Instead of replacing Google services with other online services, I would prefer an approach that replaces them with free (as in speech) software I can install on my web own server.
I don't think Google is evil. But I would like more control over the information they currently caretake for me.
well, you can do this with email to some extent. i was concerned about my reliance on google, but didn't find any other search engine as good (i use google a lot for debugging and related technical work). so what i did was:
- install my own web server. i use procmail for filtering, with all email stored in imap directories. then i use mairix for searching http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/ . finally, i read email with the mutt client.
that works surprisingly well. mairix is awesome once you get used to it (you call it from the command line - or by pressing "!" in mutt - and it populates a maildir directory, so you can see the result in the mail client; it's also fast - uses an index database for speed). and i can read mail remotely over ssh (i use a free aws instance with an ssh tunnel to provide external access - my isp's modem does not accept incoming connections).
configuring email in linux has gotten much easier over the years - yast in opensuse pretty much does everything you need these days.
I don't think Google is evil. But I would like more control over the information they currently caretake for me.