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[#] Sun Nov 22 2020 17:10:22 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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Sun Nov 22 2020 16:28:35 EST from IGnatius T Foobar
My TV does that. Sometimes I turn it on and have to wait for an update before I can watch cat videos on it. (What, did you think I'd watch the garbage on cable?) It's as annoying there as it is on a desktop computer. 

On the other hand, at one point they sent me $8 because I ended up as a claimant in a class action lawsuit because the TV was spying on me.

Yeah, I have a TV that occasionally fails to "boot," and just ends up hung on the big V logo. 

It is annoying. Honestly, turning on the Xbox One, generally speaking - the download patches take so long I never get to actually play any of the games. 

 



[#] Tue Nov 24 2020 13:57:18 EST from LoanShark

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On the other hand, at one point they sent me $8 because I ended up as

a claimant in a class action lawsuit because the TV was spying on me.


1984 has truly arrived.

[#] Tue Nov 24 2020 14:08:42 EST from zooer

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Didn't it arrive with the popularity of telescreens... I mean smartphones?



[#] Tue Nov 24 2020 22:27:13 EST from LoanShark

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Yeah, pretty much. A smart TV is smartphone tech with a really big panel attached.

[#] Fri Nov 27 2020 18:21:11 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

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The new Chromecasts with "Google TV" -- which is not the product they used to call "Google TV", but instead a new version of the product they used to call "Android TV" (confused yet?) -- may actually be *exactly* that. I think they may have figured out that a smartphone OS runs on a television much more seamlessly than a PC OS does.

Now if they'd only put that into a car, instead of pushing the sleazy hacks that are Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 11:11:19 EST from Nurb432

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Google is a confusing company in general. And im sort of miffed at them this fall. They decided to kill hangouts, an integrated platform for voice, video, txt etc.. an break it into 3 different products.   With one of them being crippled - chat for in-network messages, cant create new messages.. only 'if you are invited' ( or pay for a business account )

 

Now its chat for in-network texts

voice for regular calls and out of network texts  ( sms )

meet for video

not sure what will do VoIP to off network carriers . there are times i need this when i have zero signal in buildings but do have WiFi. We do have jabber as well for the office ( cisco's crap, not the 'standard' ) but i dont want to make personal calls over that. 

and i guess duo ( which i never used ) is gone too. i donno,. its hard to keep up with these folks.

convergence is a good thing, this is going backwards.  All they had to do was improve each piece of hangouts .. not start from scratch and break it apart. 

 

 

Rant over and back OT: i have been using Chinese android TV boxes for a long time now. With the proper setup, i do agree that they are easier to deal with than a PC based media center. Cheaper, smaller, etc. i didnt care much about chromecast, as i had local drive attached, BUT Netflix was getting harder and harder to make work on generic boxes ( bastards ) so i ended up buying a 'Netflix blessed' MIbox ( from Xiaomi, the same people who make my phones ) and it has chrome cast too ( yay? ).  Also have a couple of miracast dongles for when i needed to 'cast' from a PC to a overhead or something. They dont quire being on internet to function, unlike googles which simply wont work without internet. So, not hardly used the chromecast feature at all.  Other problem with chromecast is its 100% streaming. i like my local files.. Sure you can make it work, but at that work, why bother?

Had a older chromecast years ago just before i went to generic android boxes, and I ditched it due to the local file problem. Just wasn't worth the effort to 'make it work'. 

 

Fri Nov 27 2020 18:21:11 EST from IGnatius T Foobar
The new Chromecasts with "Google TV" -- which is not the product they used to call "Google TV", but instead a new version of the product they used to call "Android TV" (confused yet?) -- may actually be *exactly* that. I think they may have figured out that a smartphone OS runs on a television much more seamlessly than a PC OS does.

Now if they'd only put that into a car, instead of pushing the sleazy hacks that are Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

 



[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 11:27:14 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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Agreed. I haven't been using Hangouts a lot - but I use it, and have, for a long time. Have a phone number associated with it... I make calls with it, send texts with it. It is kind of like a burner number I can give to people I don't want to have my actually number. 

