Checking this out....

Lord, I'm really about to start upping my efforts to buy a restored 70's muscle car. No excess computers, nothing connecting to anything, basically a nice beefy engine, a drivetrain, possibly no catalytic converter (depends on the year)...simple and fun to drive.

Ok, I will update the suspension, and swap out the 8-track for a bit more modern stereo, but seriously, I would rather have a simpler car that just MOVES and is fun. I don't need it to be a connected device that likely transmits far too much information about me and my driving habits for my comfort, and is a target for hackers.

What customers are actually ASKING for all this shit in cars today? Seriously?

TVs do a lot of processing to stop the low quality broadcast image looking shite. It's better to just buy a TV and not connect it to your network. As a bonus it will probably still have a tuner and analogue inputs, unlike a computer monitor. Most computer monitors, even the ones with VGA, don't support sub 31KHz video like older games consoles and DVD players.

That reminds me, not long back I picked up an old Atari unit (1600?)...to play the old game Kaboom!.

I"ve tried playing it on my Samsung 59" plasma and it just does NOT want to play on there, torn image, etc.

Anyone know how to get the old Atari units to play on a modern flat screen TV?

If people were willing to accept their ride stopping to run a few errands along they way ... they'd take the damned bus.

Well, except for the fact also, that most folks likely wouldn't want to be riding next to the smelly, disheveled wino or other low lifes that usually seem to inhabit busses.

That and public transportation not being really "door to door" for destination travels, which down here in Summer during the high heat/humidity is important, or during the heavy rain times.

I have a celI rarely use text, so paying $15 for a chunk of texts I'll never use is stupid.

You might wanna look at your carrier's website. These days, text messaging come free with any plan I've ever seen, not an extra charge like in the old days.

Ugly is to the bone....

Beauty always fades away....

But UGLY holds its own!!!

You've managed to stop GMail from pestering you to sign up for two factor authentication? How did you manage that? I can't seem to get it to stop (without actually signing up for it, which I'm not willing to do.)

I don't believe they every have asked me about it, hence I'd never heard of it.

My account is quite OLD...maybe that's it. I didn't give them any identifiable info when I set it up, I've never done G+...so, maybe I'm flying under the cloud as much as possible with Google.

I'd certainly not want to give them my phone number if that's what they use for the 2nd factor.

I've never seen anything but user/pass needed to create or access a gmail account?

Have you not been paying attention? The 'real names' thing was invented here. Except it was started by the private sector, not government.

Err...I've not been forced to give my real name to any website that I felt worthy of my joining to.

Some have asked, and I just don't give them my business.

Sounds like what the FCC will do in the US eventually. Just give it some time until "for the children" or to fight "the terrorists" the FCC will require real names etc.

Yep, I was just about to say, that as much as we in the US bash China for lack of privacy and personal rights (including the right 'not to be seen')....there are a lot in the US government (fed and state) just salivating over ending anonymous access to the internet just as much as the Chinese.

The internet really snuck in under the radar of most governments, and Lord knows..if it came in to being today, it would not be nearly what we see today.

Slowly but surely, I fear the US will follow suit and require registration to log on, regulation....and an end to what has so far proven to be a very valuable means of freely expressing one's self and speaking out against issues that matter.

I mean, hell...you can hardly let UPS/FedEx leave a package on your doorsteps these days in many cities without some fucker coming to steal it.

Just get a nice rifle with a scope along the travel routes of the delivery drones that is a bit remote, *BANG*..down it comes and then loot whatever its carrying.

No, it's low T&A.

Oh man, I wish I had mod points today.

I think you win with this one today!!

:)