General Gaming News and Discussion

It feels like we're missing an important voice in this conversation.

Aldarion Can you rate smart TVs on a scale of locks to alarm clocks?

popsicledeath said:

You've missed the point or three, sir.

Going back a generation or two to fix things... Just need a time machine....

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sorry - LG usually runs current and last years models for sale at the same time, for their non OLEDs they drop the 3 year old ones into the bargain bin price slot.

that is what I was meaning - the LG forums can help a lot with what stuff does what. Also the A B C and Gallary - the A usually has a generation or 2 old cpu that then would also limit the webOS version, many consider it a not good thing, but if your not caring about always updating your TV… I got a B over a C because that was the only difference was a cpu revision at the same speed and memory

Hateyou said:

There was a period 15ish years ago when every tv had a smart option or dumb option. It was $50-100 cheaper to go with the dumb option. I was the only person I knew of who went with a dumb option, then added an Apple TV or whatever for streaming. Everyone just went with smart option because it was easier. If I was a TV company and my sales of smart versus dumb was very lopsided to the smart side, it’s a no brainer to cut costs and stop making two versions of everything. Half the production line, half the packaging, etc.

Dumb options aren’t coming back, you can vote with your wallet all you want, the masses and companies have decided smart is the only option. Just buy the model you want and go cry in a corner every time you turn it on. I have a ‘smart’ LG model that I turn on and it just goes to the last input that was on. I don’t ever see ads or any of the other smart shit.

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Yes. Anyone paying attention understands how we got here. The promise of new tech is alluring, and now society is grappling with the questions of whether it was worth it and whether tech companies lived up to those promises.

My concern is there seems to be an attitude that even if the promises of new tech haven't been lived up to and even if it hasn't been worth the cost to society, that the answer is deal with it because things aren't going away.

There's an argument there, but not even that argument gets made.

Instead, the "arguement" often made is that the people who question whether it was worth the broken promises of tech advancement are somehow the problem.

Not, yeah, shit sucks but what can be done. But rather, you claim shit sucks, but boohoo go cry about it because actually it's fine if you try to ignore it.

Ignoring the fact your TV is spying and advertising doesn't address any of the questions society is in fact struggling with. A struggle that always takes place and is necessary to maintain some semblance of control, or at least understanding of how things are changing.

Instead, somehow on a gaming forum with a bunch of nerds who have played and watched and read countless dystopian themes, there are people so unable or unwilling to even engage in the normal struggle of changing times they can't help but pretend those at least wanting to understand how things are changing are the bad ones.

Don't complain. Don't question. Don't care. Just try to avoid things and pretend everything is fine. And if you don't, it threatens those you are in nihilistic avoidance mode, so prepare to be attacked for daring to question if the changes taking place are actually good.

The everything is fine meme is only so tragically funny because it's obvious everything is not actually fine. Yet in every thread there are people desperate to convince themselves, I guess, that everything is actually fine.

Don't like that TV's are spying and filled with ads and a shittier product at a higher price? LOL go cry about it! Says the person who thinks there's not a problem when you talk about the problem, but the goes on to ignore the problem they're acknowledging exists by trying to ignore it.

popsicledeath said:

Don't like that TV's are spying and filled with ads and a shittier product at a higher price? LOL go cry about it! Says the person who thinks there's not a problem when you talk about the problem, but the goes on to ignore the problem they're acknowledging exists by trying to ignore it.

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So what's your solution to the problem?

Vorph said:

So what's your solution to the problem?

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There probably isn't one (other than maybe an uncle Ted cabin). Some of the practical issues can probably be avoided by going with commercial versions of stuff though. My roku rage googling reminded me that there are digital signage screens that probably more like tv sized monitors. Not sure how picture quality and cost compares, but I'll definitely be checking into it the next time I buy a tv (and probably all of my appliances too). Some things are probably just hosed regardless though, at least unless you're content with using 10+ year old (and counting) versions of things (cars, software/os, etc.) Some of that is fine, my MS Office doesn't fucking need an upgrade. Doesn't work as well for other things though.

Control said:

Not sure how picture quality and cost compares

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Pretty terrible by comparison on both counts, and most you can't even buy without a business account. You can also forget about stuff like Dolby Vision, because that license gets axed along with the smart OS.

Hateyou said:

You have two options, don’t buy it or disconnect the fucking thing from the internet is the only way to stop it from personally affecting you.

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Third option, spend time learning how DNS works so you can add a pi-hole to your network and be able to administrate it without having to google every little thing you need done, instead of just pissing in the wind. It's really not that complicated, and there's generally only two major problems you need to know how to fix on your own: whitelisting sites you actually need because filter lists are sometimes way too broad, and dealing with certain devices that are designed to use a hard-coded DNS when their normal requests fail. (Mainly Amazon devices, especially their shitty Fire TV stuff.)

Hateyou said:

That’s fine too. It doesn’t help popsicleretard with his moral dilemma of trying to bring down the whole system with his plucky band of foh geezers though.

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Vorph said:

So what's your solution to the problem?

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There isn't a solution. That's not how any problems work, much less complex societal ones.

That said, it would go a long way if people were even able or allowed to see things for what they are and given a chance to debate and understand the things society is going through.

