I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.

This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.

Is there another choice for another seach page?

On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>
> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>
> Is there another choice for another seach page?

Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
ads.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Donald Trump demands that he be declared the winner of
the 2020 presidential election. Otherwise, he demands
that the election be rerun immediately.

What has he been smoking?

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:

>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>
>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>
>Is there another choice for another seach page?

I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.

merle@frisco.org wrote:
> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>
> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>
> Is there another choice for another seach page?

Depends on what sort of stuff you search for. Each has good and bad.
I use (in this order):
DogPile,
Google,
Yandex,
StartPage,
DuckDuck.

On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 13:58:20 -0700, "David E. Ross"
<nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:

>On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>
>> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>
>> Is there another choice for another seach page?
>
>Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
>information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
>ads.

They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?

That little game is enough for me not to further trust them.

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>
>>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>
>>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>
>>Is there another choice for another seach page?
>
>
>I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.

I knew about that one. I'm checking it out now.

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>
>>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>
>>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>
>>Is there another choice for another seach page?
>
>
>I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.

I see this on their page -

"Anonymous View proxy masks your identity while browsing other
websites."

Do they supply the proxy, or do I have to find one?

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 19:22:26 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>
>>>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>
>>>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>
>>>Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>
>>
>>I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.
>
>I see this on their page -
>
>"Anonymous View proxy masks your identity while browsing other
>websites."
>
>Do they supply the proxy, or do I have to find one?

I decided to use Startpage in my sandbox type program - if I don't
like it, it's gone on reboot.

One thing I find wrong is that I cannot access the Settings page. It's
just a darkened page with nothing showing.

Maybe my XP machine running an older FFx 52.9.0 version is to blame.

I'm seriously thinking of simply using Tor for the Web. I'll just put
up with the pages that won't load Tor. After all, I can usually find
another page with the same info I need. It's just a bit more trouble.

The Internet was not initially founded with the $$ sign to be the
default reason for it's being - and, yes, I could do without a ton of
the so-called "useful" sites funded by $$ sign.

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>
>>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>
>>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>
>>Is there another choice for another seach page?
>
> I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.

It's Google. It's worse than DDG in terms of privacy. No matter what region
filter we choose, it doesn't respect it. It ALWAYS show results either from
local sites, or those which has a reference to the name of the users'
country/language.

On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 18:55:51 -0500, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
> Depends on what sort of stuff you search for. Each has good and bad.
> I use (in this order):
> DogPile,

Wow, that mutt is still kicking!
It reminds me of Altavista. :)

merle@frisco.org on Sun, 04 Sep 2022 19:22:26 -0500 typed in
alt.windows7.general the following:
>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake <Ken@invalid.news.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>
>>>I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>>rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>>Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>
>>>This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>
>>>Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>
>>
>>I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.
>
>I see this on their page -
>
>"Anonymous View proxy masks your identity while browsing other
>websites."
>
>Do they supply the proxy, or do I have to find one?

I've added the Brave browser to my phone. Not sure about changing
my desktop. (I recall I had reasons, but what they were ... I dunno.)
--
pyotr filipivich
This Week's Panel: Us & Them - Eliminating Them.
Next Month's Panel: Having eliminated the old Them(tm)
Selecting who insufficiently Woke(tm) as to serve as the new Them(tm)

<merle@frisco.org> wrote

| I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
| rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
| Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
| | This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
|

I use DDG, but I use the HTML version and I block
script with NoScript. So it's a very simple page with
nothing but search returns. Even Google, when I get
desperate, is very simple without script.

Have you ever trued NoScript? It will block all script
except what you decide to allow. I allow very, very little.
But you have to allow a lot for shopping, social media, etc.
Even then, you can improve privacy by allowing only what
you must.

https://html.duckduckgo.com/html/

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 19:17:14 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?

Which settings does DuckDuckGo change?

