Getting out of Google?

[Drael646464]

Fed up with pop up spam suggesting chrome as a browser, and googles recent anti-competitive tactics (like shunning the UWP platform), and increasing advertising on all its platforms- I've decided it might be time to vote with my feet. Not liking the way they are treating consumers.

What in your opinion are the best alternatives to google products such as:
Google search
YouTube
Google Maps
Google+
etc

I think bing maps seems to be fine. Bing itself isn't quite up to scratch in my country yet. I'd quite like a search that a) combines google and bing b) skips the advertising c) can be added to my edge browser.

 

[HeyCori]

Google search - Bing (it really is your best option outside of like Dogpile)
YouTube - Nothing
Google Maps - Windows 10 Maps/HERE Maps
Google+ - Facebook
etc - Basically every product Microsoft makes aside from phones and social networks

 

[Drael646464]

Qrobe - private search engine (compiles bing, google, ask and removes ads), is excellent. Better search results than google. Really nice actually best of all worlds. But there's no way to add it to edge.

Dogpile can't be added to edge either.

In terms of video, vimeo and daily motion seem to get some recommends. I might have to give them a go.

 

[Drael646464]

DuckDuckGo any good? Or sort of inferior to google?

I'd totally use bing btw, if it wasn't in beta where I live. I hear its great in the US and india.

 

[Drael646464]

Shame MS don't own vimeo. Looks good. Could use a UWP app

 

[Guytronic]

bing is good I think for getting to different results over certain google searches.

I had my browsers set to bing as a priority.
Since gone back to Google and YouTube for my photography info needs.

I'd venture to say google maintains an advantage if one needs the most relevant information.

 

[HeyCori]

DuckDuckGo any good? Or sort of inferior to google?

I'd totally use bing btw, if it wasn't in beta where I live. I hear its great in the US and india.

I didn't think about you not being in the US. Yeah, Bing can be pretty sketchy overseas. Dailymotion is a decent video site but it feels like it loses ground to YouTube everyday.

 

[libra89]

Shame MS don't own vimeo. Looks good. Could use a UWP app

There's a really nice third-party app for Vimeo called Vime. I believe that it has a free trial.

 

[Drael646464]

Hmm, seems like if vimeo and dailymotion were combined, remained ad free, and were included by default as apps on windows devices, youtube might have serious competition.

As they stand, they'll probably dwindle. They are both okay though. Vimeo for production content, and dailymotion for more youtubey stuff.

There was another one that started recently, I remember all the youtubers talking about as a bright new prospect. Peer based I believe?

 

[Drael646464]

K, so having had a good look at this, actually seems quite possible to replace everything....except youtube.

While the other video sites are good, they aren't quite there with types of content. For example tech news and reviews.

duckduckgo, bing and qrobe are decent searches. No need to rely on google there (although qrobe uses google, bing and ask....pity its not just the last two, it is also the best search I have ever used).

Bing maps of course is decent. Google+ can't really be replaced for tech and science content, but its ad free, so google make nothing from it. And one can use Flipboard instead in a way, or an RSS aggregator.

But youtube, nope. Nothing is quite close. So I found this :

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock-for-youtube/cmedhionkhpnakcndndgjdbohmhepckk/

Ironically its in the chrome store. So I will try, installing this, running the youtube native chrome app, and seeing if I can't have completely ad free youtube, entirely via google products Let you know how it goes, haha!

 

[Ryujingt3]

Everything can be replaced, it may take time to dig for programs that meet your individual needs, but sadly, YouTube will most likely never be able to replaced. Google have a monopoly on that. No other video sharing site comes close.

 

[Drael646464]

Everything can be replaced, it may take time to dig for programs that meet your individual needs, but sadly, YouTube will most likely never be able to replaced. Google have a monopoly on that. No other video sharing site comes close.

Yup, that's what I found. Everything else is easy to replace - search, maps etc. DuckDuckGo is alright as a edge search default, and qrobe.it for anything I can't find there. YouTube can't be replaced but you can block the ads, which at least means zero ad revenue to google from me.

And that's the point really for me, not so much not using their services, just voting with my feet on their shift to treating their consumers like cattle.

I do which bing was better globally. MS focuses so much attention on the US. But its kind of a weird market - I mean those guys use chromeOS in schools. Their kids won't know how to use a real computer when they go out to work or uni. How weird is that? You may as well teach people on ipads, lol.

 

[anon(50597)]

I did the same thing, starting with email a few years back. Getting along just fine.

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