Unfortunately, for decades, the software and computer operating systems we thought we "bought", we're only "leasing" it to use. One thing that irks me is that cheap mobile flip phones have replaceable batteries, while more expensive mobile phones do not. And the cost of a replacement battery and labor costs are almost as much as buying a new phone.. And sadly, a lot of these phones wind up in landfills when the batteries die.
I heard that Europe is working on mandating replaceable batteries. I did replace the batteries on the previous three phones. But not everybody thinks they can disassemble their phones to replace the batteries. I also replaced the screen on one phone. And replaced the screens on several laptops.
hope they EU gets that pushed through, though Apple surely will find a way to still screw over their customers like with the USB cable standard that was finally imposed. Would we want to go back to proprietary screws and nails? No, so why would we not want standards for other items
Which is why I stick with cheap android phones. ;*[} BTW Fran - happened to me years ago - left my camera bag at the bottom of the stairs in SF, and someone disappeared it ...... happened years ago but it still stings....hang in there!
Cars will be next. You won't own the car, won't be able to fix it yourself or pay a third party to do the work; but you will still pay the full price for it. Some positives, sure, but a lot of negatives.
The latest anti-consumer trick is for lawn gadgets to use proprietary batteries that lock you into buying tools (and more batteries) from the same manufacturer. Now that they are established, they don't even include a battery in with the gadget any more, and I notice the charger/battery package is costing nearly as much as the tools originally cost.
I drove down to Cornwall from Essex, with my soon to be wife, in 1999 to see the total solar eclipse that I had in my diary for ten years or so. It was totally overcast - typical UK crappy weather whenever there is any astronomical event happening.
We were there too.We ended up having the tv in the caravan window to watch the tv feed from the camera plane flying above the cloud layer whilst we stood outside.
It’s amazing that we live in the most technically, scientifically advanced time in human history, and people still get eye injuries from looking at the sun. I’d bet that Neanderthals had that figured out.
Agreed Fran... I just don't understand how any legal system would allow for something as blatantly criminal as the idea of forced arbitration. It simply should not be a thing. Not in a functional democracy anyways. See, what this term is hiding in plain sight is an instrument that private companies use to completely bypass justice, as if they were above the law. Oh, you can't take us to court, because our contract says so. Contracts made between parties should never have unlimited power, as they are demonstrably used again and again to trample over the rights of people. How can this not be considered an abusive contract term outright? Contract terms like those should be automatically dismissed and annulled in court, if not companies using such things suffer penalty under law for trying to harass and deceive consumers. It's not that much unlike warranty void stickers. No private business should have the power to do those things, so they should not appear in contracts at all. As for right to repair, I think it is true that at the core of this is a right to own. But I'm still in favor of right to repair laws because, well, it's only a portion of it, but seemingly has at least some limited chances to pass as legislation. It seems like these days the system is so propped towards private corporations that a real right to ownership has absolutely no chances of passing anymore. This goes down further with a problem of corporation lobbyism being something allowed in politics. Politics shouldn't be an open market for the richest to bid their wishes to pass through. But anyways, these things are criticism and complaints I've had in mind for so many years now, and there are so many other mounting issues in politics these days, that it gets kinda lost in the noise. US politics in particular have gone so far off the rails that I don't consider that the US has a functional democracy anymore, for at least the past couple of decades or so - and it's only getting worse. Worse to the point it can't even maintain a façade any longer.
real problem is US consumer law allows consumers to be boxed in by contract terms which should be legally unenforceable. Especially, their ability to vary the terms after purchase, if you don't go through ridiculous hoops. HP printers bricked after purchase if you don't sign up to their subscription for ink. Even if you just want to use the scanner. Or RV warranties. Should be some basic consumer rights which cannot be sidestepped by companies saying "by purchasing/ticking the box etc you accept your rights are down the toilet". Maybe US consumers get the legal framework they deserve, if they don't "rise up". I accept that the political system is corrupted by big business & weighted against them.
If they're going to frame the use of products as a lease, they should treat it more like a car or apartment lease. That is, you give it back to the company, and you can use the residual value of the item to help you buy into the next one. If they brick the thing you are still using, wouldn't that amount to vandalism?
