Google has become omnipresent in our society, like several other Tech Giants, such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple. They are so powerful but also so viciously helpful that most people would not even consider getting rid of them. They would not even imagine how dangerous it can be to let them rule the market as they please. As I tend to encourage people to have a sharp critical mind, I thought I would offer you a few alternativesto Google.
Search Engines
I recently published an article about ads and how to protect from them. If you read it, you will learn there are many programs similar to Google and which deserve to gain in popularity. These programs are for everyone to use and their developers have made them most accessible.
This giant is certainly the one I am struggling the most with. I love YouTube, since it allows you not only to watch videos, but also to learn everything you want. Generally, that is what the Internet does, but YouTube does it in such a brilliant way... that I find it disappointing to know Google has been behind it for many years and it has mostly become a platform for young entrepreneurs who want to earn money displaying ads. Of course, they need some way to earn money living from their passions, but I wish there were some other way which does not affect viewers so much. I find it annoying to be interrupted by ads all the time, don't you ? Plus, aren't you tired of trackers following your every click ?
If you are, there are several rapidly-growing alternatives for you :
Brave is the first one, since it is a web browser with an ad-blocker that is integrated by default. It's not an alternative but a way to make your YouTube experience more enjoyable.
Lbry describes itself as an "open, free, and community-controlled content wonderland". It is similar to YouTube, at least in regards to its concept, but it is entirely different when it comes to managing its content. You should check it out, just to broaden your horizons.
PeerTube looks a lot like YouTube, except you are much more free to publish whatever you wish than on YouTube. If you are one of those people who want to self-host their videos because you are fed up of YouTube's policy (how they delete creators' content and so forth...), then check it out. It may be more costly, but your independence should thank you!
Web Browsers
Since I have been there and know perfectly how Google Chrome's user-friendliness can be misleadingly appealing to a lot of users (and it is installed by default on a lot of smartphones and computers), I will not judge you if you are using such an awful browser (who am I to judge anyway?)
Despite my being non-judgmental, I will still advise you to migrate to another browser. Zoom may not work as well, but you don't want to have anything to do with Zoom anyway... (except if you don't have a choice, don't worry, I've been there too)
Brave : it keeps coming up, and this is because I believe it actually serves your privacy better than other browsers. The fact that it is free and open-source is proof enough (to me) that it is trustworthy. Of course, there are other great browsers : qutebrowser, surf... but their focus tends to be more minimalist. Hence I don't expect you will be very interested.
Chromium : Its interface is very similar to Chrome, except it is open-source. I tend to recommend open-source programs, don't I ?
Ungoogled-chromium : There actually is such a browser, I swear! Google without Google, init awesome ?!
Opera : Since it comes with a builtin VPN, and it is as fresh and good-looking as Vivaldi, I figured I'd mention it.
Vivaldi : If you want to look cool, this one's for you. It is very customizable, and they won't be tracking you like Google...
Google Docs & Google Drive Alternatives
It may sound difficult to find better than Google Docs / Drive (or Dropbox, who knows ?) and I must agree (to a certain extent). It is. Git requires a certain investment but it is so much more satisfying to use Git than Google Drive... The learning curve is far from the one you would face learning vim or Emacs. It is neither too steep nor too easy. Once you wrap your head around it, you just cannot let it go. I intend to write an article about Git & GitHub and perhaps even shoot a video.
NextCloud is a self-hosted cloud. It may sound like Chinese for some of you but it really means that you have your own server (with root access, or admin access in proper English) and you host your own Cloud on it. I expect most of you won't be interested, since it means investing money into a VPS (such as Linode, AWS, Vultr...) or some other type of servers. I'm afraid freedom doesn't come for free, and you have to fight for it if you want to keep it...
Perhaps the best alternative to a Cloud is no Cloud at all. Have you never considered having an external hard disk? Or a second computer you connect to with SSH (for those of you who know what SSH is)?
Chrome Book VS Every Other Computer
I would never advise you to buy a Mac or a Chrome Book. There are so many other brands to consider buying from, I am surprised people even keep looking at such low-quality products like Macs or Chrome Books. Macs look awesome, don't get me wrong. It's just that they only look good. As for Chrome Books... Well, this article is all about removing Google from our lives so... Moving on!
You can purchase Lenovo Thinkpads* for pennies on Amazon* or Ebay, or even BackMarket. They are generally small and lightweight enough to actually be portable (for fellow travelers...); they are cheap; and they are long-lasting. Not only when it comes to battery-power but also in terms of durability.
