google is not and never was your friend, it is a dictator tool: Degoogle
google is not and never was your friend, it is a dictator tool: Degoogle
google is not and never was your friend, it is a dictator tool: Degoogle
It's even weirder because America doesn't mean just the United States
Geographically, America is too ambiguous of a name for the Gulf of Mexico
Wouldn't the Gulf of California also qualify as being the Gulf of America?
The Caribbean Sea?
Basically every river system from the Mississippi and and the Amazon are also "American" from northernmost point of North America to the southernmost point of South America, it's all "America"
Naming the Gulf of Mexico "America" is almost as bad as naming a country "earth"
Hey since America is the center of the earth, we should change it to the Gulf of Central America!
Mexico's full name is ”The United States of Mexico", I think they should rename their map's version to Gulf of The United States just to add to the confusion and make the point these things, like all facts, are useless when people suffer no consequences from making them up.
Really, we could just call it the Gulf of the Americas. That would be perfectly correct in every way.
Organic Maps:
Organic maps updates its dataset once a month or so. It will eventually be updated to the gulf of America, as it is now, technically named the gullf of America in America. See discussion here: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/gulf-of-america-gulf-of-mexico/124571
Seems like that it is going to be not renamed but they're adding a "official" tagged name, which is the Gulf of America.
Meanwhile on Openstreetmap:
name Golfo de México
name:en Gulf of Mexico
official_name:en_US Gulf of America
Showing just enough acknowledgement to confirm they've discussed the executive order, but they aren't going to follow it.
I'm gonna download StreetComplete, it's a neat incentive for exercise.
Surely that is following it? Change the name in American. Leave it the same in English.
Even in the UK they have put Gulf of America.
The UK Government doesn't recognize that name and have officially stated they wont (at least in the short term)
UK should sue them..
It's the same in every language, or at least in russian and french.
Everyone should report it as bug.
Lmfao, as if Keith would dare stand up to a mega corporation, or a fascist for that matter.. I give it a week, at absolute most.
No better time than the present to switch to OpenStreetMap
For Android, I use OsmAnd~ which uses OpenStreetMap data and allows you to download maps to calculate routes offline, something Google Maps couldn't do for routes by foot and by bike last time I tried.
It also has better coverage for some small paths in natural areas like forests. Give it a try!
The OsmAnd~ app, from fdroid, is the premium (and paid) version og OsmAnd, also known as OsmAnd+.
If you use the fdroid version, and enjoy the app, consider donating to the developers through other means.
I've been using it and evangelizing it for some time now. I don't have a data plan and it works. My data, location, preferences or anything is not sold to anyone.
It can be a little overwhelming at first. It can be difficult to use at times (the search isn't great), but in using it, I feel like I'm a part of something good and I can rest better knowing that.
You're all welcome in !openstreetmap@lemmy.ml to discuss antying OSM-related.
The namechange of the Gulf has been discussed on our forum; how to deal with this has been decided in consensus.
And, obligated self-promo: if you want to start contributing to OSM, you can try https://mapcomplete.org/ (which is someting else then the StreetComplete app, but that one is nice too!)
👍 💯 💯 OsmAnd FTW
OsmAnd is a nightmare in terms of user experience! I dropped it 8 years ago because it was a horror. I gave it a try again last month because, you know, maybe people have done something about the useless navigation, the totally overpacked UI, the sluggish behaviour etc. Guess what? It's the same terrible (!) app it was 8 years ago!
FCK Google, but if that's all that there is as an alternative, well...
I use Magic Earth. It's not Open Source afaik but they claim they dont collect data (...🤔). I don't believe this so use these apps as little as possible.
Greetings, an open source enthousiast
Agree with you, OsmAnd is practically unusable for me due to the ancient UI. I hated it every time I used it.
I found Organic Maps to be a decent modern alternative. It's open source and uses data from openstreetmaps as well, but it's a million times less cluttered.
Well, thanks for sharing the app, the most alternatives, the better!
I will continue deadnaming the gulf with the name assigned at birth. It's just going through a phase.
It probably had names before but what did the Mayans call it?
Apparently...
