I’ve gotten a few emails from readers who have concerns that “If I stop using Google/Yahoo/Apple software, I won’t be able to do ____.”  That’s not true, and in a VG-exclusive series, we’re going to be looking at some of the software out there that does the same job without laying your private life wide open and profiting on it.  I’ll be bringing you in-depth reviews on email providers, cloud services, browser setups, and much more.  Everything we’ll be talking about are programs and tools that I either currently use or have personally tested, and the reviews will be written for the average user.

Please note that we are not receiving anything from these companies.  They did not ask us to do a review, and they are giving us nothing for doing it.  In fact, we aren’t even telling them we’re doing it. You can be certain that this series will be completely honest and without bias.

To get started in the series, I’ve chosen to focus on something we all use a million times a day: email, calendar, and task management.  Lots of details below the jump!