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My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

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Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#321

Post by acd »

I want to run an open source operating system such as Debian/Ubuntu on my next TV. By using open source software I know what the TV does and other can verify what it does. There is a lot of usable streaming apps(Netflix through Chrome, Amazon Prime, Spotify). Also mention that there is Kodi.

Please put open boot loader so one can load Open source software in TVs.

Another great feature is that the TV will continue to get security updates and longer from a software perspective. Longer lasting TV will be better for the environment.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#322

Post by lern_too_spel »

ReverseCold wrote: post #234
lern_too_spel wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android tracks you less than iOS. You don't even need to create an account to use an Android TV or an Android phone.

Google Android tracks you the most. How do I even turn off location services without breaking Android Device Manager? I have location history off but I still get notifications from maps that say things like "X place you're at is popular, click here to see reviews or something"

You've intentionally confused several things.

1. You don't need to use Android Device Manager. Unlike iOS, Android gives you a choice of device finders.

2. Location services is different from location history. Location services is an AGPS service that does not track anything tied to your account. iOS does the same thing, and worse, used to send your location to a third party AGPS provider (Skyhook).

3. Google Maps is separate from location history. Google Maps on iOS will tell you to see reviews as well, and it is a setting in both. Unlike on iOS, on Android, you have a choice not to use the default maps application at all and instead use an entirely offline map.

The above three points when support my initial claim that Android is a better privacy-focused system than iOS.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#323

Post by et-al »

pvaldes wrote: post #309
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #119

You can't really buy a high quality TV anymore without having em try to shove extra garbage down your throat. I own an old Samsung TV, and it has terrible UX. Giving it a chance to connect to the internet was a horrible mistake. My TV is around +5 years old, and I don't see myself buying a new one any time soon. During the last 2 or so years I've drastically changed the kinds of media I consume. Now my primary source…

> Books don't include any tracking bullshit. Most books aren't specially interesting. The history of the books that you borrow in the public library is registered with your library customer card, address and name. Some local libraries or universities will ask you to write your name in a card when you take the book and let the card in the shelf. Therefore anybody could read the names of the former five or ten people t…

I am not your librarian, but the American Library Association (ALA) seems to respect readers' privacy.

They pushed back on the Patriot Act:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/theusa...

And have guidelines for librarians when law enforcement comes knocking:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement

Again, it will vary depending on your town and library.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#324

Post by propogandist »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #291
buro9 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try it. I did. I couldn't find a non-smart TV. They are everywhere. If you want the 4k, then you have a smart TV. The best alternatives were super large monitors (way over the price of a TV, and with no decent sound built in), or corporate display panels (for advertising, signage, etc) whose prices are also way above a TV and include no sound system at all.

My intention -- the next time I buy a TV -- is simply to never tell it my wifi password. Do these things refuse to work without internet access?

they do work without internet access. You can also tell your TV to try to access the internet via Ethernet (w/o having it plugged in) and that will usually shut down all the intrusive BS (at-least on Samsung "smart TVs")

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#325

Post by sparkling »

gruez wrote: post #61
sparkling wrote: post #12

This is the problem with putting logic into the TV. Keep it Unix-y. Do one thing, but do it right. A TV should be just a panel, nothing more. A $50 player box does everything better than the built-in player hardware and software.

A tv, by definition, goes against the unix philosophy because it's a display panel + tuner + speakers.

Same for speakers. I have a decent sound system already, i don't want to pay a extra $20-$50 for crappy speakers that i will never use. I want the best panel for my $, nothing else.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#326

Post by propogandist »

ReverseCold wrote: post #238
drewmol wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem I've run into: the buggy software that's 3-6-9 months+ out of date by the time you get it out of box. Offline sofware update is not always an option. Maybe update once and then disconnect? As someone mentioned, only until they have autoconnect built in through partnership with mobile providers

Does open smart TV software exist?

the ones from the vendors are all closed source. Best bet is to buy a good TV and use another device to run software that makes it "smart" - ie. AOSP / Kodi

The only thing to gain from "smart tvs" are apps that can be controlled w/ the TV remote, if you're privacy coincious, you should know by now that it will take a bit of effort to secure your data.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#327

Post by beached_whale »

kentlyons wrote: post #213
beached_whale wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a technicolor tc5580-uhd. Not expensive at all. It's the same company as curtis and rca.

Having worked at Technicolor a while, they just licenses the brands to 3rd party OEMs. So the hardware is not from the same company.

I know, but it did what I wanted and didn't cost a lot($399CDN minus store points). Picture is acceptable too.

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#328

Post by drewmol »

r3bl wrote: post #275
ReverseCold wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does open smart TV software exist?

Kodi? Disregarding the fucking awful campaign against them because some 3rd party developers make piracy-focused add-ons, as someone who never owned a smart TV, Kodi seems pretty feature-compatible. I could be totally off though.

Look into LibreELEC, I use that and buy android tv boxes. You can dual boot, LibreELEC from an SD and android from NAND. It's stable enough that I've began to just flash nand and run soley LibreELEC, but you'll be limited from the wide availability of android support for most major content providers apps

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#329

Post by slig »

braythwayt wrote: post #105
andybak wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much as I hate linkrot I'm not sure we should be using Twitter as a archival source. But people do and you're not making future historians happy. ;-) So - why are you using Twitter at all if you want to delete stuff so quickly? You sound the kind of chap who would much prefer their own platform. Heard of these things called "blogs"?

Many years ago I used Posterous as my blog, in good HN fashion. Aaaaand it went away. Walled gardens are always going to be a massive vulnerability for link rot.

This time with Medium will be different! /s

Re: My Sony "smart" TV has updated itself and tried to force me to use a new app

#330

Post by 0xcde4c3db »

tome wrote: post #13
sparkling wrote: post #12

This is the problem with putting logic into the TV. Keep it Unix-y. Do one thing, but do it right. A TV should be just a panel, nothing more. A $50 player box does everything better than the built-in player hardware and software.

> A TV should be just a panel, nothing more. Don't we have such things, called "monitors"?

Not readily available in the sizes popularly used for TV/video viewing, as far as I can tell. Large-format monitors tend to be full of "digital signage" or touchscreen features now; some are even Android-based.
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