My Tech Stack
While I have been taking some time off from active work, I decided that a project I could take on was to evaluate my personal tech stack and make changes based on that evaluation. Having spent many years working on a team that did software implementations, I learned about best practices for evaluating, choosing, and implementing enterprise-level software. I decided to use this knowledge to review my personal software usage.
First, I took a look at what hardware and software I was using. I am the owner of an Android-powered phone and a Windows-powered laptop. My TV streaming devices are also Android-powered. From a hardware standpoint, this is ideal for me. I really need a Windows PC, since this is what works best for me for dealing with anything from my professional life. I like the Android-powered devices better since they offer me a bit more control and are not locked down to the extent that Apple devices are. I also took a look at what software and software as a service I use. My list of these includes a password manager, web browser, word processing software, email, document/picture storage, VPN, contacts, calendar, messaging, mobile wallet, authenticator, and translation software.
I was using quite a bit of the Google tech stack in my personal life when I started this journey. This was due to convenience. I was not using a Google password manager. I moved password managers a few years ago after the previous password manager I was using had a data incident. I kept my password manager out of scope for this project, since I recently evaluated my usage of that product. My VPN is also not a Google product and is something that I have kept out of scope, since it is something I decided on shortly before my move to Spain. Mostly the scope of this is to evaluate the Google products I have been using and to see if there are any alternatives to these that work for my needs. I like the idea of a bit more privacy in my personal data and I don’t feel that Google is the best for this.
First, I evaluated my usage of Google Chrome. For a web browser, I have a few needs. These are the ability to load plugins, such as a VPN plugin and a password manager plugin, and the ability to select a default search engine in the browser. Finally, I need built-in translation capability, since I need to view websites in Spanish. In some cases, my Spanish is not fluent enough and I need a translator. I did find a good replacement for Chrome and am using that product now.
Next, I took a look at mobile wallet capabilities. This is something that I have to stick with Google, since alternatives are few. I do use mobile wallet in Spain, since US-based cards work better outside the US when using a mobile wallet.
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I also evaluated my document and photo storage. I was using Google Drive on a free plan. I moved to a new provider using a paid plan. I was running out of free storage in Google, so I felt it was time to evaluate. I moved to a European-based provider. The process to move my documents and photo storage reminded me a bit of the data conversions that I was a part of while doing software implementations. I wanted to keep the metadata correct for my documents and photos as much as possible. I was able to migrate most documents and photos and was able to keep the metadata correct on the first try. I did have some photos that I had to make additional attempts at migrating to keep the metadata correct. This is important for photos, since having the date the photo was taken is an important piece of data. I didn’t want the dates to show up as the date I did the migration.
Since I moved my document and photo storage to a different provider on a paid plan, it also made sense to move my email to the same provider. My paid plan with that other provider includes email and does not have the advertising that Google bakes into free Gmail. It is still a work in progress. I have moved most of my email activity to my new email address. One thing I have noticed about moving email providers is that some websites don’t allow changing the email that you registered with. This is a bit of a pain and is a reminder to you database people that email is NOT a proper primary key. This means I still have a small amount of email going to my Gmail account. I migrated my calendar as well to the same provider. I usually used my Google Calendar for holding appointments and important recurring dates, such as birthdays. I am keeping my contacts in Google for now, since Google better integrates with my telephone and messaging software.
I have pretty simple needs at this time for word processing software. I really need to work with documents and spreadsheets. I can’t justify paying for Microsoft Office, so I am currently using an open source solution that I have installed on my Windows desktop. This also keeps me out of Google products for these needs.
For translation, I still use Google in some cases. I have found another product I use in some other cases but have yet to find a single translation software product that fits all my needs. I am using multiple products and select which one to use based on the particular need.
For messaging, most people in the US primarily use the messaging tied to their mobile phone provider (SMS/MMS/RCS). In Europe, WhatsApp is primarily used. I run two phone numbers on my mobile phone, a US telephone number and a Spanish telephone number. I have decided on these as a hybrid solution for the time being. Unlimited (SMS/MMS/RCS) messaging is usually included on US phone plans, whereas in Europe providers charge for messages, especially outgoing. This difference contributes to the wide use of WhatsApp in Europe. I would prefer to use a different messaging platform such as Signal. Unfortunately, most of my contacts only use WhatsApp. Signal offers better privacy protections and it does not have AI baked into it, but it has a smaller user base.
I also took a look at the Google authenticator and alternatives to it. I only use that software to get six-digit codes for two-factor authentication. I was able to move to an alternative for that as well.
In summary, my main goal was to migrate to software that has a bit more privacy protection and doesn’t use personal data for data mining purposes. I don’t feel that Google, Meta, and the large US-based tech companies are the best in that aspect. I feel that I did find good options for most things and am willing to pay a nominal fee per month, knowing that free software comes with a data privacy price. I ended up moving many of my services to Proton. Their software is comparable enough for my needs that it has been worth the switch. I am not using them for everything, but most of the items I have mentioned.
