Some long thoughts/rants on Google:
I'm currently at a crossroads in my relationship with Google's services. I've used them for years (I had my first gmail account early in the beta phase), and have tried and enjoyed many of the products that the company has produced. I was hopeful that Google+ would provide an alternative to Facebook because of the easy granular sharing services that the former provided. Google Maps had been my default 'direction getting' service until Apple switched to their own mapping system in iOS 6. I've still used Google Maps on my iPhone from time to time since then. I've consistently switched my daily web browsing between Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome. Google's search engine is by far the most robust. The recent Google Now update to the Google iOS app is interesting. I've always been keenly aware of the fact that Google uses the information I provide to target me with advertisements, but I've been fine with that. All of this started to sour a bit last year when Google implemented their new privacy policy. I was okay with it then, but more and more I'm leery of giving the company any more of my information. One thing that contributed to my uncertainty the continued use of the majority of Google's products was their decision to shut down Google Reader. I've used the services multiple times a day for years, and after they came in and decimated the RSS syndication market, Reader was the only viable option left. It will be interesting to see what will step up to fill the Reader void, and the situation has reminded me that it is important to actually pay for services that you rely on. I recently received a replacement iPhone (I had somehow acquired some dust/debris under the camera lens and Apple swapped it out with a new one). This however highlighted even more problems with Google, as I was no longer able to get "push" notifications of my GMail emails on the new device. I realized that this was due to the restriction that Google implemented earlier this year. While hardware that was already set up to sync/push using 'active sync' will continue to work properly, any new hardware (including fully restored replacement devices) will be forced to used standard "fetch" IMAP email (unless the device is an Android one). While waiting 15 to 30 minutes to receive an email (or manually fetching by opening the app) is truly a first world problem, it is an annoyance. On my iPhone and iPad I could used the (much improved) GMail app and get push notifications, but it has just enough problems to keep my from enjoying the experience. This lead me to search for alternative solutions. I have since decided to try a trail where I use as few Google services as I can, and those that I do use I do so without logging in and identifying myself. I have decided to try and stop being the product (Google selling me to advertisers) and using products (paying for services, etc.) So far I've done the following: - Switched all of my browsing to Safari and mobile Safari. While I really enjoy some of the features of Chrome on iOS, I can deal with mobile Safari and since Apple doesn't let you choose a default browser on iOS, it's easier to use anyway. - I have installed Ghostly in my desktop Safari to prevent as much inadvertent tracking as possible. - Switched my email from GMail to my iCloud account. Right now most of my stuff is being forwarded from GMail until I decide if I want to make the change permanent. I prefer some of the features of GMail (two-factor authentication to sign into webmail, filtering, etc.), but with iCloud I get push notifications. Additionally, making the switch has really made me reconsider the way that I've been using GMail since the beginning, for example archiving all mail instead of selective archiving and deleting the rest. Do I really need to keep all those NewEgg newsletters from 3 years ago? - I use Apple maps on my iPhone and iPad instead of Google Maps. I haven't had to use anything on the desktop yet, but will try out map quest or something similar when the time comes. - I've changed my search engines. I'm alternating between Bing and Yahoo, and also a bookmarked DuckDuckGo page (since I can't use it by default in the search bars of my Safari browsers). - I'm still searching for a Google reader replacement, but that will come soon enough. - My YouTube browsing is done without signing in. - I still need to use Google Scholar and I don't see an alternative coming any time soon, although it may just be a matter of time before this service gets pastured like some other Google offerings. In the end, while Google makes some compelling services, I've grown increasingly uncomfortable giving all my information to one entity that has some history with questionable ethics. (not that Apple is much better, but they do seem a little more up front about it ;) Anyone else tried divorcing Google? Rick
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