[dlalonde]

I'm an ex Windows Phone user. Since the platform has been killed I keep going back and fourth between Google and Microsoft. Here's why:

You see, I don't like Google as a company. I don't like the way they do business, the way they try to force users to use their services by any means even if it means penalizing or bullying users (like what they've been doing with the new Edge). I don't like how they feel they're entitled to do whatever they want with our data. And please don't serve me the whole "You accepted the privacy policy" thing. I would argue that "just don't use their services" is almost impossible especially considering the fact that if you visit any website that has Google Analytics installed, you're using Google services. That's right, they're still tracking you even if you don't accept their privacy policy.

But... their services are so bloody good! And using Android, they're right there, in your face, ready to go and they all work together wonderfully.

Now Microsoft has had its past where they were butt-holes. No denying that. But they've gone so far since because of all those antitrust cases in the end of the 90's and early 2000's that they're not a much nicer company. They don't use your data to sell you ads. They don't snoop in your data. They do have a whole bunch of telemetry in Windows 10 but they are giving more and more power to users to turn those off and it's generally non-identifiable. It's not perfect I know but no one can say it's on the same scale as Google. I kind of trust them more with my data than I do Google. They're even in the 2018 Ethisphere Institute list of World’s Most Ethical Companies!

https://ethisphere.com/2018-worlds-m...cal-companies/

But their services are either lackluster, super irritating to use or just alright, especially on Android. Microsoft has always had a huge quality control problem and that's not changed. Outlook is a pain when it comes to contact management, you can't edit the date of a recurring event in the calendar (they're aware of both issues but of course have no ETA to give... they do put new features out regularly because why correct bugs?). Word doesn't default to mobile mode on the phone (seems petty but it's just a part of a whole problem). They're apps ALL have translation issues. Sometimes translations just disappear altogether and the badly translated app remains as such for months on end (Microsoft Launcher is a great example... I've been told "soon" so many times in the last year I just stopped using it). The same with the calendar on outlook.com. Right now, in French, it reads 2019 June... which is not only backwards but the month's name is actually in English.

So I'm torn between both companies. One that offers great services but who I disagree with as a business. The other for which I pay to use some services but who can't seem to walk without tripping in their own shoes all the time.

What do you guys think?

PS: I know... I ask myself too many questions. That's just how I am

[ManiacJoe]

I agree that neither company is doing what is best for the users.

Having to choose the lesser of two evils, on my mobile phones I tend to run mostly with the Google services and apps for the convenience and ease of use. My computers tend to be mostly Microsoft apps and services.

As for data tracking, I choose the settings that I am comfortable with. As for web tracking, I install web browser plug-ins that block lots of that stuff.

[chanchan05]

Lol. I bounce between them myself. I just transferred my calendar back to MS again for the nth time this year. Lol.

[xploreinstitute]

For my opinion, both are good for their services. both are good at their own place.

[dlalonde]

I agree that neither company is doing what is best for the users.

Having to choose the lesser of two evils, on my mobile phones I tend to run mostly with the Google services and apps for the convenience and ease of use. My computers tend to be mostly Microsoft apps and services.

As for data tracking, I choose the settings that I am comfortable with. As for web tracking, I install web browser plug-ins that block lots of that stuff.

For tracking, by using their services, you're actually giving them a lot of info that we all know they use to sell ads and build a huge profile about your. That doesn't bother you?

That's mostly where I get the most confused.

Then again, some major data leak happened in my province last week which kind of made me realize that, no matter how hard you try, you can't protect all your personal data as so much of it is in the hands of others. And, on the other hand that justifies being really really careful who you give that data to.

Lol. I bounce between them myself. I just transferred my calendar back to MS again for the nth time this year. Lol.

Glad to see I'm not the only one doing that ha ha ha!

[Almeuit]

I use Google for most of my stuff but I do use Microsoft for some other things (additional email, OneDrive, Office Suite, etc.)

[anon(10092459)]

I use Google for most of my stuff but I do use Microsoft for some other things (additional email, OneDrive, Office Suite, etc.)

I'm pretty close to this services set up too ... probably 90% Google and the remainder with Microsoft. i maintain an account with MS and have an interest in their rumored "Windows Lite" OS. If it's light like Chrome OS, I'll have a super high interest.

