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Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

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Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#461

Post by MandieD »

tharkun__ wrote: post #323
Sebb767 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> TV: just don't buy an actual TV. Buy a monitor and hook it up to a Linux box with something like Kodi. You can hook up your cable box if you have that or stream from Netflix and such. Sure, even Netflix makes it hard as you can't get 5.1 surround but I'll take that and 2.0 -> 5.1 upmix over buying a Smart TV any day! I've looked into this, but this option is really not great, either: - Large Monitors are unavailabl…

I looked into it too ;) - Large Monitors are unavailable or (if you use business monitors) a lot more expensive and usually don't have latest panel tech. Agree, monitors in regular TV sizes are way more expensive than the largest 'cheap' monitors. But I'd rather make a decision between paying $300 CAD for a 32" monitor that is 'large enough' but not huge or a ~43" monitor that is way larger, has 4k etc. and costs ~$1…

We paid 2000 EUR for a 55" HD (1K) Sony in 2010, and would happily go down a bit in size as it's now mounted over a piano that frankly sees a lot more use than the TV. I'm completely ok with paying 1000-1500 EUR to get a 40"-50" 4K set that we don't have to constantly give the side-eye once the current one gives up the ghost. We rarely watch anything, so it might be more of a question of whether this one will outlive 720p/1080p freeview or not.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#462

Post by asxd »

gorjusborg wrote: post #17

This type of 'update' is one reason I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices. If part of the product I've paid for is software, and the company can update it without customer consent at any time, then I can't rely on the product's features. Period. I experienced this myself on the PS4 version of Terraria. I bought a hard-copy of the game. I mastered the controls, and loved them. Terraria was updated one day…

I bought a sleep number bed, and now after like 2 years, suddenly one of the bedsides has decided to completely deflate around 5am every night, waking me up and forcing me to open up my phone and tell it to reinflate. I haven't contacted the company yet (out of laziness I guess), but I mean... it's a bed. A thing I lay on. Definitely turned me off to smart products, at least ones that worked perfectly fine as dumb devices.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#463

Post by asxd »

f1refly wrote: post #356
gorjusborg wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you are intending to, but that only further illustrates how broken (in the favor of corporations) the current legal environment is. You are right in that there probably is a gotcha, you agreed clause in the text that is displayed after I have purchased the item. I also think the idea that is legally binding a farce. Imagine how popular buying things would be if people actually had to read those agreements…

It has to be displayed before you buy the item, and it is. If you don't read the contracts you sign you only have yourself to blame. You also wouldn't go to a car dealership, skip the contract, sign it and expect good things to happen.

Oh wow, I hope you can appreciate what a perfect example that is of the adversarial environment consumers find themselves in.

"Read the contract because it is likely a bad idea and you shouldn't do it."

Granted, in the car dealership scenario you have the opportunity to negotiate. That is not the case here.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#464

Post by int_19h »

tharkun__ wrote: post #442
tharkun__ wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked into it too ;) - Large Monitors are unavailable or (if you use business monitors) a lot more expensive and usually don't have latest panel tech. Agree, monitors in regular TV sizes are way more expensive than the largest 'cheap' monitors. But I'd rather make a decision between paying $300 CAD for a 32" monitor that is 'large enough' but not huge or a ~43" monitor that is way larger, has 4k etc. and costs ~$1…

After a good nights sleep I think I want to revise this (can't edit). I think it's prudent not to even buy a Smart TV and use it in "dumb mode". If we do this, we are not voting with our wallet. I'm not sure how likely we would be to have a large enough effect numbers wise but one can try. If we don't try, we've already lost.

You're still voting with your wallet to the effect of the TV not being able to serve the ads that it otherwise would.