As something of a safety-aware individual, I had the pleasure of advising some folks I know how to safely view an eclipse. The folks who were able to view have taken some nice photos with the lens filter included in the kit (Celestron) that I recommended. I hope to get copies of them soon. Thanks for the coverage of Tom Stafford's passing. All of the Apollo astronauts were and still are the real deal. They are all men of passion and true commitment to the program. May all those who have gone on to "eternal explorations" rest in peace on the bosom of the stars.
I drove with my son 30+ hours round trip and got a clear view. We were dumb and didn't buy glasses, every place within 200 miles was sold out! 😂 But, luckily I had brought my sextant, which has a telescope and filters to look directly at the sun. Was the coolest event ever.
The sky cleared at the last minute up near Conneaut Lake, PA. We saw everything including the large solar promininces. The local winery/distillery opened their property to picnicers, and a good time was had by all.
re: "Right to Own"... yes, the propensity of manufacturers to build or deploy "planned obsolescence" into their products is predatory and there ought to be some form of consumer protection against it. On the other hand, there is this thing called "product liability" which puts manufacturers on the hook for harms arising out of product defects, malfunctions, or even misuse. If a consumer wants "right to repair" and "right to own", said consumer would have to forfeit any right to sue for any harm arising from normal use, misuse, malfunction or defect of a product, especially if said consumer has undertaken their own repair. It kinda makes sense for a phone manufacturer to "brick" an obsolete device rather than remain perpetually obligated to supporting it. By the way... the whole cellular evolution thing "bricked" 2g-only phones cuz that's all they were built to do, and (1) 2g utilized RF spectrum much less efficiently than subsequent generations, and (2) all that network infrastructure costs time and money to maintain, so there's no economic case (which comes out in your cell bill) to keep it alive when there are better options.
ALL those Consumers that Bought Products from ROKU should get together and SUE ROKU for their money back ! The answer is DON'T Buy Their Products Government can't make you do that !
The Government, through tegulation, can make ownership onerous and expensive, and we are seeing that with cars and homes, let alone products like Roku. "You will own nothing, and you will be happy."
I got to see totality for maybe 45 seconds....the cloud cover broke a little.. Thieves can be faster than you think. I rode a bike to the local library, locked it up and went inside to drop off a flashlight to someone I know who worked there...gone maybe 90 seconds..bike and lock were gone when I got back. .. a police station is next to the library. Didn't have far to go to report the theft.
IIRC, there is a British candy I used to like that I can no longer get because it uses Red Dye #3. The previous eclipse I watched via a pin hole camera set up. This eclipse I stayed inside. It was completely overcast. I did notice it get dark then light again. I watched the actual eclipse on TV.
Real maraschino cherries don't have artificial coloring, they're dark red, almost black. The bright red ones are fake. Try Luxardo, they're pricey, but the flavor is intense.
Old type drive in movies with food to car delivery are good retro business idea. Bad news is that big drive in movie screens are used for indoor I Max theaters. 😮.
WESTERN ELECTRIC phones were leased by Bell. It was taboo to modify their phones, or even hook up extensions up intil the 70s. I remember getting a four pin wall jack, and learning that you only needed two wires, and you coukd get an off brand phone at Olson Electronics to hook up an ""illegal"" extension.
I've been in Ft. Pierce, FL for the past few months. Usually once a week we can see a Space X Launch from Canaveral. Private space launches are indeed, now, a frequent event.
19:09 but that's not possible if the device has any software. It seem that the problem is software is considered apart from the hardware, thus you don't own it. Like if software was an ethereal soul without a body... Or that the body of the machine is the entire machine without the software, but without the software the machine is a useless brick. The only solution for that is to basically ignore EULAs and just do what you want because you literally POWN the device, you physically own it, so it you basically have the NATURAL right to do whatever to the bits stored on its ROM. If I own the atoms, I own everything, I don't need to ask permission from the law, imagine if I had to ask permission from the law/government to use a screwdriver on a green screw because the manufacturer of such screwdrivers made it so you can only use it for blue screws, that would be insane if we we're talking about any purely mechanical device, yet the moment there's stupid computer software... It can't be immoral to hack devices I own, and I'm going to die on this hill. It might be illegal, but I don't care, you're going to have to rewrite all the ownership laws so I don't own the hardware to stop me from modifying software that's running on machines that I have physical access to. Such stupid dualism of our western philosophy...
