Technology Recommmendations

Moving Off MAGA (Microsoft/Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon) This content intends to assist anyone interested in moving away from "Big Tech", which includes at least: • Microsoft (including Windows, Office/OneDrive, and LinkedIn) • Apple (MacOS, iPhone, iMessage) • Google (search, gmail, youtube, maps) • Amazon (AWS, consumption, audible) • Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) • OpenAI (ChatGPT) • Twitter I would also argue against things like spotify. I feel like I have always been a technologist. At about the age of five, I received a Brother mechanical typewriter and was immediately addicted to typing. Later, I had access to an electric typewriter at my dad's office. Then I got a Commodore64 and started programming in BASIC. Then I moved on to C, C++, and x86 assembler, and became fluent in PC hardware of the era. Then I started using the Internet as well as VAX and DEC. Then I got my first job, which involved the use of Solaris, Oracle, and a properietary product for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). That experience exposed me to almost every system in a silicon design business. Afterwards I learned that every business has quite a bit in common. Recently, I seem to be falling out of love with technolgy. Part of this is due to its prevalence. It simply isn't possible to exist in a modern society without technology, most prevalently in the form of a mobile phone. Part of it is addiction. Part of it is getting older. My eyes don't like staring at the screen for hours anymore. My back doesn't like sitting in a chair for long. My wrists don't like the angle required to work at a keyboard for long. I've never liked mice. But mainly, I've been realizing the damaging effects, especially of social media and now generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). That includes at least Large Language Models (LLMs) used for things like OpenAI's ChatGPT as well as image and video generation technologies.

I started with a

Windows 11 is a vending kiosk, not an operating system.

Apple is a walled garden.

Cloud services are convenient, but constrictive, costly, addictive, and not liberating

You cannot get away from the tracking. Even if you don't use electronics, you're still broadcasting signals - facial recognition, gait recognition, fingerprints, RF interference patterns that are uniquely identifiable, possibly your realID, and so forth.

Tracking is not just for targeting ads. We may not undersand the true intentions of the tracking, but we know that this surveilance is for manipulation, identification of dissidents, and other nefarious purposes.

Things like https://www.thefussylibrarian.com/ and https://librivox.org/ as alternatives to audible - and contribute as well!

Use opensource whenever possible and pay for secure services such as proton

Use a mail client such as thunderbird

Don't be lazy Be patient Learn to remember (passwords, phone numbers, etc.) Technologies capitalize on our weakminded laziness

News Pay for it or ignore it Economist GroundNews Specific individuals Podcasts Avoid the echochambers, read news from all perspectives

Reduce consumption Buy from local retailers Reduce time on screens

Use a word processor Minimize communications Define windows for communications Work vs personal life Disable aafari Use DuckDuckGo

Alternative or vscode

Change the passwords that matter (google, etc.). Make them complex. Consider a rule to help you remember them. Store them in a safe place. Export authentication codes. Avoid authentication apps. Do not use the same password for other accounts. Some accounts (not used for authentication, communications, finances, etc.) do not require secure passwords and could allow shared passwords. On iPhone, disable safari, use duckduckgo use duckduckgo for search use duckduckgo or possibly gemini without authentication for ai

Move from Windows/Apple to Linux LibreWolf about:config browser.privatebrowsing.autostart Edit prefs.js Right-click and open new private window Ctrl+Shft+P - open new private window Can leave windows open to maintain cookies

LibreOffice Gimp

Use VPN, protondrive, proton email

Move all of your data to proton Configure existing email addresses to forward to proton Warn people that proton goes to spam by default

Minimize channels and communications: phone, SMS, IM (WhatsApp)

2 Phones, possibly two SIMs or use one as hotspot Compromised phone: WhatsApp, authenticators, audible, maps, anything that can track, Airplane mode or off whenever possible Remove as many apps as possible Second phone: freephone, no apps, just phone and SMS for urgent stuff

Cancel streaming services, music services, etc. No cell service Prepaid T-Mobile

Minimize authentications; avoid services that require authentications Do not let the algorithm drive; currate your media, search, do not let autosuggest completely Export your content and Hibernate or close social media services including linkedin, or give yourself windows to engage

Social Media and AI Feed Mental Disorders

• Narcisism
• AI Psychosis

They can also exacerbate conditions such as ADHD.

Technology Creates Dependency

Technology creates dependencies. For example, people who rely on GPS do not develop the ability to navigate or even read maps.

Use AI Cautiously

Use AI cautiously, as a tool. Avoid relying on AI. When you can, use search instead. Avoid chatting with AI. Beware that the people who manage AI systems configure them with certain motivations that may not always be in your best interest.

Safe Assumptions

Always assume that every system, including your computer and phone, is hacked and complicit.

***//TODO: https://youtu.be/qcmPDJNxwTE***

• Do not take your phone into the bathroom. Give it a rest, give yourself a rest, and give us a rest.
• Do not buy or use intelligent vision products. If you see someone wearing them, break them.
• Do not buy or use augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) products for entertainment. Use such products only for productivity.

