hmurchison

I have two Kindle Fires for kids.   One the USB port stopped working so it's dead because I can't charge it.    2nd the software is general is light years behind the iPad.   Some media consumption is better?  LOL.   I have Movies Anywhere I can download any of my 500 digital to my iPad or my Kindle Fire.   Media Consumption is not an issue for people that digital copy of their movies. 

I need the iPad because I want a single cohesive family platform and iOS delivers.   With the advent of Arcade and Screen Time I'm going to be able to control what and when they watch.  I know like every Holiday the iPads will be in the 200 dollar range and that's when I'll buy. 

An as an aside why would I want to buy another Amazon Kindle knowing they just took the insurance from underpaid Whole Foods workers?  At some point I have a moral obligation to my fellow citizens. 

mcdave said:

fastasleep said:

mcdave said:

The thing about George Orwell’s 1984 is how we got there. Who knew it was elective?

What. 

The way to usher in this Orwellian surveillance-culture is the get people to want it and buy the products to make it happen.

Here’s a technology marketed as affording the customer extra personal security whilst affording external parties an insane degree of personal insight. No longer will anything “stay within  these walls”. Why wouldn’t corporations & governments pay large for this data?

I’m not sure that was covered in the book, that the dictatorship was elective.

My new policy going forward is to limit products that require an account to properly function.   I have have a Nest Thermostat and honestly I don't really see where it needs to phone home.  Just recently saw a new fan hit that looked promising until it started talking about "our cloud" ceiling fans don't need clouds.   Not every cloud product wants to monetize customer data but I'm getting the feeling that it's a "in case of Emergency ...break glass and sell the data" situation. 

Soli said:

StrangeDays said:

peterhart said:

Unfortunately, I’m no longer using my Velop system. Can’t use HomePods in Stereo mode  with them when the Velop towers are assigned to different rooms and Home Sharing constantly has issues. Anyone else have a mesh system but have issues with inconsistent Apple product connections? 

My friend got it but had issues. The speeds on the second story were considerably slower than the first story. When he brought the upstairs node downstairs to try to troubleshoot he couldn't get it to be recognized by the Linksys management app whatsoever. He gave up, returned it, and is trying Eero.

I know a lot of people here don't care for Eero now that Amazon bought them—and quite frankly I wish I could end my need for Amazon after Bezos turned out to a turd of a human being—but I've had excellent experiences with them for years that I have no problem recommending them as a solid options.

It's not just Bezos...Amazon has a high quotient of douche bag personnel.   I've walked the halls of Microsoft during more lean years and felt less dirty than learning how Amazon operated just a few years ago.   I die a little inside every time our Prime sub renews.  Holiday shopping is the only reason we keep it. 

peterhart said:

Unfortunately, I’m no longer using my Velop system. Can’t use HomePods in Stereo mode  with them when the Velop towers are assigned to different rooms and Home Sharing constantly has issues. Anyone else have a mesh system but have issues with inconsistent Apple product connections? 

I don't have HomePods yet but I have a Velop 3 Node system.   Honestly I'm "done" with Mesh routers.   They are overhyped.  Don't get me wrong in some circumstances they can do a good job but it's clear to understand not to expect magic.    My first mesh system was a Luma and my Ecobee Thermostat stopped connecting until I swapped my Time Capsule back in.   

You don’t need a bunch of HomePod laying around if your home has iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch laying around.