The Maya referred to the Gulf as Chactemal, meaning "the red place," likely referencing the reddish hues of the water at sunset or its fertile coastlines. Indigenous names were often descriptive, reflecting geographical features or spiritual beliefs tied to the environment. Unfortunately, much of this indigenous nomenclature was lost or overwritten during European colonization.
Link. I'm sure there are better ones. Hard to find good sources.
Planet America, orbiting the American sun, in the galaxy called America
The Galaxy of (truth, Justice, and) the American Way!
Time for a repeat comment: Organic Maps does everything Google Maps does (except traffic conditions), and is FOSS. Please encourage places to contribute business information to Open Street Maps.
"Except traffic" is not a little thing. It's like putting up an ad for a house with all the features you'd expect, except a roof.
With my daily commute, there are a dozen routes I can take and traffic conditions make it so that from day to day, there can be an hour difference between different routes. It's literally the only reason I use navigation apps over a cheap GPS unit with no live online connection requirement to navigate.
I think this is important. That said, traffic info is the whole ballgame for many people. People who live, work, and drive in metro areas frequently use map applications even when driving everyday routes to avoid traffic.
I don’t see Google/Waze/Apple maps getting any less popular unless there is a FOSS alternative that includes live traffic, which does not seem possible while remaining free. People will choose free every time, especially since Google maps works so well.
Personally, I would pay some amount for a privacy-minded alternative, something like OrganicMaps with live traffic. But I doubt it could ever attain the user base it would need to provide accurate traffic info.
Yea, I really wish I had more spare time. Algorithms like this are an area of expertise for me, and I'd love to build an anonymized service that works with Organic Maps. It's annoying when I know it is something I could make that would support high volume, but just don't have time for (mainly because of all the ongoing optimization it would require).
Talking about FOSS; I prefer OsmAnd because its licence is GPLv3, as opposed to the Apache 2 licence from Organic Maps.
Yup, big OsmAnd fan, too. We use it for backpacking and biking, but have found OM to be more driver friendly, which is why I recommended it here.
Also doesn't do public transport routes
It's not google's fault. It was told to do so and has. Does anyone seriously expect them not to have done this?
Every American company, or company doing business in America, needs to toe the line of an unpredictable and vindictive president, especially one as fat and tempting as Google.
Now there'll be a disconnect in mapping between what some sources say and what others do, but anyone with a little history knowledge knows this isn't the first time.
Submit a correction. Many people should.
Look at the Falkland Islands. It does the exact same thing because the Argentinian government ordered them to. Google maps tries to stay apolitical, by abiding governments, and adding the non-globally recognised name in brackets.
Nor am I, but what's that got to do with it?
The renaming only applies to US federal agencies. Google is (supposedly) not a federal agency, so yes, it is their fault.
That would make sense if they didn't also change in Europe...
How could they change it in Europe? It's in the Americas?
(Yeah, I'm being facetious, but changing maps depending on where you read them is just adding another layer of confusion)
Using the website from outside of the US shows it with its proper name, but then the asshat version in parentheses.
Same in the US when you zoom out.
Might be caching though, those tiles are probably cached.
Yeah, same here in Australia.
I have no use for a map service that isn’t sure about the names of places.
Yes, Tim Apple bent the knee, but the company seems to be holding steadfast.
Edit God dammit, they changed it. Cowards.
In Taiwan it says:
Gulf of Mexico(Gulf of America)
Same here in Canada, though I get the American version with an American VPN.
Same for me in Australia
Same for me in the US!
Degoogled since 2018
hardcore mode, google domains blocked by DNS
YouTube scrap data
GrapheneOS with used Pixel
This is pathetic and reeks of insecurity big time. Hope that this debacle improves your QoL, Americans.
American here. It's freaking embarrassing. Not as much as all the other shit, and certainly not as sad and tragic. Our neighbors elected a cartoon villain and his best buddy, another cartoon villain.
Seems like all the high-visibility, internet-focused corporations are rushing forward to bend the knee.
I guess it would be pretty interesting to see one of them do the opposite. As in, how easily and quickly would the exec and other branches be able to attack them, maybe even to destroy them?
