4 ms·

I am proud to say I don't use a single google service, and haven't in years. Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of c

I am proud to say I don't use a single google service, and haven't in years. Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of course) and I use some metasearch engines which rely on google to a large degree, hut I don't have a google account, I use no google services, have no google applications installed anywhere. The same applies to Meta and Microsoft as well, and some others. I have a general rule, if a company does something, anything at all, that translates to "fuck you what are you going to do about it you need us more than we need you" then I cease using all their services immediately, no matter how painful. Require me to sign in to use a local application? Demand updates and install them automatically, or prevent me from continuing until I update? Bye, forever. This means I don't have a video game console of any kind, I often get my emails sent to spam, I do quite a bit of my own user infrastructure maintenance, and my experience is alien to a lot of other people, but let me tell you, I'm free and I feel it 24/7. My mind is free from worry about losing access to these things, I don't think about what I am allowed to say, almost ever, I'm not subject to attempts to manipulate my behavior nearly as often, I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, no matter how difficult. I've got a secret for you: it's only difficult because you've been trained to do things their way for so long. Their way is not actually easier or more convenient, you're just not used to the other way any more. But you used to be, there used to be a time when they couldn't treat you this way, they still can't unless you let them, they've spent enormous resources convincing you that you don't have a choice, but you do, they need you more than you need them, you don't have to take this abuse, stop giving your patronage to companies who treat you like this or none of this will ever get any better.

simple-thoughts 4y ago
Some services are impossible to use without Google et Al. Thankfully, people from around the world will create and run an account for you cheaply. Data privacy for you, hot meals for them.
- quaintdev 4y ago
  Thank God the new AI product is not Google's
  - friend_and_foe 4y ago
    Well, I think they're talking about tools like tensor flow. Personally I dont consider open source codebases that don't come with services embedded as services, so things like Blink or AOSP that are made by google are fine, so long as they don't interact with google in any way or incorporate patterns that lead you into their funnel. They're FOSS code, not services, you might as well be running a fork, it doesn't really matter who makes them. I do use some software that is forked from google upstream code that removes these sorts of things, but I go to great lengths to make sure even simple things like using 8.8.8.8 are not occurring.
helij 4y ago
I applaud you. I do my best as well using Linux whenever I can and having all my email on Zoho. I struggle with finding a solution for sharing photos via mobile. The whole family is in Apple ecosystem. I feel that if I don't want to spend enormous amount of time on setting up, securing and maintaining systems that I need to use big names solutions.
- nuker 4y ago
  Apple is very different to Google.
- onehair 4y ago
  I use Filerun, self-hosted, pretty easy to setup
- vishnumohandas 4y ago
  Have you tried using ente[1] for sharing photos? Disclosure: founder here. You can share albums via links, and you can even allow your family to add photos[1] to your albums. They don't need an account or an app. All your photos are stored in original quality, e2ee. If you've feedback, please let me[3] know, would love to understand what we can do better. [1]: https://ente.io https://ente.io [2]: https://ente.io/blog/collect-photos https://ente.io/blog/collect-photos [3]: vishnu[at]ente.io
Tepix 4y ago
I'm sorry, but if you use youtube, you are using Google services. But good on you for avoiding their services, i do the same (however, i still use Google maps regularly for navigation because Apple maps has let me down too often). I also watch youtube. Regarding video game consoles, you could get an older one that has no cloud connectivity. They are cheap and the games are still great.
- Izkata 4y ago
  He mentioned Invidious, which is an alternate frontend to youtube: https://invidious.io/ https://invidious.io/ Basically the same as the search engines he mentioned that rely on google, but he doesn't use google directly.
- friend_and_foe 4y ago
  Try OSM. It is more reliable than google in performance now, believe it or not. Address lookup is a shortcoming, and there's this https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation to help you get around that, and sometimes the routing algorithm used by Osmand in particular can be goofy from time to time, I can't speak to other clients. Finally, there's traffic, which is not a problem that can be resolved without collecting and processing data from all users, which I find unethical and so will live without.
jjulius 4y ago
>I am proud to say I don't use a single Google service, and haven't in years. >... I use no Google services... >I have a general rule, if a company does something, anything at all, that translates to "fuck you what are you going to do about it you need us more than we need you" then I cease using all their services immediately, no matter how painful. >Bye, forever. >... stop giving your patronage to companies who treat you like this or none of this will ever get any better. That's all well and good, except: >Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of course) and I use some metasearch engines which rely on Google to some degree... So much for ceasing the "use of all their services immediately". All of your "I'm above the system"/holier than thou rhetoric falls flat on it's face. You still give them patronage. Great job cutting a lot of it out, I'm not trying to take that away, but maybe be a bit more humble and honest?
- friend_and_foe 4y ago
  You are trying to take that away. I have cut every vestige of every one of these companies out of my life except google, which the only thing I have left is, when someone sends me a link to a website owned by them, I pipe through a proxy and rip the content. I want it to be all or nothing, and I've gone to great lengths to make it so, but a video is a video and a video host is a video host in my mind, for purposes of consumption. FYI I have created a tool to break this dependency also, https://codeberg.org/mister_monster/YouTube2Peertube https://codeberg.org/mister_monster/YouTube2Peertube it enables the content on YouTube to be mirrored elsewhere, and a good number of people use it, but not near enough. As far as search goes, the truth is I find myself using search less and less in general, because it is mostly broken, but when I do I default to independent indexes like marginilia, brave (which isn't 100% independent yet), even yandex sometimes, but find myself sometimes using a metasearch engine like ddg or metager and so in that way one step removed I do use google search every so often.

