There are ads on Youtube other than the paid promotions which are part of the video?
Guess my adblocker (Ghostery, it was free) still works. That said sometimes I have to click 'play' twice but I haven't seen an ad for over 10 years.
I did not know that you can buy a YT subscription.
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 lightsJust 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
What kind of idiotic customer would even agree to such piracy? I don't care if it cost a dollar a year; I wouldn't agree to it based on principle alone.
The last time I shopped for a car was about three years ago. I was absolutely shocked at how smarmy and arrogant the sales person was. He tried to tell me, a person over three times his age, that price was NEVER negotiable. He called me a liar in so many words. What a sanctimonious prick! I've probably bought more cars than he's sold, the cocky bastard.
I never did buy a vehicle. I got my buddy over here and I spent a couple thousand dollars fixing up my 12 year old car. That was a good call because it still runs like new, even though I can't drive it any more.
It's a new breed out there. Lie to your face, zero respect for elders, and clueless.
1- I do design and build electronic stuff. I have digital control and protection circuits too, but they're TTL and not software based, so they'll work "forever" for free.
I could never build my own cell phone though, certainly not like the products today which I must admit are incredibly powerful and compact. I'm quite attached to my Samsung Galaxy; it's my source for streaming music and one hell of a powerful computer right in my pocket so I pay up.
4- I own all vintage stuff (except what I built) so like my digital circuits there is no software and no subscriptions. I had an enormous AV receiver but predictably it went brain dead (digital control circuit stopped working) so I stripped it and put it back together as a behemoth amplifier with a digital (TTL) control and protection circuit that I designed and built.
How right you are but what do you think of the average buyer?! Yes they seem to like this. Apparently the smart phone accustomed customers see such things as an extra service to them which they can control with their apps and online payments. Convenience!
"How nice that I can have seat heating with a few clicks"
A famous person once said: "in the future you'll own nothing and you'll be happy"
I find it amazing how lame some of them are, at design engineering. But they seem to have ample amounts of motivation to do whatever it is they're doing. Apparently, people really like to see that, that drive to completion of at least something tangible. I wonder if filmed displays of enthusiasm toward some random accomplishment and the money rolling in are more than just correlated?
I've seen bluetooth/wi-fi everything. I was amazed that you can get a bluetooth towel rack, and a bluetooth toilet seat- Archie Bunker would have loved that! Yes, you can now pre-warm your bath towel and toilet seat with your cell phone.
I have the bluetooth/wi-fi thing going on, but no wi-fi thermostat, no bluetooth controlled locks, etc. And I don't see myself getting a bluetooth toilet seat either.
I have the bluetooth/wi-fi thing going on, but no wi-fi thermostat, no bluetooth controlled locks, etc. And I don't see myself getting a bluetooth toilet seat either.
I saw it before smart phones got big, in Tektronix oscilloscopes. The rep told me the full memory compliment is in every one they build, but they only "unlock" what you pay for. Which I found interesting -
- Memory must be cheap, as it's more expensive to manage sku's and inventory of scopes built with different amounts initially.
- Memory is far more valuable to the end user who may need it for a particular measurement, so they cant just leave that additional cash flow opportunity on the table.
The ads are so spammy, and so stupid how they target you. One time I read an article about genocide in Darfur, and for two weeks I was solicited to get the best prices on Ebay for genocide in Darfur! Look no further- we have genocide in Darfur ready for immediate shipment! Who knew?
It is beyond absurd.
Let's say you buy a quarter-million dollar John Deere tractor. They can brick it any time they want. Bad if you miss payments or there's some mix-up, but good if they sell a bunch to a regime we decide we don't like.
Let's say you buy a quarter-million+ dollar multi-axis milling machine like a Haas. Again, they can brick it any time they want. Same deal with features built into every machine- you have to pay to get 'em.
Everybody seems to find reasons you have to pay and pay!
Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
Let's say you buy a quarter-million+ dollar multi-axis milling machine like a Haas. Again, they can brick it any time they want. Same deal with features built into every machine- you have to pay to get 'em.
Everybody seems to find reasons you have to pay and pay!
Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
Just suppose everyone switches to this model. A butcher only opening after 12:00 if you pay extra.
Electricians unlocking wall sockets remotely and a yearly fee…..
“Yeah that is because our IP is in it”
Also with software/firmware this is BS. I did not ask for your IP, I just wanted a dishwasher that works. You write software for a living but dishwashers did not need software until you came along. Now explain why I need to keep paying to use a device I bought and paid for and already own.
Electricians unlocking wall sockets remotely and a yearly fee…..
“Yeah that is because our IP is in it”
Also with software/firmware this is BS. I did not ask for your IP, I just wanted a dishwasher that works. You write software for a living but dishwashers did not need software until you came along. Now explain why I need to keep paying to use a device I bought and paid for and already own.
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Dunno if you do Facebook, but lately:
1. Bait and switch. Interesting leads are buried or missing so you spend as much time as possible scrolling through crap and ads, looking for the lead.
2. "Technical" posts are written by non-technical's and are not helpful, nor useful, because they are just fishing for clicks and care nothing about the subject.
3. On my phone the FB app is nothing but ads. I know my friends do post things, but the little screen just has space for ads.
4. The complaint mechanism does not offer a category that covers the problem, so you can't actually complain.
5. Try to report a clone of a clueless friend and FB saz it's up to them, so FB are saying the clueless are fair game for predators.
1. Bait and switch. Interesting leads are buried or missing so you spend as much time as possible scrolling through crap and ads, looking for the lead.
2. "Technical" posts are written by non-technical's and are not helpful, nor useful, because they are just fishing for clicks and care nothing about the subject.
3. On my phone the FB app is nothing but ads. I know my friends do post things, but the little screen just has space for ads.
4. The complaint mechanism does not offer a category that covers the problem, so you can't actually complain.
5. Try to report a clone of a clueless friend and FB saz it's up to them, so FB are saying the clueless are fair game for predators.
I was off the facebook for more than 2 years. Then I opened it just once 8 pm one day. For then on everyday Facebook send me notification exactly at 8am. Not gona lie I was hooked first . But after some time I realised something. Wait a minute. Am I getting trapped here. I swere to this day they allure me to open facebook exactly at 8 pm
Maybe not quite on topic for this thread, but for years we've had bad actors trying to hack our computers, sometimes with great success. China is right up there in the list. So, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft released Windows 11. It's supposed to be super secure and uses the TMP chip. They also limited the number of CPU chips it will work with, leaving out large numbers of recent ones. Best guess is in the next couple years, 50% of the computers in the US will have to be replaced, as they can't be upgraded. Who gets the windfall of supplying all the parts for all those computers? Yeah, talk about rewarding the bad actors. BTW, think the chip shortage and video cards in particular will be getting any better. Personally, I think the government needs to tell MS to find another way.
Back when I worked for Big Silicon, we had this guy on the internal forums that I called (only in my thoughts) the Monetization Rat. He was totally into how many different ways / schemes the company could use against customers to eek out a little extra $, by what was nearly always the subject content of his posts. Absolutely convinced that was THE way to do business going forward. For whom? The shareholders, of course.
Regarding MS, I sincerely doubt I'll ever get past W10 in this lifetime. No persuasive incentive that I can see and I've never been a latest/greatest junkie.
I got a used Brother color laser printer I just put up on Craig's - no shipping. Turned it on, cryptically entered my wifi creds (using three buttons) and it connected to my home network. Just showed up in my laptop's available printer list - and worked. No driver downloads, no new account with username / password. No harassing, bloated application application running 3 different installed threads just to print something. Take that, Sony, HP, Canon.
Regarding MS, I sincerely doubt I'll ever get past W10 in this lifetime. No persuasive incentive that I can see and I've never been a latest/greatest junkie.
I got a used Brother color laser printer I just put up on Craig's - no shipping. Turned it on, cryptically entered my wifi creds (using three buttons) and it connected to my home network. Just showed up in my laptop's available printer list - and worked. No driver downloads, no new account with username / password. No harassing, bloated application application running 3 different installed threads just to print something. Take that, Sony, HP, Canon.