5 ms·

These days, the general rule is to avoid buying anything 'smart'. They are all filled with advertisements and data-sharing practices and are designed to target

These days, the general rule is to avoid buying anything 'smart'. They are all filled with advertisements and data-sharing practices and are designed to target you through their user interface and applications. They bombard you with offers for their other products and deals.

alex1138 1y ago
I'm technically ignorant on this but would GDPR apply to this type of thing as well? (I hope so)
- Gigachad 1y ago
  You'd be able to opt out of data collection and request a copy of your data, but not opt out of adverts in general.
- torben-friis 1y ago
  Not really. GDPR deals with privacy and personal data handling. There are directives about transparency in the costs or charges tied to a sale, but it is not immediate that it covers including new ads as an extra burden on the consumer. Same for other directives regarding misleading advertising and the like, hard to prove that this new anti feature goes against the advertised product. it’s all very indirect and hazy, we’re in need of more protections for consumer to truly own their hardware.
- gl-prod 1y ago
  GDPR doesnt block ads
sa-code 1y ago
"Smart" just means enshittegenic. Ripe for enshittification. To stick to the metaphor (apologies if this isn't HN friendly) Smart TV? Fart TV Smart display? Fart display Smart fridge? Fart fridge
- inquirerGeneral 1y ago
  [dead]
b00ty4breakfast 1y ago
Matrix got it a bit wrong; the machines aren't interested in our body heat, they're going to put us in the goo pods and force use to watch adverts 24/7
- paulryanrogers 1y ago
  Why? What do they or their creators get out of it?
  - kalleboo 1y ago
    Shareholder value
    - wiseowise 1y ago
      “Shareholder value”
  - photonthug 1y ago
    Obviously platforms get advertiser dollars, but the question is what the business paying for that gets. The answer is.. almost nothing? Dedicated marketing/advertising resources at your business is probably just a fifth column, where shareholders and business owners are swindled into paying the salary and other maintenance for people who are actually working for google/facebook/amazon/whatever. Source? Like 20+ years of ubiquitous surveillance, tracking and micro-targeting.. and yet non-pet owners still get ads for dog food, males get ads for feminine hygiene products, single people are offered deals on family vacations, and people who just bought a car get car advertisements for the next 3-5 years which only taper off when it might actually be time to buy another car.
  - hshdhdhehd 1y ago
    Human pets.
- hateful 1y ago
  I don't have a reliable source, but I've heard that the original script had the machines use us for our processing power, not our energy, but that the studio thought it sounded too complicated and had them change it. Of course, changing it makes it make ZERO sense. Some not so reliable sources I found: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/q2i0by/is_it_true_that_originally_humans_were_used_as_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/q2i0by/is_it_true_t... https://www.reddit.com/r/plotholes/comments/11khig/comment/c6ngs9k/ https://www.reddit.com/r/plotholes/comments/11khig/comment/c...
bdangubic 1y ago
as long as you got a smart phone you can “smart” everything else as it don’t matter no more…
everyone 1y ago
Also the UX and human interface design on them is usually bafflingly bad. Like smartphones.
shawn_w 1y ago
Is it even possible to buy a non-smart tv these days? All I really need or want is something I can plug a few gaming consoles into... so HDMI, composite and preferably s-video. No bells or whistles or Internet connection necessary.
- j-bos 1y ago
  Ironically advertising displays a pretty good.
  - julianlam 1y ago
    I've read something like 5 or 6 HN threads about a dumb TV, and without fail _this_ is always one of the replies. Another benefit — advertising displays are also designed to be always-on and last much longer than consumer devices. The other side of the coin? Because of the first two points, they are also rather cost-prohibitive. Nevertheless, anyone know where I can pick up a good one?
    - olyjohn 1y ago
      I don't know how long they are supposed to last always on, but I have done a few always-on displays with cheap-ass consumer TVs. They have always been fine left on for a couple of years. I mean, some of them got turned off on weekends and stuff, but for the price of a commercial display, you can buy 4 cheap-ass displays, and just replace one if it dies. I've also seen lots of these commercial displays die as well... I just don't believe they are really worth spending the money on. Of course, this was back before every consumer TV was a smart TV. I dunno if you can find cheap-ass TVs that aren't smart anymore.
      - jopsen 1y ago
        There are probably many places where the cost of sending a technician to replace the display is rather expensive.
    - bigiain 1y ago
morkalork 1y ago
Smart just means bait-n-switch to me now. Like those Samsung refrigerators or those cars with the subscription for heated seats or remote start.
aworks 1y ago
I was all-in on Amazon Alexa until I wasn't. Wasn't worth the friction.
hapticmonkey 1y ago
Apple gets a lot of criticism but one thing I do like is that their devices at least respect me. The AppleTV streaming box has no ads in the OS and OS-level data sharing is opt-out. It’s nothing inherently bad with “smart” devices. Just the business models behind them.
- LopovJack 1y ago
  For now...
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]

alex1138 1y ago

I'm technically ignorant on this but would GDPR apply to this type of thing as well? (I hope so)

