I’m heavily conflicted …. I agree, but I really want to not need to agree. A door bell connected to the internet is extremely useful. Current implementations are a nightmare though.

But if it could be secure, private, and the technology actually served the individual in physical proximity “owner” it would be awesome!

I had a car with its own internet connection for a while, I could check my windows were rolled up from my phone, start it from anywhere, get alerts on fuel levels or oil change intervals…. BUT telemetry was used in evil ways against me.

A connected fridge that didn’t spy on you, show ads, or be designed to fail could be really useful. But we know the “business” behind this makes it consumer hostile.

Heck, my washer and dryer wanted to connect to WiFi and it COULD be useful to get an alert on your phone when it’s done but you’re not in its immediate proximity. But we all know giving this thing internet will be a net loss no matter what.

Smart tvs could be neat in concept, but we all know they’re little corporate spys. Watch out for these, especially Roku is apparently requiring internet connectivity for initial setup. Oh, and this is the company that’s got a patent to identify when an hdmi input is paused so they can inject ads.

I’m sad because technology is so cool and should have served us to make life easier. Instead, it has killed the joy. FOSS is helping revive the passion in technology.

So many things should be possible, but “people” went and ruined it for everyone.

It almost looks like it might be a transfer switch setup for something like a generator vs main power. As long as everyone knows the correct order and specific switches to flip. It’ll work….

Dang, I’m ashamed of myself for missing it. Mint was my gateway from windows too… I knew it was familiar.

Gnome, kde, and what’s the 3rd logo? I suddenly have fomo.

Survey shows as deactivated.

Let’s try this one

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7695681/

AI Summary

Title: Be Suspicious of HDMI

• HDMI technology is criticized for being a “money pool” for companies, despite the existence of better, royalty-free alternatives.

• Companies developing HDMI technology charge significant annual licensing fees and per-unit costs for using the HDMI name and logo.

• Additional features like HDCP require extra payments on top of existing licensing and unit costs.

• HDMI actively sponsors tech news articles to promote itself.

• DisplayPort is presented as a royalty-free alternative that offers similar or superior functionality to HDMI.

• DisplayPort supports more features, higher resolutions, and higher refresh rates compared to HDMI.

• The Steam Machine exemplifies the issues with HDMI, featuring a DisplayPort 1.4 connector capable of 4K 240 Hz.

• The HDMI connector on the Steam Machine is HDMI 2.1 capable but cannot be advertised as such.

• The HDMI organization does not license HDMI 2.1 for Linux devices, forcing Valve to label it as HDMI 2.0.

• There’s a call for the display industry to transition away from HDMI to less expensive and more open standards.

: “Trains that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing;
: Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
: So on the tracks of life we pass and speak one another,
: Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.”

I don’t know who you are, but I feel like we should be friends.

OK, so if I’m on Apple hardware, for now, what’s the best alternative to “Apple Maps”?

There’s a lot of correlation and speculation going on along with deflecting potential liability.

It would seem if you have one of these drives, make sure the firmware is current, and you should be fine. (Prerelease firmware and heavy load seem to be the “triggers”)

If you don’t plan for hard drive failure, you’ll learn that lesson eventually…

Unfortunately, I think we’re trapped in planned obsolescence. I’ve been taking the approach of looking at cost as a primary driver.

The difference between a crappy 4K tv and a quality 4K tv is hard for me to distinguish in most cases. Especially, if they’re not side by side.

Let’s say I set my max price at $550.

You can find a cheap brand Onn or TCL in a 70” range size. If you go smaller you’ll likely find “better” brands.

I don’t think there’s much that makes one brand better than others. 5-7 years is probably max life of anything you’ll buy today. Unless you’re willing to open it up and start trying to find the bad capacitors and re solder to the board.

Rule #1. The tv never connects to internet Rule #2. Rule #1 never gets broken Rule #3. Use another device to play signal (fire stick, Apple TV, cable box, Xbox, PlayStation, pc, etc) Rule #4. Use a sound system not the tv speakers. Go big with surround systems or don’t. Anything is better than tv speakers. I’ve used a 2.1 setup for decades. A soundbar with sub is simple to setup and use.

I’ve heard Roku is one to potential avoid now as I’ve heard they may require Internet connection on setup of some new tvs.

A good tv has an acceptable picture, size, and plays a video source.

Looks like you’ve got an rj45 to an rj11 cable. That would be Ethernet on one side and telephone on the other.

I think it’s insane too. I understand that tipping goes (theoretically) to the waitstaff, but I have a hard time tipping $1 per $4.50 bottle of beer handed to me. If it’s more complex of a drink than x and coke, sure it took their time.

Tipping table service used to be good amount only not drinks and tax. Now it seems to be on top the final total with 20% being expected.

The horse is wearing a halter. Think of it like a dog wearing a collar. A bridle is similar but the main difference is it has the part that goes through the horses mouth, the bit.

Hope that helps!

Nice! I didn’t catch this one right away!

This is the way…

I like the /0 as short reference but I also suggest we use it like the reference from the “old forums”.

Do you have stairs in your house?

I fully respect if it’s just not in the budget for you. A company has to make money somehow. I’d rather pay than get ads or worse let them collect and yet worse sell my data. Also, you can use a burner email and vpn if you want to add an extra layer of obfuscation in there for privacy.

Here’s a few links from their faq.

https://help.kagi.com/kagi/faq/faq.html#why-trust

https://help.kagi.com/kagi/faq/faq.html#why-should-i-pay-for-search

https://help.kagi.com/kagi/faq/faq.html#why-does-kagi-search-require-an-email-address

I really hope I don’t come off as a shill for them. It’s one of the few companies I actually really like.

I also run proton family, and really like the product offering. Their leadership gives me anxiety though. Promos and sales are only for new customers and standard pricing is a bit steep, but you do get multiple services.

I know I’m not exactly hitting the mark, have you looked at kagi? You can personalize the weighting of results from certain sites. You can also add lenses which will let you drive results to forums, programming, academia, etc.

To me it was a bit like reliving the early days of google with the don’t be evil mantra still in tact.

Let me also say, it appears to be privacy respecting.

It has been good for me so far. If someone sees a reason I should run away from this, please let me know why and what we all should use instead, I’d appreciate it!