Self-Hosted Apps

I am a big fan of self-hosted apps, which are a bit different from the desktop apps I talk about in a previous post. Self-hosted apps are web based applications that you run on your own server. The “server” can be just about any computer you have access to. Self-hosted apps are an alternative to the cloud based services that you sign up for and simply access with a username & password. The “cloud” just means it’s running on someone else’s computer, where they take care of installing and maintaining the software to host that service you are using, such as Google Photos or Apple iCloud. If that cloud service is free, it’s possible that you are the product. Perhaps the company is using your data to profit in some manner, or they are making money by showing you advertisements while you are using the service. Why Self-Host Apps? My first self-hosted app was way back in 2001, when my high school buddies and I scraped together spare parts for a Counter-Strike server, which we hosted in a…