What's funny is the rest of the world gets "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" which ups the insecurity I expect.
reeks of insecurity big time.
No, it's literally the opposite, it's a display of power and support for an openly fascist regime they KNOW will benefit them financially.
It's the epitome of capitalism, and precisely why said capitalism will always decay in to fascism.
Eh I'm on the opposite side, despite being a massive lefty. Why would an american company not follow an American dictate just for America? (It's still called the Gulf of Mexico on Google in every other country) It sets a wild precedent where private businesses refuse to follow the fairly inconsequential requests of their government.
"I'm such a massive lefty, I see no issue with a mega corporation bending the knee to a fascist regime and helping them virtually take over territory that isn't theirs" 🙄
(also no, it isn't only showing in the states, and this being an expected part of capitalism doesn't make it any less of a problem to be taken seriously)
The Mexican president asked for the US to be called Mexico Americana or something like that. I haven't seen if google complied yet, but if they don't, would you support them not?
The irony is that it doesn't specify which America.
Good point that naming it "Gulf of Americas" would solve all issues 😅
Funny how a single "S" prevented a hit and gave us shit
Deliberate methinks
Mexico should rename "America"
You mean Estados Unidos ? In Spanish, 'America' already refers to the north and south continents, not to the USA
The Mexican president asked for this
“There's no saving America -- we need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. Burn it down! And from the ashes, a new America will be born. Evolved, but untamed!”
— Senator Armstrong.
Time to make the mother of all omelettes. Can't fret over every egg!
IIRC Google shows different names and borders depending on the location you're accessing it from. They just follow whatever the local government thinks is right.
In Portugal, it appears as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”
In Germany, it is still "Golf von Mexiko".
Edit: when you zoom in, it is the same as in Portugal.
Same in Canada.
That has to be illegal..
There's no thought in our government, so they're already messing that one up. Also, it's just the president who cares (and I guess some people who voted for him).
I'd imagine a majority of people here aren't calling it the new name (or even know the name changed).
I've always heard locals just call it "the Gulf."
Slow your horses there partner. That sounds an awful lot like facts and logic. We don't do that stuff here, so quit using that brain of yours. Take the outrage bait and join in on this circlejerk.
You're right. No more braining!
Yes, big international companies bowing down to local authoritarian governments.... nothing outrageous going on there in the world. This definitely hasn't helped dictators remain in power or target citizens, jerk away!
Use that logic to form sarcastic, misconstrued, and dangerous viewpoints and throw facts out the window! How fun!
Gulf of America.
Guns in my area.
Can someone explain the 4D chess going on here? AFAIK this was just tweet diplomacy, the US hasn't passed anything about this. So why would google want to handle all the complaints and backlash they'll take for this?
I think something official was actually signed in the last few days. Dumbest timeline.
So why would google want to handle all the complaints and backlash they’ll take for this?
Because it's worth getting on trump's "good side", per Ajit Pai's reasoning
backlash? where? did google received any complaint ever?
From official heads of state even: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-president-presents-letter-google-about-gulf-mexico-name-change-2025-01-30/
Something adjacent to degoogling: I am concerned that Microsoft would collaborate with the Trump Regime. I never used Linux before, but I am now downloading Ubuntu. It feels like that I should do a dual-boot setup and get ready to abandon Windows if I hear about MS HQ in Washington having a DOGE presence.
Here's hoping that Europe and the Blue States are watching Microsoft for anything weird.
Yes, Microsoft has no qualms about bending to governments, same with all other corporations.
Entirely plausible. Almost all civilian federal systems are Microsoft powered. They'd do anything to not squander that contract, I'm sure.
TBH, I assisted with some linux installs and setting up a dual boot was troublesome. Installing a clean install worked easier!
If you have an old, spare laptop around, I recommend trying linux first with that laptop before making the plunge.
Up til now, I only had gaming desktops for the last 30+ years. Still, I might be able to borrow a laptop from another resident of the building. Hopefully with a power cable and all of that.