I think the point here is that for as long as you don't tamper with the device, Roku has at least an implied warranty that the device and its software will function "as advertised" (although software disclaimers often are "as-is" with "best-effort" to correct any defects). If they decide the world or the product space has changed enough that it's no longer viable for them to continue supporting your device as-is, it truly becomes yours and your problem. If you want to tinker with the software on it, you're entirely on your own for any consequences arising from your tinkering. I think this all becomes an issue when either the manufacturer or the consumer tries to have it both ways.
I regularly go to both Shankweiler's and Becky's drive-ins up here in the Lehigh Valley. I disagree with your thoughts on window speakers. They were bulky and sounded horrible. Using the car's sound system is much better. The mosquitos can't squeeze in the crack in the window that way. BTW, Becky's was selling their window speakers for a while but I think they are sold out at this point.
A couple of years ago I bought a 3G dumb phone just calls and text was all that I required lovely little phone and not that expensive I thought I will get a 3G rather than a 2G as they say that they are stopping the signal for 2G signal soon now I find they have stopped the 3G but still leave the 2G on at least in the UK I am so pissed off all of that money down the drain if I had paid less and got a 2G one it would still be working.
Here I thought, especially in the US, that the "personal property ownership" would be less of a debate... how unpatriotic of big tech companies to NOT allow personal property... that's soooo communist [scnr]
Recently, Portland (similar to I think New York and California) has been introducing or maybe just passed a bill that Apple's ticked about it limiting parts paring. It's not extensive, so I won't be doing back flips, but it's better than no regulation. I agree that ownership is paramount, but there's also no point in owning if something is built to break. Feels like it's a several prong issue and I'd be for both pushing for regulation against planned obsolescence coupled with right to repair. Some things to keep an eye on. Definitely 100% agree companies are getting out of hand with their terms of service and forcing people into contracts to use something they bought and should now own. The power imbalance is frustrating. Don't always comment, but I do enjoy the channel. Thanks for sharing the news.
You can't repair if you can't buy parts. Now, you can salvage parts from broken equipment sometimes, but that is replacing your broken part with a used one, and the lifetime left may be an issue. So, it used to be that parts for anything had to be made available. The quirk with that is manufacturers made the replacement part so expensive that you did not want to repair the item. When they did that, they made a new business of OEM clones come into being. Now though, the parts are way too small, and chips that have algorithms contained are copyrighted, so they can't be made.
I worked in a manufacturing reasearch and development department. The product was carefully designed to be 'just about good enough' to last and function for a few years only. Materials cheapened, castings had the strengthening portions reduced and paint process had been applied so thinly, you almost see through it. That's the real R&D funtion. I initially naively thought it was to improve the product....😢
It's similar with software. You could buy a graphics suite that did, and still does, everything you want but each year a new version comes out. You wanted a few years then, because people were sending stuff done on the latest version - that you weren't able to open - you upgraded at a reduced price. Now there's the trend to never own the software but pay an annual fee. If you're a part-time worker, or hobbyist, it's no longer viable.
I think phones and computers haven't really changed in many years, they just make the old ones fail. But, this is also with the rise of Chinese Engineering a situation by which we can get many wonderful things of mediocre quality for much cheaper than mainstream brands. It is very much the market that American Engineering had back in the 60s, when things barely worked, but were well built.
While Washington is somewhat limited in how it can treat these giant tech firms, the EU which has less skin in the game but a very large and tech hungry populace is showing time and again that it will support its citizen's rights. Non replaceable batteries in phones being the most recent target and proprietary chargers being an earlier example. The tech firms lobby and threaten and cry like babies but the eu tend to stand by their consumers. They could certainly do a lot more still but it does make me happy that perhaps just through the sour grapes of having very few true tech giants native to the eu we have instead someone giving the fight for us.
this Right to Repair stuff really took off with comuter software: an important product not beeing sold but licenced, or if sold, then with frequent regular updates etc. You can own the hardware but need almost permanenntly pay for updates. Big industry has a knack for overdoing their business tricks until something gets unbearable!
