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CIRCLE WITH A DOT

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  3. Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs.

Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs.

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  • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

    Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

    Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

    snap2grid@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
    snap2grid@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
    snap2grid@mastodon.social
    wrote last edited by
    #5

    @cstross If Google is doing this to offload CPU to the hapless users, perhaps some enterprising individual can come with a poisoned version of the file. Your computer, your rules?

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

      Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

      Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

      J This user is from outside of this forum
      J This user is from outside of this forum
      justinmac84@mastodon.social
      wrote last edited by
      #6

      @cstross 6.5 GB for an internet browser! How ridiculous!

      cstross@wandering.shopC 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

        Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

        Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

        raffkarva@sunny.gardenR This user is from outside of this forum
        raffkarva@sunny.gardenR This user is from outside of this forum
        raffkarva@sunny.garden
        wrote last edited by
        #7

        @cstross

        Vivaldi for permanently opened tabs / Mullvad Browser for general browsing.

        Works great, I highly recommend.

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • J justinmac84@mastodon.social

          @cstross 6.5 GB for an internet browser! How ridiculous!

          cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
          cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
          cstross@wandering.shop
          wrote last edited by
          #8

          @JustinMac84 Actually it's 1.5Gb for the browser ... and another 5Gb for a sodding local AI model I didn't ask for *which is non-removable and Chrome re-downloads it if you delete it*. Hence nuking the app completely.

          J wellsitegeo@masto.aiW 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

            @JustinMac84 Actually it's 1.5Gb for the browser ... and another 5Gb for a sodding local AI model I didn't ask for *which is non-removable and Chrome re-downloads it if you delete it*. Hence nuking the app completely.

            J This user is from outside of this forum
            J This user is from outside of this forum
            justinmac84@mastodon.social
            wrote last edited by
            #9

            @cstross At least it's local I guess, but that's an outrageous amount of space for a feature you can't opt out of.

            alisonw@fedimon.ukA 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

              Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

              Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

              greenmtnbear@4bear.comG This user is from outside of this forum
              greenmtnbear@4bear.comG This user is from outside of this forum
              greenmtnbear@4bear.com
              wrote last edited by
              #10

              @cstross I've done the same on Windows. I've switched browsers to Brave for now. Sigh...

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                jasonb@sigmoid.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
                jasonb@sigmoid.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
                jasonb@sigmoid.social
                wrote last edited by
                #11

                @cstross switch to librefox instead of FF.

                cstross@wandering.shopC 1 Reply Last reply
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                • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                  Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                  Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                  draeath@infosec.exchangeD This user is from outside of this forum
                  draeath@infosec.exchangeD This user is from outside of this forum
                  draeath@infosec.exchange
                  wrote last edited by
                  #12

                  @cstross you might try those misbehaving sites in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungoogled_Chromium ?

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • jasonb@sigmoid.socialJ jasonb@sigmoid.social

                    @cstross switch to librefox instead of FF.

                    cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                    cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                    cstross@wandering.shop
                    wrote last edited by
                    #13

                    @jasonb Stop telling me what to do or I will block you.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • J justinmac84@mastodon.social

                      @cstross At least it's local I guess, but that's an outrageous amount of space for a feature you can't opt out of.

                      alisonw@fedimon.ukA This user is from outside of this forum
                      alisonw@fedimon.ukA This user is from outside of this forum
                      alisonw@fedimon.uk
                      wrote last edited by
                      #14

                      @JustinMac84 @cstross
                      Plus not everyone has extrafast or unlimited bandwidth internet.

                      pier@infosec.exchangeP 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                        Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                        Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                        somevegancheeseisok@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                        somevegancheeseisok@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                        somevegancheeseisok@mastodon.social
                        wrote last edited by
                        #15

                        @cstross I've been using FF, Brave, and DuckDuckGo, with occasional tangents into less functional browsers like Mojeek, Swisscows, and Ecosia. What drove you to pick FF exclusively?

                        cstross@wandering.shopC 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • somevegancheeseisok@mastodon.socialS somevegancheeseisok@mastodon.social

                          @cstross I've been using FF, Brave, and DuckDuckGo, with occasional tangents into less functional browsers like Mojeek, Swisscows, and Ecosia. What drove you to pick FF exclusively?

