Sir “Pal” Poops-A-Lot, closest we got to a picture of his owner, our interview subject.
We did an interview with one of the central figures in the PCLinuxOS community, known as Mr CrankyPants-YouCanToo, and asked about their recent move to Nextcloud as private file sync and share solution. PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use. (from wikipedia) Tell us your name and your PCLOS involvement.
My forum username is Mr. CrankyPants-YouCanToo and my involvement with PCLinuxOS is that I host the forum website along with the master Repository and several PCLOS services (including Mail, Chat, etc.) that are offered to our members. I also host the PCLOSmag website and create the html and eBook versions of the monthly magazine. Occasionally I even read and answer some posts in the forum.
Tell us anything you want about PCLinuxOS. An intro to the community.
What more could anyone say about PCLinuxOS, except it is one of the most friendly OSes that a person can use. The community is a great bunch of guys and gals willing to help whenever needed!
Why do you need a private cloud and how do you use it?
Why the need for a private cloud? Control over our own files comes to mind first and foremost. Reading some forum posts about people having issues with some of the current cloud offerings, made some of us want a better solution over what was being offered such as Copy, and Dropbox and others. So we started offering a cloud service to our members only. Why did you decide to migrate and how did it go?
We originally started using OwnCloud running on a dedicated Centos server. We were having issues with the service provider and I decided to move everything inhouse and also seeing that I am no fan of systemD, the decision to run it from a server that was using PCLinuxOS was made. At the same time it was decided to move from OwnCloud to NextCloud. At the time we decided to rsync the user data to the new system, but re-entered all the users accounts on the new system. We had under 100 accounts to add again. The process went actually very well.
Are you happy with the result?
Yes, the results have turned out well for us. The system has proven to be very stable and reliable. Really what more can one ask for then reliable and stability.
Can you tell us about the technical side of things?
I do web design and hosting and the Nextcloud server is in my office located in the central Willamette Valley in Oregon. Our cloud server is running on a custom built quad core server running at 2.9Ghz with 16GB ram with a combo of SSD for running all the software and 2-2TB hard drives for data storage. We are running the latest version of PCLinuxOS for the OS. At the present moment we serve 421 PCLOS Members and are still growing.
What features do you like?
I really like all the apps that are available. You can make NextCloud work just the way you want it without have to have anything extra.
What features do the users like?
Well most of the users seem to think they should get more free storage space, but that isn’t a feature that nextcloud provides 😉 Outside of that I haven’t had any requests from the users for a feature that we have not already provided in our setup.
What features do you want us to try to add to new version?
Right now I am happy with all the current features provided. If in the future our users decide they need something that isn’t provided, we will be sure to make any suggestions for a new feature inclusion.
Anything else you wanna share with the Nextcloud community?
If you want your own personal cloud server, I would highly suggest using Nextcloud!
The landing page for our upcoming Nextcloud Hub release is now live! On September 27, 2025, at 10AM (CEST), we will present the latest Nextcloud Hub live from the Nextcloud Community Conference in Berlin, Germany. And you can be part of it, too, by signing up for the online launch! While you’re registering, you might […]
Passionate about data privacy and Nextcloud? We invite you speak at the Nextcloud Community Conference to share your experience, knowledge and news with the community!
For the ninth time, Nextcloud has been nominated for the CloudComputing-Insider Readers’ Choice Award in the category of Cloud Content Management. We’d love to reach the top again! And we’re looking for the support of you and everyone else in our amazing community to get there. Nextcloud as the best Cloud Content Management tool? Only […]
In the Nextcloud 2024 wrap-up, we want to take a moment to celebrate this year's achievements. Join us as we continue to reimagine what’s possible - shaping a world where open source, privacy and connection come together and drive progress for the greater good.
Organisations, small and large, need a way to ensure the resiliency and digital sovereignty of their operations – an open-source, privacy-respecting alternative to Teams. And today, we present that solution - Nextcloud Talk.
Nextcloud has been recognized with the World Summit Award Germany that selects and promotes local digital innovation improving society, aiming to contribute to the United Nations' agenda of sustainable development goals.
DIE ZEIT, a prominent German outlet, interviewed Nextcloud’s founder Frank Karlitschek for an article on Microsoft’s anti-competitive behaviour on the European office software market. Read for a recap of the article and the key takeaways.
MagentaCLOUD’s migration to Nextcloud in 2021 resulted in a fully equipped Online Storage with an integrated online office suite that further improves the user experience, flexibility and security for customers.
We bring you a major update to the Nextcloud AI Assistant, plus the news we work with several big hosting providers like IONOS and OVHcloud to bring AI-as-a-Service options to you!
Bechtle and Nextcloud announce today a complete managed collaboration platform for the public sector that requires no tender and can be deployed immediately.
Discover how to make the switch from ownCloud to Nextcloud. Our quick guide provides insights into the migration process, helping you make the transition smoothly.
Today, US-based file sync & share vendor Kiteworks announced their acquisition of ownCloud and Dracoon. Kiteworks points out that their customers now have access to their file-sharing application. It is to be expected they will not maintain 3 similar products, but customers will have to migrate to the US firms’ platform or look for another […]
As part of Schleswig-Holstein's state digitization strategy, the state chancellery has announced they will work with Nextcloud to develop AI for working with government documents. This comes just after we announced the first private AI assistant last weekend with Hub 6. The German state already uses Nextcloud and their AI strategy aligns with our work on ethical, local AI technologies.
Over the last year, AI has become a popular topic. Some is hype, some is substance. Some is good, some is bad. We want to give you the good, not the bad, and ignore the hype! AI has a ton of opportunity – but also risk. So we put you in control – off by […]
With the Nextcloud Community Conference, we are bringing together contributors, fans, and first-time attendees for two days of talks, workshops, and sharing experiences on 27 and 28 September in Berlin, Germany. But the event doesn’t stop there! We will continue our ventures during the Nextcloud Contributor Week from 29 September to 2 October with our […]
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