Good counterpoint mate. Will have to avoid those too, then.

Ive actually heard of internet connected soldering irons. I feel your pain.

Learned a new word: mendacious

Heh. Thats a whole 'nother can, friend. Can relate though - I do that on my phone. I just hate my tv nagging me that the version of the os/ app is old, but the manufacturer doesn’t provide any more updates. The old school stuff I inherited works fine for 40+ years.

Because I lose features I bought the tv for? I mean, if the selling point is a YouTube/ netflix/ spotify client, then 3 years down the line when the Netflix client is no longer compatible with the current service, and can’t be updated because the TV’s OS isn’t being updated by the manufacturer any more, it means I have to buy another device, which I could have done in the beginning. So now I want a dumb tv so I can pair it with anything I want for years (HDMI will be around a lot longer than Netflix v3.x.xxxx), instead of having a tv filled with zombie apps I can’t delete.

The spyware is there as long as I’m using the services. So it’s not what is bothering me, though it’s the common bogeyman. It’s the forced obsolescence and waste.

Thanks man. I’m not interested in getting off the grid. These things are essential to daily life for me. I just don’t understand why my washer needs AI or something dumb like that. The tv should take a signal and display it. Anything outside of that can be done with an external device. So yeah, I’ve been researching the business displays and large monitors.

That’s what the thread was meant to be about. Seems to have turned into a beat up on the luddites thing, with a few notable and rather helpful exceptions. Maybe I should have marked it [serious]. Oh well.

Actually, forget planned. It’s forced obsolescence - the hardware is perfectly fine, only they want you to update your netflix client so go and buy a new tv.

I have an unopened ipod mini somewhere. Figure I’d use it as a media player as you said. Now where to find a clean S2000 for the car part? Lol

Awesome response, thanks! I actually have an unopened ipod mini from way back. It has a headphone jack and should still be supported by modern mac’s (I hope).

Agree with everything you said re the smart tv it sucks bdig ones. Wonder why they don’t make large format 50+’ monitors, I’d be happy with that and use my phone for Netflix/ YouTube etc. The way it is now is I’ll have the tv with a non functional set of apps and still have to use my phone any way.

The car? I’d hate for my car to stop getting updates for apple / android suites after x number of years. Most head end units are now integrated with car functions, so not even sure how to replace those when the time inevitably comes. Happily using basic connectivity with Bluetooth and no android/ apple suite.

My mum’s Samsung lost Netflix access because the app was too old, and Samsung considers it legacy and therefore won’t support it any more. There was also an article where the author lamented his phone no longer connecting to his older Android auto version. Essentially, we are being forced to replace perfectly functional hardware due to software, essentially the consumer electronics version of ‘you are out of cyan, replace the entire printer cartridge please’.

Same. Ps1-ps5, media box, PC. Well done! I don’t get this era of disposable tech and planned obsolescence. I get new tech, but don’t understand why I need to upgrade my phone every 2-3 years so I can WhatsApp faster.

I used to have one of those cassette adapters to use with mp3 players. They’d work great with headphone jacks. Pity few phones still have those these days.

Let’s start this off. I looked at some business displays as a replacement for a tv. They do the job, but generally don’t have great sound, so I need to buy soundbars as well. My old Panasonic 50’ is great, and I don’t mind the power draw. Will miss it when it’s gone.

Previously no. Now yes. Apparently got banned for inciting ‘peril’ against my own race because tankies don’t know the difference between ethnically Chinese and of Chinese nationality, and apparently you can’t criticize china in the forums. Throw in a few abusive individuals from the same instance shooting off the mouth and I pretty much said fuck it, I’m out.