...Wait, up until now I was using GPedit to try and force Windows Enterprise to update with my permission and timeline, but it always seemed to be a bit ignored. But I can use 'services.msc' to disable Windows Update from starting up. I can probably use the WSUS tool if I want specific updates from that point on...
In theory, anyways. I will have to try it out. I don't want to migrate if I can avoid it.
Linux is not really that hard to get used to. Welcome to the club the water is fine.
I wish I could degoogle my android phone. Sadly, it would mean many of the apps I use would stop working..
As far as I understand, only F-droid apps would work on e.g. GrapheneOS - is this wrong? I believe there would be issues with
I feel so sad that I am locked to the platform..
EDIT: Just checked, seems like everything is reported to work except for local banking app. Sadly, it is too convenient to ditch..
You can install any app on GOS. You can use sandboxed google play to use the gplay store as normal, or Aurora Store if you just want gplay apps but not services.
GrapheneOS has the option to run sandboxed google play services which you can then download any google play store app. This allows for much greater security as the apps cannot see the other apps you download. Also, you could use Aurora Store which allows play store app downloads without a google account.
There are issues that can pop up and is something you'd need to look into on app by app basis. Lately, it seems they have most banking apps working though.
You can get by for most apps with MicroG which is a cut down implementation of play services but some apps will absolutely refuse to run on a non-factory Android image.
Last time I was on a custom ROM I got most things to work to some extent but some jush didn't work e.g. NFC payments via Google Pay.
IIRC there's legislation being discussed in the EU that could compel Google to offer hardware signatures for custom ROMs in future.
F-droid works on any Android phone, doesnt need to be GrapheneOS. I have installed in on regular installs plenty of times.
i know its not as easy / inconvenient, but is there any way to use the companies website instead of the app? For example, i usually log into my banks website to check things or to make a transfer between accounts. Yes you cant scan a check or make desposits, but i also not use a lot of companies App's in the first place. I just dont understand why everyone needs apps - do you really need an app for your ISP?
Yeah, I meant that most apps are not available from F-droid.
Local messaging app does not support web version. Silly/outrageous, I know; guess they want iron grip on the data. What can I do though, when everyone uses it.
You do not use banking through mobile at all? Seems that would be inconvenient at times.
As already commented, the vast majority of apps are fine with Graphene and its optional sandboxed Play Services. Mainly some banking apps can be tricky, but otherwise you're good. You can also use alternatives like Aurora Store rather than Google directly to get your existing apps which aren't on F-Droid; the only real exception there is paid ones.
I got a Pixel and made the switch over about a year ago, and it has been pretty smooth sailing. I also really do appreciate having full control over which permissions to allow each app. I know some people do prefer to run Google's stock camera app or keyboard, but it's easy enough to not give those network access to phone home.
For most of those things you could probably use the browser on a degoogled phone? I can't speak to your specific banking or university apps.
You might want to set up a separate work profile to sandbox that browser usage and/or dodgy apps (see Shelter if you can't do this through the Android settings).
How do people feel about e/OS? I just started playing around with it on an old phone and it seems to work with most apps, including banking and Google apps (their store has an optional Google login).
Depends what your reason for using it is I suppose. pricyguides.org only recommends GrapheneOS as an alternative for privacy and security reasons, but it requires a Pixel device unfortunately.
For route finding, what about GraphHopper Maps?
For me it's extra strange. If I zoom out, I see "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)". However when I zoom in it changes to just "Guild of America".
I'm American also in the US.
It's the same for europeans, just in a different language.
I'm trying to, but Proton made me throw up in my mouth a little.
Now I have the option to do everything I was doing, but poorly AND spread across 3 vendors.
CEO publicly praised Trump and the Republican party. It's not the political alignment you'd want from the CEO of a service where privacy is their main selling-point.
CEO went full maga, was given an opportunity to correct, then doubled down. After receiving blowback he tripled down and then started lashing out at customers using official channels.
True, works fine.
Then they said they didn't log IP's then handed over one of their users IP's that got an activist locked up.
There there was the bootlicking incident (it's a paywall but you get the gist before it disappears)
https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/
He praised Trump publically, not a great look, but whatever, then tried to say he was not being political, while being even more political. His PR department swooped in to Reddit and started posting straw man attacks. I don't trust their CEO at this point. If it were any other just email company, I'd be down with it, but their whole schtick is security and privacy, and apparently, they're led by an idiot.