Google Maps
Like YouTube, I am no expert with its alternatives, since I use Maps myself. For developers, there's Leaflet & Mapbox (the first one being entirely Open-source). Regarding Android apps, I heard great comments about maps.me but I have never used it myself. There are many others, such as Waze, OpenStreetMap, MapQuest... but I cannot guarantee their quality since I am not a user of those apps.
Nothing
How about you stop looking at your phone or your computer from time to time ? Do you really need Google Maps ? How about looking at an actual map ? There are no trackers on those, you know ? Perhaps you may also consider taking a break from electronic devices from time to time. It'd do you a lot of good, you can trust my word on that!
Signing Off
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The fork, the witch and the worm* is the fifth book in a saga that is internationallyrenowned. Needless to name it, everyone reading this article knows this long-awaited manuscript is the first volume of what will be remembered as the follow-up to Eragon's Inheritance Cycle*, by Christopher Paolini, which is one of the best epic-fantasy saga on the market today.
Compared to Eragon, it is a rather short story, which might disappoint some readers as I was disappointed at first. After all, two-hundred and seventy pages can barely rivalize with seven or eight hundred, especially when you have been expecting such a book for many a year.
Now, the idea of this short article is to determine whether this volume is a good followup to the saga and if I would recommend anyone to read it.
First of all, what were readers’ expectations ? Some readers have been awaiting this novel for many many years, so they had to be quite high. To be honest, my expectations were and, to a certain extent, I was disappointed. I wanted to know more about Angela, find out what Eragon and Murtagh had become, how their lives were getting on... I wanted to know how Arya was doing as a queen and if there was any hope for a relationship with Eragon. Now, was my thirst quenched ? No, and this book could not even begin to do so. This does not mean that Paolini's new novel was not enjoyable. It merely means he decided to ignore all the questions I had been pondering on for many years, along with countless other readers.
The storytelling may be snailishly slow, the story and the writing remains faithful to what Paolini got us used to. He still manages to give you this inexplicable feeling which makes you turn the page. Honestly, I would recommend this new book to pure Eragon fans. People who are not scared off by a slow start and are interested in the intricacies of Alagaesia's history.
There also is good news : it’s called volume 1, which means we get to read the sequel perhaps some time soon. Right ?
Have you read The fork, the witch and the worm ? Have you read another book, by Christopher Paolini ? Would you consider reading this one ? Tell me in the comment section. You may also drop a like and consider following my blog. Oh! And by the way! I also have a Goodreads account, for those of you who are interested to add me there.
The Lucky One* is an American romantic drama movie which was released in 2012. It is inspired by Nicholas Spark's novel*, which was published in 2008. I watched it whilst ironing, not giving it my full attention. As you will probably judge me for that, I will merely say for my defense that I was not into it straight from the beginning. I did give it its chance, but I did not manage to let go and be drawn into the story, as a good book tends to have this effect on me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKqaiQZdv3c
It starts on a battlefield with our main character living a quite traumatizing event – or at least it would be for most of us – and realizing that you need to go through dark to get to see the light. At first, I was convinced and intrigued by the story and truly wondered how it was going to go. Perhaps I missed the whole point of it by finding it predictable but I was expecting something different, and I really got more of the same from this Nicholas Sparks' book adaptation.
I did watch it through to the end, and it was not such an ordeal. I enjoyed it, so it is proof it is not a bad movie, just another piece of art ever following the same identical tasteless recipe. I say tasteless because it has become so. It was not so when Sparks began publishing, but it is because there is not enough change in his stories. You always follow characters who end up hooking up by the second part of the story, argue over anything by three quarters and get happily together at the last minute (The Best of Me being the exception to that rule).
Anyway, I am aware this is not a long and detailed review, but I didn't enjoy this movie enough to spend hours wasting ink on it. I would still recommend it, since this goes down to personal taste and experience with Sparks' work. If you disagree with me, do tell me in the comments. You may also like and/or follow this blog. I would be happy to welcome you as part of this community (however madly virtual it is)!
Take care,
Phil.
* This is is an Amazon affiliate link
PS : The picture and video in this article do not belong to me, I am merely sharing them with you.
je vous propose aujourd'hui quelques pensées désordonnées. Des fois, ce n'est pas simple de trouver le sommeil. Vaut-il mieux lutter les yeux fermés ou allumer la lumière pour évacuer ce qui nous perturbe ? Je vous laisse en décider...
