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Trying to say Goodbye to Google

rowley

rowley

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 16, 2008
408
1
London, UK
Im an trying (for the most part) to stop using google services.
Partly because of the T&Cs, but mostly I think they are becoming a bit too big for their boots.

I have a number of computers, mainly Mac, iOS and one Windows PC
I use iCloud for calendars, contacts
I have my own domain, webstorage and imap email
I have switch all my browsers from using Google to Bing Search
I use dropbox, facebook (which Im thinking of ditching) and twitter.

I have two issues though:
Online video - Youtube is still the most used and has the most content.
Online Documents - I have all my documents local save one, which is a spreadsheet, shared amongst a number of people.

My question is:
Has anyone completely dropped Google for other services, stopped using You Tube for something else, is there a good alternative to Google Docs I can migrate this shared document with.
or
Can this not actually be done, and the web (and peoples lives) is controlled by Google?
 
rowley said:
Im an trying (for the most part) to stop using google services.
Partly because of the T&Cs, but mostly I think they are becoming a bit too big for their boots.

I have a number of computers, mainly Mac, iOS and one Windows PC
I use iCloud for calendars, contacts
I have my own domain, webstorage and imap email
I have switch all my browsers from using Google to Bing Search
I use dropbox, facebook (which Im thinking of ditching) and twitter.

I have two issues though:
Online video - Youtube is still the most used and has the most content.
Online Documents - I have all my documents local save one, which is a spreadsheet, shared amongst a number of people.

My question is:
Has anyone completely dropped Google for other services, stopped using You Tube for something else, is there a good alternative to Google Docs I can migrate this shared document with.
or
Can this not actually be done, and the web (and peoples lives) is controlled by Google?
Click to expand...
I don't have any help for you right now, i just wanted to applaud your decision and i think you're doing the right thing.

Apple does not use data for ads. It sells stuff to you for $. In that effect it is totally different than google and Facebook.
 
For the documents, you may benefit from using something like Microsoft's SkyDrive/OfficeToGo/etc.

I don't even know what it's called, but I know it's built into Hotmail like Google Docs is built into Gmail.


For videos, you could use Vimeo, Hulu, etc?
 
It's been proven that bing uses google search engine results

So your just adding a middle man ...

Resistance is futile.
 
OP, are you looking to stop hosting videos on youtube, or stop watching them on youtube?

If you want a different free hoster, Vimeo is basically the equivalent of youtube.

Watching is another deal altogether. If you don't want to continue to add your data into Google's enormous data pile but still want to view videos on youtube, then you might consider the following tactics:

* Use a script blocker such as Ghostery

* Remove your cookies on exit from your browser (Firefox has a setting for this, Safari has an extension)

* Use a VPN/Proxy server

Basically these steps make Google's data collection efforts much less effective.
 
You may also want to consider your collaborators' thoughts since you are working with them on some shared documents. Are they willing to move to another platform?

I work with about a dozen people on many, many shared documents, and trying to switch that over to another service would not go well for me. It would likely result in much lower participation (as far as additions/changes to the document) and would essentially make it just mine.
 
I've been switching to DuckDuckGo for my search needs. So far, so good.

As for Apple being as much of a "data mongerer" as Google, at least Apple doesn't sell your user profile data off to advertisers.

I second the recommendation for Ghostery.
 
SvP said:
Apple does not use data for ads. It sells stuff to you for $. In that effect it is totally different than google and Facebook.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. Apple does collect information on customers for the purpose of iAds advertising. It won't turn over personally identifiable information to anyone without a court order or are in a strategic partnership.
 
benthewraith said:
Apple does collect information on customers for the purpose of iAds advertising. It won't turn over personally identifiable information to anyone without a court order or are in a strategic partnership.
Click to expand...

If one takes the time, you'll find Apple & Google have policies that are nearly identical. I know, I've read them both, very carefully. I use them both, and will continue to do so.

Each collect as much information on their respective users as possible. No company can serve it's customers best without understanding their target market. Data collection is crucial to a companies success.

The fact is, despite perceptions of those who either Anti-Google or Anti-Apple, neither wants to anger it's customers & lose them. Neither is Evil, and if one searches thoroughly there's always some issues when taken out of context that can be used against either of them.