Most people I know, whether personally, or even professionally, don't even have a basic understanding of the things that most affect their lives or industry.

As a society we're no longer allowed to even discuss issues anymore, and that's strangely used as the reason we shouldn't even have information on the isdues. We have unlimited access to information and more ability ever to discuss and share, which is no surprise therevare efforts constantly to limit it all.

Amazing technological opportunities.... and what we get is fridges that spy and TV's that advertise themselves to cut out the middle man, and the same shitty game design for decades, but now monetized and politicized, so now even our escapism isn't allowed.

At least find a way to start to understand why shit sucks. Then ones input is at least informed before deciding to eat the bugs instead of just rationalized as just fine.

popsicledeath said:

There isn't a solution. That's not how any problems work, much less complex societal ones.

That said, it would go a long way if people were even able or allowed to see things for what they are and given a chance to debate and understand the things society is going through.

Most people I know, whether personally, or even professionally, don't even have a basic understanding of the things that most affect their lives or industry.

As a society we're no longer allowed to even discuss issues anymore, and that's strangely used as the reason we shouldn't even have information on the isdues. We have unlimited access to information and more ability ever to discuss and share, which is no surprise therevare efforts constantly to limit it all.

Amazing technological opportunities.... and what we get is fridges that spy and TV's that advertise themselves to cut out the middle man, and the same shitty game design for decades, but now monetized and politicized, so now even our escapism isn't allowed.

At least find a way to start to understand why shit sucks. Then ones input is at least informed before deciding to eat the bugs instead of just rationalized as just fine.

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Last couple weeks a couple companies I've worked for and contracted with had someone call and talk to me as part of te interview.

The overwhelming majority knew how to do one thing. That was it. No clue what was going on in the industry, no idea how the company had solved various problems there or where they had worked before. Some upper management and no thoughts as how to approach other issues that are facing everyone else in the industry currently and most likely had never heard of it.

Hateyou said:

I 100% agree the shit sucks but what am I, or the dozens of people here, going to do about it versus millions of consoomers and trillionaire tech companies and corrupt politicians? Go ahead and bitch about it, I don’t care. Just don’t pretend you bitching about it or voting with your wallet is going to do jack shit against the three bad actors I listed. You have two options, don’t buy it or disconnect the fucking thing from the internet is the only way to stop it from personally affecting you. Society at large is not going to do that.

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You're right. You're not going to do anything. No arguement there.

It's a demoralizing situation, and I have great empathy for the demoralized. But that doesn't mean one should accept demoralization as perhaps you have.

The thing that bothers me is people who have enough wherewithal to understand the situation and how demoralizing it is who choose to not only be demoralized, but for whatever reason try to talk others into demoralization as well. Why? I have theories, but it's something people probably need to look at for themselves.

It's a courageous thing to recognize demoralization in oneself and step aside to let others fight against it. Likewise, it's the most cowardly thing I can imagine to pull others down.

You think disconnecting is a way to keep you from personally being affected? That's the talk of someone who is demoralized. You have my empathy, brother, but not my respect if you can't see it enough to stop trying to pull others into the same frame of mind with rationalizations and generalized pronouncements based on your own personal failures.

We are society at large. You're not somehow separate because you've given up. And ironically society being too dumb to trust is the talking point to believe to become demoralized which makes that a self fulfilling prophecy.

Society and the potential for that collective wisdom is the only thing that saves society, which is why the demoralization is so important as a tool to undermine society. Society is the victim, here, not the cause.

Vorph said:

Third option, spend time learning how DNS works so you can add a pi-hole to your network and be able to administrate it without having to google every little thing you need done, instead of just pissing in the wind. It's really not that complicated, and there's generally only two major problems you need to know how to fix on your own: whitelisting sites you actually need because filter lists are sometimes way too broad, and dealing with certain devices that are designed to use a hard-coded DNS when their normal requests fail. (Mainly Amazon devices, especially their shitty Fire TV stuff.)

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Literally the learn to code meme? Don't like the direction society is going, just learn to code, bigot! If you can personally avoid some if the annoyance than the problem is solved and you don't have to care anymore.

Nihilism is a helluva drug.

Keeping in mind, this discussion started because Roku is trying to highjack input feeds to advertise directly to people who may be avoiding it by going straight to another device and not using their interface. So the brilliant solution to just ignore smart features and avoid looking at your regular TV interface is instantly not aging well. Which is why the sudden real solution is no wifi... Err I mean learning to code. I dunno, gotta be some rationalization that justifies how just fine things are!

It's fine, guys, when you pause you game just walk to the bathroom with your eyes shut so you can personally avoid it affecting you? And assume kids and wives and friends are all doing the same thing. Anything to avoid having to care about things happening to you whether you like it or not.

I remember awhile back there was a really cheap brand of TV you could get from walmart or something. They lost money on every tv, but they were capturing a few pixels from the upper left corner and sending them to a server to match in a database to see what you were watching 24/7.

They got caught and got a fine, but made way more selling that information.

Now I wonder if they aren't all doing it after the rules were sneakily changed in some late night executive order.

Vis something? Maybe? Visio?