Just to add to what Scott said: One important part is that the Nextcloud Box is just a device running Nextcloud. It’s not the main product. :) We focus on developing the software, which is 100% open source and at https://github.com/nextcloud
(Disclaimer: I used to be Design Lead at ownCloud and moved to Nextcloud.)
You can run that together with a Dovecot for example. It integrates nicely with Nextcloud Contacts for autocompletion and Files for attachments. Testing and contributions are very much welcome! :)
Well, this is part of why we forked it to Nextcloud (disclaimer: I used to be Design Lead at ownCloud and moved to Nextcloud).
We’re focusing a lot more on stability and innovation, and if you look at the Github statistics, you’ll see that our activity surpasses ownCloud’s by a magnitude.
The Raspberry Pi is the obvious choice because it’s very widely available. :) Raspberry Pi 3 compatibility is coming with the next version.
For Nextcloud itself people like to of course hate about it being in PHP just for the sake of it. But the simple fact is that it enables a lot of people to run it. And if we want a viable alternative, then that is paramount.
Hey there – I’m interaction designer at Nextcloud and did the exterior design of the box (little of the interior as that was indeed done by WDLabs).
We’re working on improvements to the box and the bends of the cables are something we take into account. Also the power cable sticking out of the back.
So being a fully open source project we are happy about any contributions, especially if you are knowledgeable in that field. In any case I will forward your recommendations to the team, so thanks a lot already! (I’m sure they also thought about these things so I’ll let you know.) :)
Look for right angle usb connectors. They're pretty useful when you're dealing with size constraints like this. I'm honestly kind of surprised that Western Digital didn't have a supplier that you could call up, custom cables seem like a natural thing for them.
Also just to add to this: The Nextcloud Box is a device running Nextcloud, not our main product. :) The focus continues to be the software, which is the server and the apps for syncing.
Why the focus on the Raspberry Pi? I've got one on my desk finally after years of using OrangePi PC's in prod environments at businesses, and the Raspberry Pi just seems limited with the shared I/O and lack of support for any kind of libre stack.
Currently testing out an OrangePi Plus 2E strapped to a touchscreen to replace the all in ones we use for another product, with good results thus far.
Similar here: At Nextcloud we are also radically inclusive and have never seen a case of vandalism.
Granted, there were few occurences of accidental pushes to master here and there. But that’s where git itself helps and also the recent addition of protected branches on Github is very useful. :)
If the community is open and these artificial barriers to entry are removed, then people are way more likely to get involved.
Well, legal stuff and also you just don't badmouth people you worked with until recently. It's simply not nice, and we are still friends with some of the Inc employees.
I’d be interested in what you think about it. It’s completely open source, so any feedback or contribution is much appreciated! :)