… a twenty gigabyte folder of music, on my server, that acts as an offsite backup. I’m not sure what to do with it. After I made the switch to Apple products from a GNU+Linux solution on my laptop and server (utilizing ownCloud and other pieces of software to connect my devices) I now have this backup sitting on my server that ever increasingly varies itself from the music collection on my daily-use computer.

When I was younger I started converting my music collection from CDs to MP3s which got stored on my computer. With the aforementioned home server solution I was able to save music files on my computer, sync them to my server and then listen to them locally with my player of choice (Banshee) and over the web or through my phone with Subsonic. This was a nice solution because I didn’t have to worry about syncing files with my phone or filling up the storage within it. Everything was automatic and worked exactly to the way I expressly told it to. However, we now have services like Spotify and Apple Music. For a pretty nominal cost I can use iCloud and Apple Music to sync/listen to my music on the desktop or from my iPhone without having to mess with my files. Subscriptions to Apple Music and or Spotify also give me access to albums I don’t personally own in my collection. While Apple Music doesn’t have a web-based player, I can use Spotify’s option for the times I need to go that route. This negates almost all the need for having files saved to my computer, barring local bands whose music isn’t available on these services. While considering my desire to declutter, I can’t help but wonder if these files that I’ve played with for a very long time are now an encumbrance that I don’t need to hold on to. Is my desire to keep these files around a legitimate concern of maintaining ownership of the files I’ve paid for or simply a sentimental attachment?

My switch to Apple products from Linux-based machines comes from my desire to pay less attention to how my computer works and to spend more time living my life away from a computer (I get into this a bit in my video for my wife’s YouTube channel here). With this, I’ve had to rearrange my whole conception of how I interact with my personal data, being on a journey of decluttering and directing towards a simpler way of living has given me more angles with which to look at this “digital clutter”.

I’m getting close to just taking the plunge and wiping the folder, then counting on my conviction to stick with Apple products and services. Another of the main reasons I’ve made the change is the Fair Labor Association recognizes Apple as an affiliate. I’m more than happy to sacrifice some of my personal digital freedoms (and money) to support a company actually concerned with the fairness of its suppliers and workers.

There are other concerns and considerations I’ve had to make relating to the switch from Linux to Apple, but I’ll hold those off for some other time.

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