e11bits

My DeGoogle journey

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A sheep in the flock 🐑🐑 🐑 🐑🐑 Link to heading

I have been using many Google services or software for a really long time. And to be honest, and this is surely nothing new, they are pretty convenient to use. Search, GMail, Calendar, Maps, Drive, Meet, Chrome, Password Manager, Authenticator and many more are great services or software and are all either available as web applications or native apps for the desktop or mobile or both. And over the years I had to pay close to nothing for using these. But what is common knowledge now, but can’t be repeated enough: You are paying Google with your data, which is collected through all these services and software.

Installing File Browser on Dokku

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re looking to reduce your dependence on Google Drive but find solutions like Nextcloud or commercial services unnecessarily complex for your needs, File Browser might be exactly what you’re looking for. This lightweight, web-based file manager provides a clean interface for uploading, organizing, and sharing files without the overhead of a full-featured cloud storage platform.

File Browser is particularly well-suited for users who need occasional cloud storage for temporary file sharing or maintaining accessible copies of some documents, rather than comprehensive synchronization and collaboration features. While the project is currently in maintenance-only mode with limited active development, it remains a solid, stable solution for simple cloud storage needs. The core functionality is mature and reliable, making it an excellent choice when you don’t need cutting-edge features.

The status of my degoogle

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Slowly moving along Link to heading

Almost eight months ago I wrote about my current degoogle status and what I would like to replace next. I had already been expecting this, but not much has changed since then. 😥

Replacing Google Drive with File Browser Link to heading

Last month I installed File Browser on my dokku instance and although it doesn’t have all the features of Google Drive, it’s more than good enough for my needs:

A closer look at my transition away from exploitative software

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Back in my last post I wrote about how slowly I was moving away from Google services in particular and how little I had achieved in the past eight months.

Soon after that I saw a post of a neat looking graphics by someone, that showed a list of services and their privacy friendly alternatives he had replaced them with. Apparently there is a website called privacy pack replacing google apps, that lets you create this graphics.

Plausible on Dokku

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

UPDATE: The problem with a selfhosted Plausible

Website Analytics Link to heading

There are a lot of alternatives to Google for website analytics. Here are just a few:

Some of them also have a selfhosting option, like Fatomhom Lite and the Plausible Community Edition, where the former doesn’t seem to have gotten any updates for a couple of years.

The problem with a selfhosted Plausible

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Running out of diskspace quickly Link to heading

Pretty soon after setting up Plausible on Dokku the instance ran out of diskspace. Plausible is using ClickHouse and its storage files quickly used up the majority of the available diskspace. And that’s for a single site with very little traffic.

And looking at this github issue on Plausible CE, diskspace consumption will grow out of bounds regardless the traffic:

Hetzner new server plans

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A week ago Hetzner announced new server plans in EU and SIN:

In the locations EU and SIN, server plans are no longer distinguished by hardware type, but by hardware generation.

For this change, we are introducing new server lines:

Shared: Cloud Regular Performance (CPX Gen2 · x86)

Run on the more recent AMD hardware generations available in a location.

Shared: Cloud Cost-Optimized (CX Gen3 · x86 / CAX · Arm64)

CAX plans run on an Arm-based platform using Ampere® CPUs. CX Gen3 plans are based on older hardware generations (formerly used by CX Gen1 & Gen 2 and CPX Gen1). They can run on either Intel® or AMD, depending on availability.

Dedicated: Cloud General Purpose (CCX · x86)

Always run on the most recent hardware generations available in a location.

Existing servers are not affected by the deprecation of CX Gen2 and CPX Gen1 plans. They will continue to work.

Hetzner price adjustments

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Just about four months after Hetzner accounced new server plans, they now announced price increases starting on 1st April 2026.

The price for running a tiny (new or existing) Dokku instance will increase about 33%:

Name	VCPUs (x86)	RAM (GB)	SSD (GB)	old price (€/mo)	new price (€/mo)	increase %
cx23	2	4	40	3.56	4.75	+33%
cx33	4	8	80	5.94	7.72	+30%
cx43	8	16	160	10.70	14.27	+33%
cx53	16	32	320	20.22	26.76	+32%

Prices include 19% German VAT.

About

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

👋 Hi, I’m Alex, and welcome to my site 👷‍♂️ I’m Software Engineer doing mostly backend, go and python 🇩🇪 Based in Cologne 🤡, Germany

🎉 This blog is a mixed bag and I hope you find something useful or interesting 🙏

Lost and Found

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

🇩🇪 Hast Du einen Gegenstand von mir gefunden? Link to heading

Bitte schicke mir eine E-mail. Vielen Dank!

🇬🇧 Have you found one of my items? Link to heading

Please send me an email. Thank you!