[anon(10092459)]

Then again, some major data leak happened in my province last week which kind of made me realize that, no matter how hard you try, you can't protect all your personal data as so much of it is in the hands of others. And, on the other hand that justifies being really really careful who you give that data to.

I think this is where things really boil down to. Who do you feel is the better custodian of your data? Not whether they gather data, because all do to at least some degree, but are they a good steward for you.

[chanchan05]

I think this is where things really boil down to. Who do you feel is the better custodian of your data? Not whether they gather data, because all do to at least some degree, but are they a good steward for you.

Sometimes I wonder if when talking about data, we should treat it like passwords and not keep it all in one place, so that if there's any leaks, then you don't get your entire life spilled over.
Like for example if you use Lastpass or Bitwarden, it seems a bit less safe to keep your TOTPs in them as well. Because if someone manages to acquire your master password, they get your 2FAs as well. But if they're separate, they'd have to hack and decrypt two different entities to get to those.
In the case of data, even if say your Google springs a leak, not all your data is there. Sure your contacts might be there, but your calendar isn't, for example.

[anon(10092459)]

Sometimes I wonder if when talking about data, we should treat it like passwords and not keep it all in one place, so that if there's any leaks, then you don't get your entire life spilled over.
Like for example if you use Lastpass or Bitwarden, it seems a bit less safe to keep your TOTPs in them as well. Because if someone manages to acquire your master password, they get your 2FAs as well. But if they're separate, they'd have to hack and decrypt two different entities to get to those.
In the case of data, even if say your Google springs a leak, not all your data is there. Sure your contacts might be there, but your calendar isn't, for example.

I've play with this idea too ... My profile as a user is Search/Chrome/Cloud based computing. I know others prefer more native type set up, and MS was my foundation when I was set up that way too, but light computing is where it's at for me right now.

So I do look at things like MS new Personal Vault. I haven't dug into the details yet, but first glance I have an interest in a service like that vs Google Drive, for example.

If MS can get this "Lite" OS to work and it is a step up in services from just Office., I can see using their suite more than I do now. Breaking up some of my data.

But right now, I am definitely a "priest in the church of Google", as my brother likes to say... Lol!

[Almeuit]

Sometimes I wonder if when talking about data, we should treat it like passwords and not keep it all in one place, so that if there's any leaks, then you don't get your entire life spilled over.
Like for example if you use Lastpass or Bitwarden, it seems a bit less safe to keep your TOTPs in them as well. Because if someone manages to acquire your master password, they get your 2FAs as well. But if they're separate, they'd have to hack and decrypt two different entities to get to those.
In the case of data, even if say your Google springs a leak, not all your data is there. Sure your contacts might be there, but your calendar isn't, for example.

Agreed. That is why I use Authy for my TOTP -- then YubiKey for others.

[mustang7757]

I also use both services, Google more though.

[STiK]

Google uses my data to provide me better services. I have no issue with that. It's not like they sell it off like other services do.

[dlalonde]

Google uses my data to provide me better services. I have no issue with that. It's not like they sell it off like other services do.

Yeah I totally get that. But that's not my point at all.

The point is first financially supporting a company I don't particularly like because of its business practices (their services are not free as so many like to claim, you pay with your data from which they make money) and second trusting a company with qui a large amount of data which you give knowlingly and unknowingly.

[ahaxton]

For tracking, by using their services, you're actually giving them a lot of info that we all know they use to sell ads and build a huge profile about your. That doesn't bother you?

Speaking only for myself, no, because I know the data they use for ads is anonymized. For example, they don't tell Fossil "I have this 45 year old guy named Anthony who lives in the DFW area, makes such and such per year, and likes your products," they tell Fossil, "I can place your ads in front of 20,000 men ages 40-45 in a particular income range who like your products." It's essentially the same thing the networks do with television programming. They HAVE all of that other data about me, but I trust them to do their best to not let it leak, and they don't give it to other companies.

[booboolala2000]

Just from a password perspective I am more please with Google's services rather than MS. Love what MS has done with Windows. But there services require too much maintenance for me at this point.

[joeldf]

I use both.

Had a Google account since before they pushed their Gmail service so hard. So my account used my ISP email. I hardly used Google over those early years, but stayed active enough.

