Technology

Migrated away from Google because they're just genuinely useless.

Search results are infested with AI bullshit and SEO slop, can't actually search for anything useful unless you know the website you're looking for, in which case I just go to the website directly.

Youtube curates a selection of completely irrelevant videos to try to shove ads down your throat, I still have to change my user agent string every time because YouTube throws a hissy fit at firefox with ublock.

Gmail is pretty much the same as any other email provider but comes at the expense of your data being sold for advertising purposes.

Don't even get me started on the shit show that is Android.

I run GrapheneOS, Fedora and debian, self host what I can and use decent providers for what I can't. I'm the furthest away from the big tech corps than I've ever been and it feels great to have computers that actually compute and not serve me useless fucking ad drivel.

I used to waste a lot of time on YouTube Shorts, which is the absolute worst way to waste time. I finally deleted the YouTube app completely, and aside from a couple days of withdrawals, it’s been all positive.

I mean, I don’t know anything about the latest video games or movies anymore. And I have to rely on my family to send me Ryan George skits. But that stuff wasn’t actually making my life better, it was just filling it up.

If I want to watch something interesting on my phone, I’ve got Nebula. It doesn’t have all the same content, but it turns out that doesn’t matter a lot when you just want to be entertained/educated for a couple minutes. (It also doesn’t have a comment section. Or Shorts. So yeah, unequivocally better.)

Shit like this is honestly why the FCC needs authority to regulate things on the US internet.

There was a time in the long past where television networks were forced to normalize audio so that commercials weren't so much louder than the shows, which was happening for a while.

The internet just continues to be a fucking free-for-all of all the worst and most anti-user-centric ideas that exist. Just plying every bad idea that makes the internet difficult to use.

Uninstall Gemini! Oh you can't.... Linux phones, this is bullshit!

Gemini also being forced on me more and more in Android. Seriously considering a linux phone next.

OK let's all skip to the middle of sponsor segments so the ads cover the sponsor segment. Win win

I've met some people who ask why I care so much about not having to see ads. They don't care if there's youtube ads every now and then. At this point they have to care.