Re: [PLUG] FOSS Google App/etc Alternatives

[Tim Allen via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

I'm also 99% de-Googled (I still have some shared folders for organizations I'm a member of, but that's it).

I've settled on the Proton ecosystem, with an iPhone, and they work great: ProtonMail, ProtonPass, ProtonDrive, and ProtonVPN... all of their services are great, and it is worth it for the paid version. Something I really like about the Proton apps is their *lack* of features. They do all the things you want them to do well, without all the annoying crap Google has started putting in that no one asked for.

I switched from Gmail to ProtonMail many years ago, and it was a painless export / import - it brought over all my labels perfectly.

For browser, I use Firefox and Brave. I really like how Brave uses a pass phrase for syncing, instead of making you use an account. I despise Brendan Eich, but I despise someone at every major tech company. DuckDuckGo is my search engine. It is the best around, not because it has gotten much better in the past decade, but because Google has become totally enshittified. See this article for a great explanation: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-men-who-killed-google/

Regards,

Tim

On Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 9:19 PM, Frank via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:

> 
> 
> I also don't have any contact with Google. I can't actually help you
> with any of your specific questions (just because I don't use any of
> those things that way), but I will say that in terms of probably the
> most important bit, the "phone", I use /e/os. It's a de-Googled
> Android. I buy my phones from https://murena.com/, with e/os already
> installed and ready to go. I haven't had a functioning Google account
> for probably 20 years.
> 
> 
> - Frank
> 
> 
> On 10/10/24 6:45 PM, Rich Freeman via plug wrote:
> 
> > So, this is a bit of a broad topic, but I suspect most won't mind the
> > discussion too much.
> > 
> > I've been contemplating reducing my Google dependence. As a start
> > I've deployed NextCloud, though I have found it a bit buggy (doesn't
> > always offer to open docs, and copy/paste in Chrome often doesn't work
> > - might be a browser thing).
> > 
> > If I wanted to take this further I'd need a couple of other
> > alternatives. Any suggestions for each of the below, with an emphasis
> > on self-hosting (k8s) and having a web-based and Android client where
> > appropriate? Things I would need include:
> > 
> > Gmail alternative that is label-based (ie not folder-based in the
> > sense that an email is only in one folder) with keyboard shortcuts (ie
> > similar to hitting j/k/u to navigate, and e to remove the inbox label
> > - and yes, I want inbox to be a label and not a traditional folder).
> > The android client needs offline capability and needs to be able to
> > also manage labels easily to archive mail/etc.
> > 
> > Bookmark manager that can sync to browsers and have a web front-end.
> > 
> > Contact manager that can sync to android and be accessed from web.
> > 
> > Calendar that can do android reminders/offline/etc but also has web front-end.
> > 
> > Browser.
> > 
> > Offhand I think that is most of what I'm still using Google for (aside
> > from Voice, which I'm guessing would be REALLY hard to replace).
> > 
> > I'm sure not all of this is going to be a perfect fit but I'm looking
> > for my best options. All-in-one solutions are fine if they make sense
> > and are easy enough to self-host on k8s.
> 
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