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I'm done with Google

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Re: I'm done with Google

#301

Post by friend_and_foe »

jjulius wrote: post #186
friend_and_foe wrote: post #32

I am proud to say I don't use a single google service, and haven't in years. Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of course) and I use some metasearch engines which rely on google to a large degree, hut I don't have a google account, I use no google services, have no google applications installed anywhere. The same applies to Meta and Microsoft as well, and some others. I hav…

>I am proud to say I don't use a single Google service, and haven't in years. >... I use no Google services... >I have a general rule, if a company does something, anything at all, that translates to "fuck you what are you going to do about it you need us more than we need you" then I cease using all their services immediately, no matter how painful. >Bye, forever. >... stop giving your patronage to companies who tre…

You are trying to take that away. I have cut every vestige of every one of these companies out of my life except google, which the only thing I have left is, when someone sends me a link to a website owned by them, I pipe through a proxy and rip the content. I want it to be all or nothing, and I've gone to great lengths to make it so, but a video is a video and a video host is a video host in my mind, for purposes of consumption.

FYI I have created a tool to break this dependency also, https://codeberg.org/mister_monster/YouTube2Peertube it enables the content on YouTube to be mirrored elsewhere, and a good number of people use it, but not near enough.

As far as search goes, the truth is I find myself using search less and less in general, because it is mostly broken, but when I do I default to independent indexes like marginilia, brave (which isn't 100% independent yet), even yandex sometimes, but find myself sometimes using a metasearch engine like ddg or metager and so in that way one step removed I do use google search every so often.

Re: I'm done with Google

#302

Post by friend_and_foe »

Tepix wrote: post #135
friend_and_foe wrote: post #32

I am proud to say I don't use a single google service, and haven't in years. Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of course) and I use some metasearch engines which rely on google to a large degree, hut I don't have a google account, I use no google services, have no google applications installed anywhere. The same applies to Meta and Microsoft as well, and some others. I hav…

I'm sorry, but if you use youtube, you are using Google services. But good on you for avoiding their services, i do the same (however, i still use Google maps regularly for navigation because Apple maps has let me down too often). I also watch youtube. Regarding video game consoles, you could get an older one that has no cloud connectivity. They are cheap and the games are still great.

Try OSM. It is more reliable than google in performance now, believe it or not.

Address lookup is a shortcoming, and there's this https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation to help you get around that, and sometimes the routing algorithm used by Osmand in particular can be goofy from time to time, I can't speak to other clients. Finally, there's traffic, which is not a problem that can be resolved without collecting and processing data from all users, which I find unethical and so will live without.

Re: I'm done with Google

#303

Post by friend_and_foe »

quaintdev wrote: post #205
simple-thoughts wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some services are impossible to use without Google et Al. Thankfully, people from around the world will create and run an account for you cheaply. Data privacy for you, hot meals for them.

Thank God the new AI product is not Google's

Well, I think they're talking about tools like tensor flow.

Personally I dont consider open source codebases that don't come with services embedded as services, so things like Blink or AOSP that are made by google are fine, so long as they don't interact with google in any way or incorporate patterns that lead you into their funnel. They're FOSS code, not services, you might as well be running a fork, it doesn't really matter who makes them. I do use some software that is forked from google upstream code that removes these sorts of things, but I go to great lengths to make sure even simple things like using 8.8.8.8 are not occurring.

Re: I'm done with Google

#305

Post by SergeAx »

usui wrote: post #16

> So I pirate the movie (please don't arrest me, it's google's fault) I really like the frank tone of the article and I wish people in general would just write unabashedly more often when it comes to stuff like this. Writers online love to dance around the idea of "pirating" their digital goods when communicating on the topic: "Ooh my 'friend' may or may not have downloaded 'xyz' movie from 'abc' website, but I don't…

I do not keep files on my devices, unless they are in the queue for viewing/reading/listening. I know that any time I need anything - it is couple of clicks away on some torrent site. I will need to setup a torrent proxy some day if I decide to move to jurisdiction where ISPs are actively spying on their customers on using torrents (I heard a thing or two about Germany, for example). I am okay with that, as I am okay now with having couple of personal VPN exit nodes in countries where services want you to have a local IP address. Internet fragmentation is a fact, but not a very bothersome yet.