From https://deliverystack.net/2025/11/27/you-are-being-programmed-curate-your-feed-and-control-your-ai-use/

• Spend more time with people and away from screens.
• Research these topics and keep them in mind.
• Reduce your use of social media and artificial intelligence.
• Set specific periodic (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.) intervals and cutoff points for using technology. Use device capabilities to enforce these limits.
• Leave your phone at home sometimes.
• Carry a pad of paper and a pen to take notes on things to do and topics to research later.
• Don't let tools change your spellning, grammar, and writing automatically; read their suggestons, make the changes manually, and apply them to your subsequent writing. Most people learn best by doing, not by watching.
• Implement policies, such as whoever touches their phone first at a restaurant must pay for dinner.
• Take periodic technology detox periods and evaluate their impact on your mental health.
• Try to focus on consuming and producing valuable content rather than things like maximizing follower counts and interactions such as comments and likes.
• Disable and ignore notifications. Don't check for notifications frequently.
• Avoid cognitive offload to AI including LLMs. Do not accept answers from LLMs passively. Use logic, critical thinking, and multiple sources to verify facts.
• Periodically unfollow and mute content sources that do not benefit you, including any that trigger feelings of inadequacy, frustration, stress, excessive consumption, or negative comparison.
• Gravitate towards sources of positive inspiration.
• Seek and interact with educational, positive, skill-based, and interest-driven content.
• Comment constructively.
• Use your browser's private mode to access content that you do not want to influence the algorithm.
• Use technology actively rather than passively. Note that learning generally requires acting, not just gazing.
• Mute specific keywords related to negativity or outrage culture.
• Set your phone to grayscale mode rather than constantly consuming vibrant colors.
• Employ AI tools to offload emotional or complex decision-making tasks that might cause anxiety, such as drafting a difficult email or summarizing dense, overwhelming information, thereby regulating your emotional state and reducing stress hormones.
• Without specific intentions and thorough understanding of the potential effects, avoid using LLMs as chatbots entirely. Instead, use them as tools for specific purposes such as self-education.
• Avoid anthropomorphizing or deifying AI, and beware of the impacts of its sycophantic nature on you.
• Read longform content including printed magazines and books. Do whatever you can to increase your attention span.

More:

• Ask chatbots to be less sycophantic and complain if they ignore you.

• Turn off the WiFi or change the password.

• Place phones in airplane mode.

• Don't allow devices to have human names (Alexa, Claude, etc.).

• Stop posting and commenting

• Draft and delete

• Use a notepad or word processor; will help you write and determine whether it's worthwhile

• Use AI to improve english, not to write it

• Focus on developing your attentioon span, read longform

• Use timers or alarms

• use email or even postal mail

• Let spellcheck make suggestions but apply them manually to help you remember how to spell

• Plug in laptop instead of using smart TV; one has VPN (hides authentication location)

• Use proton for authenticator

• put entire house on VPN router

Using AI

• AI can be helpful for exploring concepts around consiousness and spirituality, but it is important to avoid thinking of it as being divine or letting it treat users as godlike entities, which is a risk when it is allowed to be overly sycophantic.
• Similarly, AI can increase human love and compassion, but one should not love an AI, and compassion for a computer program would be questionable.
• Using chatbots should be restricted to avoid replacement of social life by meeting human needs for community and companionship. These systems are by definition artificial and can result in a sense of loss.

Software Alternatives

You can use alternatives in the following list to help migrate off of big tech platforms.

• Operating System (Windows, MacOS): Linux (Fedora)
• Email (Outlook, Gmail): ThunderBird, ProtonMail
• Storage (OneDrive): ProtonDrive
• Office (Microsoft Office, Word, Excel): LibreOffice
• Images (PhotoShop): GIMP
• Browser (Chrome, Edge): LibreWolf, FireFox. Tor, Brave
• IDE (Visual Studio Code): VS Codium
• Search (Google, Bing): DuckDuckGo, french, paid search, etc.
• Audible: https://librevox.org/ and possibly YouTube
• Github: https://sr.ht/

//TODO: YouTube

startpage.com:

-Delivers anonymized Google results -Dutch company, EU data protection

DuckDuckGo: -Delivers anonymized Bing results, supplemented by other sources -American company -Clicking on advertisements may transmit data to Microsoft.

WhatsApp:

Azure/AWS/Google Cloud

Pay for a search engine.

Signal:

It's free (funded through donations)

Wider distribution, internationally and in Switzerland

It uses servers from Amazon and Google, but is fully encrypted.

Threema:

It costs a one-time fee of 6 francs.

Swiss company, own servers in Switzerland

Registration possible without a phone number

NextCloud Cloud Carib

//TODO: Proton has a mail client that simplifies domain forwarding configuration and includes a VPN

https://medium.com/@kenbayer/we-were-worried-about-the-wrong-dystopia-4e24d4ce7f7d

How would you explain the apparent discrepancy that people are more likely to take any action (purchase) when they are happy with the prevalence of technologies intended to create false happiness? I mean, it can't just be about selling advertisements, the collected data for most users doesn't seem to be worth much financially (societal control is a separate issue), and most people won't pay for social media services, so how does this lead to profit?