They're doing the same kind of BS with Google Play Music moving to YouTube - which cripples Android Auto unless you're willing to pay for a YouTube premium music subscription - which I'm not. 

The way I see it - they're just encouraging me to buy OUT of their ecosystem - which I've been very dedicated to for years. 

 

Sat Nov 28 2020 11:11:19 EST from Nurb432

Google is a confusing company in general. And im sort of miffed at them this fall...

...convergence is a good thing, this is going backwards.  All they had to do was improve each piece of hangouts .. not start from scratch and break it apart. 

 

 

 

 



[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 13:10:52 EST from Nurb432

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I transferred my cell # to them some time ago. It was nice having both cell and VoIP options, transparent on the same #   Plus when i change service carriers, its trivial. just map to the new 'base' number and no one has to know it changed, and i dont have to move the number, yet again. Oh, and it also rings my home phone. and of course having SMS on my computer.  

Not saying hangouts was 'perfect' as it could be improved, but it worked and was all there in one place. 

I suppose losing in-network chat isn't end of world, only 3 people i know use it. the rest were via sms. And i can live with 3 apps instead of one, its just damned annoying to be taking a step backwards. ( unless they plan on lifting that restriction when hangouts is turned off? )



[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 13:54:53 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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I think they are trying to figure out how to get paid for things they've been giving away. 

Sat Nov 28 2020 13:10:52 EST from Nurb432

I transferred my cell # to them some time ago. It was nice having both cell and VoIP options, transparent on the same #   Plus when i change service carriers, its trivial. just map to the new 'base' number and no one has to know it changed, and i dont have to move the number, yet again. Oh, and it also rings my home phone. and of course having SMS on my computer.  

Not saying hangouts was 'perfect' as it could be improved, but it worked and was all there in one place. 

I suppose losing in-network chat isn't end of world, only 3 people i know use it. the rest were via sms. And i can live with 3 apps instead of one, its just damned annoying to be taking a step backwards. ( unless they plan on lifting that restriction when hangouts is turned off? )



 



[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 14:02:53 EST from Nurb432

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I dont have a problem paying my way, but they need to cut out the ads if i do start paying. But the way they are doing this, annoys me. However, i dont want to be charged a business rate for a personal line. 

Sat Nov 28 2020 13:54:53 EST from ParanoidDelusions

I think they are trying to figure out how to get paid for things they've been giving away. 

 
 

 



 



[#] Sat Nov 28 2020 19:00:28 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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I'm big on the concept it is easy to lower your price if you charge too much, but it is impossible to go from "free" to "pay for play". 

 

Sat Nov 28 2020 14:02:53 EST from Nurb432

I dont have a problem paying my way, but they need to cut out the ads if i do start paying. But the way they are doing this, annoys me. However, i dont want to be charged a business rate for a personal line. 

Sat Nov 28 2020 13:54:53 EST from ParanoidDelusions

I think they are trying to figure out how to get paid for things they've been giving away. 

 
 

 



 



 



[#] Sun Nov 29 2020 07:08:23 EST from zooer

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Sat Nov 28 2020 07:00:28 PM EST from ParanoidDelusions

I'm big on the concept it is easy to lower your price if you charge too much, but it is impossible to go from "free" to "pay for play".  

 

Unless they have a monopoly or complete control over your data, then they can easily move from free to pay.



[#] Sun Nov 29 2020 08:22:59 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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Sun Nov 29 2020 07:08:23 EST from zooer

 

Sat Nov 28 2020 07:00:28 PM EST from ParanoidDelusions

I'm big on the concept it is easy to lower your price if you charge too much, but it is impossible to go from "free" to "pay for play".  

 

Unless they have a monopoly or complete control over your data, then they can easily move from free to pay.



