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Comment by biocomputation | Hacker News Reader

I'm off nearly all Google products, including search and Android. I've recently moved both my parents onto Windows phones.

History always repeats itself for all these huge enterprises. Microsoft did all the same types of things, and their anti-competitive behavior was a significant part of the reason why Linux got that toehold that turned into a handhold... that turned into a...

The same thing is going to happen to Google in lots of other markets. They can only force people to use, I mean line extend, their brand to a certain point before they paint themselves into a corner.

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I have moved almost entirely off of Google products. The sole exception at this point is search, which I use but without a Google account.

It should be noted my issues with Google is really more of an issue with corporate surveillance - of which Google happens to be king.

How do you get personal assistants without surveillance?

The answer is: you don't. I personally refuse to have something like the Echo in my house.

Yes, this is my answer too. No chance on the face of the Earth that an Amazon(R) or Google(R) Corporate Surveillance Device is coming into my home.

What will you do when the people who have personal assistants have a huge advantage over you and your kids? E.g. like being afraid of using a computer in 2016?

I'm not criticising you, I'm looking for honest discussion. We can opt out of these things, until they become de-facto mandatory to education, jobs, etc.

You moved your parents from one anti-competitive company to an even more anti-competitive company?

Better to have multiple, competitive companies vacuuming up the information than 1 company.

Exactly. I use Google for search but nothing else.

Arguably, Microsoft isn't being particularly anticompetitive right now. Particularly in phones, where they can't afford to be. (In fact, general feedback has it that Microsoft's apps are better on iOS and Android than their own platform.)

Unfortunately for many of us, it's impossible to avoid dealing with at least one of these big behemoth companies. The best we can do is to keep dancing from one to one based on what the least worst option is at the time.

Right now, I'd trust Microsoft over both Google and Apple, but I also have no misconceptions about the reality that at some point, that will almost certainly change. When a company is on top, it looks for how to stay there. So the goal for the freedom-minded individual should probably be to constantly support the party currently losing the war.

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