The General Technology Thread

[DoggyDaddy]

Sucks too. Every single content provider thinks their stuff is worth a $10 a month subscription price by itself, which is crap. It used to be the Netflix and Hulu Plus covered most of the bases, but I think I may have to go back to cable. Or stop watching TV cause F 'em.

Had to happen sooner or later. Netflix and Hulu, etc. just hooked everyone in with an (albeit extended) "introductory offer", just like cable providers advertise "TV and Internet for only $xx/month for 2 years!"... and at the end of the 2 years the price suddenly jumps to $xx times 3. I'm about due to call Comcast (again) and renegotiate. I'm paying almost $220 a month for phone, internet, and what I consider to be "basic" cable. They call it Tier 2 cable or some nonsense, but I don't have any premium channels like HBO or Showtime. It's just that the channels we like (History, Discovery, A&E, HGTV, etc.) aren't available without going to Tier 2.

 

[wtburnette]

Had to happen sooner or later. Netflix and Hulu, etc. just hooked everyone in with an (albeit extended) "introductory offer", just like cable providers advertise "TV and Internet for only $xx/month for 2 years!"... and at the end of the 2 years the price suddenly jumps to $xx times 3. I'm about due to call Comcast (again) and renegotiate. I'm paying almost $220 a month for phone, internet, and what I consider to be "basic" cable. They call it Tier 2 cable or some nonsense, but I don't have any premium channels like HBO or Showtime. It's just that the channels we like (History, Discovery, A&E, HGTV, etc.) aren't available without going to Tier 2.

Unless Cable ever goes ala cart, I don't think I'll ever go back to them again. I'm thinking of canceling Netflix because they don't have stuff I watch that much any more. With them canceling their Marvel shows, that makes even less that I watch through them. Probably just keep Hulu and Amazon Prime, buying the occasional season of something when we absolutely need to watch something we can't get otherwise...

 

[KLB]

Dish Network might be worth looking at for some of you. You can get small packages of channels now, instead of having to pay for 200 to get the couple you really want to watch

 

[jkaetz]

Unless Cable ever goes ala cart, I don't think I'll ever go back to them again. I'm thinking of canceling Netflix because they don't have stuff I watch that much any more. With them canceling their Marvel shows, that makes even less that I watch through them. Probably just keep Hulu and Amazon Prime, buying the occasional season of something when we absolutely need to watch something we can't get otherwise...

You'll never get the ala cart your thinking of. The content providers know you only watch their primary channels (HGTV, Discovery, etc) and they make the cable and satellite companies bundle crap channels with them and of course charge more. Guess who they pass the cost onto while advertising hundreds of channels you don't watch. It is becoming more transparent as all the content providers try to get your $$ directly with their own streaming service. I just far for the picture and sound quality of the future video services. 4 and 8k content and multi channel audio streams just can't be sent over the internet without being butchered along the way.

 

[wtburnette]

You'll never get the ala cart your thinking of. The content providers know you only watch their primary channels (HGTV, Discovery, etc) and they make the cable and satellite companies bundle crap channels with them and of course charge more. Guess who they pass the cost onto while advertising hundreds of channels you don't watch. It is becoming more transparent as all the content providers try to get your $$ directly with their own streaming service. I just far for the picture and sound quality of the future video services. 4 and 8k content and multi channel audio streams just can't be sent over the internet without being butchered along the way.

Yep, which leads me back to just watching one or two services and buying a season of something when I have to. Still be ahead over what content providers want.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

[video=youtube;iLA1XLO8p1A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLA1XLO8p1A[/video]

 

[Hop]

...Netflix... With them canceling their Marvel shows, that makes even less that I watch through them. Probably just keep Hulu and Amazon Prime, buying the occasional season of something when we absolutely need to watch something we can't get otherwise...

Wait what? I'm watching Punisher now. Just finished season 4 of The Flash, which leads me into the two cancelled shows. Neither looked that great but it sounds like there's a Netflix/Disney feud happening. Cascading cancellations are coming. What a bummer.

 

[wtburnette]

Wait what? I'm watching Punisher now. Just finished season 4 of The Flash, which leads me into the two cancelled shows. Neither looked that great but it sounds like there's a Netflix/Disney feud happening. Cascading cancellations are coming. What a bummer.

Yep, just waiting on word that Jessica Jones and Punisher are canceled. Too bad as I really liked both.

 

[jamil]

Wait what? I'm watching Punisher now. Just finished season 4 of The Flash, which leads me into the two cancelled shows. Neither looked that great but it sounds like there's a Netflix/Disney feud happening. Cascading cancellations are coming. What a bummer.

We’ve known this was coming. Disney owns Marvel. Disney announced plans a couple of years ago to start their own Netflix-esque streaming service. Look for Disney to pull content they own from streaming services as those contracts run out and they get closer to rolling out their own service.

 

[NKBJ]

Found a CD in the back of an Honor Harrington novel I picked up at a Salvation Army store.
Nobody else ever opened it up either.

 

[actaeon277]

Found a CD in the back of an Honor Harrington novel I picked up at a Salvation Army store.
Nobody else ever opened it up either.

Honor Harrington is a great set of books.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Major iPhone FaceTime bug lets you hear the audio of the person you are calling ... before they pick up - 9to5Mac

https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/28/facetime-bug-hear-audio/

 

[KLB]

We’ve known this was coming. Disney owns Marvel. Disney announced plans a couple of years ago to start their own Netflix-esque streaming service. Look for Disney to pull content they own from streaming services as those contracts run out and they get closer to rolling out their own service.

And they can keep it. They won't get a penny from me.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Israeli Scientists Claim To Have Found Cure for Cancer

 

[Phase2]

As the great Prof. Reynolds says: Faster please.

 

[NKBJ]

Honor Harrington is a great set of books.

They really are.
Would love to see more books for young people that have bravery, strength of character, honor, duty and morality as key features of the protagonists.
But hey, would the librarians want them?

 

[actaeon277]

They really are.
Would love to see more books for young people that have bravery, strength of character, honor, duty and morality as key features of the protagonists.
But hey, would the librarians want them?

Well, this series alone is pretty popular.
There are videos on YouTube about them. And discussion panels around the country that have discussed them.
I have just about every book, and there are a LOT of them.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Today, Joe Rogan talked with David Sinclair... a Professor in the dept of Genetics and co-director of the Paul F Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard.

Lot of discussion about combating the aging disease, methods of slowing aging that aren't talked about, etc. Interesting stuff that might make you re-think your diet and consider some certain medicines.

Full show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOTS0HS7aq4

If you're interested in more digestible, short clips, check out the "JRE Clips" YouTube channel.

 

[historian]

https://xkcd.com/2105/

 

[BugI02]

Major iPhone FaceTime bug lets you hear the audio of the person you are calling ... before they pick up - 9to5Mac

https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/28/facetime-bug-hear-audio/

Vulnerability also exists on iPad 12.1 and up as well as on desktop running 14.1 and up if running facetime app