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FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

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Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#71

Buying a windows laptop these days seems like putting your hand in an Alligator Gar filled bog (also see the other post about the Synaptics driver) And restoring from the OEM copy is no guarantee it will be clear of all the preinstalled crap

Alligator Gars only look intimidating. There has never been a verified attack on a human.

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd recommend getting a laptop that is built from the ground up to support Linux. System76 and Purism seem to be doing a decent job (though they are still far from working flawlessly)

No offense intended but a lot of these just seem to be really, really powerful machines designed with the idea that if you throw enough power at Ubuntu, it works better. ;)

I don't think I'm clear on what you mean by that?

For the issues I commonly have (wifi, audio, video), I don't see how throwing more power at them would really help anything

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#73
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During the peak of frothy VC investments, our hypothetical couch startup will have the money to hire ML and AI experts. 1) Sell the couch at a loss. 2) Acquire customer voice data. 3) Run it through ML/AI 4) ???? 5) Pivot the company.

You could have some inflatable cushions that can only be controlled by the cloud.

Sure! And we could use the same tech for other places where things need inflating, like airbags!

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During the peak of frothy VC investments, our hypothetical couch startup will have the money to hire ML and AI experts. 1) Sell the couch at a loss. 2) Acquire customer voice data. 3) Run it through ML/AI 4) ???? 5) Pivot the company.

don't forget the ecosystem. SitBit is building a competitive social relaxation tracker to pair with this couch.

Why on earth have FitBit not cornered the competitive relaxation space

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#75

Personally, they've lost my business. I used and loved Thinkpads for many years, but I no longer use them and now recommend against their purchase. Lenovo has a huge trust gap to repair.

Same thing here, running both Linux and Windows at different times. The old ThinkPads used to be absolutely great machines in every way. These days I'm strictly on macOS and would recommend a MacBook/Pro to almost anyone, but contrary to many Mac users I'm actually not a huge fan of the hardware (apart from the trackpad and MagSafe, which they killed).

If Apple would build a modern laptop in an old school ThinkPad bento box rollcage-protected user repairable/upgradable chassis with a replaceable battery, ECC memory and the new ThinkPad keyboard, I'd be all over that...yeah, I know, but one can dream.

At least keyboard-wise there's the ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard option [1]. Been using it with macOS for about 2 years now, just changed the keyboard modifier settings to make it work like a Mac keyboard (and one could use something like Karabiner/-Elements to map the weirdly placed PrtSc key to Alt/Option). And the Bluetooth version fits nicely over the integrated keyboard when on the go.

I find it compares to other keyboards as the MacBook trackpad compares to other trackpads, that is - it's in a league of its own in terms of feel.

[1] https://support.lenovo.com/en/solutions/pd026745

Edited to add the Bluetooth version.

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Issue a chargeback and return it

The chargeback situation in the credit card industry is really so amazing and interesting. I've charged back everything from erroneously issued parking tickets to flights canceled due to weather. Every time, the credit card company immediately gives me my money back, settles with the merchant on my behalf, and I have always won. The question is, who is giving the money to the banks that allows them to take this kind…

The bank takes no loss. They take the money from the merchant.

Banks require merchants to keep a certain amount of money as a deposit with them, specifically for this. The amount varies depending on the type of business the merchant is in (and the size and reliability of the merchant - for example Walmart is probably not required to keep any amount at all).

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Issue a chargeback and return it

The chargeback situation in the credit card industry is really so amazing and interesting. I've charged back everything from erroneously issued parking tickets to flights canceled due to weather. Every time, the credit card company immediately gives me my money back, settles with the merchant on my behalf, and I have always won. The question is, who is giving the money to the banks that allows them to take this kind…

> The question is, who is giving the money to the banks that allows them to take this kind of a loss? People who have credit card debt???

The money comes from the business. The credit card company simply removes the money from the businesses bank account. This is one of the reasons it is so effective. Sometimes even mentioning the word "chargeback" when dealing with customer service will work wonders.

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#79
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The chargeback situation in the credit card industry is really so amazing and interesting. I've charged back everything from erroneously issued parking tickets to flights canceled due to weather. Every time, the credit card company immediately gives me my money back, settles with the merchant on my behalf, and I have always won. The question is, who is giving the money to the banks that allows them to take this kind…

The bank takes no loss. They take the money from the merchant. Banks require merchants to keep a certain amount of money as a deposit with them, specifically for this. The amount varies depending on the type of business the merchant is in (and the size and reliability of the merchant - for example Walmart is probably not required to keep any amount at all).

It sounds like if you are a merchant and don't like chargebacks and deposits, the best idea is to run a cash only business then, if you don't mind turning away cc customers.

Strange world!

Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware

#80
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could have some inflatable cushions that can only be controlled by the cloud.

Sure! And we could use the same tech for other places where things need inflating, like airbags!

A cloud controlled airbag is brilliant! With enough ML and AI it may even detect a crash. Once you have that figured out you can apply the same technology to parachutes and life vests! This is truly disruptive.
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