Sans sens Je pense Je rhyme Ça m’anime
Je frotte mes yeux Je gratte mes cheveux Je caresse le papier Je crache mes idées Avant de me coucher
J’attrape mon stylo Je trouve ça rigolo Pas un seul mot N’ose être de trop Ou même sonner faux
Si ça ne va pas Simplement lève-toi Évacue le bla-bla Le sommeil te trouvera Ne le cherche donc pas
Today, I would like to share with you some quotes fromTV shows that have deeply touched me. You could probably call them my absolute favorite shows, but be warned, it's not an exhaustive list. I hope they will inspire you, as they inspired me. There is something close to magic in movies and shows. Sometimes a character says something and... *click!* All of a sudden, you find the solution to all your problems. Often enough, you even realize you knew it all along...
There are so many amazing quotes in Suits, it was quite the challenge to pick only one. This is why I picked two. As it's one of the shows I enjoy most, it is likely I won't only write one post about it.
Focus on making yourself better. Not on thinking your are better.
Harvey Specter
Judging people is SO easy, and it is such a common trait people have. Why have we all fallen into this terrible habit of judging others ? What does it mean when someone thinks "I am better than this person" ? Could it even be true ? I don't believe so. Someone who seriously believes they are better than others is in much bigger trouble than the person they are judging. In any case, this is my belief.
Furthermore, we all are imperfect. We all have so much to work on. Shouldn't we focus on that instead of looking at our neighbors' greener grass ?
Whoever is trying to bring you down is already below you.
Harvey Specter
The way I see it, this quote is directly connected to the one right above it. Jealousy is another trait of character our society cultivates, since profit is king and humanity should come last in the race to success.
Kids, you can't cling to the past, because no matter how tightly you hold on, it's already gone.
Ted Mosby
My recent post about conditionals was a lot about accepting the past. I speak from experience when I say people tend to live in the past. At least, I used to be like that many years ago, until I realized life only moves forward. Knowing this, you can either waste the little time you have on earth clinging to an illusion, or you can accept it and choose to be happy from that moment on.
Sometimes things have to fall apart to make way for better things.
Ted Mosby
After the rain, the sun will reappear. Thus is life. You need the rain to enjoy the sun, as you need to know how depression feels to be happy. Sometimes, you need to get fired to realize your job sucked and you want to do something else with your life. Sometimes, you need to break up to make space for meeting the one...
I know that you're tired of waiting and... you may have to wait a little while more but... she's on her way Ted. And she's getting here, as fast as she can.
Stella Zinman
I remember that scene as if I'd seen the episode yesterday. If you haven't seen How I Met Your Mother, you should know it is THE show I love the most and I highly encourage anyone who hasn't watched the entire 9 seasons yet to do so. This show is full of quotes just like the ones I listed in this post and it can truly brighten your day when everything is going wrong in your life.
New is always better.
Barney Stinson
In my opinion, this should remind us that life only moves forward. As this quote speaks for itself, I won't develop my argument too much, but I still need to add that moving forward means not having any regrets regarding a previous decision, but also not making decision now which could be seen as moving backward. When you decide to break up with someone or cut them off your life, it may not be a bright idea to go back on it later. Even if it's always your call in the end, you should certainly keep it in mind.
I have a one last quote on video. The video I am linking back to isn't from my YouTube Channel but I thought I'd still share. Hearing this may comfort you like it once comforted me (and still does from time to time).
I love Game Of Thrones. Probably not for the same reasons as everybody else but I still love the landscapes, the complex story-line, even its rushed ending. Sometimes I wish it was not as violent or that some characters would not be tortured for an entire season, because it extremely hard to watch. At the same time, I also understand George R. R. Martin's point of view. You cannot be realistic if you filter out what people don't want to see. In real life, people die, people suffer, people are cruel, people are good and then turn bad and then turn good again... Life is a mess and everything is grey, just like how George depicts his characters.
There is no justice in the world, unless you make it
Lord Baelish
One of the quotes which touched me most, as justice is a concept I am most fond of. I wrote That Lord Baelish spoke these words, but I really mean Sansa Stark used them against him at the end of season 7. I won't say any more, for some of you might not know the ending. Here's another video (which I don't claim ownership of) of the moment I am referring to. Don't watch it if you haven't seen the show(big spoiler alert).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0TkaP1jD0w
There's only one thing we say to Death : not today.
Syrio Forel
Life is a fight. You could die any time, and for any reasons. The lesson one should learn from this quote is that one has to be present in the moment they are living and at all times give the best have got.
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I hope you liked this article. If you did, do let me know by liking, commenting and/or following me (via email or WordPress). Feel free to share quotes in the comments too or tell me about other shows which you enjoyed as much as I love these three.