simple-thoughts 4y ago

Some services are impossible to use without Google et Al. Thankfully, people from around the world will create and run an account for you cheaply. Data privacy for you, hot meals for them.

quaintdev 4y ago
Thank God the new AI product is not Google's
- friend_and_foe 4y ago
  Well, I think they're talking about tools like tensor flow. Personally I dont consider open source codebases that don't come with services embedded as services, so things like Blink or AOSP that are made by google are fine, so long as they don't interact with google in any way or incorporate patterns that lead you into their funnel. They're FOSS code, not services, you might as well be running a fork, it doesn't really matter who makes them. I do use some software that is forked from google upstream code that removes these sorts of things, but I go to great lengths to make sure even simple things like using 8.8.8.8 are not occurring.

helij 4y ago

I applaud you. I do my best as well using Linux whenever I can and having all my email on Zoho. I struggle with finding a solution for sharing photos via mobile. The whole family is in Apple ecosystem. I feel that if I don't want to spend enormous amount of time on setting up, securing and maintaining systems that I need to use big names solutions.

nuker 4y ago
Apple is very different to Google.
onehair 4y ago
I use Filerun, self-hosted, pretty easy to setup
vishnumohandas 4y ago
Have you tried using ente[1] for sharing photos? Disclosure: founder here. You can share albums via links, and you can even allow your family to add photos[1] to your albums. They don't need an account or an app. All your photos are stored in original quality, e2ee. If you've feedback, please let me[3] know, would love to understand what we can do better. [1]: https://ente.io https://ente.io [2]: https://ente.io/blog/collect-photos https://ente.io/blog/collect-photos [3]: vishnu[at]ente.io

Tepix 4y ago

I'm sorry, but if you use youtube, you are using Google services. But good on you for avoiding their services, i do the same (however, i still use Google maps regularly for navigation because Apple maps has let me down too often). I also watch youtube. Regarding video game consoles, you could get an older one that has no cloud connectivity. They are cheap and the games are still great.

Izkata 4y ago
He mentioned Invidious, which is an alternate frontend to youtube: https://invidious.io/ https://invidious.io/ Basically the same as the search engines he mentioned that rely on google, but he doesn't use google directly.
friend_and_foe 4y ago
Try OSM. It is more reliable than google in performance now, believe it or not. Address lookup is a shortcoming, and there's this https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation to help you get around that, and sometimes the routing algorithm used by Osmand in particular can be goofy from time to time, I can't speak to other clients. Finally, there's traffic, which is not a problem that can be resolved without collecting and processing data from all users, which I find unethical and so will live without.

jjulius 4y ago

>I am proud to say I don't use a single Google service, and haven't in years. >... I use no Google services... >I have a general rule, if a company does something, anything at all, that translates to "fuck you what are you going to do about it you need us more than we need you" then I cease using all their services immediately, no matter how painful. >Bye, forever. >... stop giving your patronage to companies who treat you like this or none of this will ever get any better. That's all well and good, except: >Now, if someone sends me a YouTube link, I watch it (in an invidious instance, of course) and I use some metasearch engines which rely on Google to some degree... So much for ceasing the "use of all their services immediately". All of your "I'm above the system"/holier than thou rhetoric falls flat on it's face. You still give them patronage. Great job cutting a lot of it out, I'm not trying to take that away, but maybe be a bit more humble and honest?

friend_and_foe 4y ago
You are trying to take that away. I have cut every vestige of every one of these companies out of my life except google, which the only thing I have left is, when someone sends me a link to a website owned by them, I pipe through a proxy and rip the content. I want it to be all or nothing, and I've gone to great lengths to make it so, but a video is a video and a video host is a video host in my mind, for purposes of consumption. FYI I have created a tool to break this dependency also, https://codeberg.org/mister_monster/YouTube2Peertube https://codeberg.org/mister_monster/YouTube2Peertube it enables the content on YouTube to be mirrored elsewhere, and a good number of people use it, but not near enough. As far as search goes, the truth is I find myself using search less and less in general, because it is mostly broken, but when I do I default to independent indexes like marginilia, brave (which isn't 100% independent yet), even yandex sometimes, but find myself sometimes using a metasearch engine like ddg or metager and so in that way one step removed I do use google search every so often.