If I'm taking my shit out of google, I'm not taking to some place that's positioned to be more of the same if I can help it, and they really appear to be more of the same.
Just checked. You can even select it, but cannot report an error at that location. But you can leave reviews, so…
I guess I can live with calling it "Gulf of America" if we also rename "Gulf of California" to "Gulf of Mexico"
Organic Maps is still keeping it real for me
Hahaha I thought Google was benevolently collecting my personal data for my own good. I consented right? /s
I want to, but I'm scared.
I'd really love for someone to come up with a phone OS that I could use on my cell phone. Mine runs on Android and I want to dump all things Google! I read that they have an exclusive deal with reddit where ALL data on reddit would be made available to them for training their AI algorithms. I went on perplexity.ai to check for this and here's the response I received to my query: The deal between Reddit and Google to share data for AI training and search purposes will likely have significant impacts on Reddit user privacy:
It exists and is called graphene OS. It is primarily focused on privacy and security though and as such only supports google pixels since they have both good hardware security and fast security patches. Most others fail at one of the two.
Otherwise you could install calyx OS.
Google goes full mask off. What a terrible look. This is it, this is what I needed to see to make the final push to move away from Google. My next phone will probably be an iPhone, and I'm not excited about it. I've almost completely degoogled my android device, I'm testing immich right now and the only things left that I rely on are maps and YouTube. I also buy a lot of my ebooks and comics from Google, but never again. There's no way I'm buying a phone that's supported by Google after this change. There's no way I'm spending any amount of money on Google play at this point, or any other Google owned platform. Zero. And it really sucks, because android is the closest thing we have to an open phone platform. Maybe someday a GNU/Linux phone will actually be viable, but today it isn't and that only leaves me running to Apple as a savior. It's too bad that Google can't compete on a technology level, instead of gargling Trump's balls.
For replacing youtube, use https://grayjay.app/
Also, why do you leave your de-googled device? Just don't pay for stuff on their store and use alternative stores with anonymous access like Aurora store or just go full f-droid.
I use iodéOS and am very happy with it. Easy de-googled life.
Grayjay is nice, not perfect but getting better all the time. I won't buy a new device because of this, I unfortunately just purchased a new phone on a Black Friday deal. But there is no way in hell I'm going to inflate android's user base with my next device purchase. That's where I draw the line, no more Google hardware or software purchases. Zero. I'm sure as fuck not buying a Pixel, or buying anything through Google's marketplace. I'm not buying another Android device, and I'm not sure if there is anything that could change my mind at this point. Google is dead to me after this.
It's important to remember that Google is an adtech business first and foremost. It's basically the only way they can generate cash. ADtech relies on user counts and active users to negotiate prices and other business deals. I'm not helping Google facilitate those business practices in the future. Buying a used pixel and putting Graphene on it sounds great in principle, but you are 110% adding yourself to the pool of Google pixel users, inflating the value of Google's advertising business. You don't get to opt out of that user count, even if you are 101% 'degoogled' your are going to be counted as a Google phone owner. Because you would be.
Pinephone + dumb phone is a valid option though. The only thing my pinephone struggled with was calls/sms, so the dumb phone handles that.
I fully believe that combination works well. I also fully believe that if you asked a random person off the street to trade in their smartphone for two devices that only have partial functionality you would get told to go F yourself. I don't think it's a 'valid' option in 2025, and I would love to know what the average person on the street would say if they actually hear you out on all the benefits. I'm a 'tech enthusiast' I guess and a long time FOSS lover. I have been daily driving Linux for over 15 years at this point. I'm not sure if I would put up with two half-phones in my pockets all day everyday, and I know my friends would laugh at the idea. I almost purchased a PinePhone on more than a few orders from the Pine store but I keep holding off for thing to become stable enough to use the phone as a phone.
I wonder how location dependent it is?
It shows "Gulf Of America" if you're in the USA. If you're in Mexico, it still shows as "Gulf Of Mexico".
