Post by @jon@social.vivaldi.net

@jon@social.vivaldi.net

2026-10-14 16:34 UTC

For a long time we have made our selves gradually more and more dependent on Big Tech. This applies when it comes to operating system, to browsers, to various services, to storage and now when it comes to AI. More and more are realizing this was and is wrong. You can take the first steps to be independent as a person or company. Obviously, given that you are here, you have already taken some steps. Here are some suggestions: 1. Switch browser... to Vivaldi. :) 2. Switch desktop OS. Personally I have switched to Linux. Currently running Kubuntu, Ubuntu and Zorin on different computers. 3. Switch mail service. Proton and Fastmail are good services, but there are others. Choose one that allows use of a mail client. 4. Switch calendar service. Most mail services also offer a calendar service. 5. Switch office package. Personally I use LibreOffice. 6. Switch Web conferencing software. Personally I use Whereby. 7. Switch search. Startpage, Ecosia, Qwant and DDG are great alternatives. There are a lot of other great choices. The point is to start taking those steps away from Big Tech and Silicon Valley. #Windows #Linux #Apple #MacOS #BigTech #Politics #Technology #Vivaldi

Replies (5)

@cristianrasch@fosstodon.org 2026-10-14 16:48

@jon@social.vivaldi.net I'm 95% with you Jon, with a few notable exceptions. Truly great as #Vivaldi is, until the day there's a suitable alternative (i.e. not different profiles) to Firefox's multi-account containers, I'll be sticking with #Firefox, because that feature it's just too critical to my workflow. I also much prefer running straight #Debian (stable) on all my systems and favor the #noai DDG alternative [https://noai.duckduckgo.com/] over their stock offering. Been a Fastmail customer for more than a decade.

Open ##5311198
@allezhub@social.vivaldi.net 2026-10-14 17:07

@jon@social.vivaldi.net Midagu Micro account. $19/year gives unlimited mailboxes. There's a limit: 20 out and 200 in mails, but more than enough for the average family.

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@richlv@mastodon.social 2026-10-14 17:37

@jon@social.vivaldi.net Love the vibe, but there’s this… chromed elephant in the room :) Wouldn’t somebody switching from Firefox take a step back?

Open ##5311215
@Npars01@mstdn.social 2026-10-14 17:41

@jon@social.vivaldi.net One of the things that is very noticeable is the enshittification & deterioration of google search. URL's easily found 2 years ago, now can't be found at all. Only copy/paste of a direct link address works. Is this what happens to all companies contaminated by fossil fuel investment? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-06/google-thiel-stand-out-in-saudi-prince-s-silicon-valley-tour "Why is Google Search so bad nowadays? Google Search has changed from a neutral discovery tool into an ad-driven platform dominated by monetization and artificial intelligence"

Open ##5434342
@kramaker@social.vivaldi.net 2026-10-14 17:44

@jon@social.vivaldi.net To all of that I would add _less_ tech. You don't need most of the features of most tech. You don't need most tech at all. And sadly, Linux no longer deserves top-billing (Ubuntu even less so). They're now Big Tech with all that implies. https://www.theregister.com/os-platforms/2026/10/13/netbsd-may-have-found-a-new-role-the-ai-free-foss-os/5302818

Open ##5434344