The process of trying to separate from Google is tough for sure. I believe Louis Rossmann said "it like quitting heroin cold turkey; you can't, it's something you have to lean yourself off of slowly". In my case, Google Photos, Docs and Voice are the most difficult to switch from, but in the case of Google Photos and Docs, I have multiple backups in the event something happens to my account.
BoisZoi
joined 2 years ago
Was it HP by chance? I wouldn't blame you.
I definitely feel the enshittification of such platforms will/has led to some great software, updates, and alternative front ends. It sucks seeing platforms decay, however, I love seeing the fightback from users who aren't going to tolerate bullshit from any company.
Nice setup + great Wi-Fi for steaming, downloading, etc. congrats!
Nice internet setup! Do you use Adguard DNS/Home, or a Pihole? The amount of telemetry that IoT devices can send is crazy! I put my families Roku on my Adguard DNS, and it, no joke, sent a request to Google and Roku every 10 seconds. Echo Dots and Fire TVs also send a lot of telemetry, even with privacy options on.
Aye, congratulations on the new/upgraded PC!
In the event that you cancel music steaming services and instead opt for purchased/local music, I've read that Plex Amp is a great app that feels similar to steaming in terms of recommendations and randomization of songs. 😁
I hope you enjoy your pixel! I had a Pixel 3 XL from 2019-2021, and outside of it running warm, Google's skin of Android was a delight to use, I loved having the assistant screen calls and using the hold for me feature, it's actually what kept me back from purchasing all in the Apple ecosystem for a while. I'd argue the most niche feature I loved is that the contact or phone app would allow you to send people directly to voicemail without showing a call screen (unlike iOS which will show you the call screen); it made college alerts, prescription alerts, etc. so much easier to handle!
I wish I could use/get used to Firefox, but Vivaldi really has spoiled me. I use Microsoft Edge for PWAs (due to sleeping tabs) and Vivaldi as my main browser, and the customizable interface, easier CSS theming (in my experience) and community around it make it such a pleasure to use. Command chains are so useful too!
Kudos on getting married!
When the shows and movies left Netflix a few years back, I just purchased them all on iTunes and downloaded them.
Firefox Relay and email relaying/forwarding services are so useful, not just from a privacy point of view, but also being in control of accounts simply by turning off forwarding for a specific email, or just deleting the forwarding email all together. I use iCloud's Hide My Email.