Brave browser FTW.
These days I can't even tell if advertisers are actually trying to sell stuff, or if they have some even-more-ulterior motive like stealing your computer cycles to mine some alt-coin.
I've been using Linux OS's for years and there's no going back. I did make the mistake of buying a Samsung phone a while ago, which flat-out refused to connect via USB due to some driver issue that they'll never-fix. Big disappointment. Nice hardware, but try getting any support outside of their walled garden and it's like they've paid-off all the search engines to severely demote any non-curated Samsung content from non-Samsung sites. I should've learned my lesson when we could no-longer refill the Samsung branded printer because the cartridges were geographically locked. THAT'S NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOUR! What kind of sick ****** company owner does petty stuff like that, which provides no long-term benefit anyway? They may have made a one-off profit by forcing people to buy new printers when they move, but the bitter taste in the mouth lasts a lot longer than the printers do.
All the biggest brand names seem similar in their bullying tactics: locking customers in, blocking competition, sabotaging their own products (that we pay for!) to limit the lifespan or prevent repairs. It's things like that have me wondering: hey, maybe we'd be better off under a horrid communist regime after all? Who cares if everything comes packaged in brown paper bags? "Marketing" and "sales" seems to be approximately HALF of the total price of each and every product -- an absolutely colossal waste of resources.
These days I can't even tell if advertisers are actually trying to sell stuff, or if they have some even-more-ulterior motive like stealing your computer cycles to mine some alt-coin.
I've been using Linux OS's for years and there's no going back. I did make the mistake of buying a Samsung phone a while ago, which flat-out refused to connect via USB due to some driver issue that they'll never-fix. Big disappointment. Nice hardware, but try getting any support outside of their walled garden and it's like they've paid-off all the search engines to severely demote any non-curated Samsung content from non-Samsung sites. I should've learned my lesson when we could no-longer refill the Samsung branded printer because the cartridges were geographically locked. THAT'S NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOUR! What kind of sick ****** company owner does petty stuff like that, which provides no long-term benefit anyway? They may have made a one-off profit by forcing people to buy new printers when they move, but the bitter taste in the mouth lasts a lot longer than the printers do.
All the biggest brand names seem similar in their bullying tactics: locking customers in, blocking competition, sabotaging their own products (that we pay for!) to limit the lifespan or prevent repairs. It's things like that have me wondering: hey, maybe we'd be better off under a horrid communist regime after all? Who cares if everything comes packaged in brown paper bags? "Marketing" and "sales" seems to be approximately HALF of the total price of each and every product -- an absolutely colossal waste of resources.
There's a tremendous amount of junk in the world. Amongst all the junk, a few gems. In my own printer struggles, lasting at least a decade, I've finally landed on what seems to be a decent, stable non-BS unit. Brother laser. It prints, period. An on/off button. Even works connected to the USB port on my Netgear router, so all the PCs in the house can print directly to it. No extra charge for that! No bloatware hassle; just_a_simple_driver install. It's like being in Heaven, comparatively. A sewing machine company.
I paid $25 for it off Craig's list - still running on the original toner. I saw a 2nd similar looking unit for $9.99 at Value Village; manual, install CD taped to it - into the cart it went immediately without a second thought. Edit: I may have plugged it in, to see if the lights came on.
Anything electrical can fail at sometime and it's good to have a spare. I'd absolutely dread having to buy anything printer wise retail, if one was needed in a pinch. Another platform for future monetization; any which way they can. No thanks, not while I'm still driving.
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Here we get recycled / cloned / re-chipped laser cartridges, 5 US, refill is 2.50 US.
Drums, blades, all can be replaced.
HP and Canon are popular, Brother is good, according to users, not so much sales wise.
Samsung has weird issues, will not accept odd paper sizes, and they gave you a 30% size cartridge in the new machine, so when it ran out of toner, you had to buy a new cartridge with a full load of toner.
So it sells only in places like banks, on a service + consumables contract, with on site replacement and service...if it has an issue, the service company will give you a spare and take it away, bringing it back after it is fixed.
Now ink tank units are replacing the laser printers, a color tank unit is slightly more expensive than a single color laser, and safer, no micro particles of toner flying around a closed space, harmful in the long term.
