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Comment Sling Blue and Sling Orange (Score 1) 87

Disney requires specific channels to be at the basic tier of a multichannel video provider's offering, not a "sports" tier. Last I checked (today), multichannel IPTV provider Sling worked around this by offering two different basic plans: "Orange" with ESPN and other Disney properties and "Blue" with more channels but no Disney. Orange subscribers can add the extra Blue channels on a second "Orange & Blue" tier.

Comment Re: Remember when... (Score 1) 87

You obviously spent those days watching Pat Robertson because CBN was literally the only ad free channel on cable that anybody actually watched in the earlier days. And as far as I know, it's still ad free.

CBN operated from 1977 through 1997, showing ads starting in 1981 and taking the name The Family Channel in 1988. Beginning in 1997, CBN was reduced to a paid programming arrangement to show The 700 Club on what is now Disney's Freeform channel. There are, however, numerous other religious channels under a viewer donation arrangement like what you describe, such as EWTN. And in 2008, CBN started a second channel called CBN News, first online and then with a handful of broadcast affiliates.

Comment I cut the cord years ago (Score 1) 87

Too much money for not enough content.

When I had my morning toast and coffee earlier today I chose between three YouTube videos. An analysis of a high-performance motorcycle engine, a review of an off-road vehicle and troubleshooting a hybrid car. All cable ever has these days is reality shows.

...laura

Comment PC-first games from smaller studios (Score 1) 35

Until they see a trailer for a game that looks interesting, click through to learn more about the game, and find that it's available for (say) Linux, Windows, and NES. A lot of games from smaller studios get released on PC first, or PC plus an unlicensed release on a long-obsolete console, while the studio awaits approval to obtain a devkit for the major modern consoles.

Comment Re:Many people would never want a PC (Score 1) 35

Now if you read any review for any of the PC gaming handhelds you will unanimously see people saying Windows is the problem here. It's the barrier.

Unless they start selling pre built PCs

Does this include things like Steam Deck?

on a best buy shelf

If you refer solely to physical distribution through big-box electronics store chains in the United States, what's so special about that sales channel?

Comment Obsolete game consoles (Score 1) 35

Likewise, a lot of people use obsolete Mac computers, and a lot of people (including myself) use obsolete Nintendo Entertainment System consoles.

As I understand it, the "obsolete" label applies to a video game console once its manufacturer is no longer certifying new games for it. For example, Shakedown: Hawaii is the last Wii disc game in Europe, the last Wii U disc game in North America, and the last PlayStation 3 game. See list of last licensed games by console.

Comment Let's try Irish disability law (Score 2) 112

You are technically correct that the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 does not apply because Ryanair operates in Europe, not the United States. However, the United States is by far not the only country with a disability discrimination law. Ryanair is headquartered in a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, a European Union member state that has its own disability accommodation law framework. So let me address the spirit of coats's question:

Say someone can't use a smartphone without setting it to use large print. If Ryanair requires its customers to use an application that is incompatible with large print setting, what recourse does the customer have under Irish law?

Comment Online safety acts (Score 1) 112

I would think you're exaggerating about the Google stuff, but this past week they decided I wasn't an adult and "need" me to upload my state issued picture ID (Driver's License) and my credit card information to "verify" my adult status just so I can continue to upload my shitty but fun songs on Youtube.

What country? I seem to remember some countries have instituted policies that require "social" web applications to thoroughly verify the age of all users. Australia, for example, passed such a law that takes effect next month.

One alternative to YouTube is uploading your "shitty but fun songs" on your own website.

Comment I thought that was what TLS was for (Score 1) 112

And using the wifi of an airport in a foreign country would also be definitely a bad idea, security wise.

How so, now that almost all web and native applications use TLS to communicate with the server? An attacker running a packet sniffer on a TLS session can see the connection's IP address, the server's hostname, the size of communication, and nothing else. This would amount to "A user connected to Ryanair and received a data volume typical of a checkin."

Comment Progressive web applications (Score 3, Interesting) 112

Following that logic, your phone is a browser and the apps are bookmarks with special permissions.

This is the case for many applications. Both major smartphone operating systems' included web browsers support progressive web applications (PWA). These use a service worker, a script cached on the device that acts as a proxy to cache a particular site's pages, scripts, and data and present them to the user even while the device is offline. They grant additional permissions to bookmarks on the device's home screen. For example, Safari for iOS allows a website added to the home screen to use the Push API to receive notifications through its service worker.

However, a lot of service providers maintain a native application for iOS and a native application for Android instead of relying on a PWA. Based on my recent conversation with UnknowingFool, this includes at least Grab, Doordash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Favor, Grubhub, and Postmates, and these providers are thought to have (unstated) good reasons for doing so.

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