Hello there fellow patriots!
I go by PatriotEngineer, and I am new to this forum. I am an electrical/software engineer, die-hard conservative, Christian, and Donald Trump fan. I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to share with you some of my thoughts about the censorship and cancel-culture we are witnessing and what I believe we can do to fight back.
I was honestly not surprised whenever Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon all banded together to completely shut-out the voice of patriot conservatives. It was only a matter of time. For a very long time, we have all known the values and special interests that these companies represent. But for some reason, we continued to buy their goods, devices, and services. Why? Because it is easy and convenient. It is not anyone’s fault for falling victim to these companies. I myself used to be completely consumed with all of the latest technology and gadgets, as I am an engineer, who likes to innovate and develop. However, after the events that have unfolded this year, I quickly realized that I was supporting the very companies who are doing everything in their power to shut us down.
Additionally, we should not only be critical of tech companies, but any company that seeks to condemn our interests and values. Living in a capitalist economy, we the people, have the ability to choose which businesses succeed. For some reason, we think that our voice can only be heard every four years on election day. That is what the left wants you to think, and it’s simply not true. Whenever we hand our money to any entity, whether a business or an individual, we are inherently supporting that entity. You are voting every day, whether you know it or not. Why would you want to support any business that wants to revoke your Constitutional rights? That is the question that you need to be asking yourself and your family.
I am now going to walk you through some of the research I have done to try and purge anti-American corporations from my life. Trust me, this process is not easy. However, I promise that once you complete it, you will feel much better knowing that you are not supporting those ass holes. I will proceed to list some popular services and devices that originate from big-tech, and if possible, direct replacements for each. Please keep in mind that there are a lot of devices that I have not yet found direct replacements for. As I said earlier, this process is not easy or convenient. You will have to make sacrifices for your beliefs and your privacy.
Computer Operating Systems
GET RID OF:
-> Apple MacOS
-> Google Chrome OS
RECOMMENDATION:
When it comes to your computer’s operating system, I would personally recommend using Ubuntu Linux. It is definitely the most user-friendly Linux distribution, and it is extremely easy to install. A download link is provided below. If for some reason you can’t run Ubuntu on your computer, the next best option would be an older version of Microsoft Windows. I personally like Windows 7 the best, even though it technically isn’t supported anymore. It still runs most programs perfectly and it is extremely stable and easy to use. I obviously can’t provide you a link to this software because it isn’t free. However, you can easily find a copy on any torrent site, and product activation usually goes pretty smooth because Microsoft doesn’t give a shit about Windows 7 anymore (one more reason why I like it).
Link to Ubuntu website:
Cell Phones
GET RID OF:
-> Apple iPhone
-> Any Android Device (any manufacturer)
RECOMMENDATION:
This is the most difficult and complicated replacement of the entire list. This is where I began, and actually the main reason that I am writing this post. In my research, I found that it is almost impossible to find a phone that doesn’t run iOS or Android. Lets just say that you can’t go out to the store and find one. You might be thinking that you could just go to Walmart and buy one of those $35 prepaid flip phones. Well, you can, but you would still be supporting Google. The operating system that most prepaid flip phones use today is called KaiOS. The OS was very promising, up until 2018 when Google invested $22M in the business so that they could “bring the internet to the next generation of users.” That’s a load of bull shit. Each KaiOS phone now contains a full suite of Google apps, which are awaiting your personal data.
There are only a couple options that function well enough to act as replacements. The only devices that I am going to cover are the BlackBerry Classic and BlackBerry Passport. There are links below to each device’s technical specifications. These phones use an operating system called BlackBerry 10, which was developed entirely by BlackBerry. The reason that I chose these is not only because they are not affiliated with Apple or Google, but because they are reliable, have modern features, and can run a decent amount of Android apps. Of the two devices, I would personally choose the BlackBerry Passport due to better performance. But if you don’t like the big form factor, then the BlackBerry Classic would be for you.
