Installing and testing Nextcloud

The free cloud storage software ownCloud has blossomed over the past years into a serious competitor for commercial services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Users wanting to take responsibility for storing their own data can enjoy convenient and frequent synchronization between computers and mobile devices by using a small server fitted with an ownCloud package. NAS device users often find it easy to install ownCloud packages in the official, and sometimes also unofficial, package sources of their system.

However, the ownCloud success story met with a serious setback at the end of last April. The ownCloud founder Frank Karlitschek [1] and a number of the original developers all left the project to pursue development of an ownCloud fork, which they call Nextcloud [2]. Jos Poortvliet, who was previously the community manager for ownCloud and is now responsible for communication for Nextcloud, refers to the undertaking as a "re-start." According to Karlitschek and Poortvliet, the new start was prompted by dissatisfaction arising out of structural problems and various business decisions occurring within the ownCloud organization.

Separation

To carry out this endeavor, Nextcloud is cooperating with Spreed.ME [3], a company that sells a computer named Spreedbox [4], which has a pre-installed video conferencing solution that combines a WebRTC server with ownCloud. Karlitschek and Niels Mache lead the new organization. Before joining Nextcloud, Mache was responsible for Spreed.ME. He was also a co-founder of Red Hat Germany. The goal of the new project is to expand the web application significantly beyond its core functionality and integrate something like the WebRTC server from Spreed and its accompanying application. Additionally, the project officially wants to maintain and support frequently used ownCoud applications, like the calendar and contact administration. They also have plans to cooperate with LibreOffice collaborative editing of office documents in the browser.

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