Top up is easy, no idea of print head life, or clogging issues.
I have no ties to any sellers above...
Drums, blades, all can be replaced.
HP and Canon are popular, Brother is good, according to users, not so much sales wise.
Samsung has weird issues, will not accept odd paper sizes, and they gave you a 30% size cartridge in the new machine, so when it ran out of toner, you had to buy a new cartridge with a full load of toner.
So it sells only in places like banks, on a service + consumables contract, with on site replacement and service...if it has an issue, the service company will give you a spare and take it away, bringing it back after it is fixed.
Now ink tank units are replacing the laser printers, a color tank unit is slightly more expensive than a single color laser, and safer, no micro particles of toner flying around a closed space, harmful in the long term.
Top up is easy, no idea of print head life, or clogging issues.
I have no ties to any sellers above...
In MS's defense, I learned recently that you can crop a video in...wait for it... PowerPoint! Another "Dreadful Download" of someone's free/share/try-ware avoided, just to be able to do one stupid thing, saving me having to redo the video...
And these "on-line" solutions where you upload your video, they crop it (or whatever) then you download the modified version. I wonder what they do with all the videos people upload? Delete them? Sure. They probably have that data posession monetized somehow to even offer the service.
And these "on-line" solutions where you upload your video, they crop it (or whatever) then you download the modified version. I wonder what they do with all the videos people upload? Delete them? Sure. They probably have that data posession monetized somehow to even offer the service.
They also keep playing the same ad over and over again.
If I wasnt interested first time I wont be interested the 10th time.
After a while you tend to not look at them anymore so they fruitless to advertisers.
One thing about digital products: the manufactures ultimately controls them because you don't really own them.
I had a cell phone for years. It did everything I needed, including browsing the web and streaming music to bluetooth. They bugged me for years to get a new phone. All their new phones were Iphones. I loathe all things Apple. I explained that I'm visually impaired, quite satisfied with my phone thank you, I tried an Iphone (I actually bought one) and found it completely unusable. The carrier's response? After accepting payment for another month's service, they bricked my phone. Yes, they had the audacity to do that, even after I bought an Iphone (just to shut them up) they bricked my phone. What kind of low life scumbag would do that to a visually impaired person?
So what is going to stop them from bricking your car? Your computer? My computer was built in 2017 and I'm waiting for the day they brick it, because it's time I ponied up for a new one.
This new generation of business freaks have zero respect for ownership. As far as they're concerned, they still own your phone/car/computer/printer long after you've paid for it.
The analog electronics I own can never be bricked by outside eggheads. To me that's a huge value. Old fashioned maybe, but I paid for it and I own it.
I had a cell phone for years. It did everything I needed, including browsing the web and streaming music to bluetooth. They bugged me for years to get a new phone. All their new phones were Iphones. I loathe all things Apple. I explained that I'm visually impaired, quite satisfied with my phone thank you, I tried an Iphone (I actually bought one) and found it completely unusable. The carrier's response? After accepting payment for another month's service, they bricked my phone. Yes, they had the audacity to do that, even after I bought an Iphone (just to shut them up) they bricked my phone. What kind of low life scumbag would do that to a visually impaired person?
So what is going to stop them from bricking your car? Your computer? My computer was built in 2017 and I'm waiting for the day they brick it, because it's time I ponied up for a new one.
This new generation of business freaks have zero respect for ownership. As far as they're concerned, they still own your phone/car/computer/printer long after you've paid for it.
The analog electronics I own can never be bricked by outside eggheads. To me that's a huge value. Old fashioned maybe, but I paid for it and I own it.
Indeed.
Every time the TV is on (only when people visit does it ever get turned on) I hear the same ads over and over and over. I was shopping for furniture recently and there's a company that bombards the airwaves with ads for their furniture store. So I'm not stupid; why in the world would I even consider shopping at a business that spends millions and millions of dollars on advertising? I'm not paying for that mess! You have to be a moron to shop there.
Indeed it's a waste of resources. There's real work that need doing. And people spend their whole career lying through their teeth instead of doing something productive. Because that's what marketing is - lying, and insulting the customer's intelligence.
