There is some trade off when you think of the benefits we get for free, in return, from Google. I barely recall what it was like to buy a map, writing down directions, and praying to God I didn't get thrown off on the way.
Re:Introducing the Invisible reCAPTCHA
by iainmerrick on Thursday March 09, 2017 @10:39AM
(#13829972)
the things Google has created and shared into the whole of human knowledge
Do they really share it, though? You can't download and reuse data from Google Maps or Street View the way you can from OpenStreetMap, say.
I'm not saying this is a fatal problem. Google Maps is a lot more popular than OSM so the free-with-ads closed source approach clearly has a lot going for it. But the data isn't public, they own it.
It's just an opinion, but if the things Google has created and shared into the whole of human knowledge towards the betterment of future societies are still being used in a century for my grandkids (and the rest of humankind) to benefit from, then I think it's better than not having it because a few million people who couldn't have done it themselves said 'no' over a pittance.
I can't speak for you, but my dying thoughts won't be a sour reflection on all of opportunities to monetize my existence I might have missed.