It’s 2025, and I’m still finding it impossible to leave :(
* note: I use Google Workspace as a personal account, with just one (my) user, because that gives me access to the domain and management tools listed above
Infomanikak “kSuite bussiness” plan 79eur year. 5 email adresses. 3TB drive (their kDrive is legit better than google drive). WebDav/CardDav/CalDav. Their kMeet conferencing is solid.
Recently they got some Euria AI - i havent tried it i bet it's bad. Rest though i really like.
I really want to get my entire company out of Google and into Infomaniak but persuading anyone to use their docs suite is going to be impossible, it's awful.
They don't have anything of their own right? They just support Only Office through WebDav. That's like what Nextcloud does.
Unfortunately I don't think there ever will be google docs alternative that people will easily accept because it's almost impossible to build business based on competing with very complex/expensive product that google provides for free. It's clearly their loss leader and moat.
We used to have a self-hosted Nextcloud and everyone hated the docs in it. We're a design company, with everyone on Macs, so something this ugly, clunky and hard to use [0] is never going to get traction.
Ok but that clearly competes with microsoft Office. I would assume majority of office users prefer that look and feature set.
Even google docs are not really pretty. Maybe it's opportunity to get something like Craft, Outline or Notion and thus leaving that docs requirement as part of the suite.
I don't want to be _that_ guy pushing Infomaniak on each thread about email, but, yeah, it allowed me to get out of Google (with Kagi) with quite a lot of success.
Regarding Euria, I don't use it much since I have Kagi Assistant and other things via work, but I was quite surprised by the results given its cost.
The only annoying thing I saw was that it kept answering in French even though I prompted in English.
I think this is a very privileged statement when looking at affordability of many countries. For example 40 euros a month is out of reach for much of Albania.
Or in this case have a look at the Google Graveyard and/or those many stories of users that lost access to their Google account without any way to contact an actual person that could help them.
You can get all the domain stuff for less than 1 € from any competent hoster, e.g. netcup. For cloud drive, if you really want to put your own files on someone else's server, there are tons of cheaper options, e.g. 2 TB for 10 €/month from strato.
Gemini is of course something that no one needs.
I think it's reasonable to doubt this, and/or wonder how long until they decide to change this, and/or make exceptions like "to make your search experience better, Gemini now indexes your metadata (but only metadata so that's okay)"
I think Space: 1999's greatest achievement was its design. The whole aesthetic, from Alpha's styling to the clothing, is simply gorgeous, and easily surpasses the visuals of many series that followed.
I watched the original series as a kid and when a local TV station sent reruns of 1999 at the nineties and I was so amazed by the design that I only realized how rotten the plots were when I bought a DVD box a decade or two later.
One has to understand that in the 1990s the old popular culture was very much gone. Now it is different. Everything old preserved in the net which is actually probably the biggest cultural change the internet has brought.
Besides I learned why I've always liked wearing black leather gloves: Balor, the evil artist. The coolest character in the series.
The actual plots of Space1999 were pretty laughable but I don’t think the production design has ever been beaten, even it today’s shows. The sets and vehicles look fully functional, even the clothes look perfectly wearable despite being very 70s. Contrast this with Star Trek, with weird consoles and uniforms that look uncomfortable.
The theme is, of course, beyond reproach. I like to imagine the producers couldn’t decide between epic sci-fi chords, funk, and jangly surf guitar so the composer just said screw it and did all three.
The first sesason was solid for its time, a sort of twilight zone in space, or even a more fantastical take on Star Trek. It was less about an overarching plot or consistency or being based on a set of strict rules and more about exploring various themes, such as humans in the face of certain death. Nothing groundbreaking but the production and the actors make it work (some of them anyway - sorry, Barbara Bain is about as convincing as a piece of plywood).
Dragon's Domain has been living rent-free in my head for over two decades now even if I'm acutely aware how silly is the premise.
Long time Space:1999 fan here. I've been thinking about this a lot over the years and I agree with you; the show is best looked at as The Twilight Zone in Space. Well - first season anyway. You REALLY have to pick through the dung of second season to find a few "well, that bit was alright" moments.
I think the show worked best when it was a review of variations of loneliness.
* Dragon's Domain - Tony Cellini is burdened by the loneliness of a demon no one else sees.
* Guardian of Piri - John Koenig is surrounded by the best of the best in his senior staff. But under the "spell" of the Guardian, he has disagree with all of them and make some very lonely decisions.
* Voyager's Return - Ernst Queller is burdened by the memory of his mistake many years ago with development (and many deaths) of the Queller Drive. And it comes back to haunt him in real life, not just his imagination.
* End of Eternity - The alien Balor shows us that immortality could be the ultimate form of loneliness.
The plots are also extremely illogical and incoherent. I think though the greatest failure is in character development.
Rewatching it recently I felt like it was a drama about a really bad boss. Martin Landau's character is a terrible leader: shouty, over emotional, inclined to sudden bouts of despair, micromanaging.
It's obviously a great pity because as everyone agrees it's a beautiful show with a top notch theme.
> The actual plots of Space1999 were pretty laughable
And sooooo slooooooooow.
Given the fact that is was such an expensive (for the time) show, I really, really want to know how it is that they couldn't cough up for a writer that could produce something engaging rather than completely forgettable.
I mean it's not like SciFi was new at that point. Flash Gordon, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, etc. were more than a decade old and even Star Trek was more than 5 years old.
Another reminder that you should always instantly download everything you ever find interesting or valuable. The internet is temporal because it's backed by people and infrastructure which are fallible and fragile in the face of law and talk.
