Nextcloud podcast

Johanna Pirker is a professor of computer science at TU Munich and TU Graz, founder of the Game Lab Graz, and a member of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. She works at the intersection of AI, games, virtual and augmented reality, and human-computer interaction. We tap into her perspective on where gaming meets learning, learning meets AI, and where open source tools foster innovation in her fields.

In this episode of the Nextcloud Podcast, we meet Aline Blankertz, a German data economist and digital rights campaigner. Aline is an economist and Tech Economy Lead at Rebalance Now, where she works on strategies to counter concentrated power in digital markets. She combines years of experience in competition economics with a strong commitment to making markets democratically accountable.

This episode of the Nextcloud Podcast is an exciting contributor story. And just in time before holidays, we are talking about cooking... and code. Meet Christian Wolf, a long-term Nextcloud contributor and maintainer of the famous Cookbook app! During his early coding days, Christian was trying to learn more about web applications. Seeking an app to sharpen his skills with, he came across the Cookbook app. Many years later, Christian is the main brain behind Cookbook, while the app is one of the most popular apps on Nextcloud App Store. Christian shares with us how he got into coding and open source, his work on the Cookbook app and his vision for its future, and tips for people who want to start developing for Nextcloud.

We meet Simon Lindner, software engineer at Nextcloud, the developer of Nextcloud AIO, to duscover the history and present of Nextcloud AIO, Simon's personal journey, and, of course, everything a meticulous admin wants to know about the easiest way to host Nextcloud.

We're joined by Anna and Michael "Monty" Widenius, the people behind the MariaDB Foundation, who are here to help us unpack the challenges of the open source business, vendor lock-in, and owning your data through their unique lens — and experience.

From Andy's approach to problem-solving and guiding others to his personal values that give him direction, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, community, and personal growth.

In this episode, we explore how open source solutions are revolutionizing the way governments work, from collaboration and knowledge sharing to digital sovereignty and artificial intelligence. Sven shares the factors that influenced their decision to adopt open source solutions, their implementation strategies along the way, and lessons learned from the adoption of open source in Munich.

Edward Snowden's disclosures in 2013 were not only revelatory but also catalyzed a necessary discussion around mass surveillance and yet Constanze argues we've since lost momentum in this critical conversation. She expresses concern that, as the public has become increasingly complacent, the intelligence services have grown even more powerful and influential. We reflect on the changing landscape of hacktivism and investigative reporting, and how policy is struggling to keep pace with modern technological advancements. Constanze also reminds us that there's still much work to be done in addressing the pressing issues facing us today – from mass surveillance and data protection to predictive policing and platform capitalism.

With the recent accelerating pace of innovation, public sector institutions throughout Europe have come to prioritize digital sovereignty as a primary driver in designing resilient IT systems. Manuel Liesenfeld, Head of Head of Public Sector Division at Bechtle AG, discusses the current innovations in the European public sector and the obligation of public buyers to deliver resilient and sovereign digital solutions that put citizens first. We explore how Bechtle - Germany’s largest IT system house - and Nextcloud's recent partnership in offering digitally sovereign collaboration services for the European public sector is an important step in building resilient IT systems that prioritize security and data protection.

So many Nextclouders - from enterprise and education to activists and families - decide to self-host their privacy-focused IT infrastructure. What exactly motivates us to self-host? Is this inherently an increased data security risk? What of the grit needed to host your own digital infrastructure? The answers to these questions may surprise you! Lea Gröber, PhD student in Usable Security @ CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, shares insight from two recent studies exploring motivations in self-hosting and Nextclouders specifically. We explore the topic of Usable Security and how, in terms of security, the human aspect of your digital infrastructure may be the most important, and yet the least understood. Afterall, "Users are not the enemy."