Thread: OT Blue
View Single Post
  #25  
Old March 22nd 17, 01:56 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default OT Blue

"Char Jackson" wrote

| Video streaming is one of those things where, once you get a taste of
| it, you wonder why you waited.

For you, and probably for the majority. Especially
for the movies-as-entertainment crowd. The people
who thought Avatar was a good movie. The people
who have cable TV and don't hesitate to pay $5 for
pay-per-view selections. But for many
people, seeing thoughtful movies with depth, which
may not have wide distribution, is more important
than being able to be entertained by "something,
anything" when the the mood strikes.

Netflix DVDs provide nearly everything.
I think we pay something like $13/month for
2 at a time. Even taking our time, we probably
get about 8 per month. I find that an amazing and
effortless bargain. But it does lack the instant
gratification aspect.

Much of what I want to see only shows at small
theaters in big cities. Those movies are often not
on streaming. But virtually all are on Netflix DVDs
and many are at the library. In the past 2 weeks I've
got The Eagle Huntress, Manchester by the Sea,
and Fences. Maybe those are all available on
streaming now, but I doubt it. The studios
don't want to release that way. They don't want
movies reduced to an all-you-can-eat buffet
the way pop music has been transformed. (Movies,
after all, cost a lot and take a long time to make; then
may not succeed. Pop music is more like a manufactured
drug that can be churned out consistently to a
starving audience of addicts who will dependably pay.)

A separate issue is spyware. Maybe you
don't care about that. I oppose it on principle. Once
you're connected online you're dealing with letting
a lot of shady characters into your living room. The
business of selling private information has become
almost integral to online services and now "the Internet
of Things". Just last month, the TV maker Vizio settled
with the FTC over spying through their TV sets:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-their-owners/

That may seem surprising, but what's more surprising
is that it's not new. In 2015 Vizio changed their "terms"
(who knew TVs had terms?!) to allow serving ads to
any device connected to the same IP address as one
of their TVs:

https://securityledger.com/2015/11/v...-your-screens/

To clarify, this is a company that sold you a piece
of hardware and they're claiming the right to spy on
you! Will we get refrigerators that refuse to make ice
cubes unless you agree to sending info about your
shopping to frozen foods companies and your health
insurance dealer?

In the same article (above) is info about Samsung
doing audio surveillance through their Internet-connected
TVs.

A change in "terms" with LG TVs in 2014 required people
to either agree to surveillance or lose some functionality:

https://securityledger.com/2014/05/b...g-no-smart-tv/

By accepting these things you help to establish those
intrusions as standards. The only way to avoid it at this
point is to not connect your TV online.


Ads