They're a different bunch, from my experience, which I remember for some reason. Went to a party the marketing group was having for the new product - a uVAX. (I liked this girl who worked in the group) It was at one of their homes. Ended up slipping out the back door, after realizing I wasnt going to connect with any of these people, on any level. A bonafide fish out of water experience!
Yeah, different strokes for sure.
I have to wonder how people can look at advertising and then be motivated to actually go out and buy that crap. It motivates me to take a baseball bat to the television. It's non stop garbage from the squawk box. I literally have one for other people when they visit. I listen to 15 minutes of news and weather in the morning, and then it gets turned off.
Maybe I'm the one that's not normal. The ads seem unbelievably stupid, like they have to be kidding. But I'm not going to change now.
I have to wonder how people can look at advertising and then be motivated to actually go out and buy that crap. It motivates me to take a baseball bat to the television. It's non stop garbage from the squawk box. I literally have one for other people when they visit. I listen to 15 minutes of news and weather in the morning, and then it gets turned off.
Maybe I'm the one that's not normal. The ads seem unbelievably stupid, like they have to be kidding. But I'm not going to change now.
It's...not you. A few years ago, I sublet from a guy who was a normal Xfinity consumer. I hadnt watched TV for maybe a decade prior. I tried to watch a couple of things on his EC, walking dead or something. Every 10 minutes, you get a spurt of show, then a string of commercials. I thought to myself; you've got to be kidding me - I'd rather not watch at all than be subjected to that. This is what it's become? Seems they've turned up the commercial rate to the maximum possible anyone can stand; taken it right to the edge of crazy making. Of course, you dont even get a variety of commercials, it's the same one or string 10 minutes later.
We have cable where I live now. No TV service. Anything I watch these days is web based. I understand Youtube wants to - or has already - Xfinity their platform regarding advertisement rate, figuring if most Xfinity customers can stand it, why are we losing revenue?
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1 - make your own digital products.
2 - yes , new cars are just phones on wheels. PC ?? They might brick your OS (if it was a hacked copy). Possibly , the hardware BIOS could have a forced
update mechanism , but that would be to great a security risk. 2013+ motherboards start to have UEFI ,... I do see on my son's 2021 board the ability to
schedule a bios update from the Intel hardware (without an OS) - over the Intel network part of the chipset. My Xeon (2017) can't do this without software.
3 - yes "SCAMERICA" !!
4 - That is ... unless it is OEM with a digital front end.
As far as Media ... like the walking dead or any garbage on any streaming service , I just download the whole series through my VPN and watch it
commercial free. Audio is better , video is better. I can even playlist a whole season of something on VLC. Since most of these "seasons" are compressed
MP4 with surround , I just leave them on my HDD.
commercial free. Audio is better , video is better. I can even playlist a whole season of something on VLC. Since most of these "seasons" are compressed
MP4 with surround , I just leave them on my HDD.
Digital aficionado here but to my frustration I can only admit that you are mostly* right. After all the positive developments and possibilities it now seems to become normal to just stop the service of digital equipment often because of "security updates". Even an OS update of the device controlling the digital gear may be enough to end the useful life of devices. Customers seem to accept that and then buy stuff by the same brand which is not voting with feet but endorsing these practices.
*My Elac DS-S101-G seems to be the exception with its unique non subscription model Roon Essentials license but this year will be the 7th year after its introduction so its days are counted I think (I sure hope it won't be like that).
A few weeks ago it was in the news that recent expensive Mercedes and BMW cars have options you can only use when you pay for them on monthly basis.... So the seat heating only works when you pay a monthly fee. Horror not because of the fee only but also because of higher running costs of stuff one owns. BMW charges a minimum price of 19 Euro per month for seat heating. 228 Euro a year for a hardware function that was in the car when it left the factory. I will never accept this from any brand. Mercedes charges 70 Euro on annual basis for the use of (marketing term alarm) adaptive high beam assist. That is a function of the lights
Just suppose you buy a pair of trousers and have to pay a monthly fee to be able to use the zipper. A lawn mower that can only be adjusted in height when you pay a monthly fee etc.Smart seems to become an item for the dumb.
https://www.bmw.nl/nl/shop/ls/dp/Seat_Heating_SFA_nl
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This is like anything digital .... you pay for the IP.
