4 ms·

I've got privacy concerns on any "smart" device, particularly one the internals of which I cannot access. I want a panel with ports, not a self-contained comput

by mises 8y ago

I've got privacy concerns on any "smart" device, particularly one the internals of which I cannot access. I want a panel with ports, not a self-contained computer. I don't understand why manufacturers won't sell me that. On the root shell, I am significantly less comfortable with any device I can't get into to tinker with. Just who I am.

dangrossman 8y ago
Is your concern that an NSA agent will sneak into your house at night to download information the TV secretly stockpiled about how often you watched "HDMI 2"? I'm not able to think of any other "privacy concern" you could have with a non-networked TV. Without connecting to a network, it doesn't matter what software is running on it, it can't share any information with anyone but you. It's as innocuous as your microwave oven. If your microwave right now doesn't have a general purpose computer in it, the one you replace it with in 10 or 20 years probably will, even if all it's doing is running the clock and cooking timers. General purpose computers are so cheap that it makes less and less sense to use more purpose-specific hardware, yet it makes zero sense to give your microwave oven a shell for you to tinker with the software.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  Personally, my concern is that the TV manufacturer will be collecting my usage data and combining it with data collected from all sorts of other places. I'm tracked much more than I can stand as it is, I'm certainly not going to buy anything that will make that situation worse.
  - dangrossman 8y ago
    Your TV manufacturer can't collect your usage data if the TV is not connected to a network. Simply buying a smart TV and using it as a dumb TV does not do anything you're concerned about.
    - JohnFen 8y ago
      Absolutely true, which is why I recommend not hooking up the network to people who buy such TVs. Nonetheless, the presence of this functionality tells me something about the company making and selling the TVs, and that something makes me not want to do business with them. Particularly given that it's better (and often cheaper) to opt for buying a monitor and a media computer over buying a TV.

by mises 8y ago

dangrossman 8y ago

Is your concern that an NSA agent will sneak into your house at night to download information the TV secretly stockpiled about how often you watched "HDMI 2"? I'm not able to think of any other "privacy concern" you could have with a non-networked TV. Without connecting to a network, it doesn't matter what software is running on it, it can't share any information with anyone but you. It's as innocuous as your microwave oven. If your microwave right now doesn't have a general purpose computer in it, the one you replace it with in 10 or 20 years probably will, even if all it's doing is running the clock and cooking timers. General purpose computers are so cheap that it makes less and less sense to use more purpose-specific hardware, yet it makes zero sense to give your microwave oven a shell for you to tinker with the software.

JohnFen 8y ago
Personally, my concern is that the TV manufacturer will be collecting my usage data and combining it with data collected from all sorts of other places. I'm tracked much more than I can stand as it is, I'm certainly not going to buy anything that will make that situation worse.
- dangrossman 8y ago
  Your TV manufacturer can't collect your usage data if the TV is not connected to a network. Simply buying a smart TV and using it as a dumb TV does not do anything you're concerned about.
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    Absolutely true, which is why I recommend not hooking up the network to people who buy such TVs. Nonetheless, the presence of this functionality tells me something about the company making and selling the TVs, and that something makes me not want to do business with them. Particularly given that it's better (and often cheaper) to opt for buying a monitor and a media computer over buying a TV.