We live in a digital world where the power of technology advances at warp speed. A nightmare for the insecure and paranoid, a wealth of useful tools for the well adjusted, mindful user.

Life is not risk free. :)
 
ixodes speaks the truth.

What is it you don't like about Google's ToC that other services do not do?

If you're truly worried about your privacy and not just being a follower because Apple is grumpy at Google for the moment, you should be much more worried about Facebook.
 
Last edited:
ixodes said:
If one takes the time, you'll find Apple & Google have policies that are nearly identical. I know, I've read them both, very carefully. I use them both, and will continue to do so.

Each collect as much information on their respective users as possible. No company can serve it's customers best without understanding their target market. Data collection is crucial to a companies success.

The fact is, despite perceptions of those who either Anti-Google or Anti-Apple, neither wants to anger it's customers & lose them. Neither is Evil, and if one searches thoroughly there's always some issues when taken out of context that can be used against either of them.

We live in a digital world where the power of technology advances at warp speed. A nightmare for the insecure and paranoid, a wealth of useful tools for the well adjusted, mindful user.

Life is not risk free. :)
Click to expand...

I never said Google is evil. I'm just looking for a cleaner, better solution to what Google provides. I'm not particularly happy with their T&Cs and now that they are everywhere with +1's like Facebook likes, I'm tired of having them full in my face all the time.
As for my privacy, I'd like to think that I do not put anything online that I do not want to make public. The web is now the soapbox in the corner of society that everyone can shout from.

There is some good advice here, but I think ultimately I will still need to use Google for some things, I think it's going to take a while before some services come up to par.
 
ixodes said:
If one takes the time, you'll find Apple & Google have policies that are nearly identical. I know, I've read them both, very carefully. I use them both, and will continue to do so.

Each collect as much information on their respective users as possible. No company can serve it's customers best without understanding their target market. Data collection is crucial to a companies success.

The fact is, despite perceptions of those who either Anti-Google or Anti-Apple, neither wants to anger it's customers & lose them. Neither is Evil, and if one searches thoroughly there's always some issues when taken out of context that can be used against either of them.

We live in a digital world where the power of technology advances at warp speed. A nightmare for the insecure and paranoid, a wealth of useful tools for the well adjusted, mindful user.

Life is not risk free. :)
Click to expand...

Very well said. I feel exactly the same way.
 
benthewraith said:
This is incorrect. Apple does collect information on customers for the purpose of iAds advertising. It won't turn over personally identifiable information to anyone without a court order or are in a strategic partnership.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected.

I hate the stupid comment voting system by the way, it's used by the lazy only.
 
ixodes said:
We live in a digital world where the power of technology advances at warp speed. A nightmare for the insecure and paranoid, a wealth of useful tools for the well adjusted, mindful user.
Click to expand...

Criticism of Apples/Microsofts/Googles/Facebooks/ ... offerings has less to do with paranoia than blind acceptance of these services has to to with stupidity. Especially with technology advancing so fast it is important for users to make informed decisions on what to use and what to skip.
 
The fact of the matter is, in today's online world you have to use Google if you want the broadest range of support and services. Google Docs are used by lots of people, and if a potential client doesn't use Google Docs, they probably are familiar at least with it or with another Google service, which makes it the best bet for sharing documents online. Cloud computing means someone is tracking you all the time, and if it matters to you then you are forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

If you are an Apple user, then you might be able to utilize iCloud to a degree, but it's not widely adopted yet and even then Apple still collects information about you.

As said already, the nature of cloud computing means some company at some point, and as often as they possibly can, is actively tracking what you do and how you do it; To a degree they use it to better their product, but to a larger degree they use it to make more money. Google is the worst, but they're not the only ones. I just don't like Google snooping my email just to serve me more targeted ads.

miles01110 said:
Think about how you are solving your problem. You're just switching from one data mongerer (Google) to another (Apple). The net effect is zero.
Click to expand...

Au Contraire. Google is the largest data miner in the world. Apple's on the list, but it's down the list. Ergo, Google is worse.

Google owns other ad networks that track your activity. Apple doesn't.

OP: Thinking of ditching Twitter? You don't like Google snooping but you're ditching Twitter in favor of Facebook? Facebook is a huge data monger also.
 
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