In 2012, I tried to setup my son's first phone, a Galaxy S2, but I couldn't use my account because it didn't use a gmail email address. At that time, to set up any android phone, you had to have a gmail-based email tied to the Google account. It just flat wouldn't take anything else, and actually said so in the error message. So my wife, who also had a non-gmail Google account, had to create a dummy gmail account just to set up the phone. Because you also couldn't by-pass that step.

Luckily, that's no longer forced. I think the Gmail requirement was dropped a couple years later.

Still, while I was on BlackBerry at this time, I hardly used my Google account for much. Never signed in from any browser... because, why? It didn't really offer anything I needed other than to look at Maps on occasion. There was a Maps app for my old BlackBerry Torch (BBOS phone), but all I used it for was to check how red the Interstate was before leaving for home at the end of the work day (still around 2012 time-period).

Got a Z10 in 2013, and sideloaded the Google Maps apk wrapped in a bar file (this was before the android runtime was unlocked for direct apk installs). It was better than the BlackBerry Maps app at the time, and ran pretty well.

A couple years into my Z10 use, and over in the CrackBerry forums, member Cobalt pulled together a whole Google Play stack of apps and a patcher program to run Google services on a BB10 OS. I put that old account to use again, and started my build-up of apps from the Play Store.

All this time, I was locally syncing my personal calendar and contacts to my home PC directly between my phone and the Office Outlook program (really miss the old Outlook Express). However, I really wanted OTA syncing. But, since my email was from my ISP, running on IMAP (at least they upgraded from POP3 around 2013), I didn't have that option.

I had my work email on my phone using EAS, so I knew the benefits, but wanted to keep my personal info separate, but still synced.

Then, I decided to try outlook.com. I already had the Microsoft account from setting up Windows 10 a few years earlier, but never tied my PC login to it (kept it local only), but did have to sign in for the MS Store.

So, I setup the email to that account in Outlook, and it immediately took it as an Exchange account. I also linked my ISP email to it. On my phone, I added the MS account, and kept the ISP, so I was getting double emails - which I expected. But, I copied all my local contacts to the outlook.com account in Outlook, and soon showed up on my phone.

Currently, I now have a Galaxy S9, using the same non-gmail Google account for the Play Store apps, the same outlook.com account for email, calendar and contacts, using the BlackBerry Hub+ Suite to show those emails, calendar and contacts on my phone, and the Office Outlook program to view all that on the PC (no ads that way).

I really don't use Google's services for much. I don't use the assistant at all. I use Maps for directions sometimes, but don't save any of it. If I search, it's always with a browser and NOT logged into my account. I did have to change the email because I had recently moved to location where my original ISP (which I had for years) doesn't cover. But it's still not Gmail.

[dlalonde]

I use both....

I trimmed down your post for the quote

Yeah that's pretty similar to what I have now except I don't have Google Maps. I use Here WeGo.

Just from a password perspective I am more please with Google's services rather than MS. Love what MS has done with Windows. But there services require too much maintenance for me at this point.

Then again I love the Microsoft authenticator which prompts you to connect instead of entering a password. It asks for your PIN so it's still prettu secure.

[Inders99]

Microsoft, the company with the worst operating system in the universe will never get my business. I hope they go out of business.

[TrigDxddy]

Microsoft, the company with the worst operating system in the universe will never get my business. I hope they go out of business.

Lmao. Ok buddy. Sure.

[Inders99]

Lmao. Ok buddy. Sure.

BSOD much?

[joeldf]

BSOD much?

Not in years.

[ahaxton]

On neither my home or work computers since upgrading to Windows 10, nor on my work computer on Windows 7 (I just don't remember on my home one, but I suspect not). Windows 7 and 10 were both incredibly solid releases. I have no experience with 8.

[Almeuit]

BSOD much?

Maybe back in Windows 2000 so if living in the past.. sure! Anything relevant? No.

[dlalonde]

BSOD much?

I don't know if you've used any Windows version after Vista, if you're just an anti-Microsoft type of person, if you're trolling or just living in 2001 but BSODs are thing of the past unless there's something actually wrong with your hardware or if you've installed crap that broke your system... otherwise Windows works just fine now.