So, I saw this article...
Why I'm Quitting Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple for a Month
...which led to this article...
Tech’s Frightful Five: They’ve Got Us
...and while I think both are overwrought, they did get me to thinking. Which, if any, of the "Big Five" could I live without? And, assuming I actually use one of their products, which could I give up?
So, here's the list (alphabetical order):
As much as possible I de-emphasize Google. This is hard as I own an Android phone, but I use Bing for searches, Outlook for email, and Edge for general browsing. I am currently stuck with Google Maps because it just works best with the apps I use most. That said, I just tossed Android Auto so maybe I can go back to Here maps? I'm also still utilizing Gmail for the bulk of my communications, primarily to share calendars were several others.
So, I'm still running on a Google (Alphabet?) platform and do not see a direct way to dump Google entirely.
I'm on Facebook primarily for keeping up with the groups I belong to. This entire brouhaha over Cambridge Analytics is amusing because it's nothing new. It's been going on for years. Indeed, you have to wonder if users were truly mystified how a service offering them a "free" service turned into a corporation worth billions. As with Google, they make their money off your data; it's their core business model.
Mind you, not you as an individual, but you as a conglomerate. The value isn't in seeing what a specific Jane Doe is doing, but rather what the entire assortment of Does are doing.
That said, I could probably cast Facebook free and never look back. It's not really something I pay that much mind to.
That leaves Amazon and Microsoft. I'm a huge fan of Kindle so Amazon provides all of my books. I'm running Windows 10 and, as mentioned, utilizing Bing, Outlook, and Edge. So here's where I get stuck, because while there are alternatives (e.g., Nook for books and Linux for the desktop) they'd be a tremendous pain in the ass to jump to. Also, at least in the case of email, I'm still utilizing either Gmail or Outlook, as well as OneDrive being my default cloud backup location.
Is it possible to do without the Awful Big Five? Yes, absolutely. Would my life be harder? Yes, absolutely. I lose one of my major sources of entertainment (Kindle books) and I'd be back to trying to bend Linux to my will. It can be done, I've done it before, but what a pain. And I'm really not sure what, if any, viable options there are doing away with my Gmail and Outlook accounts.
It all comes down to convenience and what price you're willing to pay. Some time ago, I wrote a paper dealing with standardizing law enforcement data bases (you'd be amazed at how incompatible they are). In it I quoted Larry Ellison, president and CEO of Oracle, as saying, "This privacy you're concerned about is largely an illusion. All you have to give up is your illusions, not your privacy." There was also Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, who said, "You already have zero privacy. Get over it."
Ellison later said he was referring to his call for a nationwide standard for ID cards (which has become a reality with the Read ID Act), but as far as I know, McNealy stands by his words. This was back in late 2001. Are privacy concerns overstated?
I'm frankly not sure. What I am sure of is that the genie is out of the bottle, and we should begin to get comfortable with the Big Five. Failing that, seek out an alternative you can get comfortable with. Serious competition for any of these companies would be a good thing. After all, in 2001, which of these companies would have been considered serious competition for Microsoft? And yet today...?
Why I'm Quitting Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple for a Month
...which led to this article...
Tech’s Frightful Five: They’ve Got Us
...and while I think both are overwrought, they did get me to thinking. Which, if any, of the "Big Five" could I live without? And, assuming I actually use one of their products, which could I give up?
So, here's the list (alphabetical order):
- Amazon
- Apple
- Microsoft
As much as possible I de-emphasize Google. This is hard as I own an Android phone, but I use Bing for searches, Outlook for email, and Edge for general browsing. I am currently stuck with Google Maps because it just works best with the apps I use most. That said, I just tossed Android Auto so maybe I can go back to Here maps? I'm also still utilizing Gmail for the bulk of my communications, primarily to share calendars were several others.
So, I'm still running on a Google (Alphabet?) platform and do not see a direct way to dump Google entirely.
I'm on Facebook primarily for keeping up with the groups I belong to. This entire brouhaha over Cambridge Analytics is amusing because it's nothing new. It's been going on for years. Indeed, you have to wonder if users were truly mystified how a service offering them a "free" service turned into a corporation worth billions. As with Google, they make their money off your data; it's their core business model.
Mind you, not you as an individual, but you as a conglomerate. The value isn't in seeing what a specific Jane Doe is doing, but rather what the entire assortment of Does are doing.
That said, I could probably cast Facebook free and never look back. It's not really something I pay that much mind to.
That leaves Amazon and Microsoft. I'm a huge fan of Kindle so Amazon provides all of my books. I'm running Windows 10 and, as mentioned, utilizing Bing, Outlook, and Edge. So here's where I get stuck, because while there are alternatives (e.g., Nook for books and Linux for the desktop) they'd be a tremendous pain in the ass to jump to. Also, at least in the case of email, I'm still utilizing either Gmail or Outlook, as well as OneDrive being my default cloud backup location.
Is it possible to do without the Awful Big Five? Yes, absolutely. Would my life be harder? Yes, absolutely. I lose one of my major sources of entertainment (Kindle books) and I'd be back to trying to bend Linux to my will. It can be done, I've done it before, but what a pain. And I'm really not sure what, if any, viable options there are doing away with my Gmail and Outlook accounts.
It all comes down to convenience and what price you're willing to pay. Some time ago, I wrote a paper dealing with standardizing law enforcement data bases (you'd be amazed at how incompatible they are). In it I quoted Larry Ellison, president and CEO of Oracle, as saying, "This privacy you're concerned about is largely an illusion. All you have to give up is your illusions, not your privacy." There was also Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, who said, "You already have zero privacy. Get over it."
Ellison later said he was referring to his call for a nationwide standard for ID cards (which has become a reality with the Read ID Act), but as far as I know, McNealy stands by his words. This was back in late 2001. Are privacy concerns overstated?
I'm frankly not sure. What I am sure of is that the genie is out of the bottle, and we should begin to get comfortable with the Big Five. Failing that, seek out an alternative you can get comfortable with. Serious competition for any of these companies would be a good thing. After all, in 2001, which of these companies would have been considered serious competition for Microsoft? And yet today...?
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