Fastmail still has hardware inside the US; not a viable alternative to Google, privacy-wise.
(have just checked out MyKolab, they seem pretty awesome, although alas too expensive for me right now.)
What I use instead of Google services
181–190 of 307 posts
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#182Re: What I use instead of Google services
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
In a perfect society, full of perfect people, I don't think we would have much use for privacy. In the society we live in privacy is valuable.
Isn't that the same crappy argument for banning torrents? Should we stop people from using cars, because vehicles are used by drunk drivers?
It's a bad argument for banning things but it is a perfectly correct argument for pointing out the the real cost of something. Cars kill people. We should not pretend that cars are safe, we should make a rational decision and come to the conclusion that the cost is worth the freedom of transportation.
You'r argument would be a valid analogy if I were suggesting that we make it illegal to tell anyone your location (or any other "private" information). I am only pointing out that privacy is valuable and we should count the cost if and when we give it up.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#184Another day, another anti-google article by the duckduckgo guy, more FUD.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#185> "Like most people, I don't like to be tracked. I also am the founder of the search engine that doesn't track you, DuckDuckGo." It pains me to hear intelligent people talk about being "tracked" as something "bad" a priori. While there are certainly plenty of examples of abuse of knowledge, I tend to think of most "tracking" not as "stalking" but as "relationship building." Let me explain... Google is a service provi…
There is an additional problem (over and above privacy concerns) with putting all your eggs in one basket that is not mentioned - namely if you are cut off from the service for 1 reason or another. This can happen because you do something on 1 of the many services that goes against the TOS and you get cut off from all services. There are other reasons of course: The site could go down, the suite of services may be vulnerable to a tailored malware attack etc.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
strip clubs, bars, 'adult book' stores - these are all perfectly legal and innocuous activities. Who cares? the house of your drug dealer - being in someone's house in circumstantial at best. By your logic they would also have to arrest the drug dealer's mailman, maid, meter reader, etc. burglaries - again, circumstantial. Someone who wants to do me harm doesn't need a database full of comprehensive location informat…
Without intending to invoke Godwin's Law, I think what happened in WWII is a good lesson in dangers of overexposing your private life. Before WWII, Germany used "tax deductions" to entice people to reveal their religion to the government. Data which was later used to identify Jews during wartime. Nobody is saying you need to unplug your machine from the internet, but just that because something doesn't impact you tod…
Not having data which would incriminate you to a party which will misuse it is something of a pyrrhic victory, but I still see your point. It would be preferable to have no parties which would misuse this data, but if such a party does exist then you would be better off remaining anonymous. As with all risk analysis, there's no clear answer. Deciding whether or not using a service which tracks such data is a consideration of the convenience gained, sensitivity of the data, propensity of the parties in play to respect the privacy of this data, potential for future incrimination, etc.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sorry, I just don't follow this slippery slope argument. We have lots of examples of the government abusing their use of online information. For the haves, we have the still-minor indignities of the no-fly list and targeting certain political stripes for IRS audits. For the have-nots, it is terrorism fusion data centers, predatory civil forfeiture and, jeez, a lot of the criminal justice system. So that world doe…
The things you've mentioned are all generally Bad Things and things that we should be fighting to stop. Fighting to obscure your location information and even protect your privacy in general doesn't stop any of the things you mentioned if you believe the government is acting in bad faith.
It mitigates the risk. Someone cannot do bad things with your location information if they do not have your location information.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#188> "Like most people, I don't like to be tracked. I also am the founder of the search engine that doesn't track you, DuckDuckGo." It pains me to hear intelligent people talk about being "tracked" as something "bad" a priori. While there are certainly plenty of examples of abuse of knowledge, I tend to think of most "tracking" not as "stalking" but as "relationship building." Let me explain... Google is a service provi…
Truthfully. I would have no problem with the amount of data google aggregated on me, if I could depend on them not using that data against me, or to manipulate me, or to sell it to someone who would do either of those two. If someone came up to me and said "I'll give you 5 dollars if you give me the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and personal vulnerabilities of all your friends", agreeing to that would be con…
> do you trust google
Ironically, exactly because of the intense scrutiny they face with every small decision they make, I have a lot more faith in Google's inability to be evil than just about any other player. I certainly can't spend the time to verify that all the other players I might give my data to are honest and well intentioned will always stay that way. But at least with Google I have pretty good faith that others are going to do that for me.
Sometimes I wonder if the critics of Google's privacy realise they may be having the opposite effect they intend in this way ...
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except the author then proceeds to toss all his eggs into Apple's basket. No, it's not about putting all the eggs in one basket, it's about paranoidly avoiding Google at all costs for some unknown reason.
What are you talking about? Of 12-14 services he listed, 4 were from Apple (iOS, Mobile Safari, Apple Maps for directions, and iCloud for Calendar sync). And quite likely, he is not paranoidily avoiding Google, but partly experimenting as he is running one of the very few companies that are directly trying to compete with Google in search.
Just going from your examples above:
- Safari/iOS will let Apple know you're in a market for a house - Safari will let Apple know you like Ethiopain coffee - Also it will probably allow them to track your searches - Along with Calendar sync and maps Apple knows both where you are currently and where you'll be next
While not all of his eggs are in one basket, there's an awful lot of them providing an awful lot of "tracking" information to one entity.
Sure, if he's experimenting with replacing Google's services that's a valid reason.
Re: What I use instead of Google services
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
His point is more about not putting all your eggs in one basket; you certainly don't tell your barista about an upcoming physician's appointment, or that you are in the market for a house. Your barista is also disconnected from parties who may leverage the information you provide him/her. Similarly, you don't tell your broker that you prefer Ethiopian coffee. Google offers so many services that it has a much broader…
If knowing that I prefer Ethiopian coffee helps my broker better serve me, I'd tell them in a heartbeat.
What if knowing you prefer Ethiopian coffee would make your insurance company charge you more because statistically these people are more prone to medical issues? Would you tell them in a heart beat?
The pendulum swings both ways, and this is the reason why all of this should be opt-in.