News Item: Goodbye, Google (2021)
(Category: Comment)
Posted by Brad R
Monday 18 January 2021 - 05:25:51
A few years ago I posted "Goodbye, Google" as a guide to eliminating all traces of Google from your life. At the time I remarked "one overlarge, overbearing tech behemoth is much like another." Well, that's no longer true -- I now consider Google to be far more dangerous and abusive than Microsoft. So here, long overdue, is an updated list of alternatives to help you break your dependence on Google services. As always, suggestions are welcome.
Google Search. I like DuckDuckGo. Startpage is a privacy-protecting front end for Google (ok if you just want privacy, but not if you dislike Google's search bias or want to boycott Google). I've also used Metacrawler*. Others: Bing, Yahoo! Search, Yandex, search.com, dogpile*, excite*, WebCrawler*, info.com*. * = metasearch engine. Sources: eBizMBA, Wikipedia.
Google News. These days I use Bing News (yes, I know, I'm using a Microsoft product). There's also Yahoo! News. DuckDuckGo now has a news search, but there's no direct link to it -- you have to do a general search, and then click the "News" tab.
Gmail. Your ISP should provide a mail account (and may provide webmail). Ditto your web hosting service, if you use one. Otherwise, there are many free webmail services. I've used Yahoo! Mail. I've heard ProtonMail widely recommended. I've also read a recommendation for Fastmail. Don't use outlook.com/hotmail.com.
Android Phones.I like our old Blackberry Z10 and Q10 smartphones -- you can still (in 2021) buy refurbished units from Newegg -- which use the QNX-based Blackberry 10 OS. December 2021 update: Blackberry is "decommissioning" all non-Android products, including the Z10 and Q10. Newer Blackberries, alas, use Google's Android OS. The only other option I can suggest, if you must have a smartphone, is an iPhone.
Chrome (web browser). There are many alternatives. For desktop I like Firefox, Pale Moon, and Opera. Brave is now "ready for prime time." I'm also interested in Dissenter, Midori, Falkon (formerly QupZilla), and SeaMonkey. On Linux I also use GNOME Web (a.k.a. Epiphany), and Konqueror. For Android devices I'd suggest Opera Mobile, or perhaps Firefox or Brave. (Here are more alternative browsers for Android.)
Google Maps. There's Mapquest, and OpenStreetMap, and if you don't mind Microsoft, Bing Maps. Alas, Yahoo! Maps is now defunct.
Google Groups. For email lists, I use groups.io -- replacing Yahoo! Groups, which has been shut down. For "net news" (Usenet news), I'm currently using the Pan newsreader. There are others.
Google Ads. I don't use any web advertising service, so I'm a bit short of suggestions here. Suggestions are welcome.
YouTube. I also don't upload videos. I've seen Vimeo, Rumble, Bitchute, and Brighteon suggested, but I haven't tried them. Here's a list of nine others that might be worth a look.
Google Docs. For online collaboration, Zoho seems to be competing with Google. I haven't tried Zoho Docs or any of their other services. I work entirely on my desktop PC, not on the cloud, and I use the LibreOffice suite. There are many others.
Google Calendar. Here are four free online calendars other than Google. Zoho Calendar sounds promising.
Google Drive. I don't use cloud storage for my files, but here are 16 alternative cloud storage services. (Mostly free.) I've also learned that Proton Drive is in early release.
Google Analytics. If you need stats and analytics for your web page, here are lots of alternatives to Google Analytics. (That web site, alternative.to, is terrific for finding alternatives to just about anything.) Or just do a web search for "alternatives to google analytics".
Google Translate. Try Bing Translator, TranslateDict, Translate.com, DeepL, Babylon, PROMT, or ImTranslator (a front end for PROMT, Google, and Microsoft translators). Source: MakeUseOf.
Google Home. Just don't get one.
This news item is from Goodbye, Microsoft®
( http://www.goodbyemicrosoft.net/news.php?extend.831 )
(Category: Comment)
Posted by Brad R
Monday 18 January 2021 - 05:25:51
A few years ago I posted "Goodbye, Google" as a guide to eliminating all traces of Google from your life. At the time I remarked "one overlarge, overbearing tech behemoth is much like another." Well, that's no longer true -- I now consider Google to be far more dangerous and abusive than Microsoft. So here, long overdue, is an updated list of alternatives to help you break your dependence on Google services. As always, suggestions are welcome.
Google Search. I like DuckDuckGo. Startpage is a privacy-protecting front end for Google (ok if you just want privacy, but not if you dislike Google's search bias or want to boycott Google). I've also used Metacrawler*. Others: Bing, Yahoo! Search, Yandex, search.com, dogpile*, excite*, WebCrawler*, info.com*. * = metasearch engine. Sources: eBizMBA, Wikipedia.
Google News. These days I use Bing News (yes, I know, I'm using a Microsoft product). There's also Yahoo! News. DuckDuckGo now has a news search, but there's no direct link to it -- you have to do a general search, and then click the "News" tab.
Gmail. Your ISP should provide a mail account (and may provide webmail). Ditto your web hosting service, if you use one. Otherwise, there are many free webmail services. I've used Yahoo! Mail. I've heard ProtonMail widely recommended. I've also read a recommendation for Fastmail. Don't use outlook.com/hotmail.com.
Android Phones.
Chrome (web browser). There are many alternatives. For desktop I like Firefox, Pale Moon, and Opera. Brave is now "ready for prime time." I'm also interested in Dissenter, Midori, Falkon (formerly QupZilla), and SeaMonkey. On Linux I also use GNOME Web (a.k.a. Epiphany), and Konqueror. For Android devices I'd suggest Opera Mobile, or perhaps Firefox or Brave. (Here are more alternative browsers for Android.)
Google Maps. There's Mapquest, and OpenStreetMap, and if you don't mind Microsoft, Bing Maps. Alas, Yahoo! Maps is now defunct.
Google Groups. For email lists, I use groups.io -- replacing Yahoo! Groups, which has been shut down. For "net news" (Usenet news), I'm currently using the Pan newsreader. There are others.
Google Ads. I don't use any web advertising service, so I'm a bit short of suggestions here. Suggestions are welcome.
YouTube. I also don't upload videos. I've seen Vimeo, Rumble, Bitchute, and Brighteon suggested, but I haven't tried them. Here's a list of nine others that might be worth a look.
Google Docs. For online collaboration, Zoho seems to be competing with Google. I haven't tried Zoho Docs or any of their other services. I work entirely on my desktop PC, not on the cloud, and I use the LibreOffice suite. There are many others.
Google Calendar. Here are four free online calendars other than Google. Zoho Calendar sounds promising.
Google Drive. I don't use cloud storage for my files, but here are 16 alternative cloud storage services. (Mostly free.) I've also learned that Proton Drive is in early release.
Google Analytics. If you need stats and analytics for your web page, here are lots of alternatives to Google Analytics. (That web site, alternative.to, is terrific for finding alternatives to just about anything.) Or just do a web search for "alternatives to google analytics".
Google Translate. Try Bing Translator, TranslateDict, Translate.com, DeepL, Babylon, PROMT, or ImTranslator (a front end for PROMT, Google, and Microsoft translators). Source: MakeUseOf.
Google Home. Just don't get one.
This news item is from Goodbye, Microsoft®
( http://www.goodbyemicrosoft.net/news.php?extend.831 )