You're not entirely sure how it happened. You used to know that your data was safe, on your computer or on your external hard drive. They offered automatic backups, and you accepted because you wanted your data to be safe. They offered syncing, the ability to access your data from anywhere, and the convenience sounded too good to pass up. They promised that your data is safe with them, and that as long as you had their apps and their devices, you could keep accessing your data. One day, you woke up and realized that all of your important photos, files, emails, notes, and everything else was being stored exclusively on the internet. In the cloud. On a remote server. In a datacenter somewhere out there in the world. Wholly out of your control. You are able to keep accessing it only because they let you. You have no idea who has access to your data or how they are keeping it safe. You are entirely at their mercy. It happened so slowly, you didn't even notice.

You didn't realize that when you gave them your data, you handed over the keys to your digital life. If you upset them, they can and will revoke your access to your data. They own it, not you. They've been using your data to train their machine learning models, and you have no say in the matter. You signed up because they were offering so much and asked so little of you. It turns out they didn't even bother asking; they still had to make money, so your data became the collateral.

If you care about ownership, you probably own a house, or at least aspire to do so. There's something about home ownership that feels superior to renting on every front. I remember when I bought my first home, and was amazed by the freedom that came with it. I could throw a sledgehammer through the wall, patch it up, and no one could complain. Having to learn how to inspect and maintain all the appliances was daunting, but I had the freedom to choose what to take on myself and what to hire out. I was in control. Ownership comes with responsibility, and responsibility builds character and confidence. Freedom means not living in fear.

If you are using cloud services, then you are renting server space from companies that are even harder to work with than landlords. You're facing all of the same downsides of renting an apartment or house: lots of rules and policies, restrictions on how much you can customize, and monthly payments that don't go towards building anything long-term. You are at their mercy; cloud companies can "evict" you from their services at any time and for any reason. On top of that, your privacy is no better than if your landlord covered the living spaces with cameras and sensors.

So, why are you using cloud services? Probably because the migration to the cloud was an opt-out situation, and you've just been along for the ride. You may have looked for an escape hatch along the way, but there haven't been any good alternatives.

That is, until now. I created OYCS so that anyone can starting owning their technology and retake control of their digital lives. My goal is to provide everything you need to stop being dependent on cloud companies. Like home ownership, technology ownership comes with more responsibility. You become ultimately responsible for your family's privacy and security. We make it as easy as we can, but we also don't want to rob you of the growth that can come from taking ownership and learning through the experience. If you're the kind of person who owns a home and a car, but hires out the maintenance to other people, you can do that with our technology as well. If you are the type that likes to take on small projects yourself and enjoys learning basic maintenance, you'll find our technology gives you the tools and access you need to do that on the technology front. If you dive deep to understand everything you own, we won't stop you from customizing our systems to exactly what you want. We'll be there to help as needed.

Ownership isn't about knowing everything. It's about being the one ultimately responsible, and having enough knowledge to make the right decisions for you and your family. Sometimes there is a right time to rent, perhaps if you need a power tool for a weekend, or a car for a vacation, or a unique AI powered cloud service that would really help you. What's important is that you know exactly what you are getting into, what the terms are, and that you always have something to fall back to when you are done; your own car, your own house, and your own cyber infrastructure. With your own infrastructure comes new options as well. If there are certain software features that you want, but they are not available in any minerapp, you can talk with OYCS about the best strategy to get it; we could release a new minerapp, help you find a freelance developer to implement custom software for you in your environment, or recommend using the cloud service if it seems like the best option.