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What is the best dumb TV?

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Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#421

Post by tssva »

iforgotpassword wrote: post #396
garfieldnate wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're going off topic now, but why do all microwaves have knobs now? I hate them. I want a number pad like the microwaves had when I was growing up. I want to close the door, press the numbers that indicate the amount of time I want and hit "start". When you turn a knob, either you have no indication of the exact time, or there's a display that moves in increments that the computer thinks are good (usually 10s). I do…

Found the millennial? The knob design is the much older one as it's purely analog. I don't have a microwave anymore for almost a decade now, but even before I used it occasionally only, mostly for heating up food from the day before, nothing where I'd need sub-millisecond accuracy. Also in general food tastes different/weird if you blast it at full power, so going for lower wattage and longer cooking times would redu…

I'm 52 and have used microwave ovens since my parents bought one in 1981. It had a touchpad and every microwave I have ever used since then has had a touchpad. My experience is that except for the extremely low end of the countertop microwave market it was rare to see a microwave with knob controls until the last 10 years.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#422

Post by alanbernstein »

cm2187 wrote: post #366
garfieldnate wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're going off topic now, but why do all microwaves have knobs now? I hate them. I want a number pad like the microwaves had when I was growing up. I want to close the door, press the numbers that indicate the amount of time I want and hit "start". When you turn a knob, either you have no indication of the exact time, or there's a display that moves in increments that the computer thinks are good (usually 10s). I do…

Easier to clean than a number pad. I think knobs are great, you can rotate fast with very little effort. I think it should be a standard feature of computer keyboards.

Far from standard, but it's available, in case you're not aware: https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-rev-2-60-65-split-stagger...

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#423

Post by codeulike »

ornornor wrote: post #256
vocram wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I am curious of how most microwaves are modulating power.

Every mw I’ve ever owned or used turns the magnetron on and off. If it’s a 1000W unit and you set it to 300W, it’ll only heat 30% of the time. You can hear it from the noise it makes, it’s slightly louder when the magnetron is on.

Wow. So basic.

That reminds me about dishwashers - you put powder or a tablet in a little hatch and I always wondered what happened behind the hatch, does it inject water, disolve the powder, and then pump it around to the jets?

I recently realised. Nope. It just opens the hatch ten minutes into the cycle and the tablet/powder falls into the machine with a clunk.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#424

Post by dan-robertson »

Nextgrid wrote: post #156
Wistar wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Along those lines are the commercial display panels intended for digital signage and advertising use. They usually have a very bright picture, are very durable, and have typically been quite expensive but that seems to be changing. Here are some LG commercial displays ranging from 43" to 86" and priced from $745 to $3,850: https://www.displays2go.com/P-42023/86-Inch-4K-Ultra-HD-TV-A... Here is a brief article from 20…

It's kind of ironic to be using a device made to display advertising to combat advertising itself.

Digital signage isn’t really about advertising. It might be used to eg show departures at an airport/bus station, or show schedules for different rooms at a conference or fair/exhibition/show. Other common uses are to show a few slides on a loop, eg in a reception area of a school showing the school’s achievements.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#425

Post by 3np »

zxcb1 wrote: post #239
m463 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no no no. this is bad advice. 1) "Some Samsung TVs already try and connect to open WiFi networks if you don't connect them yourself." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24629155 2) there is ethernet over hdmi - I would image this is another source of inadvertent connection. 3) samsung tvs require an ethernet cable to "update firmware" so HDMI works. 4) ACR - which will look at ALL the inputs. and wait for the next…

One needs to mentally prepare for the coming 5G era; ubiquitous tracking and data harvesting combined with artificial intelligence and social credit. Where is the opt out from this hellish corporate revolution?

This is the only reason why I'm concerned about an overly optimistic 5G rollout. It's frustrating that all the nutso conspiratists have made it practically impossible to problematize this without coming off as either uneducated or a lunatic.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#426

Post by bakuninsbart »

moksly wrote: post #322
kebman wrote: post #207

I don't have a TV, only a few monitors (it's very liberating, actually). So instead I'll talk about my microwave. Yes, unironically! :D It has two dials. OMG how do I survive with only two dials? How do I program it? Well, the answer is, unsurprisingly, that I don't program it. Instead I crank it to watever wattage I need (usually the top one), and the time I think it'll take until the food I becomes hot. Aaaand that…

My microwave has a wheel to turn the timer, a wheel to set the WATT, a stop button and a start button. If you press the start button it’ll automatically run for 30 seconds, if you press it again it’ll add another 30 seconds to the current run. It took me maybe 4 years of owning it before I learned of the start button feature. Not sure what the hell people are doing with microwaves that connect to the internet, but I…

I don't own a microwave, but find routers to be one of the most frustrating machines to deal with. All communication is done via different lights either on/off or blinking, and none of it makes any sense. How much is a freaking display these days?

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#427

Post by Lio »

shajznnckfke wrote: post #307
nitrogen wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see why people aren't rioting in the streets about this, apart from the fact that there are currently bigger issues already occupying rioters. It's seriously beyond the pale.

To play the part of the average consumer here... why should I care exactly? I know about the concept of TV ratings so some families are allowing a computer to keep track of what they watch. How does this hurt me? Maybe if I was using my TV as an output for my home surveillance system I would care. Otherwise it’s just displaying content featuring paid actors or other people who are already being watched by millions on…

Part of the distaste is the lack of control.

That a faceless, remote corporation can reach into your home and arbitrarily control a product you've purchased feels very invasive.

Companies like Samsung and LG have previously had cameras and microphones silently streaming unencrypted feeds. They've also been caught running network probes to search out, catalogue and report private media.

All that feels very creepy to some people such as myself.

You want to say no, don't do that ...but you can't.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#428

Post by radley »

conradfr wrote: post #272
ornornor wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung TVs are an extreme example though. They’re the most obnoxious and the most disrespectful of your privacy by implementing all these dark patterns. Not to mention their QLED bullshit, it’s just LED but it’s meant to make you think it’s OLED and pay extra. I despise Samsung and their junk.

It's sad because I have multiple (ageing) Samsung appliances (amongst them a dumb TV) and they're all great so Samsung would have naturally be a contender for my next TV.

Old Samsung HDTVs were awesome, but that's changed in the last few years. They added features like in-menu ads to the low end models that seem to be trickling up their top end as well.

I also have a buggy 1.5 year old Samsung stove that has to be reset when I lean a pot lid against the back It causes the touch panel to trigger a random button and lock up.

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#429

Post by matejn »

knaq wrote: post #394
garfieldnate wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're going off topic now, but why do all microwaves have knobs now? I hate them. I want a number pad like the microwaves had when I was growing up. I want to close the door, press the numbers that indicate the amount of time I want and hit "start". When you turn a knob, either you have no indication of the exact time, or there's a display that moves in increments that the computer thinks are good (usually 10s). I do…

I would be happy with a big red rocker switch. It should have labels "ON" and "OFF". A more daring design uses the door as a switch. Close the door, and the microwave runs. Open the door, and it stops. This is about as simple as it could be. User efficiency is maximized.

I have seen and used a close-door-to-start microwave. It was a regular microwave where the timer knob was broken. Every couple of weeks you would use pliers to turn the remaining spindle of the knob all the way to the right to reset the timer. :)

Re: What is the best dumb TV?

#430

Post by cm2187 »

alanbernstein wrote: post #422
cm2187 wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easier to clean than a number pad. I think knobs are great, you can rotate fast with very little effort. I think it should be a standard feature of computer keyboards.

Far from standard, but it's available, in case you're not aware: https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-rev-2-60-65-split-stagger...

You might as well buy something like the shuttle rather than a small knob stuck between two keys

https://www.contourdesign.com/product/shuttle/

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