An analogy to a modern PC - Many hardware pieces have abilities that only certain software can make use of. Mercedes and BMW seat "option" is premium
access to certain hardware. Same with phones , you need to pay for the service to use the 4/5G Tx/Rx. Car = "phone on wheels".
An analogy to a modern PC - Many hardware pieces have abilities that only certain software can make use of. Mercedes and BMW seat "option" is premium
access to certain hardware. Same with phones , you need to pay for the service to use the 4/5G Tx/Rx. Car = "phone on wheels".
I got this internet connected garage door opener. Open your garage door from your cellphone. See if its currently opened or closed. Close it automatically after a certain time of night, in case you forget (the only useful service). When I realized I needed an account, with yet another user name / password combo, I bowed out of considering the whole idea.
Even after getting it new, unused from a free pile at a garage sale - couldnt imagine paying money for it, then finding out that it doesnt just work, you need to sign up, register yourself with somebody yet again. They have the gall to say "free in-garage activation!". Yeah, thanks for extending yourself for that. I wonder what the value of the data they'll sell is...
Well, forget it. If it doesnt just work as nobody else's business, I think I'll simply have to handle my own garage door opening and closing - the old fashion way.
Even after getting it new, unused from a free pile at a garage sale - couldnt imagine paying money for it, then finding out that it doesnt just work, you need to sign up, register yourself with somebody yet again. They have the gall to say "free in-garage activation!". Yeah, thanks for extending yourself for that. I wonder what the value of the data they'll sell is...
Well, forget it. If it doesnt just work as nobody else's business, I think I'll simply have to handle my own garage door opening and closing - the old fashion way.
Yup. Easy enough to make your own stuff as well.
I hate everything that's "As A Service" -- SAAS and all those others.. Jut a way to milk people of money for nothing by AAS holes...
I won't tough them - there's usually non AAS alternatives or a hack....
Making people pay for headlights or seat heating sounds like a boon to your competitors though!
I hate everything that's "As A Service" -- SAAS and all those others.. Jut a way to milk people of money for nothing by AAS holes...
I won't tough them - there's usually non AAS alternatives or a hack....
Making people pay for headlights or seat heating sounds like a boon to your competitors though!
I had an evil thought about web tracking a while ago. Sales stuff used to involve them storing data on a server some where. A cookie might just be a key to access a data base some where or the other. Later they stored more and more on people's machines. They don't pay any rent for the use of the space. As I paid for the space surely they should.
I did talk to a retailer briefly about google analytics once. He saw as it being very useful. It tells him about people who are browsing his website. Also doing that plants info on my machine. Specialist retailer so any other similar will know I am looking around for what ever. I asked myself what does that achieve? Do they order more of what ever the item was - don't think so Does it start a price ware - no. A google search sometimes brings up a lead to the best price. Searches may miss the cheapest. Might be on Amazon or Ebay. Rarer and rarer but sometime they are the cheapest sources. Are these retailers just paying out for a must have rather than something that is really useful?
There is money in clicks and visits to web sites. Might only be some fraction of a penny etc but get lots and the amount builds up. I know some one that did run a review site that more than paid for the cost of running it. Suppose this is good as it allows them to exist.
Surprisingly high incomes can be earned on youtube. Really high. It was possible to view Patreon earnings. Not sure if people can now. Net result in my view is that these people are now more interested in the money rolling in than the validity of the info they provide.
I did talk to a retailer briefly about google analytics once. He saw as it being very useful. It tells him about people who are browsing his website. Also doing that plants info on my machine. Specialist retailer so any other similar will know I am looking around for what ever. I asked myself what does that achieve? Do they order more of what ever the item was - don't think so Does it start a price ware - no. A google search sometimes brings up a lead to the best price. Searches may miss the cheapest. Might be on Amazon or Ebay. Rarer and rarer but sometime they are the cheapest sources. Are these retailers just paying out for a must have rather than something that is really useful?
There is money in clicks and visits to web sites. Might only be some fraction of a penny etc but get lots and the amount builds up. I know some one that did run a review site that more than paid for the cost of running it. Suppose this is good as it allows them to exist.
Surprisingly high incomes can be earned on youtube. Really high. It was possible to view Patreon earnings. Not sure if people can now. Net result in my view is that these people are now more interested in the money rolling in than the validity of the info they provide.