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Why I’m Worried About Google

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Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#131

Post by ekzy »

kvz wrote: post #107
ekzy wrote: post #65

I've switched to Safari and DuckDuckGo last week. I can still search on google with the DuckDuckGo shortcut !g when the duck doesn't quack. I tried Firefox but it became too slow. Safari is actually pretty good, for me the main problem is that it reduced my productivity for web development (I need to get used to the safari devtools) and the lack of some browser extensions (redux devtools etc). For now, I keep switchi…

Did you try FF recently? It feels as fast as Chrome for me these days! devtools are good and transition was surprisingly frictionless. Bonus: I’m trying Linux and it works/syncs my stuff across Mac/iOS/Ubuntu.

I am on mac, I used FF when they announced their performance improvement last year [1], and it felt fast at the beginning but then it started to get slower. I can't explain why as it was a while ago and I did not look much into it

[1] https://hacks.mozilla.org/2017/11/entering-the-quantum-era-h...

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#132

Post by TrueGeek »

ngngngng wrote: post #126

I really want to get away from using a pixel (or Android) phone, but an equivalent iPhone costs literally twice as much. Is it worth it for privacy alone?

Just buy used. My iPhone 7S Plus is great and a third the price of an iPhone X. I switched from Android after the Nexus 5X and have really enjoyed it. SOOO many iPhone users buy the latest phone every single year that eBay is flooded with used phones in perfect condition.

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#133

Post by rhexs »

ngngngng wrote: post #126

I really want to get away from using a pixel (or Android) phone, but an equivalent iPhone costs literally twice as much. Is it worth it for privacy alone?

I suppose that depends on how much 400-500$ is worth to you. I'd pay 500$ to not have a mobile tracking device developed by an advertising company on me at all times, but I have that luxury from working in tech.

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#134

Post by corobo »

jtmarl1n wrote: post #116
corobo wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gets thrown around a lot and in my opinion for good reason - I've switched to Fastmail[1] myself. I've got the $5/mo account because I wanted to bring my own domains. Had it for a while just forwarding everything to my gmail but have now cut the forwarding and switched fully. If you're in the Apple ecosystem the app I attribute to finally moving was Spark[2], which I discovered after Google announced it was killin…

Doesn't spark scan your email box like GMail used to? I haven't found anything recent stating they have stopped that practice.

What does that mean? I imagine it has to scan my email if it's to provide the search functionality.

If you're hinting at something more untoward could you spell it out for me, I can't find anything that painted it with an ugly brush

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#137

Post by oh_hello »

ngngngng wrote: post #126

I really want to get away from using a pixel (or Android) phone, but an equivalent iPhone costs literally twice as much. Is it worth it for privacy alone?

I don't think this cost comparison is true if you look at the older generation iPhones still for sale. Yes, a Xs is extremely expensive, but choosing a 7 or 8 drops the price significantly and these older models still hold up well.

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#138

Post by rhexs »

Spartan-S63 wrote: post #49

With all of these emerging privacy concerns, it reinforces my choice to move away from the Android and Google ecosystem insofar as I can. It reinforces my choice to embrace the Apple ecosystem. While their products aren't perfect, they do take your privacy seriously and you do pay for it. But to me, that seems like a fair trade. Additionally, they have second to none customer support, so it's going to take a company…

I've been switching to Apple as well from Google/Microsoft, and the only challenging part so far is grabbing a professional icloud username. I'm very, very late to the icloud e-mail party, so literally every e-mail that doesn't have a chain of five numbers on the end is taken.

I wish they'd add a few more domain options. Oh well, services are wonderful otherwise.

Hoping they refresh the Macbook Air this October so I can move away from Windows 10 automatically installing candy crush every time I do a clean install. Windows is moving right back to the bloat of yesteryear, but this time it's Microsoft bundling the garbage.

Re: Why I’m Worried About Google

#139

Post by fredsir »

baggachipz wrote: post #120
daveFNbuck wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are the easy changes. It's much harder to move away from their ecosystem if you're using gmail as your primary or only e-mail provider.

Gmail is really the only thing keeping me in the Google tent. Switching my address after over a decade of use is nigh-impossible. I also use Chrome for development because the debug tools are superior, but everything else Google is an easy switch for me.

No it's not. You get a new email, set all incoming mail from the old one to forward to the new one, tell the people you are in contact with about the new email, and then just change the email on the services you use when you use it. Don't go around to all the services at once. Just the next time you open up GitHub, change it, next time you open up your online bank, change it, and so on. And after a couple of years, shut down the old one. It's not hard at all.
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