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You can't really buy a high quality TV anymore without having em try to shove extra garbage down your throat. I own an old Samsung TV, and it has terrible UX. G

You can't really buy a high quality TV anymore without having em try to shove extra garbage down your throat. I own an old Samsung TV, and it has terrible UX. Giving it a chance to connect to the internet was a horrible mistake. My TV is around +5 years old, and I don't see myself buying a new one any time soon. During the last 2 or so years I've drastically changed the kinds of media I consume. Now my primary sources of entertainment are a mix of books and audiobooks. Last year I think I read somewhere between 200 and 300 books. Books don't include any tracking bullshit. If you stick with digital you can at least buy DRM-free copies in a few online stores. But even cooler, we actually have tons of huge buildings all across the US, each with thousands of books, and you can grab any one you want and read it for free!

pvaldes 9y ago
> Books don't include any tracking bullshit. Most books aren't specially interesting. The history of the books that you borrow in the public library is registered with your library customer card, address and name. Some local libraries or universities will ask you to write your name in a card when you take the book and let the card in the shelf. Therefore anybody could read the names of the former five or ten people that borrow the book before, and how many days they have it. The complete history for some "person of interest" shouldn't be much complicated to obtain for authorities. Maybe anybody borrowing a lot of controversial texts in a short time and a small village would trigger some alerts. Who knows. Let suppose that this is a library specialized in history and the book title written in the public card is "mein kampf", for example.
- et-al 9y ago
  I am not your librarian, but the American Library Association (ALA) seems to respect readers' privacy. They pushed back on the Patriot Act: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/theusapatriotact http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/theusa... And have guidelines for librarians when law enforcement comes knocking: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement Again, it will vary depending on your town and library.
  - pvaldes 9y ago
    Interesting stuff, thanks. > or in response to some form of judicial process (subpoena, search warrant, or other court order). So basically, this info is available and can be used against you in a trial. Is a fake sense of privacy. The main difference between public libraries and internet is that the former have much less controversial adult or political stuff but a lot of stablished literature touch taboo and very sensitive matter. Has this people read 'Lolita', 'the Catcher in the Rye' or took a look to 'The Capital' in the past?, has borrow a Quran recently? For how many days? How many times? Any attorney could easily use pseudoscience and cheap psychology to draw a line and build a relate leading to any conclusion of their interest with this info.

pvaldes 9y ago

> Books don't include any tracking bullshit. Most books aren't specially interesting. The history of the books that you borrow in the public library is registered with your library customer card, address and name. Some local libraries or universities will ask you to write your name in a card when you take the book and let the card in the shelf. Therefore anybody could read the names of the former five or ten people that borrow the book before, and how many days they have it. The complete history for some "person of interest" shouldn't be much complicated to obtain for authorities. Maybe anybody borrowing a lot of controversial texts in a short time and a small village would trigger some alerts. Who knows. Let suppose that this is a library specialized in history and the book title written in the public card is "mein kampf", for example.

et-al 9y ago
I am not your librarian, but the American Library Association (ALA) seems to respect readers' privacy. They pushed back on the Patriot Act: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/theusapatriotact http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/theusa... And have guidelines for librarians when law enforcement comes knocking: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/lawenforcement Again, it will vary depending on your town and library.
- pvaldes 9y ago
  Interesting stuff, thanks. > or in response to some form of judicial process (subpoena, search warrant, or other court order). So basically, this info is available and can be used against you in a trial. Is a fake sense of privacy. The main difference between public libraries and internet is that the former have much less controversial adult or political stuff but a lot of stablished literature touch taboo and very sensitive matter. Has this people read 'Lolita', 'the Catcher in the Rye' or took a look to 'The Capital' in the past?, has borrow a Quran recently? For how many days? How many times? Any attorney could easily use pseudoscience and cheap psychology to draw a line and build a relate leading to any conclusion of their interest with this info.