I have a 72 Dodge pickup, with a 360 cu in, rebuilt by me and a friend. If something goes wrong, I can fix it with out a computer, As this pickup ages and I can't find the part I need, I go to junk yard eeer recycle yard and get what I need. Spark plugs can be sometimes an issue, but there is a work around. O, and down the road there is a 3d shop, sometime expensive, but they fabricate good products.
I would tax Elon Musk for even installing a sink at Twitter building, For SpaceX, I would fine Elon's company for environmental damage and overuse of tap water at its launch pads.
the candidates tournament is on this moment for chess fans. i believe it is open to women if they qualify but men can't play in the women's tournament.
The next total solar eclipse will be in 2026, it will be visible from Iceland and Spain (among other places). If at all possible, see a total solar eclipse. I traveled to Tennessee for the 2017 event and to Plattsburgh, NY for last week's eclipse (I live in the suburbs of New York City). A total solar eclipse is a spectacular sight.
Companies do what they do to maker money. The consumer has yhe ultimate power, in that if you don't follow the hype and get the latest iPhone or whatever is what a company is the latest and greatest, then they won't do that. However, it takes an entire market to influence a company. I keep thinking of the iPhone's predecessor- the Newton. Also, Windows ME, Vista, 8, and looking more like Windows 11 is following that route.
Imagine if every small appliance you bought had a proprietary 110 volt plug and you had to rewire outlets to use the damn thing. We'd laugh the company that tried to do that right off the market, but with power tools, they are getting away with it. Why, if you plug an incompatible battery into you tool, you might blow them both up! The other guys electricity is not compatible with our tools don'tchya know! Don't even get me started about HP and their damn ink cartridges!
A more natural alternative to petroleum-based red dye #3 is Carmine Red, made from the cochineal bug that feeds on prickly pear cactus. It has a long medieval history as a clothing dye, but It's much more expensive than synthetic dyes because it takes 70,000 of these insects to produce 1/5 of a pound of red carminic acid, and collecting the bugs is labor-intensive. Carmine red is used in Yoplait yogurt, and it used to be used in some Starbucks products but people complained that it wasn't truly vegan because the dye is derived from insects, and so Starbucks discontinued it's use. The only known health effect is that a very small number of people can have an allergic rejection to it. It's not known to aggravate ADHD or cause cancer, and scientists are currently trying to genetically engineer bacteria to create carminic acid or a close precursor so that it's not necessary to harvest bugs in order to make it.
I am oh so lucky to live in Indianapolis, so it wasn't a problem at all to look directly at it for four minutes or so during totality. It was breathtaking, especially the moment when it suddenly darkened the sky and was easy to look at without the glasses. I will never forget it, ever. I did some magick spells for fun and to make my life suddenly magickally better. Take that for what you will but it was quite a special moment, to have a whole city of over a million pause and gasp.
@@franklittle8124 I know. But it's surprisingly complicated thing to educate and explain. I was thinking about it for a while, like some people believe the sunlight is stronger during the eclipse... So the comment became too long and I dropped it.
space-x could make a floating launch boat and not pay any tax. remember when people got fed up with taxes in the Great Britain and went to create the United States ?
@@monad_tcp Just for the sake of context, I don't see the US. as king's and queens taxing the citizens.. If there were no tax's , we would see things grind to a halt pretty fast..
@@parttime9070 it's not the taxes but their continual increase; especially the mil-rate. each increase usually involves more government related jobs which gives said government increasing power over you.
Aren't they launching from NASA facilities? If so, don't those areas already have no fly zones? If you want to stop mosquitos from biting you get some skin so soft and some povidone iodine and mix some of the iodine with the skin so soft and apply it to your skin and they won't come near you.
I won't buy. and have never owned, anything from Apple or Roku. There are brilliant people developing devices these days which do not incorporate this kind of trap. This kind of drek is why I got into Linux back in 1996 (after a close reading of Microsoft's _Licensing 6.0_ made the future of tech clear to me.) This stuff is going to make early adoption of bleeding-edge tech much less popular than it already is. It will eventually have detrimental economic impacts, too. Make wise choices in tech, and in all aspects of your lives. Spend your money only on products, goods, and services which align closely with your own personal views, beliefs, and goals.
