Mastodawn

Did you know that Microsoft just turns Copilot writing assist on for webpages in Microsoft Edge?
So like, if you type in edit boxes, it just... gets sent to Microsoft? Straight up?
And this is enabled by default?
So first, what the actual hell? Second, why is nobody talking about this? How the hell is right now the first time I find out about this?

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Andrzej Stamburski Jul 12

@talon Ms Windows is not an OS. It is an Microsoft endpoint at your home to serve Ms business. Edge is not a webbrowser. It is a tool of Microsoft to know what you are browsing in the web. Chrome is not a web browser, it is a tool of Google. Android is not an OS, it is a tool for many companies to inform them everything about you, what you watch, what you listen to, what you are interested in, when you go to bed and when you wake up.
I'm surprised that you are surprised.

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Andrzej Stamburski Jul 12

@talon Alternatives do not exist and are actively blocked by governments, banks, employers, but there are some. They are not always as easy to use and not so popular.

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Kropotkinson (we are all 🇵🇸)Jul 13

@stamberry @talon

You'll find many of the alternatives popular here.

@e_mydata, an android alternative compatible with android apps, which you get the option to install instead of android if you buy a #FairPhone5 (a very pleasant smartphone, made from recycled and ethically sourced materials, with 5+ years warranty, and decent specs)

For browsers there's @Vivaldi, based on Chromium so it's compatible with Chrome-apps. They have their own Mastodon server with thousands of users too.

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Kropotkinson (we are all 🇵🇸)Jul 13

@stamberry @talon

When it comes to operating systems, there's multiple brands of linux consumer laptops across Europe. I myself have been using Tuxedo for a long time now (they have some quite powerful laptops), where I also have NextCloud as my cloud service.

Independence happens one step at a time, cutting out one service at a time.

Spotify? -> BandCamp
Google/Bing search? -> DuckDuckGo or Qwant/Ecosia

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Kropotkinson (we are all 🇵🇸)Jul 13

@stamberry @talon

Only service I have not been able to fully substitute are YouTube (for their vast catalogue) and Google Maps (for their up-to-date business information, street view, etc.)

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Andrzej Stamburski

@amici Thanks for answers. I'm on Linux since 2007. Ubuntu Touch was my only phone 2015-2019. I also host my own Nextcloud server, so nobody in my family is using google nor apple for storage.