Is this because of me?

I need it for personal protection.

Haha! Team 4% FTW

I’m all for crapping on large publicly traded companies but lumping Google in with companies that sell your data isn’t honest. Google does not and never has sold user data. They sure as hell use your data for their own ad network but they do not sell that data wholesale. Meta and other data brokers sell your data and this Avast company sells your data through a product they claimed stopped tracking. I’m not pro-Google but to compare their business model (which is very transparent about how it handles your data and how it’s never sold) to Avast’s business model (which is to completely lie to the end user while literally selling everything that user does) is not an honest comparison.

I was going to suggest epoxy resin.

Why is no one asking why the most successful entertainer in the world right now is dating a middle aged football player whos success measured in US dollars is 1/30th of hers? By just watching his games she’s made KC multiple times more than his entire net worth. Also, didn’t he go on a reality dating show in front of the whole world to see? He’s not high quality. She could go on to sell out literal football stadiums for years to come and he’s already past the average age of retirement in the NFL. She must be gay. /S

Back in my day they removed mirrors so we wouldn’t summon Bloody Mary.

My argument to that would be if we are only a niche segment then where is the serious economic harm they are referring to? It sounds to me like API calls are happening either way but they don’t want to lose out on the ad and customer tracking revenue. Also, I as other have pointed out there is no reason it needs a remote cloud to change the thermostat.

Is there any way to repurpose an old android phone into an android TV? Sometimes like Linage OS but TV focused. Even older Android phones can be considerably more powerful than any current streaming box. Add on privacy and you’ve got the perfect solution. It also would save on e-waste.

Why won’t anyone make a privacy focused premium streaming box with no ads? I’d pay so much for this thing that will never exist.

Do not buy BS internet connected devices period. There was a time when internet connected devices did exactly they were supposed to do and nothing more. There is literally no reason why most of these devices can’t act as their own server and keep your data local and private. Corporations have become far too greedy to trust their cloud won’t sell you out in every way it can. The ONLY two reasons a manufacturer adds internet connectivity are:

1. To monitor and collect as much data as possible and/or:

2. To implement a subscription service for something that normally wouldn’t require monthly payments.

Corporate closed clouds have proven time and time again that they can’t be trusted.

All companies care about is profit margin. This is why automotive companies are so focused on trucks and SUVs. These vehicles cost a bit more to produce but can be sold at multiple times the additional investment. When electric vehicles took off they were a status symbol and sold primarily to luxury car buyers. US manufacturers beholden to share holder value will never focus on affordable transportation. This is why China will eventually eclipse the US in electric vehicles.

American capitalism no longer innovates. It now only stifles competition through patent abuse, regulations that make market entry difficult to impossible and domination of market resources. If all of that fails then they buy the competition and increase prices before repeating the whole cycle all over again.

I use Arch and only use Vim or Emacs for config files. That’s Linux flex culture right there. 🙂

The stock market and publicly traded companies. The idea that a business that is making consistent profits isn’t good unless those profits are increased each quarter is asinine. This system of shortsighted hyper focus on short term quarterly growth for the sake of growth is the cause of so much pain and suffering in the world. Even companies with amazing financials will work to push workers compensation down, cut corners and exploit loopholes to make sure their profits are always growing. Consistent large profits aren’t good enough.