3 ms·

>The cost of preparing to switch can be relatively low - pay $8/year for your own domain and it's possible to keep using the same systems you choose today. Dom

by dictum 13y ago

>The cost of preparing to switch can be relatively low - pay $8/year for your own domain and it's possible to keep using the same systems you choose today. Domains are not the only thing you need to take into account. There is hosting, deployment, and keeping things up to date and secure. Take email for example. Google no longer offer free Google Apps accounts, so you have to spend at least $50/year for a single user to use Google Apps Mail with your domain while you prepare to switch to your own server. To run your own server, you may wish to use a VPS. You can find a cheap provider on LowEndBox, but for additional safety and reliability, you decide to sign up for a DigitalOcean VPS for $5/month. Then you have to install it, keep it updated, etc. It's not expensive, but it's not $8/year, and it's not as easy as just having a Gmail account. This is just email; other services introduce other complications. I really don't want to spread FUD, and I wish more people would break away from the Apple/Google/Microsoft cage.

casca 13y ago
I'm not advocating that people move now. The value of Gmail definitely outweighs current costs for many people so it makes sense to keep using it. But to buy a domain and forward email to a Gmail address does not require a VPS or maintaining it. Other services may be harder to migrate, but they usually don't have the same cost of notification. If I change where my calendar is hosted, I don't need to inform all my contacts.
- dictum 13y ago
  Again, a Google Apps account for a single user now costs $5/month ($50 if you pay annually). I made an account (with multiple users so I could have different emails for certain services and needs) when it was still free. If I were to sign up now, I'd need at least 4 users, so it'd cost me $20/month. There are better and cheaper alternatives, but I just wanted to point out that you can't get free Google Apps accounts anymore.
danielweber 13y ago
What are my rights if I have a Digital Ocean box and they decide I suck (the same way Apple or Google might)?
jxdxbx 13y ago
With Hover at least you get a free forward-only email address with your domain, and with Gmail, you can send email "from" any address you have control over, without needing an apps account. So, with Gmail, and with the various first-party Gmail apps, it's a cinch to use your own domain for email without switching providers. You can do this with Gmail over IMAP as well, though I just use the first-party apps on my devices for the most part. But for the record, if you set up a "Gmail" account on an iOS device this doesn't work; you have to set it up as IMAP and monkey with the settings a bit.

by dictum 13y ago

casca 13y ago

I'm not advocating that people move now. The value of Gmail definitely outweighs current costs for many people so it makes sense to keep using it. But to buy a domain and forward email to a Gmail address does not require a VPS or maintaining it. Other services may be harder to migrate, but they usually don't have the same cost of notification. If I change where my calendar is hosted, I don't need to inform all my contacts.

dictum 13y ago
Again, a Google Apps account for a single user now costs $5/month ($50 if you pay annually). I made an account (with multiple users so I could have different emails for certain services and needs) when it was still free. If I were to sign up now, I'd need at least 4 users, so it'd cost me $20/month. There are better and cheaper alternatives, but I just wanted to point out that you can't get free Google Apps accounts anymore.

danielweber 13y ago

What are my rights if I have a Digital Ocean box and they decide I suck (the same way Apple or Google might)?

jxdxbx 13y ago

With Hover at least you get a free forward-only email address with your domain, and with Gmail, you can send email "from" any address you have control over, without needing an apps account. So, with Gmail, and with the various first-party Gmail apps, it's a cinch to use your own domain for email without switching providers. You can do this with Gmail over IMAP as well, though I just use the first-party apps on my devices for the most part. But for the record, if you set up a "Gmail" account on an iOS device this doesn't work; you have to set it up as IMAP and monkey with the settings a bit.