QOTW: Which tech do you boycott?

[Corky34]

Electronic Arts Games, simply because of what i see as them milking good games to death, some of their games are good but once you buy into a franchise you're hooked and end up buying each reiteration of it only to realise that you've spent a fortune on each sequel hoping it will be as good as the first and they inevitably get worse over time.

[Godric]

Apple need i say more

ditto ... truly despise that company

[myles78]

Apple. Particularly iPhone!!

[AndyN33]

Apple, I refuse to support a company that keeps getting caught out for abusing (or allowing a sub-contractor to abuse) employees and doing nothing to put it right (despite promising that they would) all in the pursuit of profit. Especially when they can easily afford to sort it out with their spare change. Apple is morally bankrupt.

[iworrall]

+1 for Apple. Any company that spends more on lawyers than R&D...

[DanceswithUnix]

I try to avoid anything from companies with dodgy business practices, such as the obvious convicted monopolists but it isn't a boycott more of a handicap against them when choosing what to buy.

[Ogami]

I don't really want to use iOS or any Apple products simply because I work in a repair center and needless to say, I think I've dealt with enough Apple products in a life time.

[Peter Parker]

This is a bit of a long read but has some interesting historical views and analysis :
http://freakonomics.com/podcast/do-b...radio-podcast/

And shorter but slightly more positive :
https://hbr.org/2012/08/when-do-company-boycotts-work

Boycotting sounds to me like you have a strong principle, more than just "their products are overpriced and/or for lame fanboyz". Cos that's why I boycott Ferrari, Bugatti etc

Examples :-

* MS / Windows 10 - data collection, litigious, "embrace / extend / extinguish" etc
* Google - data collection, adverts
* Facebook - data collection, adverts
* Apple - too litigious (e.g. Samsung legal case), possibly human rights via Foxconn
* Oracle - too litigious (e.g. Java legal case)
* Sony - spyware, incompatibility
* EA - excess profit, greed, poor treatment of staff, DLC
* Tesco and others - poor quality control (Horse-meat)

So far the people boycotting these companies hasn't changed much. The global top three companies by market capital are Apple, Google, Microsoft :-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...alization#2016

Apple is by far the stand out name in this thread. I used to own a 3GS, and now have a Macbook Pro for work. To all those anti-Apple antagonists (it just came to me) :-

1) Why do you dislike the company or product?
2) Do you expect to make a difference? If so, what do you do apart from boycott Apple?
3) Do you use an alternative? Which one(s)? In what way do you feel they're a better choice?
4) Do you tell others about Apple and the alternatives?

Boycotting can help, but seems to work best with a mix of education, awareness and media coverage. Then lots of people can all rage against the machine together.

[EndlessWaves]

I personally avoid games exclusive to Steam. Anything that requires me to install a storefront that's unrelated to either the product or the store I bought from is Adware and not something I'm willing to buy.

[Wrinkly]

I only use Steam for games. EA has lost my business since they stopped selling through Steam though I do confess to using a torrent to play Dead Space 3. Ubisoft's Uplay is still terrible but at least they still offer games via Steam.

[devBunny]

I boycott any website that has intrusive movement unless there's absolutely a need for what the site provides. Mostly it's sites which I chance upon during semi-random news or science browsing. If a site really wants me to keep looking a scrolling image gallery or tweet box then I'm sure I really don't want to be at that site and I back away immediately. Some web"masters" just don't understand the concept of leaving me alone while I try and read the *content*.

[kremmen]

Apple and Scan - both have awful business practises so i avoid using their products/services at ll costs.

[realstock]

SkyTV... ad invested, with the added bonus of quality being thinly spread over hundreds of channels instead of 50 odd. Repeats. Monopolies over most sports, which is the only reason to get it. Repeats. You have to pay for it too! Tripe.

Facebook, for the same reasons detailed by other members.

[Saracen]

Like others have said, I'm not sure "boycott" is quite right, most of the time. For instance, social media like FB, Twitter, etc. I don't use them because I can't see why I'd want to.

What does probably qualify as a boycott is Steam. I object to several aspects of the model, and won't buy games I otherwise would because doing so requires Steam.

Smartphones are probably halfway boycotted. I can't really see the need (for me), I certainly won't pay the price of high-end or even mid-range models. And, whatever the platform, I don't like the privacy implications. It's Catch 22 for me. iPhones are a no-no, I'm not paying for Windows based phones (or tablets) because of what MS did with Win10, and that really leaves Android, and without going to some lengths that means using Google services to an extent that compromises too much privacy .... like GPS data.

So given that I can't really see what I need, or even want, a smartphone for, going with amy of those platforms is highly unappealing. But even if it wasn't those three, I can't see why I'd want a smartphone enough to pay even what a decent budget phone costs.

So it's more "don't need" than boycott, but if I did 'need', then I might still boycott.

Oh, and there certainly are a few companies I boycott, but they aren't "tech", or even all tech companies. One is a bank, and another is an extremely large supermarket.

[Saracen]

Oh, one sort-of tech I definitely boycott is customer "loyalty" cards. In my view, they aee a naked grab for personal data and a paltry sum is offered as an inducement. So for them, no way in hell. Not only will I not use store loyalty cards, but nearly all my shopping is done in cash, unless there's a VERY good reason to use even debit or credit cards.

[TooNice]

Can't think of one. Like DanceswithUnix, there are a companies where I apply an handicap against when choosing what to buy, but if their product best fit my requirements, I may reluctantly part with my money.

On top of my head is Creative. They actually succeeded in doing what many are accusing what Apple is doing: sueing one of their most promising competitor to bankrupcy.

Since then, PC Audio has advanced at a snail pace (makes Intel/nVidia in recent years seem fast). Say what you like about the usefulness of 4K/3D/VR makes sense, at least there is an effort to change the way we enjoy visuals.