As you will see in the links below, these devices were released in 2014, so they are a little dated, but they are the best that we have for the moment. They have a lot of useful features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile hotspot, 4G LTE data, GPS, front and rear cameras, headphone jack, nano-SIM card slot, FM radio, microSD storage expansion, and more. You can usually pick one of these up on eBay for around $100.
I am not going to go through the details of how to get everything setup on these, but I will point you in the right direction. The most difficult part of getting these phones setup is getting the apps installed. There are some links below that will show you how to install Android app files (APK) and some links that will help you through some problems that you will probably encounter along the way. Also below are links to download some popular apps. I have tested these files, and confirm that they function. They might not function smoothly, but they get the job done.
BlackBerry Classic Specs:
https://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_classic-6458.php
BlackBerry Passport Specs:
https://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_passport-6457.php
Android apps that can be installed on BB10:
Mozilla Firefox (53.0):
Waze GPS Navigation (4.28.0.1):
Microsoft Office Mobile (15.0.5430.2000):
https://m.apkpure.com/microsoft-office-mobile/com.microsoft.office.officehub/download?from=details
Plex (6.5.1.2049):
https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/plex/6.5.1.2049/arm/
iHeartRadio (5.13.0):
Spotify (8.4.60.741):
https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/spotify/8.4.60.741/
OneNewsNow (2.0.9):
https://m.apkpure.com/onenewsnow/com.onenewsnow.app/download?from=details
Discord (9.8.8):
Life Church Bible (7.1.1bb):
https://android-apk.org/com.sirma.mobile.bible.android/40524654-bible/
Installing Android APK files on BB10:
https://support.blackberry.com/kb/articleDetail?articleNumber=000035674 https://crackberry.com/how-install-android-app-apk-blackberry
Support for other idiosyncrasies you may encounter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1DHr_IvnQ
Internet Browsers
GET RID OF:
-> Google Chrome
-> Microsoft Edge
-> Safari
-> Opera
-> Any other Chromium-based browser
RECOMMENDATION:
The best internet browser available is Mozilla Firefox. Hands down. It blocks most trackers, and doesn’t pass any data along to Google.
Internet Search Engine
GET RID OF:
-> Bing
RECOMMENDATION:
DuckDuckGo is the absolute best internet search engine. They use a generic advertisement model that doesn’t collect any of your personal data. Plus they don’t modify your search results to show you a bunch of liberal garbage, like Google does.
Email Service
GET RID OF:
-> Gmail
-> iCloud Mail
RECOMMENDATION:
ProtonMail or GMX would be a good email service to switch to. They are both very secure and have nothing to do with Apple, Google, or Amazon.
Smart Home Assistants
GET RID OF:
-> Amazon Alexa
-> Google Assistant
-> Microsoft Cortana
-> Apple Siri
RECOMMENDATION:
There aren’t any replacements for these smart home assistants. You will have to live without one if you don’t want to support these companies and be tracked. Maybe someone will develop an open-source assistant in the future, but for right now, there aren’t any options.
Streaming Devices
GET RID OF:
-> Google Chromecast
-> Any Android TV device
-> Amazon Fire TV
RECOMMENDATION:
As far as streaming goes, the only independent streaming device is Roku. However, Roku has been acting less independent recently and might end up merging with another company soon. Who knows. I have been using TiVo for all of my entertainment needs. You can get an OTA model, which allows you to watch TV with an antenna. You can still access all of your favorite streaming apps, too. So if you have a TiVo, you don’t really need a Roku or anything else. You can find a preowned TiVo with a lifetime subscription on eBay pretty easy. Or if you don’t care about DVR functionality and streaming apps, just connect your antenna straight to your digital TV. Problem solved.
That is all that I am going to cover for now. Please leave some comments if you have any further questions. I’m sure that I’ll have more posts in the future, so keep an eye out for them. God bless!