Re: I'm done with Google

#306

Post by usui »

SergeAx wrote: post #305
usui wrote: post #16

> So I pirate the movie (please don't arrest me, it's google's fault) I really like the frank tone of the article and I wish people in general would just write unabashedly more often when it comes to stuff like this. Writers online love to dance around the idea of "pirating" their digital goods when communicating on the topic: "Ooh my 'friend' may or may not have downloaded 'xyz' movie from 'abc' website, but I don't…

I do not keep files on my devices, unless they are in the queue for viewing/reading/listening. I know that any time I need anything - it is couple of clicks away on some torrent site. I will need to setup a torrent proxy some day if I decide to move to jurisdiction where ISPs are actively spying on their customers on using torrents (I heard a thing or two about Germany, for example). I am okay with that, as I am okay…

Which country/ISP are you? The surveillance problem with ISPs became bad enough that I tunnel every single packet from every home device through a VPS using WireGuard now, and that solved it. None of the home devices need to know anything about WireGuard, just the router.

Re: I'm done with Google

#307

Post by SergeAx »

usui wrote: post #306
SergeAx wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not keep files on my devices, unless they are in the queue for viewing/reading/listening. I know that any time I need anything - it is couple of clicks away on some torrent site. I will need to setup a torrent proxy some day if I decide to move to jurisdiction where ISPs are actively spying on their customers on using torrents (I heard a thing or two about Germany, for example). I am okay with that, as I am okay…

Which country/ISP are you? The surveillance problem with ISPs became bad enough that I tunnel every single packet from every home device through a VPS using WireGuard now, and that solved it. None of the home devices need to know anything about WireGuard, just the router.

I was in Russia and Turkey, now in Serbia.

Re: I'm done with Google

#308

Post by usui »

dmantis wrote: post #228
leehuffman wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just copped The Slim Shady LP for you. That one is a classic. His later records are trash (ok he had one more decent showing on The Marshall Mathers) and Cypress Hill is laughable I won't do it. Holy fuck of course you picked those two artists lol. For real though your shit is purchased straight up & on it's way and now that you've mentioned BTC I don't even want to be reimbursed I just want to send you the lossless…

There is no proof that you bought it, you can save for yourself if you don't want "reimbursement". I know how to use torrents, you know. The point was to support artists, not to get anything. If you change your mind and would like to get the payment, the offer conditions is still valid, I don't deny to pay. Actually your attitude is more or less the same as in other current distribution platforms - they kinda might s…

Thanks for taking this train of thought through-and-through to its logical conclusion. leehuffman was being unreasonable bordering on absurdity, so I did not feel the need to engage with the posts, but you took it all the way to the end despite the rudeness and demonstrated how untenable/inconvenient the proposals were.

Re: I'm done with Google

#309

Post by NackerHughes »

aemreunal wrote: post #124
silisili wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the current system where Google plays lame duck, sure. But all G has to do is say 'yeah if you want us to feature your content, you must agree to X' With 90% of the search market, half of phones, and who knows what percentage of the smartTV market, they could institute a death sentence to those they wanted to. IF they wanted to.

That sounds like a pretty big abuse of their power and potentially raises anti-trust concerns. They could easily wield that power for nefarious reasons and I don't think any of us would want that. We can change laws. Companies should abide by them, however insufficient they may be at a given point in time.

> That sounds like a pretty big abuse of their power and potentially raises anti-trust concerns. They could easily wield that power for nefarious reasons and I don't think any of us would want that.

As if google doesn't already abuse its power and weild it for nefarious reasons, or have massive anti-trust concerns? But god forbid they use their power to prevent others abusing theirs by forcing people to pay again and again for media they already own.

Re: I'm done with Google

#310

Post by dxuh »

plaguepilled wrote: post #172
dxuh wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Music and movies are very, very different. While there is no site I know of that provides purchase of DRM free downloads of popular movies, there are many alternatives for music. I purchase most of the music I like from Bandcamp and I think even Amazon allows purchase of DRM free downloadable music. I feel ZERO regrets about pirating movies, because I am not given any option worth purchasing, but I would feel bad pir…

Not all music is available on Bandcamp or Amazon - the availability from what I have seen is quite poor. Its the same issue but the can has been kicked down the road for music a little.

Of course if you searched and you could not find it, then I agree it's perfectly fine to pirate as well.
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