The simplest and most productive solution is to throw away your TV as it serves no good purpose
Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
301–310 of 507 posts
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
Except no ad-free service remains ad-free forever. Sooner or later, subscriber growth slows down, and the standard playbook to continue to grow revenue is: (a) introduce new products that require additional subscriptions (but eventually the company runs out of new products to introduce), (b) raise subscription fees a tiny little bit every year (but there's a limit to how much any company can do that without angering…
> Except no ad-free service remains ad-free forever. None of the examples you gave (toasters, windows, paint, and shower-heads) are services. I used YouTube (a service) as an example, because we're not in a world where products are overrun with ads the way services are, but my point was that even the service market has started to offer alternatives to ads. The idea that the market will bear every product getting serv…
YouTube has tons of product placement withim videos themself so ad-free service you pais dor barely remove half od the ads.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#303<300 reviews out of 50+ million downloads. Not sure the big deal, people can just use other launchers and the ads are relevant. Chromecast with GTV has had this for a while and people like it because they are relevant.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#304Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wouldn't that mean you had an insecure device?
The big issue with major OS updates for me is that the security updates are bundled with the feature updates. That's why updating Android on my old phone stopped being feasable, when the increased performance requirements caused it to remain persistently hot and unresponsive. Not just the security updates, but also things like APIs that prevent some applications from being compatible. Still, I have to wonder how much…
New in iOS 14/15:
> Software Updates
> iOS now offers a choice between two software update versions in the Settings app. You can update to the latest version of iOS 15 as soon as it’s released for the latest features and most complete set of security updates. Or continue on iOS 14 and still get important security updates until you’re ready to upgrade to the next major version.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#305I 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…
At first, I thought nVidia had done this, and I was cursing their name. After some searching, I discovered this is actually the stock launcher from Google instead. nVidia should absolutely get ahead of this to preserve their own reputation.
You mean, they should put in their own adds as well ? ;-)
(I mean, their reputation in some circless is AFAIK quite bad - 500+ MB drivers requiring registration on windows, lack of cooperation on Linux drivers, nerfing of some of their GPUs for shady reasons, attempts to buy ARM, etc.)
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Stealing bread to feed your family when the alternative is starving is not the same as watching Game of Thrones.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#307I 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…
Uninstalling didn't seem to work for me after reboot. If that doesn't work for you, try disabling it:
1. Install your new launcher through play store. (I used the Basic Launcher as well).
2. Settings -> Device Preferences -> About. Scroll to "Build" and click on it until it pops up that you are a developer (it will give you a countdown)
3. Settings -> Device Preferences -> Developer options (this was just unlocked in step 2) -> Network debugging (this will let you use adb)
4. Install adb (platform tools) on your computer.
5. adb connect
6. adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.tvlauncher
7. adb shell reboot
Should find yourself in the launcher you installed Note, I also stopped the google launcher (cleared data/reset defaults)/tested the new launcher in the middle. So if these steps don't seem to work, before doing step 5 try doing those and then retry.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#308I have a Shield TV and I really despise this change. I bought a device that did NOT show ads on the home screen, now it does. How is that not... it just should NOT be allowed. Show me ads in YouTube, show me ads in whatever other app, but not my home screen. There's a difference. The home screen is MINE, not Google's.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#309A bit more general and off topic, I'm recently growing tired of updates in general; both on my phone and on my desktop.
Has anyone been able to create a productive and safe environment where updates don't happen that often or don't affect their UX? I'd be interested to hear about such experiences.
Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen
#310Seems like a pretty strong case for a Pihole setup.
Short of network level fixes or loader swapping, is the best solution a dumb (disconnected TV) and a STB like AppleTV or Roku?