But anyway, ever since content consumption became prominent on mobile smart devices (smartphones, tablets), this battle is already lost - the TVs are merely playing catch-up with the rest of the industry.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#465

Post by int_19h »

Shamii wrote: post #413
weq wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

I'm a software engineer because I love technology. Your opinion is fine don't get me wrong but my 4k 55" OLED tv is really really impressive. It's a marvelous picture. My DSLR images look brilliant on it, games do as well, HDR is surprising ly nice as well. We watch most tv shows still on a 10 year old 720p beamer due to image size. 110" is still more immersive than 55". But I do expect being able to buy 110" 4k in a…

I'm into fractal videos (e.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cgp2WNNKmQ), and resolution makes a huge difference there. I got a 4K TV largely for this reason, and seriously considering 8K for the next one.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#466

Post by int_19h »

kroltan wrote: post #415
baq wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the problem is, non-smart-TVs are twice as expensive. you can buy a smart tv and never connect it to the internet, though.

Smart TVs are equally expensive, you just pay with your sanity and data instead of bucks.

Not if you only use them as a dumb terminal.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#467

Post by int_19h »

flerchin wrote: post #105
lupire wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overturned on appeal and then settled for $65/user.

I got a check for $3.02.

I suspect that in terms of actual value lost and never properly compensated, this kind of thing is second-largest source of property theft in our economy, right after all the unpaid wages.

Just serves to remind that whenever we talk of governments protecting property rights, it's always worth clarifying whose rights they are actually protecting, and who is SOL.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#468

Post by int_19h »

omnimus wrote: post #425
gorjusborg wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trying to pick on Terraria, but I think it's a great example for the reasons you are bringing up. Even with the 'value add' of the update, I no longer play the game. Why? Because I invested in learning and mastering the game as it was when I bought it. The forced update removed all value for me , and I'm the one who made the decision to buy it. If the product is changed significantly after purchase without my…

I think it's how it's always been with software. It's ephemeral. When the devs have to keep up with the system updates etc. there is expectation that they keep working on software. I am sure they would love to just push something that would work forever. So much software that i bought stopped working. Even when you have "lifetime" license - eventually world moves on and you are without hardware to run the software. I…

I would absolutely love to be able to push out software that just "works forever". And this is basically impossible on mobile by design these days.

Hardware evolution isn't a big deal, actually, so long as you can emulate the old on the new. For example, all the old DOS games can still be made to work thanks to DOSBox and PCem. In principle, the same applies to software, except that it evolves too fast for such emulation layers to keep up.

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#469

Post by int_19h »

fragmede wrote: post #160
mastazi wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I tend to stay away from so-called 'smart' devices I tried several alternatives in terms of smart TV (Apple TV, Google/Android TV, Fire TV), and I could not find any platform that let me use all of the apps that I needed without resorting to casting from my phone. And in some cases there was a long process to follow in order to get the device to do what I needed[1], which involved activating developer mode, sideloa…

> without resorting to casting from my phone I am curious, why is that undesirable for you? I'm assuming there's something more than lack of individual app support for casting.

Not OP, but speaking for myself, one of the biggest annoyances is that both Google and Apple actively resist the actual standard that's already there and widely supported by playback devices (Miracast), and instead push for their own proprietary walled garden solutions (Chromecast, AirPlay).

Google in particular is the worst offender here because they actually had Miracast in Android all the way up to Nexus 4 - and then deliberately removed it! Other vendors of Android devices generally reinstate it in their distros, although I do wonder how long that is going to last (probably right until Google makes not supporting it a condition of getting Google Play certified).

Re: Locked out of 'God Mode', runners are hacking their treadmills

#470

Post by waffle_maniac »

MiddleEndian wrote: post #343
waffle_maniac wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Printer head cleaning can burn through quite a bit of ink if the printer hasn’t been used in a while. And sometimes my parents go long stretches without using the printer.

The real question is, do you (or your family members) really need a home printer at all? I just go to a print shop when I need to print something out a few times a year.

We print a lot of Amazon return forms, church newsletter crap, and live in a rural area. Although frankly, I would do anything to not add another item to my errand list when I'm in town.
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