There’s something quietly significant happening in France right now that probably won’t make much noise outside tech circles, but it’s worth paying attention to. The French government is rolling out their own video conferencing platform, essentially ditching Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favour of a homegrown solution they’re calling “Visio” (yes, the same name as Microsoft’s diagramming tool, which is either brilliantly cheeky or a massive oversight depending on your perspective).

The tech world is buzzing with news of Tailscale’s latest funding round, and my notification feeds are lighting up with concerned users discussing what this might mean for the future of the service. Sitting here in my home office, watching the autumn leaves fall outside my window, I can’t help but feel a familiar sense of dread.

Remember when Reddit was just a gathering place for communities? Or when LastPass was the password manager everyone recommended? The pattern is dishearteningly familiar - a beloved service gains popularity, attracts investor attention, and then begins the slow descent into what’s now termed “enshittification.” It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck, and many of us in the self-hosted community are bracing for impact.

The recent buzz around self-hosted alternatives to Google services has got me thinking about my own digital autonomy journey. Don’t get me wrong - this isn’t about bashing Google. Their services are polished and convenient, but there’s something deeply satisfying about taking control of your digital life.

My home server, humming away in the study, has become quite the Swiss Army knife of services. The star of the show lately has been Immich, a remarkably capable alternative to Google Photos. What started as a curious experiment has turned into my primary photo management solution. The face recognition feature works surprisingly well, even on my modest hardware, and the ability to share libraries between family members is brilliant.