
How I Quit Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon - LopRabbit
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ev3qw7/how-to-quit-apple-microsoft-google-facebook-amazon
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tracer4201
I use an iPad for most of my reading. I purchase often on Amazon because of
the convenience. I use Windows on my gaming computer and a Mac for work. I
Googled a French toast recipe to make my 4 year old French toast this morning.

I can’t imagine quitting all of these companies, although I don’t use Facebook
since I don’t see the utility. I don’t think these specific companies that I
do use are particularly nefarious or definitely not anymore than my insurance
provider, local grocery stores company, car manufacturer (I own a ‘12
Elantra), mortgage servicer, etc.

Crapping on them or making them some kind of evil monsters appears to be the
rage these days. I saw an article in the Washington Post about Amazon selling
facial recognition to law enforcement, as if Amazon was literally part of some
plot to strip Americans of their civil rights. On the other hand, companies
like Lockheed Martin have billion dollar contracts with foreign governments
who actively bomb civilians.

IMO it’s a combination of a bunch of fake or otherwise misplaced outrage but I
digress.

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tomkat0789
I'd like to hear about other Hacker News readers experiences trying to quit
the "Big 5"! What do you do if your spouse/friends/work aren't on board?

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smileypete
On my phone I just use a throwaway google account, mainly to access the play
store for apps. I do have a VNC client (bVNC), very handy if I need something
on the PC.

For the PC I try to avoid using anything by MS except the OS itself and the
usual simple apps like Notepad, Paint. I do have a Google account but mainly
for email; after the Gmail redesign I'm giving Eudora a try(!) love the quaint
but effective UI.

Don't have Facebook, very rarely shop on Amazon, don't have any Apple stuff. I
haven't starved yet... :¬)

BTW on HN I try and avoid the usual FAANG articles, and pay more attention to
the stuff that falls into the cracks, for me that's where the gems lie.

(However HN can be too much of a good thing, so I try and only skim it for
articles very first thing in the morning, then read a few of them throughout
the day.)

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ezoe
By quitting Amazon, Do I have to boycott the websites hosted on AWS?

If you are sane person who read all contracts you sign, you will never want to
own a cellphone. At least, in my country(Japan), I can't find a cellphone and
wireless network who honors my privacy. So naturally I don't owning a
cellphone right now.

But my daily living relies heavily on people who get their job done by using
their cellphone. So my boycotting of cellphone means nothing since most of my
private activities such as shopping indirectly handled by these untrustworthy
cellphone and its network.

If you really want to quit headline companies, You have to go living in a off-
grid area, with self-contained life down to the farming or hunter-gathering,
always hire a proxy person when you want modern civilized items because
acquiring these items requires you to indirectly use Big 5.

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beatgammit
I'm really stoked about the Librem 5 project[1], which if you're not aware, is
a privacy-centric cell phone based on Linux. It obviously doesn't solve the
carrier issue, but it at least gets you away from Google and Apple.

I actually rarely use my phone for calls or texts, so I'm considering getting
an independent VoIP service that offers a phone number and just use data for
everything. That way I only need a data contract and everything can go over a
VPN, with the added convenience that I can get it to work on my computer as
well.

However, I have little room to talk since I'm all in with a big data
collection company (I use Google Fi), but that's mostly because I figure
Google already has my data anyway, and figured I might as well save some money
vs my old plan if I'm going to be spied on anyway.

I'm moving away from Google slowly, so as soon as that phone proves viable,
I'll consider switching my service and getting that phone.

[1] - [https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/](https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/)

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then
go to china for few weeks. you'll be cured. no vpn will persuade u. <3

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jjtheblunt
Yeah, but you didn't quite Narcissism, since you're writing this.

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chillacy
Yea at this point I should quit Vice..

