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What I use instead of Google services

gabrielweinberg.com

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Re: What I use instead of Google services

#91

Post by Oletros »

dombili wrote: post #84
Oletros wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so the problem is not having your data. By the way, I think iAds pertains to Apple, not to Google.

What Apple earns from iAds is chump change compare to Google's ad revenue. I don't deny iAds exists, but read my comment carefully. That's not their main source of income. Google's almost whole business is to sell ads. Apple can survive without selling ads, Google can not.

And? Both of them track data, both of them do target ads.

What is the real difference? One is better at doing it than the other?

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#92

Post by astrocat »

chimeracoder wrote: post #89
astrocat wrote: post #75

> "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…

> appreciate that google is aware enough to know that when I search for "hash salt" I'm not talking about potatoes. DDG shows me recipes and first. Really? For that exact query, I get the Wikipedia page for "Salt (Cryptography)", "How to Hash Passwords", and "Salt the Hash - Security tutorial"... you get the idea[0]. AFAIK, the stuff you're seeing at the top is their 'zero click' information, which Google never provi…

It's true - the standard results on-point, but the top of the page is filled with images of food and links to recipes.

This is, ultimately, a nuanced point. It's a bit difficult to contrive a situation where the discrepancies are extremely stark in a single case, but over time and with consistent use (especially something like Google search which i use literally hundreds of times each day) the differences add up to make a pretty pronounced impact.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#93

Post by rentnorove »

avar wrote: post #4
dhragoon wrote: post #3

"Apple Maps"? This is shameless. Not sure how to reconcile that with the seemingly mandatory PRISM invocations, the post was almost stomachable up until the Apple cameo especially with the recent privacy headlines. At Least recommend something that isn't a huge downgrade in functionality, an OSM client or something. I'm sure that Apple adding DDG to Safari is the reason for this thinly veiled reciprocity. Privacy or…

I find it most interesting that he doesn't use some map provider using OpenStreetMap data because that's what embedded in the DuckDuckGo search results: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=amsterdam

Excellent though it is, they're using MapBox, which really only caters for the embed-a-map use-case, and not general purpose browsing/route planning.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#95

Post by flinkblink »

astrocat wrote: post #75

> "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…

Nice to hear thoughts on this subject i agree with.

Myself, i've long used Google and hadn't cared at all what information they collect about me. Rather, i openly give them information. Sure, if the world turns to hell and suddenly the government is at my door because Google "knew too much" then the naysayers can laugh at me all they like.. Then again, the world has turned to hell already, so is it really a time to laugh?

In the mean time, i want to give Google my info, because "Google Now" is a great example of a service attempting to predict my needs. Keeping up to date with my life, and giving me information i want, without having to even ask for it. I don't want dumb computers, i want intelligent meaningful interactions, tailored to my life. And i can't get that by being a black box.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#96

Post by cellover »

lvillani wrote: post #30

Personally, I have a VPS where I keep my own mail server, webmail, ownCloud instance (calendar, address book, file storage, etc), IRC bouncer... All courtesy of Sovereign ( https://github.com/al3x/sovereign )

Very interesting resource, thanks for posting ; even if not for the playbook itself, the collection of tools is interesting.

Having your own server is definetely a good solution, it just needs experience and comes at a certain price, even if it stays reasonnable. But most people just don't want to be bothered with maintaining the box (hosting payment, security updates, domain name renewal, SSL ceritificate renewal and so on).

However, it is a fantastic way of learning by yourself!

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#97

Post by jamoes »

monokrome wrote: post #85

I think that recommending BTSync is a bit scary. Instead of accounts and a potentially long brute-force process as provided by Dropbox, BTsync relies on a public and "secret" key having been generated. This seems fine and dandy until you realize that the concept of brute force is an applicable means of getting access to anyone's BTsync if they are using the standard tracker. Given enough storage space and bandwidth,…

As long as the secret has enough bits, then the risk of collision is so negligible that it's basically zero in our finite world.

I think the concept of just how large some numbers are really sunk in for me when I read this article [1] from Bruce Schneier. One thing I learned was that it would require more energy than the total energy output of the sun just to power a computer to count to 2^256. Ultimately, this quote from that article sums up his point well:

> These numbers have nothing to do with the technology of the devices; they are the maximums that thermodynamics will allow. And they strongly imply that brute-force attacks against 256-bit keys will be infeasible until computers are built from something other than matter and occupy something other than space.

[1] https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/09/the_doghouse_...

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#98

Post by dublinben »

dan_bk wrote: post #31

> On top of the browser I use these add-ons to reduce tracking further; also, note that private browsing mode and the do not track setting will not stop you from being tracked. (Almost) nobody can escape the tracking, as long as fingerprinting remains possible: https://panopticlick.eff.org/ Google's/Facebook's/Twitter's JS scripts are literally on every site. Fingerprinting allows them to increase their ROI since it…

Most fingerprinting can be avoided by not allowing Javascript. Social tracking scripts can be specifically removed by addons like Disconnect.me.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#99

Post by dskhatri »

astrocat wrote: post #75

> "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…

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 insight into who you are. To the privacy-conscious, that's an unacceptable fact. Nothing to be pained about.

Re: What I use instead of Google services

#100

Post by sliverstorm »

dskhatri wrote: post #99
astrocat wrote: post #75

> "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…

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.
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