Open Source Alternatives to Google

[ Thanks to James
Maguire for this link. ]

“Is it feasible to drop Google for a period of time in
exchange for unfettered open source alternatives?

“When I first pondered the notion of such an idea, I figured I
must be losing my mind. Drop Google? The search giant, regardless
of how well-intentioned it may be, has an octopus-like hold on the
Internet – its tentacles are everywhere.

“Oddly enough, though, it turned out to be easier than I
expected. Let’s look at the mindset, software choices and habit
changes needed to make this idea doable.

“Dropping Google

“Considering Google’s contributions to the open source world,
why would anyone want to stop supporting such a company? Well, the
problem with Google is that despite their support of open source
developers, their track record with privacy concerns is spotty.

“Perhaps even worse, the fact is that we are becoming entirely
too dependent on Google products over those from smaller vendors.
Everything from document management to revenue generation is almost
entirely tied to Google these days. Ask anyone using the Web
regularly and the odds are huge they’re using at least one Google
product.”

Complete Story