I wasn't making any comment on the manufacturer's choice, but rather the assertion from the GP that it is important that we can install our own OS on the TV.

The "geek thing" is the idea of being able to choose the OS having any weight on the product choice what so ever. Tinkering is a rarity amongst the consuming general populous.

Calling for suppression of discussion on an important issue that not enough people are talking about...do you realize what you are? Do you know what a "heel realization" is?

Who cares? No really outside of a few geeks who are likely already running out and buying dumb TVs due to the typical anti-corporate agenda type anger at company developed software, who really cares? The average consumer doesn't, and the average geek has shunned smartTVs for the ultra slow, ultra crap "smart" experience they typically bring.

The vast majority of people barely know how a SmartTV works and are happy enough when the program guide correctly displays.
The small minority who do use the Smarts are happy enough to get a weather update and youtube.
The only people who care have already completely given up on the worthless steaming pile of excrement that is the TV vendor's software and will run Kodi, Apple TV, Chromecasts or similar such small devices.

I would go one step further and say the single most important feature that Panasonic TVs and Firefox OS can bring: A TV which actually turns on in under 30 bloody seconds. Everything else security included (who would be dumb enough to attach a smart TV to the internet after every vendor has been caught out attempting to screw their customers).

"You must all know half a dozen people at least who are no use in this world, who are more trouble than they are worth. Just put them there and say Sir, or Madam, now will you be kind enough to justify your existence? If you can't justify your existence, if you're not pulling your weight, and since you won't, if you're not producing as much as you consume or perhaps a little more, then, clearly, we can not use the organizations of our society for the purpose of keeping you alive, because your life does not benefit us and it can't be of very much use to yourself."

-- George Bernard Shaw, communist

Oh no doubt. The question is what is the value of life? Personally I'm just an active and excitable energy machine. I have problems with doing nothing (though I like the occasional day off). I even do the same on my holidays where I prefer to go hiking through some foreign country, climb some mountain, or go an experience something new and unique.

Some people like to sit on a cruise ship for a week at a time trying to maximise their chances of skin cancer. Others including my girlfriend's parents are happy in front of the TV watching the world go by.

I wasn't being derogatory or even judgmental. I'm just fascinated by the human mind's ability to find satisfaction (I assume) from something that I consider some form of personal hell.

Not playing a computer game, or watching some other people do things on reality TV?

The thought process that goes on in some people's heads must be truly baffling.

What kind of goldfish? An African one, or a European? Or a demented goldfish living in a bowl of cheap tequila?

Or god forbid you can buy your parts from places other than ebay. You're pretty much guaranteed legit parts if you buy from reputable sources.

While this may sound like their reliability is in question, I would say worse from other vendors as the only alternatives to FTDI have had just utter garbage drivers to begin with.

Connect a $15 ISP programmer to 6 pins.
Buy AVRs with the Arduino bootloader pre-installed.
Buy any USB AVRs which all come with bootloaders pre-installed.
Pop the AVR out of your Arduino and into your application board.

I tutored Team Project I at university. We literally had every student designing PCBs and programming AVRs in their first year and not a single person had issues with it, even the really dumb rejects of the class managed to get something running, they just couldn't code to save themselves.

What an absolutely backwards thinking statement. There are a multitude of applications available to beginners which require crystals, and at the frequencies we're talking about these applications even work on a breadboard. Crystals are in no way shape or form even remotely out of range for a beginner to use.

This is slashdot. I don't think anything we see has happened today.

You missed the point. It's not about interest. I do find this interest.

It's about stories. Slashdot is a news aggregator. This isn't a news article of any type. It's a how-to guide. A DIY guide. It's for nerds, but not even remotely news in any way shape or form, and there are a multitude of sites dedicated to precisely that.

The only "guarantee" is that people will always need plumbers, electricians, and other tradespeople.

When Nixon did that, he was impeached.

Nowadays you're seriously considering electing someone who did the same damned thing Nixon did?

WTF is wrong with you Americans, anyhow?

Exactly. For some years we've had a blissful interbellum between two loudness wars, when most site owners thought that simple, mostly static banner ads were fine. And they were fine: easily ignored, quick loading. But things have degenerated quite a bit; that Canvas ad thing is a good example of the next level of "loudness" to catch the viewer's attention.

Back in the days of banner ads, I didn't know anyone who'd go out of their way to block them. Now, adblockers are common and they are increasingly being promoted and used not just to get rid of annoying ads, but also to make browsing a faster and safer experience. Advertisers (and indirectly site owners like Bryant) simply crapped the bed they sleep in.