Comment by raw_anon_1111

6 days ago

Just don’t connect your TV to the internet.

Yes I know there is a theoretical capability for it to connect to unsecured WIFI. No one still has unsecured WIFI anymore

33 comments

raw_anon_1111

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crote  6 days ago

We've already had TVs which only started serving ads after a few months of use. What's stopping them from selling TVs which stop working if it hasn't been able to connect to the mothership for a few weeks?

And instead of a full brick, let's just downgrade to 360p and call it an "expiration of your complementary free Enhanced Video trial".

  • gruez  6 days ago

    >We've already had TVs which only started serving ads after a few months of use. What's stopping them from selling TVs which stop working if it hasn't been able to connect to the mothership for a few weeks?

    Same thing that prevents your phone manufacturer from adding a firmware level backdoor that uploads all your nudes to the mothership 1 day after the warranty expires. At some point you just have to assume they're not going to screw you over.

    • inetknght  6 days ago

      > At some point you just have to assume they're not going to screw you over.

      That'd be quite naive in my opinion.

afarah1  6 days ago

That's not a good answer, unless you just want cable. YouTube, Netflix, etc won't work. Buying hardware is paying extra which is already a deterrent, but anyway just shifts the problem to that piece of hardware - is the stick vetted to not do any harm? Other solutions are often impractical or overly complex for non-technical people. I haven't seen any good answers to date. I guess your TV just shouldn't spy on everything you watch? Seems like a reasonable expectation.

  • raw_anon_1111  6 days ago

    Buy an AppleTV.

    Google devices are out because they are developed by a advertising company.

    The Roku CEO outright said they sell Roku devices below costs to advertise to you.

    • jimt1234  6 days ago

      My TCL/Roku TV recently started showing popups during streams with services like YouTubeTV and PlutoTV, that basically say, "Click here to watch this same program on the Roku Network". I poked around the settings on the TV, and sure enough, there were some new "smart" settings added and enabled by default. I disabled the settings, and the popups stopped. But it's only a matter of time before something else appears.

    • ahefner  6 days ago

      Apple is already sending spam notifications for stupid bullshit like that F1 movie.

  • crote  6 days ago

    > is the stick vetted to not do any harm

    The stick is $30 and trivially replaced. The TV is closer to $1000. Worst-case scenario I'll just hook up an HTPC or Blue-Ray player to the TV.

    • raw_anon_1111  6 days ago

      The $30 stick is also sold below cost and makes money from advertising. The only one that I would trust is AppleTV

  • BeetleB  6 days ago

    Because with a stick, I can easily decide to chuck it and replace with another. Over and over again. Hard to do with a TV. Even if I had the money, disposing of one is a royal pain.

  • stackedinserter  5 days ago

    We just switched to a laptops and USB-HDMI cable that always dangles near our TV. Someone wants to see F1, sports or a movie, they just plug it and watch like it's a big computer screen. If 9yo can do it, anyone can do it.

peacebeard  6 days ago

This theoretical capability could connect to a neighbor's WIFI in an apartment or condo.

  • raw_anon_1111  6 days ago

    Every router shipped these days either by the cable company or separately is configured with a password by default.

    • jermaustin1  6 days ago

      And a guest wifi that is password free on by default. All it takes is a neighbor to get a new router from the ISP. I just had to turn my guest wifi off because I noticed a lot of bandwidth on it (likely coming from our neighbor who was bragging about cord cutting).

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