Iben BjørnssonI am about to try and weane myself off of big American tech. It feels like a Sisyphus task. Whenever these smaller new companies with nice values get big enough to actually work with multiple people and devices, they get bought/taken over/corrupted and we’re back to square one. Remember when Google was new and its motto literally “Don’t be evil” and Apple was the more ethical alternative?
Like when I switched to Tidal because it was majority (black) artist owned and now it’s been mostly bought by a Jack Dorsey-founded company. It feels like we can’t win with this.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll keep trying and in 5 years’ time I’ll probably be switching email adress and moving all of my files yet again (which is no minor task!!!) because Proton has been bought by Evilcorp™️. It just feels… not only tiring personally but also pointless on a larger scale.
Ciara@ibenb 'not only tiring personally but also pointless on a larger scale'
This resonates. I've been moving away from Big Tech in gradual steps at a tempo I can manage (otherwise it'd be too overwhelming). It's going fine so far, but I've noticed that no matter whom you choose, someone will tell you why they're bad too. Someone recommends Proton, DuckDuckGo, Firefox and someone else instantly tells you what evil thing they've done or are about to do. So far I've gone with LibreOffice and Tuta.
@CiaraNi and even if the small tech we choose is good, it eventually goes big (and evil) or goes under 😑
@ibenb Yes, unfortunately true - bigger tech and bigger money always seems to win out in the end.
JP Kollhøj@ibenb @CiaraNi So it goes, in one way or another. l loved #WordPerfect, but they simply got beaten by the worse competitor. I really adored the search program #Copernic where you could edit the result list, save it, update it, no ads. Enter google, and they were erased. Now I'm reducing #Proton back to the non-paying version (not leaving completely), and pumping up my volume at #posteo. I have installed #Linux (Mint) for the very first time in my quite long life, #micromizing. Never surrender, or whatever!
@ibenb @CiaraNi Are you sure you want to know??? 🙃
(https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/)
(https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/)
@ibenb @jpknor Someone pointed to this Proton problem when I was looking to switch mail, so I went with Tuta (which I love so far - simple, clean, calm). But shortly afterwards, someone else debunked this Proton problem and said it was a false alarm. Even that and this is an example of how exhausting it all is - ever-changing recommendations and alarms and false alarms and new alarms.
Kalle Kniivilä
Grey Pilgrim@CiaraNi @ibenb @jpknor Years ago I was fed up with changing email addresses forced upon me by some internet provider (bought by another, and again,...) so I paid for my own domain and a provider that also hosts mail. All separate from my internet provider whose email system I fully ignore. And I just add or delete alternatives (proton for one) at will. But it's sad it is such a struggle.
@EregLoch I assume there that you either work in or have studied IT. And/or enjoy it as a hobby. Most of us are not going to spend our spare time learning how to install and maintain everyday digital tools any more than we learn plumbing after work so that we can keep our showers and taps working.
@ibenb @jpknor
@ibenb @jpknor
@CiaraNi @EregLoch @ibenb @jpknor You are correct - I do have a background in IT. But! That does not mean I (still) enjoy the nitty gritty details of installing all kinds of tools. Tools have to work without too much hassle or they are out - they have to remove problems instead of add them. My background just gives me more insight in options, such as the step from email provider to domain provider including email.
@EregLoch I think my comparison is more basic. Imagine something you don't normally do that you find tedious or dislike. E.g. sewing. Now every night after work, when you'd rather relax or do something you enjoy, you must sit in front of online tutorials learning to sew clothes and repair holes that some company poked in them during the day. That's what having to maintain IT software in our devices would be like for non-IT people.
@CiaraNi
Interesting comparison 🙂. But I think you over estimate me and underestimate yourself. You know how to start your computer, connect to your email, clearly know how to set up a new email account. What I described is not that more complicated than these things - it's usage, not maintaining it. But I do realise by background helps a lot in not being easily discouraged in trying something unusual, and like you I hate fighting a computer that keeps me from doing what I really want to do.
Interesting comparison 🙂. But I think you over estimate me and underestimate yourself. You know how to start your computer, connect to your email, clearly know how to set up a new email account. What I described is not that more complicated than these things - it's usage, not maintaining it. But I do realise by background helps a lot in not being easily discouraged in trying something unusual, and like you I hate fighting a computer that keeps me from doing what I really want to do.
@EregLoch We're talking about different things. It's not about whether non-IT people are intelligent enough to learn how to do IT stuff, but about the fact that we're not interested & don't have the time. We're not, if you'll excuse my language, arsed. In the same way that we don't want to come home from work every day and follow a tutorial to rewire our cooker before we can make dinner, we don't want to install, fix or maintain software every day just so we can use our only phone and only PC.
rsp@ibenb @jpknor @CiaraNi Proton's CEO said some dumb things, but he's probably not evil. But Proton is a non-profit, he's not the owner. https://proton.me/foundation
Tuta may be great, but it's a private company seeking profitability.
Yes, it's all very tiring.
