Yep, I always used Tronscript to remove those updates after a Windows 7 clean install and update, which also immunized the OS from getting the telemetry updates again.

I've never used Windows past version 7. I definitely feel better off. 8.1 was ridiculous, 9 got lost, 10 peeked into your private life, and, well, 11 took that full Monty and went straight for your underwear drawer.

This sounds a lot like the Microsoft "investment" in Apple back in the late 90's. That was surely done to stave off some of the monopoly heat they were getting back then. nVidia better be careful, that Apple investment came back to bite Microsoft in the end. History has a way of repeating itself.

And for the love of all things good ... DO NOT purchase a fridge with the ice maker located in the fridge section. They ALWAYS fail one day after the warranty expires.

Rule #1: Never purchase anything that requires an "App" or "Internet" to get full functionality. It's code for "we are going to eventually screw you whether you like it or not."

Crap, meet turd. Full enshitification reached. Score.

Pies belong in the fridge. Having to resort to a Pi outside the fridge the fridge makes Samsung a big nope for me. Why in the hell would I want a fridge on the Internet any way? This IoT bullshit is obviously used to fleece customers.

LO freaking L. Can I install uBlock Origin?

I kept getting handed off from one agent to another while they tried to "resolve" my issue. They were also very hard for me to understand with their thick accents. I have no problem with overseas agents, but they seemed to get annoyed when I constantly needed to ask for them to repeat their statements.

Back when I still used Amazon I was signed up for Prime twice when I went through the checkout, knowing damn well I clicked on "no thanks" in very small print. Going through the process of cancelling those was a royal pain in the ASCII.

Yes, all good points as to why this never took off. As a technology teacher for 18 years I would somewhat try to predict the future of hardware/software to give students ideas on where to look for the next big thing. I missed the mark on this one. I like your zombie laptop idea. That still sounds like a promising avenue to look into.

Back when the iPhone was introduced I was convinced that within 10 years computing would be mostly done this way; connecting your portable computer (smart phone) to a dock that turned it into your home computer. I'm surprised that this idea never gained traction. I can understand why some markets would have avoided this (extreme gaming for one) but for many people this phone and dock setup would easily be enough for daily computing needs. I also envisioned tablets that were nothing more than a screen and extra battery, allowing your smart phone to clip into a recess in the back turning your phone into a larger screen tablet PC. I thought for sure Apple would be leading the charge on devices like this.

The black market boom. Gamer's Nexus needs to do another documentary soon.

I did the war dial thing back in the early 80's too. I stopped when I got access to a local bank system. When prompted for login and password I simply pressed ENTER twice and was in. A holy shit moment hit me and I quickly disconnected hoping the feds wouldn't show up my door. I believe I was either 13 or 14 at the time.

Yeah, I stopped doing that non-sense back around 2015. Me, the wife, and 3 kids, over $200. Insane. Unbelievable amount of ads before movie, no intermission for bathroom break, and uncomfortable seats. I'm content sitting in front of my 55" living room monitor where my family controls the narrative.