COMPUTER SECURITY
Escaping the Google Grip
Last Updated: 2/19/2010
24 hours ago I began a project to remove myself from the Google grip. After many days of soul searching, views of Master Plan (http://www.masterplanthemovie.com), and the news of Buzz privacy flaw plus the approval of a Google Electric company, I decided to say farewell. Good-bye to free. Not freedom, mind you, just free. Freedom is a completely different issue when it comes to Google…
In turning away, I needed to assess what services I used, and what replacements were out there. Briefly, I was an avid user of...
Gmail: e-mail
GCal: calendar
Reader: RSS feed reader
Google: search
More importantly though, all four services are attached to my iPhone as well and are used to keep my life in sync.
So the journey began…
Spending the next 12 hours or so searching the depths of the internet, installing, uninstalling, signing up, and testing a wide variety of replacements, I've come to utilize the following. Now please note, I have opened my wallet for a few of these. While some may shudder at the thought of paying for anything on the internet, freedom is rarely free. Many claim Gmail is free. However, it is not. Each ad displayed or "anonymous" data sold, pays for your access. For me, I rather pay for something I believe in over giving up my soul for someone else to get rich.
And so, I present, my Google replacement suite…
LavaBit: e-mail (IMAP / 8gig / spam filter / web interface / search / $16 a year)
Chandler Hub: calendar (CalDAV sync / web interface / FREE)
Fever: RSS feed reader (web based / iphone compatible / $30 + webspace)
Bing or Anonymous Google Proxy: search (best of both worlds / FREE)
After opening accounts, using YippieMove to transfer my messages & folders, and tinkering with some MySQL to get Fever going, I'm now fully free of Google's services and liking a few of the added features I now have access to! Once everything is properly tested, say over the next week, I'll delete my Gmail messages, GCal, Reader, and disassociate from most Google services.
When switching out services, the choices are almost endless, as everyone wants to be the next Google. But, in this variety comes concerns...namely, the same as what made me leave in the first place. Yahoo offers great free e-mail, but again, your demographic data becomes part of a new, albeit smaller collective. Microsoft? Same deal. 30boxes for your calendar? Check their privacy policy before clicking the "agree" button.
Searching is an interesting beast. On one hand, you need to be able to quickly and easily access information. On the other, I don't want my corporate profile linking search terms I use for work or research with who I actually am (e.g. I don't want to be labeled an addict just because I actively research addiction therapies). Google does maintain an excellent search engine. Just use an proxy to access it. Do a Bing search for some examples, ha!
The initial key is to keep your data separate and not integrated. The more that's out there, the easier it is to assemble a profile of who you are, regardless of accuracy. So if you want to get out of the Google grip, take a deep breath, assess your needs, and know that it is possible, even easy!