81–90 of 348 posts
> I’ve already pulled down my 2-300GB Google Photos archive How? I've tried several times and can never complete the download. Wired ethernet, not wifi.
The trouble with de-Google is you have to replace a highly integrated suite of apps with separate bits which lack integration. Also, if you have hundreds of accounts where you used gmail to register and hundreds or thousands of contacts which might send you mail, it's hard to switch.
Also, you don't have to delete your Gmail account completely. Mine sits there mostly unused just in case, it's fine.
de-googling: appleling
Yes, there are just two generally usable mobile OSs - ios and android. The only way to not share you every living moment with google while still having a snartphone is to have an iphone. It's fucked up that's the way world is, but it is the way the world is.
Not really. You can install LineageOS an many Android phones.
LineageOS is a de-googled Android.
And the latest Huawei Android devices are also Google-free.
> Iphone: But I think this really helped cut my reliance on Google and I feel a lot less reliant on any particular phone OS. You just became reliant on the iOS system instead of the Google on. Hardly an improvement.
It’s probably a slight improvement in terms of privacy and security. It’s true though that it’s sad there is so little choice on mobile.
I don’t feel locked in at all.
If I went feet first in iEcosystem then for sure would be different story
de-googling: appleling
For photos storage and sharing you may want to check pCloud. They offer lifetime plan at $350 for 2TB. I'm in no way related; just a happy customer. https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html
Pcloud also makes you pay separately (and quite a lot) for having encryption turned on.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't you guys use an ad blocker? I barely see any ads since I started using uBlock. Occasionally I browse without an ad blocker and the experience is horrible and intimidating. Actually ads and propaganda were the reasons I quit TV around 10 years ago and I have never regretted it. So much time and mental energy is freed up to do constructive and fulfilling things (e.g. reading books, sports, socializing, musing etc…
Been avoiding internet ads and tracking for 15 years now. I feel like the unibomber. Facebook and google probably still have a good fingerprint on me, though, due to iOS not letting you use good ad blockers. Something uncanny happened recently in terms of the ads I do see that gave me quite a bit of paranoia. My SO recently bought a distinct pair of leggings. How am I seeing ads for that same exact pair of leggings,…
Your first concern and reason for De-Googling was privacy, so I'd say moving to iPhone, iCloud, WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) and the like doesn't help you much.
I also think you forgot video-conferencing/video chat. I'd go for Zoom, but there's a bunch of alternatives. Most have their drawbacks.
Lastly, move to Europe where we have GDPR. I actually can not read some news articles that are hosted in the US since the site might not have bothered to implement Privacy features and thus chose to just block EU visitors. Tells you something about the 'issue'.
I switched to Bing first for all queries that can result in non-PC content, and then discovered that technical search is better on Bing also. I first switched to Firefox because I wanted to read newspapers. I find it hard without Bypass Paywalls Firefox add-on, that is banned by Google Chrome. As a result, Firefox with Bing default search is my browser. Things like deletions of alternative viewpoints (e.g. Dr. Erikso…
That's not very friendly behavior.
For photos storage and sharing you may want to check pCloud. They offer lifetime plan at $350 for 2TB. I'm in no way related; just a happy customer. https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html