Dion Moult Seriously who ever reads this description.

Big Brother Google, hello goodbye.

On 15 February 2010 with 8 comments

My name is Dion Moult (Student). I do graphic design, some 3D work, and currently in the middle of a "soon" to be released 3D animated movie. I like programming too and fluent in XHTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL. Web development is my main area of computer expertise …

Given that introduction I lumped a while back at the bottom of this page I’d be lying to say I honestly cared about the majority of things I throw online. Only an idiot wouldn’t appreciate the lack of anonymity of the internet. Perhaps I’m a little paranoid but I don’t like third-party solutions – especially those by Big Brother Google. I like the flexibility and control of my own setups, which is why I run a very lovely cloud-setup with a laughable synchronisation schedule and don’t use Google.

When I say I don’t use Google, I mean it. More or less. I don’t use GMail but instead use my own mailserver with a choice of Horde, Roundcube or Squirrelmail as a webmail client and almost exclusively use mutt and KMail as a main client. I find I get less spam, more compatibility, and of course, flexibility. You don’t need Google Blogspot when you can run your own WordPress setup on your server. Picasa? Calendar? That’s what your cloud is for. It’s really dead easy. Reader? Use a proper client, not a website. It’s rather easy to boycott their underdeveloped services but the biggie is changing Google search.

With Google’s latest change with their image search it seems as though they completely overlooked third-world countries because I’m not alone in finding it to be the most terrible interface in the world. Nothing loads right, searchings are noticably slower, and it’s a pain to navigate. Anyways at that point I began a discussion with a few friends on how easy it would be to switch away from Google.

A quick peek at the alternatives shows that Google’s web search trumps the competition. Lucky we have Scroogle (SSL). Which provides all the results and none of the videocameras. With SSL, of course. Firefox users may use the Firefox plugin, which adds it to your search bar on the top right of the browser – a few clicks later and it’s your default. A bit more poking reveals another firefox plugin called OptimizeGoogle, which although enhancing Google also allows you to remove some of the identified Google tracking systems and other nonsense like ads.

I’m still poking around for more boycott goodness and would appreciate a solution to their retarded image search interface. It’s also quite refreshing to see the good ol’ alternative search engines that I used in primary before Google really existed. Remember Dogpile?

So, what did you do to stop Google?

No related posts.


8 Comments

Necoro says: (15 February 2010)

[quote]Reader? Use a proper client, not a website.[/quote]

Well – there are also web-based programs like Tiny Tiny RSS (http://tt-rss.org), which you host on your own. Because with multiples computers, it is quite a PITA to synchronize feeds :), and centralized web service has some advantages :)

p. says: (16 February 2010)

Done nothing.It isn’t easy to switch away from Google if switching away means having to search for alternatives which don’t come from the same places. Imagine having to visit another website for my email, another one for its search engine, another for IM..etc;people want the convenience and fortunately (or unfortunately) Google provides this.Why do you want to stop Google anyway?

Dion Moult says: (16 February 2010)

On Linux, in fact, quite unlike Windows, it’s possible to have a very integrated set of applications – for example the KDE-PIM suite. This means that email, RSS feeds, contacts, calendar and todo are all very well integrated with each other in their respective clients as well as the rest of the desktop. Google is integrated with nothing but its own services – most of which are underdeveloped. Ever tried to use GMail with an email client? Ever tried their feed reader on a less-than-decent computer/browser? Ever tried Blogspot? It’s a pain. I should be able to choose how I want to access my data, and not Google.

For the average person obviously nobody cares :)

Dion Moult says: (16 February 2010)

Necoro, yes – actually I _do_ run Tiny Tiny RSS on my cloud for RSS feeds. For calendar I run PHPiCalendar, which does a very nice job when synchronising and handles todos and events perfectly. Webmail is integrated with my hosting, and as for an image album I use “Simple Gallery” by “CeleronDude”.

These are all synchronised via rsync and all behind the scenes. So yes, I have all the choice I want :)

Dan Fego says: (16 February 2010)

Heh, not a thing at all. I’ve got a lovely Android phone, and if I were to switch away from Google services, PITA would only *begin* to describe the pain and torment I’d experience in trying to access my data through any home-grown methods. But I find that okay. I *love* my Android phone (currently a G1) and I find I’m much happier with Google than I would be with Apple (since iPhone is the predominant alternative).

As per your comment about using the services on a less-than-decent browser, I am curious what you’re referring to. Only a year or so ago I was using Google Reader on IE6 and recall it being just fine. But I’m sure everyone’s mileage may vary.

Dion Moult says: (16 February 2010)

Home-grown is what I use for all my data, and honestly switching to all of Google’s services can be done within a day. It wouldn’t be a PITA at all. In fact, switching to any online service provider can be done within a day really easily. This just goes to prove how flexible your setup is. In my opinion the huge barrier to exit of Google’s services once you get wrapped up in using them is a massive disadvantage that outweighs the convenience of using them – I’d rather spend a bit of time setting up my own cloud, which is actually extremely simple for your average webdeveloper.

Hmm – I don’t have an IE6 lying around to test it again but at least on my school’s network it’s a recipe for a browser-crash.

chris says: (17 February 2010)

I disagree that there is a barrier to exit Google’s services. Maybe I’m missing something because I don’t use Google for everything but every service I have used has an easy way to get or export your data for a relatively simple import into another application.

Dion Moult says: (17 February 2010)

Sorry – perhaps that was bad phrasing. What I’m referring to here is the barrier to exit of a Google-centric _workflow_, not the service itself.

I guess I am a minority :)

Leave a Comment

← →

Dion Moult

Born in 1992 (do the math), Male, and floating around the GMT+8 timezone. I do graphic design, some 3D work, and I'm currently working on a "soon" to be released 3D animated movie. I do some programming here and there and have become fluent in XHTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL. Web development is my main area of computer expertise but I always have some weird and fantastic projects being juggled around my schedule. I like the concept of open-source and run Gentoo Linux. I play the piano and compose music. I hate this blog design but I'm never happy with any design. I am currently a student and working part time as a webdeveloper.

You may want to spam my inbox or subscribe to this feed if you find things interesting.

Time Travel

Eh what?


← Back to Home

© thinkMoult. Running WordPress based on DePo Skinny Theme.