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| Life without Google! |_| |
| Wednesday, May 09, 2007 |
Life without Google! |_|
How much did I use Google? Apparently a lot more often than even I could speculate. For the last two weeks, I've had google.com blocked at both work and home. The amount of data they're gathering on me is frightening. Not because of Google, but because I'm positive the government will legislate their way into Google's database sooner or later and start labeling people as suspicious. Political paranoia aside, let us look at the fact here; Life on the internet without using Google is hard.
The first thing to do was to block Google, but how? They're on almost every website out there, and they provide the best search on the internet. Well, I determined 2 ways. The first move was to route the google.com hostname to 127.0.0.1 in my computer's "hosts" file. I won't get into technical details since most of the readers here are familiar enough with technology. The second move was to install AdBlock software and filter out every Google-owned domain name I knew of. Together, these two should do the trick at preventing me from accidentally coming across Google on the web. It worked.
The first and most obvious thing I noticed is that some of my favorite websites loaded faster. I completely didn't expect it, but it's true. Without the AdSense and Google Analytics javascripts executing (and downloading) on some pages, the entire internet experience is a lot... faster. This, however, is where the benefits end.
I'm not going to lie, life without Google has been hell online. I initially wanted to give Ask.com a chance as my primary search engine. I like their interface and I like where they're going. The problem I encountered is that the search results just aren't good enough. They're pretty bad, actually. I'm lucky if I can find what I'm looking for 50% of the time. Despite what their advanced search page says, if you search for something in quotations, it doesn't mean that it will search for that exact phrase. For a company that relies on search, I wasn't impressed for too long. Their mapping service, however, is pretty good.
My second choice was Yahoo!. I've actually started to enjoy Yahoo!, as their search results are relevant and they have a wide array of internet services to deal with. I do find myself, however, cringing at the same thought that made me leave Google. Yahoo! is everywhere. I mean everywhere. They haven't yet given me reason to believe they're associating every action I make in some master database, though. This is good news, as I really have come to enjoy Yahoo!'s tools.
I used to enjoy Google News, so I've had to find an alternative for them as well. Web 2.0 to the rescue! Rootly has been a great alternative to Google News, and in some cases even better. I like the fact that their headlines update without refreshing the page. My only two wishes for Rootly are as follows; I wish their RSS links went straight to the news story instead of through Rootly. I wish their site's design were prettier. It's functional, but it won't be winning any beauty pageants anytime soon. Ultimately, the site accomplishes it's goal for me. Rootly has replaced Google News.
GMail is a service I used occasionally, but not often enough to miss it. I have pop accounts for my own websites, and I've not found a use for GMail, so I haven't had to replace it.
So, the question on everybody's mind. Will I be unblocking Google? Has my blockade been fruitless? Although I miss the fantastic search results, I would have to say "No, and no". I've found that I can get by, and even be more productive, without Google. "Don't Be Evil" is a great motto to have. However, I consider gathering every move I make on the internet to be evil and a violation of my privacy. I don't want this to turn into a political discussion about Google's data gathering, as there is a time and place for that.
My question to others who have blocked Google is this; What services have you found out there on the internet to replace Google services that you became accustomed to?Labels: ALL, INTERNET, TECH
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posted by Usmanzali @ 7:04 PM   |
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| 1 Comments: |
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I feel for you! Google is pretty integrated into all of our lives.
Some thoughts about your blocking Google. There are a few easier and less manual ways to do it.
1) Setup your own caching DNS server.
2) Create a local zone file for *.google.com so that it wildcard matches anything .google.com and routes that to 127.0.0.1
3) Create a dummy site that allows google to crawl and capture all of the IP addresses and add that to your firewall to be routed to 127.0.0.1 as well.
That should get you pretty well cleaned up.
Note: alot of search engines out there are actually powered by google. Many company website internal search systems are also powered by google via Google Search Applieances, ie. mini googles.
Good luck!
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I feel for you! Google is pretty integrated into all of our lives.
Some thoughts about your blocking Google. There are a few easier and less manual ways to do it.
1) Setup your own caching DNS server.
2) Create a local zone file for *.google.com so that it wildcard matches anything .google.com and routes that to 127.0.0.1
3) Create a dummy site that allows google to crawl and capture all of the IP addresses and add that to your firewall to be routed to 127.0.0.1 as well.
That should get you pretty well cleaned up.
Note: alot of search engines out there are actually powered by google. Many company website internal search systems are also powered by google via Google Search Applieances, ie. mini googles.
Good luck!