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Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

blog.smartere.dk

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Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#191

Post by Melatonic »

ggus wrote: post #165
no_wizard wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a matter of time before tv manufacturers start requiring an app to sync with the TV to set it up. That would let them glean information about you every time you use said app. You’re still getting around this with a 3rd party device like an Apple TV for the most part but if it’s required to even turn it off or on it’ll be enough to sync any metadata that it holds

My LG does just that. The tv remote sensor stopped working (and broke again after servicing), so now the only way to use the TV is by the LG app on my phone.. which asks for permissions to Nearby Devices, Location, Camera, Microphone, Notifications, Phone, Music&Audio...

Lots of good generic remotes out there (still using a Logitech harmony personally)

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#193

Post by nosrepa »

mttjj wrote: post #85
1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #59

I found an unopened pack of 3.5" floppies the other day They must be _over_ 20 years old

Probably closer to 30 years. Were floppies still prominent in 2005-2006 (legitimate question)?

06 HS grad here, every student had a mandatory floppy disk to save files to all the way up to my graduation.

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#194

Post by al_borland »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #186
al_borland wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It plays inside the AppleTV app? I hooked Peacock to the Apple TV app, and while it shows my next playing episode, launching from the Apple TV app just launches the Peacock app, which feels rather pointless.

You have to subscribe with the Apple TV+ channel specifically for it to play in the Apple TV app (confusing, I know). Not all services offer a TV+ channel, unfortunately.

Hmm... I guess I'll check into that next time and pay more attention. I subscribed to Peacock+ through a bundle offer with Apple TV+, and went through Apple to trigger the purchase. It forced me over to Peacock to make an account there and other than billing it seemed totally separate.

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#195

Post by H3X_K1TT3N »

rubslopes wrote: post #170
tantalor wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My biggest gripe is how terribly slow it is to navigate UI on a TV. The latency between user input and the UI responding can be upwards of 10-20 seconds. Just incredibly user hostile.

People are replying that OP must own an old TV, but that's missing the point: with very old non-smart TVs, menu commands were always instantaneous!

Yeah, I don't understand why everyone is trying to invalidate their experience or suggest workarounds (implying that they are the problem); this isn't stackoverflow.

Every TV I have interacted with in recent years is slow and terrible, except for really old ones. The TVs are the problem, and we shouldn't be making excuses for that.

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#196

Post by brewdad »

al_borland wrote: post #132
brk wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like you have an overly shitty ‘smart’ TV. Plenty of external devices (I’m partial to AppleTV) have no significant lag. Or it could be you’re using some niche service that has its own issues.

I’m using an AppleTV HD with Peacock and it’s pretty bad. I wouldn’t consider NBC a niche service. After an episode ends, I need to wait for the new one to start to be sure it marks the last one as watched. When going back to the main screen, it can take upwards of 30 seconds, maybe more (it feels like an eternity), for the “watch next” to update. If I don’t wait for it to update, it will start playing an old episode…

It sounds like an older version of the app. I used to see all kinds of similar issues with Peacock on my Apple 4k device. NBC has put work in to make the app better over the years unlike say, Paramount+. I would check to see if you can manually update the app or try the 4k device and see if it works better. It could be the older chip and more limited memory of the HD device are hitting up against their limits too.

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#198

Post by Tanoc »

SoftTalker wrote: post #125
c22 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although the trope is hilarious I think most people just don't bother since it doesn't matter to them. I never had a problem setting the time on my VCR and using it to automatically record shows while I was at work.

Yes it was no more difficult than setting any other digital clock. Even today, my microwave, kitchen radio, and several other devices all read "12:00" because I just don't bother to reset them every time there is a power glitch.

It seems strange now how often the power goes out. I remember back in the '90s I could leave my PlayStation running for two weeks because I didn't have a memory card to save my progress in Syphon Filter or NASCAR Thunder '98. Nowadays I have to set up autosave on everything and make checkpoint safeguards or scheduled backups because the power flickers off and back on at least once a week. This, with much more power efficient devices than that old PlayStation and Panasonic CRT.

Re: Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids

#199

Post by bartread »

tantalor wrote: post #24
tete wrote: post #3

> Modern TVs are very poorly suited for kids. They require using complicated remotes or mobile phones, and navigating apps that continually try to lure you into watching something else than you intended to. I'd argue that's not too different for grown-ups. ;)

My biggest gripe is how terribly slow it is to navigate UI on a TV. The latency between user input and the UI responding can be upwards of 10-20 seconds. Just incredibly user hostile.

I don’t run into this because I never allow the TV to connect to the internet.

I basically use it as a dumb screen with a set of speakers and a bunch of devices connected to it: Apple TV, consoles, etc.

As such, when I do use the TV remote - if I need to manually change sources, adjust picture settings, or whatever - the TV’s UI remains responsive.

I have heard that some brands of TV will try to stealth connect to open hotspots to download updates and whathaveyou, but haven’t run into that issue with LG or, in more recent years, Hisense.

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