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My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

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Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#381

Post by scarface74 »

sowbug wrote: post #288
Topgamer7 wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the difference is that the chromecast would not function without 8.8.8.8. Thus requiring you use googles services to use a google product. That is not cool.

Isn't using a company's product exactly when you'd expect a dependency on that company's service?

Just a random aside. You couldn’t download third party apps on the 3rd generation AppleTV, but without jailbreaking, the community made a Plex app, merely by running a Python script and redirecting DNS to your computer that intercepted calls to the Apple Trailers app.

https://github.com/iBaa/PlexConnect I’m sure some inventive person could figure out a creative use for a ChromeCast.

But overall, I agree with you.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#382

Post by scarface74 »

__jal wrote: post #332
sowbug wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't using a company's product exactly when you'd expect a dependency on that company's service?

Personally, I expect devices that claim to function with TCP/IP, DNS, https, etc. actually function with them, and not with a tiny subset of their proprietary implementations. If Google wants to sell captive toys well, that's nothing I'd ever buy, but they're free to. But it needs to be clear that it is a proprietary widget, dependent on Google's services and incapable of operating in environments where those depende…

Were you really under any illusion that all set top boxes/dongles weren’t proprietary widgets?

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#383

Post by scarface74 »

Silhouette wrote: post #369
RickS wrote: post #212

More concerning to me was the fairly recent removal of non-phone-app setup. It used to be that a chromecast would display a 4 character code on screen, which could be used to activate it from the browser. Now, they require that it be managed with the google Home app, and have discontinued the method that allowed chromecast use without installing additional google software on your phone. This made for a really dishear…

As an extra treat, Google Home isn't compatible with some older devices that are still perfectly functional. We use a Gen 3 iPad (max iOS version = 9) to control a few bits and pieces, including being a handy way to cast online streaming services to the big screen. Until one day the Chromecast gets a bit confused, as they do from time to time... and the Chromecast app on the iPad tells us in nauseatingly cutesy fashi…

In the meantime, my first gen iPad from 2010 running iOS 5 can Airplay to my AppleTV 4K....

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#384

Post by scarface74 »

pixl97 wrote: post #265
eertami wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm missing the forest for the trees but... what possible reason would you have for taking a Chromecast to a coffee shop?

The problem here is you are falling in the same trap as the Google engineers here. Why would ______ want to do _______ with their ______ device? You can make a locked down device that only does a very limited subset of functions, but you really should make that known to the user before hand. "This device requires access to $X servers to function". If you have secret requirements that go far beyond user expectations,…

If you want a general purpose computer to serve as your set top box, buy a general purpose computer.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#385

Post by scarface74 »

unethical_ban wrote: post #189
eertami wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm missing the forest for the trees but... what possible reason would you have for taking a Chromecast to a coffee shop?

It was a stretch. I've taken Roku to a local bar to stream live events. The generic "take my device to a network I do not manage" isn't outrageous though.

Which is all well and good until you need to authenticate with a captive WiFi network....

For that I use this

https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WR810N-Wireless-Adapter-Re...

It lets me connect to one WiFi network and bridge and create a second private network. You can then connect and authenticate from another device and the Roku worked.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#386

Post by hrez »

metalliqaz wrote: post #169
alias_neo wrote: post #129

It's not new, and but limited to Chromecast Ultra, I detected this from several Android devices (phones) pre-Pie and configured my firewall to redirect those requests to my own DNS. Regardless of their reason, many of us don't want to use Google DNS and the just using their control over these devices to force people to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4. I haven't checked how Pie behaves yet but it provides an option in the UI to speci…

Google's business is built on web services, and we know for a fact that ISP occasionally try to inject bullshit into their customers browsing sessions via all kinds of dirty tricks. Their DNS is also designed to be faster than typical DNS. I wouldn't be surprised if Google sees this as a way to ensure the proper function of their devices.

It should obey DHCP or static dns settings like any normal network device. It's so typical of google's attitude of "know better" and imposing arbitrary rules of their own just because they can. This "proper function" actually breaks any function on firewalled network. So paint it as failed.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#387

Post by tomaskafka »

scrollaway wrote: post #14

I'm always shocked at how easy it is for people to fall into the "Google is evil!!1" trap on such trivial stuff (and funnily enough, much more serious privacy issues related to Google are ignored/downvoted). Hardcoded DNS servers are common. Extremely common in a bunch of IOT devices, given how broken some ISPs are. This is a non-story and the only reason it's being upvoted is because Google is doing it, and they als…

I always assumed the whole point of 8.8.8.8 is to spy on me. Why would they do it otherwise?

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#388

Post by josteink »

fixermark wrote: post #46
sofaofthedamned wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just Google - when you cast you handoff a URL to the CC to stream from - this could be from Netflix, or anywhere really. 8.8.8.8 as a brute-force backup I can understand, but by default it should be taking the network DHCP settings.

That default, sadly, would basically guarantee the thing doesn't work for all too many users. And as a consumer electronics product (especially in the sub-$50 price-range), the market-smart thing to do is configure the defaults to work in the saddle-point of worst-case and common scenario (i.e. badly-configured local router talking to a standards-hostile ISP's DHCP configurations).

> That default, sadly, would basically guarantee the thing doesn't work for all too many users.

Bold claim. Citation needed.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#389

Post by sundvor »

nirvdrum wrote: post #215
pexaizix wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't bother me because it's a Chromecast, an appliance I don't want or need. If I needed something similar, I could get it from other manufacturers.

FWIW, Chrome does this as well. Its DNS prefetch feature will ignore your local hosts file and configured DNS servers. It creates annoying problems if you have a VPN where some hosts resolve differently than they do publicly. Granted, in this case if you block Google's DNS servers from routing, Chrome will use your system's name resolution configuration.

Funny flashbacks to Google highjacking the .dev tld and forcing it to be https in Chrome.

Actually it was just annoying, not funny.

Re: My Chromecast Ultra would not start until I began answering 8.8.8.8

#390

Post by scbrg »

hannasanarion wrote: post #372
pixl97 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here is you are falling in the same trap as the Google engineers here. Why would ______ want to do _______ with their ______ device? You can make a locked down device that only does a very limited subset of functions, but you really should make that known to the user before hand. "This device requires access to $X servers to function". If you have secret requirements that go far beyond user expectations,…

The fact that we got six years into the chromecast world before anybody complained is a pretty good indicator that, no, in fact, most people who want to watch youtube on their TVs don't configure their firewalls to block 8.8.8.8.

Perhaps the hordes of previous complainers, unlike Paul Vixie, complained to the black hole that is Google support, so we never heard of it :)
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