a similar tool without Google's cost.
- Immense's setup, initially complex with Docker, has been simplified to reduce initial configuration.
Self-Hosting's Technical Barrier
- Self-hosting requires technical knowledge, which may limit its mainstream adoption.
- Docker's containerization simplifies development and deployment across different operating systems.