                          cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                          cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                          cstross@wandering.shop
                          wrote last edited by
                          #16

                          @SomeVeganCheeseIsOk I don't use FF exclusively. But I've been on FF since it replaced Mozilla and I've been on Mozilla since it replaced Netscape Navigator, and I switched to NN from NCSA Mosaic circa 1995.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                            Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                            Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                            mywoolymastadon@toot.communityM This user is from outside of this forum
                            mywoolymastadon@toot.communityM This user is from outside of this forum
                            mywoolymastadon@toot.community
                            wrote last edited by
                            #17

                            @cstross

                            I was an early adopter of Chrome. Sad to see it become such garbage. I bailed on it sometime last year and went with Vivaldi.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                              Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                              Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                              sleepypanda@sw-development-is.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                              sleepypanda@sw-development-is.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                              sleepypanda@sw-development-is.social
                              wrote last edited by
                              #18

                              @cstross Good for you Charlie. I was at the same point last night (using Vivaldi as main browser) but had doubts. After you‘ve done it, I will join you tonight. Google-free Mac it shall be.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                                Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                                kimcrawley@zeroes.caK This user is from outside of this forum
                                kimcrawley@zeroes.caK This user is from outside of this forum
                                kimcrawley@zeroes.ca
                                wrote last edited by
                                #19

                                @cstross Please consider Vivaldi instead, they are strongly anti Gen AI. Firefox cannot be trusted, Mozilla loves Gen AI and their "killswitch" is a con. For Firefox rendering, I use LibreWolf instead. LibreWolf is also anti Gen AI.

                                And please check your email and check out https://stopgenai.com

                                cstross@wandering.shopC 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                  Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                                  Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                                  dr_bombay@mstdn.socialD This user is from outside of this forum
                                  dr_bombay@mstdn.socialD This user is from outside of this forum
                                  dr_bombay@mstdn.social
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #20

                                  @cstross question: how did you transfer all your open tabs and extensions? I think that’s what is holding me back…

                                  cstross@wandering.shopC 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • kimcrawley@zeroes.caK kimcrawley@zeroes.ca

                                    @cstross Please consider Vivaldi instead, they are strongly anti Gen AI. Firefox cannot be trusted, Mozilla loves Gen AI and their "killswitch" is a con. For Firefox rendering, I use LibreWolf instead. LibreWolf is also anti Gen AI.

                                    And please check your email and check out https://stopgenai.com

                                    cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    cstross@wandering.shop
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #21

                                    @kimcrawley I'm considering Waterfox. Big issue is I have a *lot* of open tabs there (FF is my primary browser) on multiple machines. Moving one browser in a day has used up all my spoons.

                                    kimcrawley@zeroes.caK andres4ny@social.ridetrans.itA 2 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • dr_bombay@mstdn.socialD dr_bombay@mstdn.social

                                      @cstross question: how did you transfer all your open tabs and extensions? I think that’s what is holding me back…

                                      cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      cstross@wandering.shopC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      cstross@wandering.shop
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #22

                                      @Dr_Bombay Manually, with some effort!

                                      philbetts@mastodon.socialP wellsitegeo@masto.aiW 2 Replies Last reply
                                      0
                                      • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                        @kimcrawley I'm considering Waterfox. Big issue is I have a *lot* of open tabs there (FF is my primary browser) on multiple machines. Moving one browser in a day has used up all my spoons.

                                        kimcrawley@zeroes.caK This user is from outside of this forum
                                        kimcrawley@zeroes.caK This user is from outside of this forum
                                        kimcrawley@zeroes.ca
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #23

                                        @cstross I understand completely. I'm not familiar with Waterfox, but my assumption is they are likely good.

                                        I think you're a really cool science fiction writer, and I emailed you about Stop Gen AI this morning.

                                        Link Preview Image
                                        Stop Gen AI – Mutual Aid and Political Activism

                                        favicon

                                        (stopgenai.com)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • cstross@wandering.shopC cstross@wandering.shop

                                          Welp, it's taken me a few days to get round to it, but I have just now deleted Chrome (and it's associated LLM malware downloads) from ALL my Macs. Fucker was taking up 6.5Gb of space on my Macbook Neo. Utterly unacceptable bullshit on a machine that starts with 256Gb of storage, even if I *wanted* the AI features (I don't).

                                          Took a while because I had to transfer all my extensions and continuously open tabs across into Safari (I mainly use Firefox, but some sites render badly in FF.)

                                          dckim@mastodon.socialD This user is from outside of this forum
                                          dckim@mastodon.socialD This user is from outside of this forum
                                          dckim@mastodon.social
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #24

                                          @cstross it really is a hassle for a lot of people, and if you have left it, the thing will be constantly eating into your processing speed... in a very big way. It would essentially dominate your machine.

                                          This really is sinister. The company has reached a stage in their development process where they have nothing new to train the model on.

                                          So now they need to train it directly from you, on your machine.

                                          It's all that's left for reach.

                                          wellsitegeo@masto.aiW 1 Reply Last reply
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