Gigachad 1y ago
You'd be able to opt out of data collection and request a copy of your data, but not opt out of adverts in general.
torben-friis 1y ago
Not really. GDPR deals with privacy and personal data handling. There are directives about transparency in the costs or charges tied to a sale, but it is not immediate that it covers including new ads as an extra burden on the consumer. Same for other directives regarding misleading advertising and the like, hard to prove that this new anti feature goes against the advertised product. it’s all very indirect and hazy, we’re in need of more protections for consumer to truly own their hardware.
gl-prod 1y ago
GDPR doesnt block ads

sa-code 1y ago

"Smart" just means enshittegenic. Ripe for enshittification. To stick to the metaphor (apologies if this isn't HN friendly) Smart TV? Fart TV Smart display? Fart display Smart fridge? Fart fridge

inquirerGeneral 1y ago
[dead]

b00ty4breakfast 1y ago

Matrix got it a bit wrong; the machines aren't interested in our body heat, they're going to put us in the goo pods and force use to watch adverts 24/7

paulryanrogers 1y ago
Why? What do they or their creators get out of it?
- kalleboo 1y ago
  Shareholder value
  - wiseowise 1y ago
    “Shareholder value”
- photonthug 1y ago
  Obviously platforms get advertiser dollars, but the question is what the business paying for that gets. The answer is.. almost nothing? Dedicated marketing/advertising resources at your business is probably just a fifth column, where shareholders and business owners are swindled into paying the salary and other maintenance for people who are actually working for google/facebook/amazon/whatever. Source? Like 20+ years of ubiquitous surveillance, tracking and micro-targeting.. and yet non-pet owners still get ads for dog food, males get ads for feminine hygiene products, single people are offered deals on family vacations, and people who just bought a car get car advertisements for the next 3-5 years which only taper off when it might actually be time to buy another car.
- hshdhdhehd 1y ago
  Human pets.
hateful 1y ago
I don't have a reliable source, but I've heard that the original script had the machines use us for our processing power, not our energy, but that the studio thought it sounded too complicated and had them change it. Of course, changing it makes it make ZERO sense. Some not so reliable sources I found: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/q2i0by/is_it_true_that_originally_humans_were_used_as_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/q2i0by/is_it_true_t... https://www.reddit.com/r/plotholes/comments/11khig/comment/c6ngs9k/ https://www.reddit.com/r/plotholes/comments/11khig/comment/c...

bdangubic 1y ago

as long as you got a smart phone you can “smart” everything else as it don’t matter no more…

everyone 1y ago

Also the UX and human interface design on them is usually bafflingly bad. Like smartphones.

shawn_w 1y ago

Is it even possible to buy a non-smart tv these days? All I really need or want is something I can plug a few gaming consoles into... so HDMI, composite and preferably s-video. No bells or whistles or Internet connection necessary.

j-bos 1y ago
Ironically advertising displays a pretty good.
- julianlam 1y ago
  I've read something like 5 or 6 HN threads about a dumb TV, and without fail _this_ is always one of the replies. Another benefit — advertising displays are also designed to be always-on and last much longer than consumer devices. The other side of the coin? Because of the first two points, they are also rather cost-prohibitive. Nevertheless, anyone know where I can pick up a good one?
  - olyjohn 1y ago
    I don't know how long they are supposed to last always on, but I have done a few always-on displays with cheap-ass consumer TVs. They have always been fine left on for a couple of years. I mean, some of them got turned off on weekends and stuff, but for the price of a commercial display, you can buy 4 cheap-ass displays, and just replace one if it dies. I've also seen lots of these commercial displays die as well... I just don't believe they are really worth spending the money on. Of course, this was back before every consumer TV was a smart TV. I dunno if you can find cheap-ass TVs that aren't smart anymore.
    - jopsen 1y ago
      There are probably many places where the cost of sending a technician to replace the display is rather expensive.
  - bigiain 1y ago

morkalork 1y ago

Smart just means bait-n-switch to me now. Like those Samsung refrigerators or those cars with the subscription for heated seats or remote start.

aworks 1y ago

I was all-in on Amazon Alexa until I wasn't. Wasn't worth the friction.

hapticmonkey 1y ago

Apple gets a lot of criticism but one thing I do like is that their devices at least respect me. The AppleTV streaming box has no ads in the OS and OS-level data sharing is opt-out. It’s nothing inherently bad with “smart” devices. Just the business models behind them.

LopovJack 1y ago
For now...
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]