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0 pointsjrm44y ago0 comments

"Most TV's don't have built-in file managers"

Lack of a built in file manager on any device is an excellent indicator of "how bad the manufacturer is trying to reduce your freedom."

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scubbo4y ago

True, but irrelevant to the conversation at hand. And also ironic, given that most HNers decry smart TVs and yearn for a return to "just a screen", without apps (including file managers).

jrm4OP4y ago

You're missing it entirely. They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish.

Moreover, they correctly understand what the TV industry works so hard to obscure. It's computers all the way down. If you're gonna slap a computer on my screen, then let me use it as a general purpose computer. If, however, you insist on putting a computer on my screen that I hate, then make it easy for me to avoid it.

And of course, we know why they don't do this -- the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.

scubbo4y ago

I'm not sure how we're managing to agree so much on overall direction/motivation, while seeming to contradict one another.

> They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish.

Yep - and if the screen is "just a screen" (i.e. has no file manager or other media-interfacing functionality on it), there there will need to be some _other_ computer in the stack of "computers all the way down" to provide the media-interface. For me, Kodi does that job perfectly well, but it doesn't work well for everyone.

> the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.

Yes, this is an uncontroversial statement of a distasteful truth.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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scubbo4y ago

True, but irrelevant to the conversation at hand. And also ironic, given that most HNers decry smart TVs and yearn for a return to "just a screen", without apps (including file managers).

jrm4OP4y ago

You're missing it entirely. They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish.

And of course, we know why they don't do this -- the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.

scubbo4y ago

I'm not sure how we're managing to agree so much on overall direction/motivation, while seeming to contradict one another.

> They want "just a screen" precisely so that they can use whatever they want on it, including filemanagers if they wish.

> the low cost of the TV is subsidized by the data they sell to others gained by spying on you.

Yes, this is an uncontroversial statement of a distasteful truth.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse