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Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

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Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#291
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t believe there is any coherent moral argument against piracy in the face of such hostile tactics from media companies.

Of course there is. Pirating streaming media isn’t like stealing bread to feed your starving family, it’s entirely optional. If you don’t agree with the terms of service (i.e. DRM) then don’t use the service. Deciding on your own terms of service is just entitlement. I personally don’t care either way but you can’t say there is no argument against it.

Stealing bread actually deprives someone else of a scarce resource, but the marginal cost of making a digital copy of a TV show is ~zero. So you’re right - it is quite different. Stealing bread is much worse than copying a digital file.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#292

I ran into this last week on my nvidia shield. Here's a summary of the workaround I found (apologies for not having the specific package names offhand): 1. Install a new launcher from play store (I found one called "Basic Launcher" that matches the aesthetics of the default one). This doesn't solve the problem though, because Google disabled changing the default launcher for some user hostile reason, until you delete…

Do you know of any Android TV / smart tv box which has a USB port? I am currently building a magic mirror like smart map. Basically, the goal is to have a big touchscreen with Google maps or Google earth running. For touch screen support I bought a cheap USB infrared frame. I have tested it with the USB C port of my Android phone and it works well, but I have sadly not found any Android TV box which has an USB port.

I used to put Xibo on crappy boxes like this one here for work. They never had the same internals, even if I used the same supplier. They usually thought they were a phone when you dug into their software.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/electronics-photogra...

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#293
post #266
post #257

It's astonishing to me that anyone who bought an Android or Google-centric TV product of any kind would expect anything other than that. They exist to track you and sell you ads. Period, paragraph. This is their business model. Accept it, or buy Apple TV plus a dumb TV (or a stupid "smart" TV with all network features permanently disabled). Those are the only options.

Sharing what I learned trying to find a dumb TV: It appears that the two main options for 4K, non-networked TVs are 'business-grade' panels (e.g. [0]) and Sceptre[1], which are always out of stock. I haven't bought either yet (my dumb 1080p panel was working just fine until this week,) but I am planning on upgrading soon. [0]: https://www.sharpnecdisplays.us/products/displays [1]: https://www.sceptre.com/

There have been prior threads on HN about dumb tvs with several options. The LG "Commercial Lite" (for Business) series has some non-smart options, at least in Canada. It was just a few years ago I got my 55" 4k LG dumb tv for $1000 CAD and it's great. Though the market may have changed somewhat. Good luck

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#294

Side note: Not really ads, but kinda ads. I wish Apple TV would let me hide shows they are pushing.

Kinda related, but I feel similarly about Apple News+. It's a handy interface for an overview of the news, but they push subscription options. I want to be able to configure it to just not show me the pay-even-more options. And to exclude certain news outlets altogether. At best you can choose to hide a news provider, but they don't really go away -- it just shows you a black box where the story would be, along with…

I think Apple News is the only Apple made app that shows inline interest based adds.

Annoyingly they still show them even if you pay for the News+ subscription.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#295

Time for Apple to start taking tvOS seriously. There is a lot of advertising revenue for Apple to capture that doesn’t involve plastering ads everywhere. Just think about live sports intermissins.

Apple is just another domineering company that takes our computing rights away. I don't want them at the helm, either.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#296
This is just a gentle reminder that as long as you’re happy to buy into walled gardens, the devices you buy are not truly yours.

You’re merely in possession of them, with others allowed to set the rules.

As an AppleTV user I could be totally smug about this, but there’s nothing stopping Apple from making a similar move if they wanted to, and I wouldn’t have jack shit to say about it.

I’ve tried more open options and they all suck, but I hope one day there can come an open appliance-platform which at least is usable and supports all the latest standards. Then I might be willing to give it a try.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#297

The one thing I like about Google's now many-years obsolete "do no evil" slogan is that it shows how it is impossible for companies to not eventually become "evil" once that's their only open easy revenue stream. Without debating what "evil" really means in this context, in the early days of a company there are plenty of ways to grow without being actively user hostile. Once those avenues are thoroughly maxed out, an…

> it is impossible for companies to not eventually become "evil" once that's their only open easy revenue stream.

Google doesn’t lack revenue streams, it just wants to maximise all of them ans make new ones. It’s the constant desire for growth and the mantra that ‘standing still is going baxkwards’ that I find repulsive.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#298
post #49

The new Apple TV 4K is a absolutely better than any of the high end android tv devices. I’ve been through them all (at considerable expense) and am now totally happy on the new apple tv

I tried moving my Apple TV to another room and relying upon "Chromecast with Google TV" on the main set. Not only is the device laggy, but everything just looks worse. It claims to support HDR, 4:2:2, etc, but the end result is that I immediately found the experience far inferior.

Add that the AppleTV has long had sound synchronization, now it has automatic color correction as well.

It's a very nice device. The remote was absolutely trash before -- good god I hate that remote -- but the new one looks significantly improved. And you can connect a controller to it and play a pretty wide variety of fairly decent games if you want, which is an experience that I imagine will improve over time.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#299

The one thing I like about Google's now many-years obsolete "do no evil" slogan is that it shows how it is impossible for companies to not eventually become "evil" once that's their only open easy revenue stream. Without debating what "evil" really means in this context, in the early days of a company there are plenty of ways to grow without being actively user hostile. Once those avenues are thoroughly maxed out, an…

> Once those avenues are thoroughly maxed out, any company that is basically only measured by growth […] will have to slide more and more into things that only boost revenue to the detriment of users.

In this case, the law or regulation is supposed to step in. The problem is that the law pretty much stopped advancing when it comes to the digital world, at least when it benefits the consumer.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#300
post #67

Where does the "ad invasion" end? Smart toasters that force you to watch ads before getting your toast in the morning? Smart windows that display ads that block your view of your backyard? Smart paints that display ads on your bedroom walls? Smart shower-heads that play jingles as you wash yourself? Smart brain implants that directly induce subconscious desire to buy certain products and services? Is there some kind…

> Smart toasters that force you to watch ads before getting your toast in the morning?

Adverts scorched into your toast. I sort of want this.

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