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On 9/4/2022 5:17 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 13:58:20 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>
>>> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>
>>> Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>
>> Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
>> information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
>> ads.
>
> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?
>
> That little game is enough for me not to further trust them.
>

By any chance, do you clear all your cookies upon terminating your
browser? Or have you locked the file containing cookies as "read-only"?
If so, that is why your settings do not persist. The settings are
recorded as cookies.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Donald Trump demands that he be declared the winner of
the 2020 presidential election. Otherwise, he demands
that the election be rerun immediately.

What has he been smoking?

On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 10:32:45 -0700, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 19:17:14 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
>> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
>> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?
>
>Which settings does DuckDuckGo change?

These settings from All Settings menu keep reverting
back to ON from my OFF setting.

Advertisements

If you still want to support us, help spread DuckDuckGo
---------
Install DuckDuckGo

Shows links to instructions for how to add DuckDuckGo to your browser

Shows occasional reminders to add DuckDuckGo to your browser
-------
Privacy Newsletters

Shows sign-up form for the DuckDuckGo privacy newsletters
--------
Shows occasional reminders to sign up for the DuckDuckGo privacy
newsletters
--------
Homepage Privacy Tips

Shows the privacy benefits of using DuckDuckGo on the homepage
--------
Help Improve DuckDuckGo

It's okay to (very infrequently) ask me about my experience using
DuckDuckGo
--------

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 16:14:27 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

> I use and like StartPage, which is a front-end for Google.

+1

I used to use Scroogle and switched to Startpage as soon as it came
available.

--
s|b

On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 11:49:50 -0700, "David E. Ross"
<nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:

>On 9/4/2022 5:17 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 13:58:20 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>>> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>>> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>>
>>>> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>>
>>>> Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>>
>>> Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
>>> information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
>>> ads.
>>
>> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
>> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
>> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?
>>
>> That little game is enough for me not to further trust them.
>>
>
>By any chance, do you clear all your cookies upon terminating your
>browser? Or have you locked the file containing cookies as "read-only"?
> If so, that is why your settings do not persist. The settings are
>recorded as cookies.

Yeah, I got the cookie dumping setting set to dump them.
It works.

It's duckduckgo's personal junk that is the problem.
I don't want to see their nonsense filling my screen.

See my reply to Stan Brown.

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:

> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page

I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
<https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>

--
s|b

On 9/5/2022 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>
>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page
>
> I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
> <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>
>
It appears that is not about using DuckDuckGo for searching. It seems
to be only about using DuckDuckGo's mobile browser.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Donald Trump demands that he be declared the winner of
the 2020 presidential election. Otherwise, he demands
that the election be rerun immediately.

What has he been smoking?

On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 12:42:47 -0700, "David E. Ross"
<nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:

>On 9/5/2022 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
>> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>
>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page
>>
>> I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
>> <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>
>>
>It appears that is not about using DuckDuckGo for searching. It seems
>to be only about using DuckDuckGo's mobile browser.

Yes, but it is quickly getting to the point where most people will be
using their smart phones for web browsing instead of their desktops or
laptops. That is the definite case with my wife. She - and other
people, spend a lot more time away from their desktops and laptops
than their phones. The phones go everywhere with them. Even when
home, my wife has gotten into the habit of using her smart phone
rather than her desktop.

It is getting to the point where having a *fair* amount of trust in
your browser or search engine choice is dwindling greatly.

Just about an hour ago I heard a commercial on one of our major radio
stations for DuckDuckGo. How does DuckDuckGo afford such a
"necessary" luxury?

On 9/5/2022 1:37 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 12:42:47 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 9/5/2022 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
>>> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page
>>>
>>> I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
>>> <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>
>>>
>> It appears that is not about using DuckDuckGo for searching. It seems
>> to be only about using DuckDuckGo's mobile browser.
>
> Yes, but it is quickly getting to the point where most people will be
> using their smart phones for web browsing instead of their desktops or
> laptops. That is the definite case with my wife. She - and other
> people, spend a lot more time away from their desktops and laptops
> than their phones. The phones go everywhere with them. Even when
> home, my wife has gotten into the habit of using her smart phone
> rather than her desktop.
>
> It is getting to the point where having a *fair* amount of trust in
> your browser or search engine choice is dwindling greatly.
>
> Just about an hour ago I heard a commercial on one of our major radio
> stations for DuckDuckGo. How does DuckDuckGo afford such a
> "necessary" luxury?