What are the practical actions that we can take?

The apparent discrepancy--that people are more likely to take action (purchase) when happy, yet are being fed "false happiness" through social media/technology--is explained by focusing on the psychological and behavioral impact of the technology, which goes beyond direct advertising clicks and leverages attention and vulnerability to drive profit and data value.

🧐 How "False Happiness" Drives Profit The profit derived from technologies designed to create short-term "false happiness" or engagement comes primarily from three mechanisms that maximize attention and vulnerability, which are more valuable than simple click-through rates.

Optimizing for Attention and Addiction The core product of these platforms is your attention and time. Technologies like social media and video platforms use algorithmic feeds and intermittent reinforcement (likes, notifications) to create a mild addiction, keeping users on the platform for as long as possible. Increased Ad Impression Volume: The longer users stay, the more ads they see, directly increasing ad revenue regardless of the click-through rate.

Creating a "Purchase State": Short bursts of dopamine from "likes" or positive content can place the user in a state of hedonic treadmill or emotional openness. When people feel momentarily happy or satisfied, they are often less critical and more susceptible to impulsive decisions--including purchasing products presented via native or targeted advertising. The positive emotional state lowers the cognitive barriers to purchase.

"Attention Capture" for Larger Corporate Goals: The massive, sustained attention of users is valuable not just for selling small ads, but for selling major advertising campaigns and sponsorships to the world's largest corporations. These corporations pay premium prices for guaranteed, focused audience segments, which feeds the cycle of concentrated wealth.

Deepening the Value of Collected Data While individual user data might seem "worthless" on its own, its value is exponentially increased when aggregated and used for predictive modeling and competitive advantage. Behavioral Manipulation (Social Control): The data collected isn't just used to sell you a product; it is used to learn how to influence mass behavior (manipulation) on a subtle level. For instance, data models can predict which demographic groups are most susceptible to specific political messages or which emotional triggers lead to rapid engagement.

Competitive Intelligence (Corporate Control): As your article suggests, the behemoths use this data not just for advertising, but to learn from competitors and startups. They can see which new products are trending, which businesses users are searching for, and then either acquire the startup or launch a competing product with better distribution, which is a form of digital predatory pricing or horizontal consolidation updated for the modern age. This accelerates the concentration of wealth and power.

The Loss-Leader/Infrastructure Model The "free" model is a loss leader for controlling the core infrastructure of modern communication. Controlling the Rails: By providing a free service that millions rely on (the "circuses" of modern life), they control the communication and attention pathways. If a competitor emerges, the behemoth can simply copy its features (often called "embrace, extend, and extinguish") or acquire it using the massive capital accumulated from ad revenue.

Future Revenue Streams: The data, infrastructure, and attention gathered today are the foundation for future, high-profit services like premium AI tools, enterprise data services, and e-commerce integration, creating a powerful, self-sustaining loop.

🛠️ Practical Actions for Change The shift from identifying problems to implementing change requires collective awareness, organization, and deliberate action to disrupt the economic and psychological mechanisms of concentration.

Personal and Digital Sovereignty These actions focus on reclaiming individual attention and data. Digital Detox & Boundaries: Implement strict boundaries (e.g., turn off all non-essential notifications, enforce "no-phone" times, use browser extensions to block feeds/reels). This reduces the impression volume and behavioral data gathered from you.

Mindful Consumption: Practice critical media literacy to recognize engineered content (propaganda, "influencer" marketing, outrage bait). Seek out and pay for independent journalism and content creators who align with your values, decoupling your information source from the attention economy.

Use Privacy Tools: Actively use VPNs, privacy-focused browsers, and avoid "free" services where the business model is you (the product).

Economic and Financial Reorientation These actions redirect money and resources away from wealth-concentrating systems. Support Local and Cooperative Economics: Intentionally shift spending away from multinational conglomerates and toward local businesses, worker cooperatives, and B Corps. This supports decentralized wealth distribution.

Ethical Investing: Examine your retirement funds and investments. Actively seek ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) funds or remove investments from companies (like large tech/pharmaceutical/oil) whose business models contradict your values.

Advocate for Decentralized Finance: Support initiatives that promote financial literacy and alternatives to centralized banking and payment systems to challenge the existing financial power structure.

Collective Action and Organization As your article notes, organization is key to achieving systemic change. Form Local Action Groups: Connect with others to discuss local impacts of wealth disparity (e.g., housing, healthcare) and strategize local political and economic action (e.g., local referendums, mutual aid networks).

Lobby for Regulatory Reform: Advocate for legislation that directly breaks the corporate/government feedback loop:

Anti-Trust Enforcement: Demand the breakup of dominant corporations to restore market competition (the modern equivalent of breaking up Standard Oil).

Campaign Finance Reform: Push for laws that eliminate corporate lobbying and drastically limit political donations to reduce regulatory capture.

Data Protection: Support strong data sovereignty laws (like GDPR) that give users true ownership and control over their data, eliminating the "surveillance capitalism" model.

Support Labor Rights: Participate in or support unionization efforts across industries. Strong labor movements are historically the most effective counter-power to concentrated corporate wealth.