I think you inadvertently just made a defense that Google, Facebook and Twitter do not, in fact have a monopoly, though their reach may be troubling and huge. 

Because in all 3 cases,I have the ability to go, "eff 'em," if they start acting like idiots. 

 

 



[#] Sun Nov 29 2020 09:50:22 EST from zooer

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Perhaps a bit of sarcasm, they DO have a monopoly on your data so they can start charging you..... anyway... whatta ya gonna do bout it?

The drug dealer always gives you the first hit free.  Great marketing plan, get you hooked first so you don't have a choice.



[#] Sun Nov 29 2020 10:12:10 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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Same thing I did with my drug dealers. Quit doing their shit. :) 

You can also actively screw with them. Facebook's algorithms are *easy* to game. Me and my friend had Facebook convinced that I was a married conservative man with a child who was in a serious gay relationship with my Nephew - so for the longest time they were sending me Gay Cruise ads as well as more typical ads. It was hilarious. 

Enough people throwing enough monkey wrenches into their machine may not break the machine - but it is fun to do, anyhow. :) 

The rising popularity of alternative private browsers, of VPNs, or alternate search engines, of alternate social media sites like this - all takes away their monopoly on our data. My friend calls it "side-nets"... not necessarily the dark web, but the back alleys of the Internet. The data they have a monopoly on is worthless if I keep most of my traffic out of the areas they can control. 



Sun Nov 29 2020 09:50:22 EST from zooer

Perhaps a bit of sarcasm, they DO have a monopoly on your data so they can start charging you..... anyway... whatta ya gonna do bout it?

The drug dealer always gives you the first hit free.  Great marketing plan, get you hooked first so you don't have a choice.



 



[#] Sun Nov 29 2020 10:27:35 EST from Nurb432

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Its trivial to move off their platforms. Both FB and Google even offer a simple way to download all your data at once, before you delete your account. Donno about others, like twitter.

There are still plenty of other viable options for social media, mail, calendar, chat, video, etc. They dont really hold you hostage, you can pack your toys up and go home.

 

Sun Nov 29 2020 09:50:22 EST from zooer

Perhaps a bit of sarcasm, they DO have a monopoly on your data so they can start charging you..... anyway... whatta ya gonna do bout it?

The drug dealer always gives you the first hit free.  Great marketing plan, get you hooked first so you don't have a choice.



 



[#] Mon Dec 07 2020 08:48:34 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

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They're doing the same kind of BS with Google Play Music moving to YouTube - which cripples Android Auto unless you're willing to pay for a YouTube premium music subscription - which I'm not. 

Look for an app called "YouTube Vanced" (you can't get it in the Play Store, you have to sideload it).

It blocks all advertisements and it allows you to play videos with the screen off, which is what you normally want when listening to music while driving.



[#] Mon Dec 07 2020 08:54:00 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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It is interesting that Google allows side loading which they know keeps folks like us more engaged but also results in Android being more prone to exploits and malware than Apple's walled garden. 

And there is a dichotomy in this. You're snubbing your nose at Google's crappy developer policies, but you're going off the rez and trusting whoever is coding YouTube Vanced to be more ethical than Google. 

 

Mon Dec 07 2020 08:48:34 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

 

Look for an app called "YouTube Vanced" (you can't get it in the Play Store, you have to sideload it).

 



 



[#] Mon Dec 07 2020 10:05:59 EST from zooer

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Mon Dec 07 2020 08:48:34 AM EST from IGnatius T Foobar

It blocks all advertisements and it allows you to play videos with the screen off, which is what you normally want when listening to music while driving.

My MP3 player allows me to play music without advertising or a screen.  I don't have to worry about data rates being applied.



[#] Mon Dec 07 2020 12:42:52 EST from ParanoidDelusions

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Mon Dec 07 2020 10:05:59 EST from zooer

 

My MP3 player allows me to play music without advertising or a screen.  I don't have to worry about data rates being applied.



Can Sony recapture the magic of the original Walkman ...



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