I experience more TV ads for DuckDuckGo than radio ads. They pay for
the ads by having NON-TARGETED advertisements at the start of their
search results.

My entire working career was with creating (4+ years) and testing (30+
years) software. I have a PC but no mobile phone. When I leave my
house, I want to leave the phones behind me. My wife has a "dumb"
phone, which she uses only to make and receive phone calls.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Donald Trump demands that he be declared the winner of
the 2020 presidential election. Otherwise, he demands
that the election be rerun immediately.

What has he been smoking?

On 05/09/2022 20:16, merle@frisco.org wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 11:49:50 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 9/4/2022 5:17 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 13:58:20 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>>>> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>>>> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>>>
>>>>> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>>>
>>>> Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
>>>> information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
>>>> ads.
>>>
>>> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
>>> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
>>> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?
>>>
>>> That little game is enough for me not to further trust them.
>>>
>>
>> By any chance, do you clear all your cookies upon terminating your
>> browser? Or have you locked the file containing cookies as "read-only"?
>> If so, that is why your settings do not persist. The settings are
>> recorded as cookies.
>
> Yeah, I got the cookie dumping setting set to dump them.
> It works.
>
> It's duckduckgo's personal junk that is the problem.
> I don't want to see their nonsense filling my screen.
>
> See my reply to Stan Brown.
>

So if you dump their settings how do you expect them to be magically
remembered?

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 13:56:55 -0700, "David E. Ross"
<nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:

>On 9/5/2022 1:37 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>> On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 12:42:47 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On 9/5/2022 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page
>>>>
>>>> I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
>>>> <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>
>>>>
>>> It appears that is not about using DuckDuckGo for searching. It seems
>>> to be only about using DuckDuckGo's mobile browser.
>>
>> Yes, but it is quickly getting to the point where most people will be
>> using their smart phones for web browsing instead of their desktops or
>> laptops. That is the definite case with my wife. She - and other
>> people, spend a lot more time away from their desktops and laptops
>> than their phones. The phones go everywhere with them. Even when
>> home, my wife has gotten into the habit of using her smart phone
>> rather than her desktop.
>>
>> It is getting to the point where having a *fair* amount of trust in
>> your browser or search engine choice is dwindling greatly.
>>
>> Just about an hour ago I heard a commercial on one of our major radio
>> stations for DuckDuckGo. How does DuckDuckGo afford such a
>> "necessary" luxury?
>
>I experience more TV ads for DuckDuckGo than radio ads. They pay for
>the ads by having NON-TARGETED advertisements at the start of their
>search results.
>
>My entire working career was with creating (4+ years) and testing (30+
>years) software. I have a PC but no mobile phone. When I leave my
>house, I want to leave the phones behind me. My wife has a "dumb"
>phone, which she uses only to make and receive phone calls.

I think a portable type phone is an absolute necessity in this
present day dangerous world. It's also super handy for common everyday
happenings.

I had an old flip phone which only did phone calls. It did have
texting capability, which I had Verizon turn off years ago because of
the damn spam. I also dumped texting because I TALK to people, and I
expect them to TALK to me, not leave me printed notes.

