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You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

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Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#61

Post by mehrzad »

kephra wrote: post #44

some more points: maps - replace them with OpenStreetMap, that could even be used offline news - my http://w3dig.com/ aims on replacing this in the long run play - I dont have it installed on my phone, and only use apk's I compiled myself youtube - I host videos only my own server, but I still watch yt, if someone sends me a link security - google blocks many one click share hosters, claiming that they are attack sit…

You're fighting the Good Fight, though I personally think it's fine to use the Play Store. You use FF Nightly?

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#62

Post by acabal »

dictum wrote: post #29
notlisted wrote: post #8

Hmmmm, I suspect that Google, just like Facebook, creates "shadow profiles" on non-members, ie profiles on unique non-member users across a very large part of the internet (G: any site using google analytics, a +1 button, etc; FB: any site with FB like button) As such, escape from Google or FB is near-impossible. You might say: sure, but at least they will not know my identity! Try again. Most US ISPs sell click-stre…

As a paranoid would say: that's what they want you to believe. Now that people are learning about how companies use their data in dubious ways (and they can't deny it, only PR-speak it), it's in their best interest to twist the narrative so that people believe that they now have no agency—that everyone is being tracked all the time, and that there's no way to escape that. Why? Because if you think there's no way arou…

Perhaps, but there is a kernel of truth in what the parent comment says. As long as an IP address can be associated to an undeniable identifier, like an address, credit card, SSN, etc., your identity and activity can ultimately be tracked. Perhaps not by Google, but by your ISP and thus the government who can coerce that ISP, or by business partners your ISP sells that information to.

The buck has to stop somewhere--and it stops at what packets your ISP handles, and thus has the ability to inspect, on your IP address's behalf.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#63

Post by spc476 »

jfoster wrote: post #25
brianwillis wrote: post #4

I like to run my email on my server, but it’s a significant undertaking and I don’t recommend you do that. I agree with Ben on this point, but don't really understand why things are this way. In looking for a replacement for Google Reader I found a bunch of high quality self hosted options. Similarly, hosting a website on your own server (or one you rent from someone else) is a pretty trivial exercise for anyone that…

Spam is one aspect of why email is hard, and having more than just a few email accounts on your host helps to tackle that problem. Take a look in your Gmail spam folder at how much they've managed to weed out.

I have a GMail account but I don't use it. All I get is spam email. And yes, GMail finds a ton, but my inbox, which should be empty (or with very few emails from people thinking I'm someone I'm not) and it is not (granted, I only check once or twice a year, but I should not end up with over 100 messages in the inbox).

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#64

Post by agersant »

graue wrote: post #52

I don't see Google Maps mentioned here. That's proving the hardest to quit for me - by far. I moved to NYC a month ago and it would be like an order of magnitude harder to get around without GMaps' transit, walking and biking directions. For biking, http://ridethecity.org actually gives great directions comparable to GMaps but the site isn't mobile friendly at all - have to memorize the route before you set out. I kn…

I like Nokia's map app (http://here.com). Haven't tried it on mobile but it's great on the desktop.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#65

Post by deconq »

What he doesn't mention is YouTube - the one product for which there is NO alternative. Sure, you can choose to post your own videos elsewhere, but when it comes to watching videos - many videos are only posted on YouTube and nowhere else.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#66

Post by score »

fpgeek wrote: post #51
score wrote: post #33

I'm almost completely off Google (started my exodus late last year) and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it'd be. I moved into the Microsoft ecosystem. It's all there. Bing is surprisingly good, SkyDrive surpasses even Dropbox and Office 365 w/ OneNote is the best office suite available. I even got a Windows Phone 8 (yeah, I can get carried away sometimes). The point is, there's a whole new world out there…

It's great that you're happy in the Microsoft ecosystem, but other than the "not Google" checkbox, what issues with being in the Google ecosystem does being in the Microsoft ecosystem solve?

It's an upgrade and a change from the usual, and the change didn't disrupt my workflow. If anything, it streamlined it.

But in terms of privacy, it just means I have a new taskmaster.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#67

Post by nilved »

pbreit wrote: post #58
nilved wrote: post #27

Why is anyone under the impression that living sans Google is difficult or unrewarding? I haven't used a single Google product in months (and I use Android.)

> Why is anyone under the impression that living sans Google is difficult or unrewarding? Because it plainly is. Let's just take search. I try to switch to Bing or DDG every 3-6 months and can't take it for more than a few days. It is very, very clearly difficult and unrewarding.

I've been using DDG full-time for almost 3 years, even since before I abandoned Google. The !bang searches alone made it a better option for me.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#68

Post by nilved »

tolmasky wrote: post #30
nilved wrote: post #27

Why is anyone under the impression that living sans Google is difficult or unrewarding? I haven't used a single Google product in months (and I use Android.)

So you do use a Google product, one of the ones they care most about right now.

There isn't a trace of Google on my Android phone unless you count blames for the source code.

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#69

Post by notlisted »

dictum wrote: post #29
notlisted wrote: post #8

Hmmmm, I suspect that Google, just like Facebook, creates "shadow profiles" on non-members, ie profiles on unique non-member users across a very large part of the internet (G: any site using google analytics, a +1 button, etc; FB: any site with FB like button) As such, escape from Google or FB is near-impossible. You might say: sure, but at least they will not know my identity! Try again. Most US ISPs sell click-stre…

As a paranoid would say: that's what they want you to believe. Now that people are learning about how companies use their data in dubious ways (and they can't deny it, only PR-speak it), it's in their best interest to twist the narrative so that people believe that they now have no agency—that everyone is being tracked all the time, and that there's no way to escape that. Why? Because if you think there's no way arou…

This might open your eyes a little: http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-we-know-about-w...

Re: You Can’t Quit, I Dare You

#70

Post by stevewilhelm »

robomartin wrote: post #39
stevewilhelm wrote: post #20

Just tried searching "march madness" and "yuba city hotels" in Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Google. I don't think I will be switching. I use Google Apps for Business: 25GB email inbox plus 5GB doc storage, custom domain, Google Docs, admin controls, two-step verification, best spam filtering on the planet, integrated calendars, video chat, mobile support, UI support for multiple accounts (business and personal), 99.9% uptim…

Until you do something they don't approve of and they shut you out of EVERYTHING overnight. If Google provided a no-shutdown guarantee and service to service shutdown isolation I would consider them for business. Until such time, no friggin way. There are far better ways to deal with violators than killing off their entire account and every single service they use. Staged restrictions with feedback comes to mind.

In the nine years I have been using GMail, this has never been an issue for me.
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