Fabio Manganiello on Nostr: nprofile1q…xzkkf I also run my Pixelfed instance, but I feel like the use-case is a ...
nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq7dvvvuxs0thapytcc7e9p4s42664yz4nvgvxrclm573rzqsz5ecq6xzkkf (nprofile…zkkf) I also run my Pixelfed instance, but I feel like the use-case is a bit different (Pixelfed is more akin to Instagram, to share photos with your social circle, while Immich is more akin to Google/Apple Photos).
But it’s hard not to wind up with a bunch of different apps, all with their own way of doing things.
This is exactly the thing I’d like to change at some point.
It’s not a problem for tech-savvy users like us to seamlessly move between different services and apps, but for almost anyone else it’s a daunting task (all the times my mother called me to ask “where this option on this new thing? how do I do this?“ are a proof of it).
My argument is that major providers of software should be tolerated only if they put inter-operability at the center of everything.
Take the Fediverse for example. If I don’t like the official Mastodon app, I can pick among dozens of alternative apps that will still work (mostly) fine with the same backend. And if I don’t like the Mastodon backend and I’d like to migrate to Friendica, GoToSocial or Pleroma, it’s quite likely that 90% of the features from the app I use will keep working also with the new backend.
I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect the same level of inter-operability from huge companies that have far more engineering resources than a bunch of FOSS enthusiasts.
Suppose Apple decides to comply with the UK government tomorrow, and suddenly E2EE is compromised (either for UK citizens alone or globally). Users should be able to seamlessly move their data to other services without any form of friction. And alternative frontends should exist so that people like my mother can keep using the same app both with Google/Apple Photos and with any other comparable hosting cloud.
I think that the EU is also aligned on this doctrine (opening up services to alternative frontends is part of the DMA doctrine for gatekeepers), but given how long it has taken for GDPR to be implemented (and it’s still far from being implemented even by some large companies) I think that we’ll still see companies drag their feet from years on this.
But it’s hard not to wind up with a bunch of different apps, all with their own way of doing things.
This is exactly the thing I’d like to change at some point.
It’s not a problem for tech-savvy users like us to seamlessly move between different services and apps, but for almost anyone else it’s a daunting task (all the times my mother called me to ask “where this option on this new thing? how do I do this?“ are a proof of it).
My argument is that major providers of software should be tolerated only if they put inter-operability at the center of everything.
Take the Fediverse for example. If I don’t like the official Mastodon app, I can pick among dozens of alternative apps that will still work (mostly) fine with the same backend. And if I don’t like the Mastodon backend and I’d like to migrate to Friendica, GoToSocial or Pleroma, it’s quite likely that 90% of the features from the app I use will keep working also with the new backend.
I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect the same level of inter-operability from huge companies that have far more engineering resources than a bunch of FOSS enthusiasts.
Suppose Apple decides to comply with the UK government tomorrow, and suddenly E2EE is compromised (either for UK citizens alone or globally). Users should be able to seamlessly move their data to other services without any form of friction. And alternative frontends should exist so that people like my mother can keep using the same app both with Google/Apple Photos and with any other comparable hosting cloud.
I think that the EU is also aligned on this doctrine (opening up services to alternative frontends is part of the DMA doctrine for gatekeepers), but given how long it has taken for GDPR to be implemented (and it’s still far from being implemented even by some large companies) I think that we’ll still see companies drag their feet from years on this.