Verizon with their move to 5G killed my old flip and sent me an eTalk
p.o.s. that sucks in so many ways - which I ain't gonna waste my time
explaining.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 22:11:36 +0100, Brian Gregory
<void-invalid-dead-dontuse@email.invalid> wrote:

>On 05/09/2022 20:16, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>> On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 11:49:50 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On 9/4/2022 5:17 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2022 13:58:20 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>>>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 9/4/2022 1:51 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page. I use Settings to get
>>>>>> rid of it, but the stuff comes back each time. Also, the damn
>>>>>> Settings undo my choices each time I load Firefox.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This happens with both my XP machine and my wife's Win 7 comp.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there another choice for another seach page?
>>>>>
>>>>> Since DuckDuckGo is free to use and makes no money from selling
>>>>> information about a user's search history, I choose to put up with its
>>>>> ads.
>>>>
>>>> They have no 'right' to change my settings in their Settings menu. Why
>>>> in the heck do those "privacy" settings exist in the Menu if they are
>>>> to be changed back to duckduckgo's default nonsense?
>>>>
>>>> That little game is enough for me not to further trust them.
>>>>
>>>
>>> By any chance, do you clear all your cookies upon terminating your
>>> browser? Or have you locked the file containing cookies as "read-only"?
>>> If so, that is why your settings do not persist. The settings are
>>> recorded as cookies.
>>
>> Yeah, I got the cookie dumping setting set to dump them.
>> It works.
>>
>> It's duckduckgo's personal junk that is the problem.
>> I don't want to see their nonsense filling my screen.
>>
>> See my reply to Stan Brown.
>>
>
>So if you dump their settings how do you expect them to be magically
>remembered?

Don't quite understand your reply.

I dumped their ad settings so I wouldn't see all their "notifications"
- company spam.

All other settings held to my choices, except their company spam.

On Mon, 05 Sep 2022 16:17:57 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:

>On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 13:56:55 -0700, "David E. Ross"
><nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On 9/5/2022 1:37 PM, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>> On Mon, 5 Sep 2022 12:42:47 -0700, "David E. Ross"
>>> <nobody@notme.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 9/5/2022 12:28 PM, s|b wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:51:13 -0500, merle@frisco.org wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm sick of all their ad junk on their page
>>>>>
>>>>> I just remembered this about DuckDuckGo:
>>>>> <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/>
>>>>>
>>>> It appears that is not about using DuckDuckGo for searching. It seems
>>>> to be only about using DuckDuckGo's mobile browser.
>>>
>>> Yes, but it is quickly getting to the point where most people will be
>>> using their smart phones for web browsing instead of their desktops or
>>> laptops. That is the definite case with my wife. She - and other
>>> people, spend a lot more time away from their desktops and laptops
>>> than their phones. The phones go everywhere with them. Even when
>>> home, my wife has gotten into the habit of using her smart phone
>>> rather than her desktop.
>>>
>>> It is getting to the point where having a *fair* amount of trust in
>>> your browser or search engine choice is dwindling greatly.
>>>
>>> Just about an hour ago I heard a commercial on one of our major radio
>>> stations for DuckDuckGo. How does DuckDuckGo afford such a
>>> "necessary" luxury?
>>
>>I experience more TV ads for DuckDuckGo than radio ads. They pay for
>>the ads by having NON-TARGETED advertisements at the start of their
>>search results.
>>
>>My entire working career was with creating (4+ years) and testing (30+
>>years) software. I have a PC but no mobile phone. When I leave my
>>house, I want to leave the phones behind me. My wife has a "dumb"
>>phone, which she uses only to make and receive phone calls.
>
>I think a portable type phone is an absolute necessity in this
>present day dangerous world. It's also super handy for common everyday
>happenings.
>
>I had an old flip phone which only did phone calls. It did have
>texting capability, which I had Verizon turn off years ago because of
>the damn spam. I also dumped texting because I TALK to people, and I
>expect them to TALK to me, not leave me printed notes.
>
>Verizon with their move to 5G killed my old flip and sent me an eTalk
>p.o.s. that sucks in so many ways - which I ain't gonna waste my time
>explaining.

Yeah, I got one of those too and Verison said not to bother sending it
back. They don't think it is worth the postage., I have a Mil-spec
rugged flipper that goes away with 3G. I am looking for another one.
No clue on a better engine. I am playing with SlimJet browser and that
has a search. It is supposed to be private but I don't believe them.