I feel like their goal is more close to providing a privacy-minded alternative to Google's G-suite to "regular" users, so for me it totally makes sense.
But yeah, I'm also really waiting for the Linux drive app.
That might be it. Whatever the reason, it seems like a missed opportunity. Especially when they go out of their way to provide direct APKs to Android users who do not use Play Store.
I don’t think they don’t care, they have been adding Linux versions for all of their apps (except drive of course). The CEO themselves said in an interview that a Linux client for drive is inevitable and they will make one, but one of the hardest clients to develop.
I'm gonna try to see if you can use a windows vm with proton drive and a shared folder with the host system. Kinda a pain, but if it works it works. What I'd really love is an api for this kind of asshattery
Have you tried a low-code database, such as nocodb? I tried satisfy my need for structures data that way and it works for simple usecases. There are formulas too, but they (like spreadsheets) require some knowledge to set up.
Over nextcloud probably the e2ee. I suppose soon they will also integrate this better with email (like you can attach directly and save directly from email), so the seamless integrations with the rest of the products will probably amount to other benefits over time.
“After years of pushing their proprietary and closed solutions to privacy minded people Proton decided that it was in their best interest to further bury said users into their service as a form of vendor lock-in. To achieve this they made yet anoter non-standard groupware feature - a document editor.
As open components, we have the OpenDocument standard + signal protocol for E2EE + CRDTs for conflict resolution. No idea whether they're compatible though.
Until I can easily export the data, where is the vendor lock?
Vendor lock means that migrating away has significant cost or technical challenges.
Take this case: documents saved are first of all easily downloadable from drive (in bulk), and also exportable in markdown.
They change pricing/add features that I don't want/sell off the company (hard now that it's managed by a nonprofit but still) etc.? I make a nice bulk download and move everything in whatever other system I want. I can do the same for contacts, email (I use my own domains) and calendar. Basically, 1h + the time to download files and I am moved to another provider.
Can you elaborate in what you think the vendor lock looks like?
If I have to choose between a company that freely sells and uses all my data versus a company that e2e encrypts my data and only complies with police and intelligence agency if it is specifically mandated by a swiss judge (and are fighing against it[1]), my money is definitely on the later
Is it perfect? Probably not. - Does it match my thread model? Definitely yes!
Also their privacy policy [2] allows to make a pretty well informed decision and map it against your thread model