It's showing the same in at least 3 European countries (Netherlands, Sweden, Poland), too, see: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/37545009
UK also matches Mexico's format.
AFAIK, anywhere other than USA will still show as Gulf of Mexico.
yes, the answer is yes.
México
Google has the ability to stand up to trump. To destroy him, frankly.
But they'd have to not be little bitches, so I guess they don't.
Next thing you know they'll change Canada's name to Not-yet-United States of America
ecosia all the way
This will make groceries cheaper
UnGoogled everything is an improvement. Hard to do tho with employers.
Not too bad with Graphene OS. Graphene can run everything Google while keeping it completely containerized and away from the rest of your phone. It doesn't help with employer assigned tech, no, but at least you can keep any Google apps your employer might want you to have in a nice little isolated environment.
Where are you located? I'm still seeing the correct name and I'm in the USA
Not sure if memeing or serious
Wake up people, it's always been the Gulf of America. /s
Poop. I was hoping I could leave a review but can't
When will Lemmy users stop talking about politics. It's getting old fast
Lemmy users tend to be idealistic enough to abandon Reddit, it's always going to be heavily political.
When will people stop talking about the forces that govern their lives?
Good question bruh
is wanting to destroy google politics talk?
this is only effective in the US btw, this doesn't apply outside of the US, why google has done this? Probably the appease trump, and honestly, anything that keeps trump busy that isn't overthrowing the US government is good in my books.
It says "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" for me in Europe.
Im calling it the golf of low egg prices :3
Surely it’s only “Gulf of America” from the southern tip of Florida across to the Mexican border?
HERE WeGo still has Gulf of Mexico. Use HERE WeGo instead of Google shit.
Open Steet Maps also shows Gulf of Mexico. Most maps seem to get their data either from Osm, Bing or Google.
I've reported an issue. Enough people do it they might do something.
Seems to be based on zoom, if I zoom in it's only gulf of America, zooming out results in what you see.
Can confirm. Discovered that this morning.
Osmand+ still gulf of mexico... Just sayin.
Australia google maps user here:
Degoogled already! Installed /e/os on my Pixel 6a! A little irritated though as it seems like literally every app I've used is tied to Google!!
Deleted.
This move makes zero sense to me. Why, change it? It's not it's official name or international recognized name so wtf
And it will undoubtedly pay off for them. This is the first brazenly tech oligarchy-driven administration.
Remember who was at Trump’s inauguration? Musk, obviously, but also:
Trump, a populist president, is flanked by tech billionaires at his inauguration
Tim Apple isn’t your friend, either. No oligarch is.
To be clear, they've changed names in line with official government policy before, not just for Trump's admin.
If something as ridiculous currys favor and infkuence with Trump the USA is truly coming to an end.
The USA is now part of a list of "sensitive countries" with authoritarian states with their own version of reality. When users in one of the countries on this list visit Google sites, they see that government's version of reality. This is nothing new. Google does it all the time with disputed territories. It's only news because it's the first time the US has an authoritarian government.
Here's how it looks when visiting from a Mexican device with the language set to Australian English while located in Hungary.
Edit: undoxxed myself lol
In Google maps set to Polish while in the UK, it shows
Zatoka Meksykańska (Zatoka Amerykańska)
Which translates to
Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)
Distraction from:
Edit: That's why trump did it. All tech companies are in his hands now.
No, there are no smokescreens. Trump is literally this stupid. Don't attribute to maliciousness what can be attributed to narcissism.
Oh that makes sense. Like when muskrat tried to get out of Twitter suis because the name changed.
pleasing the power, so they remove any law that protect our privacy against google prying eye
It could be simply because they can do it, peasant
Thayana good point. I need to remember my place in this world 🤣
Then you must not be paying much attention, or have an understanding of how capitalism functions (nor of how and why it inevitably decays in to fascism).
White supremacy.
Ass kissing pure and simple. Kneel to the dictator level shit.
Should look up what they want to rename Greenland
SMH..... Red, White and Blue-land.....
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1161
I also find the word "America" too latino. wouldn't it be better to change it with an English word?