7 ms·

Not a monopoly. They are dominant. Start using duckduckgo and other similar sevices. The internet is still a free market. If you continue to use their products

Not a monopoly. They are dominant. Start using duckduckgo and other similar sevices. The internet is still a free market. If you continue to use their products you are just whining. Become the change you wish to see in the world.

iso1210 5y ago
How do you avoid google classroom when the school demands you use google classroom? This is the same principles as the Microsoft monopoly of the 90s and 00s, and that at least gives me hope
- aesthesia 5y ago
  Seems like the monopoly here is the school, not Google. There are other platforms than Google Classroom.
- codingdave 5y ago
  You bring your concerns to your local school board. Google is just a vendor - the district can choose whatever vendors they wish. The problem is that the other vendors aren't all that great. If you really want to take Google down a peg, you need to build better products than they do. Or go offer assistance to their existing competitors.
  - ForHackernews 5y ago
    > If you really want to take Google down a peg, you need to build better products than they do. This is a meme that really needs to die. If something is harmful, we don't have to wait for a "better" alternative to regulate it. Unleaded gasoline was objectively worse at powering cars, and some people at the time even whined about it, but they were wrong. If regulating Google and Facebook means we have to live with marginally clunkier online tools, so be it.
    - codingdave 5y ago
      That isn't a meme, that is truth. I think your real concern is the definition of "better". In your example of gasoline, public health is more important that power, so "better" gas is measured by health. So we are both right - products need to be "better", but at the same time, by all means schedule time with your local boards to explain to them why these concerns mean that other products are "better", even if clunky.
beaconstudios 5y ago
"vote with your wallet" is a useless aphorism when it comes to implementing systemic change. In order to stop Google from abusing its dominance, billions of people would have to simultaneously choose not to use the best (?) and most popular set of products. Free market activism doesn't work for consumers.
- automatic6131 5y ago
  "implementing systemic change" is a useless aphorism when it amounts to "I want someone else to do all the work for me at no inconvenience to myself". Everyone, but everyone, who cries out for "systemic change" either is using it for cover to give themselves total control, else demand someone does it on their behalf.
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    So what's your approach to getting Google to stop doing anti competitive things? Presumably you have a plan for getting enough individual people to boycott Google that they have to change their behaviour. Personally I think that laws are useful for constraining bad behaviour, both for people and companies.
    - Tokelin 5y ago
      I try to start from the bottom up. I'm "fortunate" to live in a country where we have a saying - The country doesn't have a mafia, rather the mafia has a country. So I'm pretty used to hearing "we need systemic change, individual action is meaningless". But I just keep telling myself to be the change I want to see and - honestly - I see results. I'm not saying I have changed anything, but the situation feels a bit better. And when it comes to democracy the elected officials are a direct representation of the peoples of the country.
- Tokelin 5y ago
  To quote a meme... "por que no los dos?" I have been using DuckDuckGo since I don't even remember how long now - pretty much immediately after I heard of it - what made the "switch" easy was the ability to search google (and a slew of other search engines and websites) from the ddg interface using the bang notation. So I have been mainly using ddg the past few years, but when I'm "sure" I would get more relevant results from Google I just add !g to the query and go look there. I agree it's not ideal - and this is pretty much just a ddg "ad" - but it's a start. The beauty of free software (free as in beer) is that you can just use it all. Yes - again - not ideal, but it's a start.
ant6n 5y ago
Duckduckgo search results are even less relevant than Google's.

iso1210 5y ago

How do you avoid google classroom when the school demands you use google classroom? This is the same principles as the Microsoft monopoly of the 90s and 00s, and that at least gives me hope

aesthesia 5y ago
Seems like the monopoly here is the school, not Google. There are other platforms than Google Classroom.
codingdave 5y ago
You bring your concerns to your local school board. Google is just a vendor - the district can choose whatever vendors they wish. The problem is that the other vendors aren't all that great. If you really want to take Google down a peg, you need to build better products than they do. Or go offer assistance to their existing competitors.
- ForHackernews 5y ago
  > If you really want to take Google down a peg, you need to build better products than they do. This is a meme that really needs to die. If something is harmful, we don't have to wait for a "better" alternative to regulate it. Unleaded gasoline was objectively worse at powering cars, and some people at the time even whined about it, but they were wrong. If regulating Google and Facebook means we have to live with marginally clunkier online tools, so be it.
  - codingdave 5y ago
    That isn't a meme, that is truth. I think your real concern is the definition of "better". In your example of gasoline, public health is more important that power, so "better" gas is measured by health. So we are both right - products need to be "better", but at the same time, by all means schedule time with your local boards to explain to them why these concerns mean that other products are "better", even if clunky.

beaconstudios 5y ago

"vote with your wallet" is a useless aphorism when it comes to implementing systemic change. In order to stop Google from abusing its dominance, billions of people would have to simultaneously choose not to use the best (?) and most popular set of products. Free market activism doesn't work for consumers.

automatic6131 5y ago
"implementing systemic change" is a useless aphorism when it amounts to "I want someone else to do all the work for me at no inconvenience to myself". Everyone, but everyone, who cries out for "systemic change" either is using it for cover to give themselves total control, else demand someone does it on their behalf.
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  So what's your approach to getting Google to stop doing anti competitive things? Presumably you have a plan for getting enough individual people to boycott Google that they have to change their behaviour. Personally I think that laws are useful for constraining bad behaviour, both for people and companies.
  - Tokelin 5y ago
    I try to start from the bottom up. I'm "fortunate" to live in a country where we have a saying - The country doesn't have a mafia, rather the mafia has a country. So I'm pretty used to hearing "we need systemic change, individual action is meaningless". But I just keep telling myself to be the change I want to see and - honestly - I see results. I'm not saying I have changed anything, but the situation feels a bit better. And when it comes to democracy the elected officials are a direct representation of the peoples of the country.
Tokelin 5y ago
To quote a meme... "por que no los dos?" I have been using DuckDuckGo since I don't even remember how long now - pretty much immediately after I heard of it - what made the "switch" easy was the ability to search google (and a slew of other search engines and websites) from the ddg interface using the bang notation. So I have been mainly using ddg the past few years, but when I'm "sure" I would get more relevant results from Google I just add !g to the query and go look there. I agree it's not ideal - and this is pretty much just a ddg "ad" - but it's a start. The beauty of free software (free as in beer) is that you can just use it all. Yes - again - not ideal, but it's a start.

ant6n 5y ago

Duckduckgo search results are even less relevant than Google's.