There are precisely zero dumb TVs on the market with the format support and visual quality of a high end TV from the majors. That you don't even know that shows you're not a serious customer of TVs and are just parroting whatever AI spat out at you from a quick Google search.

No you can't. That doesn't guarantee that your TV doesn't seek out a network connection. We have evidence of that, actual evidence of network traffic despite the user "skipping" the network setup. That you don't even know this shows you're not serious about security or have any idea about what is going on in the TV world at all.

How about we stop accepting sub optimal solutions made of bodged together diverse components like some cyberpunk dystopia and actually demand better products that work the way we want?

You shouldn't need to "not connect your TV to the internet". It should work the way you want.

He's asking you to demonstrate your credentials. You claim you modified proprietary OSes, bypasses secure bootloaders with blown e-fuses, unpotted CPUs to access debug connections, bypassed subscription requirements on services, and hacked mandatory network connections to work offline? Demonstrate it. That's the kind of thing that people who are capable of post all over the internet proudly with evidence of how it was done.

Got a link for us?

Option? I bought a Samsung TV (Frame, a small model, not intended for good viewing, but for being out of the way on the wall) for the attic only 9 months ago and ... it did that by default out of the box...

The manufacturers really don't care if 5 of their customers modify their TV. Consumer ambivalence will mean manufacturers won't change, largely because sheeple have come to accept the current experience as the norm.

99.9% of normal customers wouldn't make it past the first 4 words of this Slashdot headline without scrolling on to the next article.

That's a roundabout way of saying "I don't care about TV". A great many people definitely find the idea of using a 20 year old "low resolution" display that can't instantly burn the netflix logo into your eyes in HDR1000 quality a "waste of time".

I don't watch TV much either, but I know plenty of people who do, and the resolution of your setup alone, let alone the age and capabilities of the display makes it a non-starter for many who actually enjoy watching movies at home.

It better experience changes or your 20 year old plasma technology will permanently burn in whatever it is you watch most of.

Oh I know what you mean. My point was EA was bad before, but the style of buyout of EA basically precludes any idea of innovation in the future. Previously it was just management direction driving it, now it's investor demands and debt fulfilment requirements.

The proposed EU age verification app is a good deal less intrusive than any of the nasty mechanisms that some social media is already employing. Most of those are a privacy nightmare. The EU app, in contrast:
- Site / App operator does not get your identity, only a proof of age.
- Government does not get to see which sites you visit.
- Actual verification takes place once, and whatever ID you use does not need to be stored (and can't be subsequently stolen)
- App is open source, so the workings can be verified.

There's an open source workaround that de-clouds SoundTouch devices https://st-reborn.de/

That one reddit user will be fine unless he was stupid enough to throw out his "bricks" (what a strange term to use for a device that still functions without the cloud crap).

Yes and no. They are definitely a lifestyle target company, but they do throw some significant technical capability into that. But it's a tradeoff, always has been. In terms of absolute audio quality they are pretty rubbish, but in terms of invisible audio that integrates into cafe, studio, living room, etc. they aren't actually that bad.

And their noise cancelling on headsets is best in class (it's a shame their sound quality doesn't match).

I wouldn't ever recommend their hifi systems though unless your wife forces it on you.

This already exists and works well. Except as usual the abolitionists blow it out of proportion. I have a remote signal in my AC unit that can be activated by my power company. All it does is change and lock in place the temperature setting by a couple of degrees. That's the reality. You may notice it's slightly warmer or cooler than normal and before you question it you see dollars rolling in, because at present this is fucking lucrative.

Literally everyone I know has the same plan and they all agree you'd be insane not to do it.

No. Ignorant. Clearly.

What in the ever loving fuck are you talking about? Batteries are so hugely ideal for it they are now becoming the primary tool for grid scale stability. Fuck your little fridge, batteries can take the sudden draw of a coal fired power station disconnecting from the grid, and do so better than inertial stability systems ever could.

Like seriously, I can't let this go. Your comment has to be the single most incorrect thing anyone has said about batteries ever. We simply have no electro-mechanical system that can cope with sudden changes in draws then electro-chemical storage. Like, the reason you can start your car is because a battery can cope with a sudden draw of hundreds of amps, and the reason my car has more torque from stopped than any engine could ever hope to provide is because a bank of batteries in my car is able to deal with the sudden draw of the motors on my car literally 100x stronger than your pathetic little fridge or AC unit.

And no your fridge / AC doesn't draw twice it's nameplate at start-up, it's closer to 8 times, and that's not a problem for batteries which are in houses the world over, and have been used in houses off grid the world over long before we even figured out how to make modern lithium batteries.

Don't ever comment on batteries again at least until you've read a book.

The mileage varies a lot less than the anti-EV crazies claim it does. But I don't blame you, I too was one of you until I got an EV. The only difference is I've realised how stupid my view was.

EVs are probably the single most prominent thing in the world that people have extensive views about without ever having tried them.

Sorry but no, we haven't come close. There's a shitton still out there, easily accessible. It's just a question of getting the rights to access it. The proven recoverable reserves companies have clearly identified as viable will keep us going easily through the next 30-50 years.

However, the greenies have done a wonderful job though of making sure we don't completely fuck up our planet so companies are finding those reserves are inaccessible by policy rather than due to technical difficulties, and we've been so busy drawing arbitrary borders and fighting wars to protect them we can't functionally get those reserves from place of production to place of consumption: e.g. Australian coal mine leases not granted, the Iran war, the sanctions against Russia, the OPEC cartel, etc.