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A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

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Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#21
post #14
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell, ublock origin still works without a hitch, so just hook up a laptop/ tower to the TV and run YT in a browser?

When casting to the TV you get ads, even though you don't in the browser! I just tried it, since I had the same idea.

Plug your laptop directly in via HDMI/DP.

Buy an air mouse/keyboard to control it from your couch.

Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Keyboard-W1-Multifunctional-...

The flexible sovereign combo of a general purpose computer and a user agent.

I use a forever-docked ThinkPad x230 under my TV, which can do 1080p and 802.11n (5GHz).

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#22

Media embedded advertising has already been a thing for years, but companies hate leaving money on the table so they cannot resist the temptation of showing more ads. I wonder why it is that Steam hasn't had any issues remaining such a successful video game platform, while other forms of media have struggled to keep up. You're competing with piracy, but you throw ads in my face. I can download any show or movie I wan…

> The age of mindless consumption is nearing an end

I think the only thing that could do that is a degree of general poverty so great that mindless consumption immediately impacts survival. And even then some people would choose intoxicants over food and shelter.

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#23
post #14
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell, ublock origin still works without a hitch, so just hook up a laptop/ tower to the TV and run YT in a browser?

When casting to the TV you get ads, even though you don't in the browser! I just tried it, since I had the same idea.

Perhaps too inconvenient for some, but use an hdmi cable for a direct hookup instead of (I'm assuming) a chromecast. Maybe I'm just old fashioned at this point, but my "TV" is just used as a monitor to a dedicated media tower running windows.

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I knew this day would come and have been preparing. Every company I thought was trustworthy has proven me wrong. So now I’ve decided to provide my own services. I have a NAS and have digitized my movie and music collection and can stream it to any TV in my house. Netflix, Disney, etc can go pound sand. It has to be this way, as long as advertising remains legal, life will slowly approach a Black Mirror episode where…

I could say a bit about well paid engineers who don't pay for the content they consume - it's something I've observed everywhere I go, and I don't think it's one of our more attractive qualities (I'm in there too). I also agree that advertising is an insidious force that corrupts nearly everything it touches. The funny part to me is that my parents do a fire safety puppet show for children and can keep them enrapture…

It isn't the over engineering that's the problem*. It's that if you're spending $20m it needs to appeal to everyone, not offend anyone, and you end up with blandness that doesn't say anything to anyone.

That kind of budget suggests lots of cgi which is its own problem, but that's a different rant.

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#25
post #14
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell, ublock origin still works without a hitch, so just hook up a laptop/ tower to the TV and run YT in a browser?

When casting to the TV you get ads, even though you don't in the browser! I just tried it, since I had the same idea.

[deleted]

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#26
post #14
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell, ublock origin still works without a hitch, so just hook up a laptop/ tower to the TV and run YT in a browser?

When casting to the TV you get ads, even though you don't in the browser! I just tried it, since I had the same idea.

A chromecast, from my understanding, is just a web browser. Your device pushes a URL to the cast and the cast loads the web page.

It's not surprising you can't cast without ads - adblock would have to be installed on the chromecast not the device doing the "casting."

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#27
post #21
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When casting to the TV you get ads, even though you don't in the browser! I just tried it, since I had the same idea.

Plug your laptop directly in via HDMI/DP. Buy an air mouse/keyboard to control it from your couch. Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Keyboard-W1-Multifunctional-... The flexible sovereign combo of a general purpose computer and a user agent. I use a forever-docked ThinkPad x230 under my TV, which can do 1080p and 802.11n (5GHz).

I second the wireless mouse/ keyboard and will add that I bought a trackball mouse just for this, and it's a wonderful fit. No worrying about a proper surface for moving a mouse around.

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#28

Media embedded advertising has already been a thing for years, but companies hate leaving money on the table so they cannot resist the temptation of showing more ads. I wonder why it is that Steam hasn't had any issues remaining such a successful video game platform, while other forms of media have struggled to keep up. You're competing with piracy, but you throw ads in my face. I can download any show or movie I wan…

> “ I can download any show or movie I want and have it playing in minutes without having to deal with multi platform bullshit.”

Is this as true as it once was? It seems most of the old trackers are offline or dead now. I’d guess because of the success of streaming services finally meeting the market demand. It’s also possible I’m just old and out of the loop now.

Re: A golden age of consumer convenience is passing

#30

Media embedded advertising has already been a thing for years, but companies hate leaving money on the table so they cannot resist the temptation of showing more ads. I wonder why it is that Steam hasn't had any issues remaining such a successful video game platform, while other forms of media have struggled to keep up. You're competing with piracy, but you throw ads in my face. I can download any show or movie I wan…

> “ I can download any show or movie I want and have it playing in minutes without having to deal with multi platform bullshit.” Is this as true as it once was? It seems most of the old trackers are offline or dead now. I’d guess because of the success of streaming services finally meeting the market demand. It’s also possible I’m just old and out of the loop now.

Google and bing filter out the results you want. Other search engines work fine.
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