{"id":12461,"date":"2026-03-10T15:52:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advisorator.com\/members\/?p=12461"},"modified":"2026-03-10T16:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T16:17:42","slug":"switching-from-google-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advisorator.com\/members\/2026\/03\/10\/switching-from-google-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Switching from Google Search"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How to switch search engines (and why you should)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Plus: Apple’s cheapest laptop, turning your phone into a computer, and timelapse video tools<\/h3>\n\n\n
Jared Newman<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>March 10, 2026<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, a longtime tech journalist, and you’re reading the free edition of Advisorator, my weekly tech advice newsletter.<\/em> Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up<\/a> to get it every Tuesday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over at the Advisorator site, I’ve just posted an in-depth guide to switching search engines<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between privacy-preserving alternatives such as DuckDuckGo and AI assistants such as ChatGPT, there’s never been a better time to try switching from Google as your main way to search for things. Even so, Google spends billions of dollars every year to make switching inconvenient on your devices and in your web browsers, knowing most folks will never change from the default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you don\u2019t have to be one of those people. This guide will teach you which Google Search alternatives to consider and\u2014more importantly\u2014how make them the default on all of your devices despite Google’s best efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full guide to switching search engines \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My guide to switching search engines is exclusively for Advisorator’s paying members. You can pay as little as $5 for a monthly subscription<\/a> to read it, plus you’ll get my full weekly newsletter and all the other guides I’ve written<\/a>. Thanks for your support!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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News in brief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MacBook Neo:<\/strong> Apple\u2019s added a much cheaper laptop to its lineup with the $599 MacBook Neo<\/a>. It’s $500 less than the M5 MacBook Air, but comes with some notable trade-offs: Slower A-series processor, half the RAM (8 GB) and base storage (256 GB), a less vivid screen, worse speakers, and no Thunderbolt ports. (Here\u2019s a full list of compromises<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What really bugs me is that you have to spend $100 more for the 512 GB model to get TouchID, otherwise you’ll be logging in with a PIN and typing a password for every App Store download. Security should come standard for a company that loves to boast about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, I could see the MacBook Neo taking a sizable chunk out of the sub-$600 Windows PC and Chromebook market, with slicker hardware than a lot of the clunkers in this price range. For Apple, it at least makes more sense than convincing everyone to use an iPad as a laptop instead<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More and less expensive MacBooks:<\/strong> Meanwhile, Apple\u2019s new M5 MacBook Air<\/a> and M5 Pro MacBook Pros<\/a> are $100 pricier than their M4 predecessors, though they do include twice the base storage at 512 GB. The good news is that MacBook Pro configurations with more storage now cost $100 to $200 less<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll see if the RAM shortage<\/a> has any impact, but if you\u2019re thinking of an upgrade, my advice is still to avoid the Apple Store<\/a> and wait for price drops from third-party retailers. It usually doesn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable news and reads:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n