Forgive me if I am missing something essential here. Second-time attempt to switch from iOS/iCloud to GrapheneOS. I am a week in and so much has gone right - sincere thanks to the developers and the communitt - but things are still bumpy.
What I am missing most is a calendar/address/notes suite with a web sync option that recognizes that not everyone has time to tinker endlessly with their phone to find what works for them.
Newcomers here are blithely told a) pick through calendar/notes/contact apps until they find ones they like, then b) find a web hosting service and then c) download something called Davx5 and add your log-in there and hope it syncs. In an ideal world we would all do this. Spoiler alert: even if you do, like me, things probably still won't work, at least not first time. A calendar that syncs some of the time is a waste of time, like a broken watch that tells the right time twice a day.
Without a reliable and simple sync option for these daily, essential functions you have right there lost 80-90pc of ordinary users who want to quit iOS/Google. They know these services are a devilish barter of privacy for convenience . They also know that these services just work. At a price, yes, but that abstract risk is nothing like being stuck somewhere with a phone whose calendar/address book/notes you cannot fully trust.
This time, on my third attempt trying to escape Apple, I am determined to make it work. But I have time to tinker until it works. Most people have lives/kids/jobs/pets. They want to use GrapheneOS and other alternatives But asking even casual users to reinvent their own calendar/address book/notes wheel is asking a lot.
Maybe what I seek is out there. Is there a hidden websync back-end to the Fossify apps, for instance? I have searched and searched but all the recommended routes I have tried involve at least three steps, filling in random forms and hoping for the best. Slick it's not. Nor does it inspire confidence.
Anticipating the blowback - "we don't want your kind, suffering builds character" - it was this thinking that kept Linux in the trainspotter corner for years.
Recent distros like ZorinOS have shown that thoughtful design and a few compromises can work wonders for making things work to win over regular users -- without selling any souls to big tech devils.
So here is my wish: a selection of web sync services that, post-install the convenience of one-click import/sync from iCloud/Google without the headaches, future maintenance -- and a percentage of any click-through signup fee goes to the GrapheneOS project. Money in the bank for helping keep someone on board.
Those who refuse to accept such convenience can click away.
Would what I suggest be such a crime? Does it exist and I have missed it?
Every time I tried to escape Apple - Sailfish, Cyanogen, now Grapehen, it has been the dodgy contact/calendar/notes sync that has defeated me. Am I alone here?
Thoughts?