Had roku v1. They bricked it snd informed me that I'd have to buy the newest version. No roku for me any more, thank you very much For roku, the problem is there are alternatives to them. On an aside, id like to thank the EU for making things a little more consumer centric and not so heavily capitalist. Balance is there somewhere, it just not as profitable, moneywise.
Dear Fran. Thanks so much for your awesome and informative videos! I really love your philco tv! Ive restored 2 philco sets and both utilized the same crt and chassis from the predicta
I've essentially put a giant break on buying any tech. If others are stupid enough to put up with this nonsense then more power to them. The Roku devices that I stupidly put money into years ago have long since passed through the metaphorical wood chipper. I will never ever buy any electronics with an Apple, Samsung, Roku, LG logo on it. That list keeps getting longer end longer.
The eclipse is the moment your living under a rock.
*you’re
But very well played! 😏
I must say when companies intentionally break an item. I generally don't go back to that very company again. I try a different company
Unfortunately, for decades, the software and computer operating systems we thought we "bought", we're only "leasing" it to use. One thing that irks me is that cheap mobile flip phones have replaceable batteries, while more expensive mobile phones do not. And the cost of a replacement battery and labor costs are almost as much as buying a new phone.. And sadly, a lot of these phones wind up in landfills when the batteries die.
I heard that Europe is working on mandating replaceable batteries.
I did replace the batteries on the previous three phones. But not everybody thinks they can disassemble their phones to replace the batteries. I also replaced the screen on one phone. And replaced the screens on several laptops.
hope they EU gets that pushed through, though Apple surely will find a way to still screw over their customers like with the USB cable standard that was finally imposed. Would we want to go back to proprietary screws and nails? No, so why would we not want standards for other items
Which is why I stick with cheap android phones. ;*[}
BTW Fran - happened to me years ago - left my camera bag at the bottom of the stairs in SF, and someone disappeared it
...... happened years ago but it still stings....hang in there!
Cars will be next. You won't own the car, won't be able to fix it yourself or pay a third party to do the work; but you will still pay the full price for it. Some positives, sure, but a lot of negatives.
Vote with your dollars, don't buy a car that will rat you out..
The latest anti-consumer trick is for lawn gadgets to use proprietary batteries that lock you into buying tools (and more batteries) from the same manufacturer. Now that they are established, they don't even include a battery in with the gadget any more, and I notice the charger/battery package is costing nearly as much as the tools originally cost.
I drove down to Cornwall from Essex, with my soon to be wife, in 1999 to see the total solar eclipse that I had in my diary for ten years or so. It was totally overcast - typical UK crappy weather whenever there is any astronomical event happening.
We were there too.We ended up having the tv in the caravan window to watch the tv feed from the camera plane flying above the cloud layer whilst we stood outside.
It’s amazing that we live in the most technically, scientifically advanced time in human history, and people still get eye injuries from looking at the sun. I’d bet that Neanderthals had that figured out.
Agreed Fran...
I just don't understand how any legal system would allow for something as blatantly criminal as the idea of forced arbitration.
It simply should not be a thing. Not in a functional democracy anyways.
See, what this term is hiding in plain sight is an instrument that private companies use to completely bypass justice, as if they were above the law. Oh, you can't take us to court, because our contract says so. Contracts made between parties should never have unlimited power, as they are demonstrably used again and again to trample over the rights of people.
How can this not be considered an abusive contract term outright? Contract terms like those should be automatically dismissed and annulled in court, if not companies using such things suffer penalty under law for trying to harass and deceive consumers. It's not that much unlike warranty void stickers. No private business should have the power to do those things, so they should not appear in contracts at all.
As for right to repair, I think it is true that at the core of this is a right to own. But I'm still in favor of right to repair laws because, well, it's only a portion of it, but seemingly has at least some limited chances to pass as legislation. It seems like these days the system is so propped towards private corporations that a real right to ownership has absolutely no chances of passing anymore. This goes down further with a problem of corporation lobbyism being something allowed in politics. Politics shouldn't be an open market for the richest to bid their wishes to pass through.
But anyways, these things are criticism and complaints I've had in mind for so many years now, and there are so many other mounting issues in politics these days, that it gets kinda lost in the noise. US politics in particular have gone so far off the rails that I don't consider that the US has a functional democracy anymore, for at least the past couple of decades or so - and it's only getting worse. Worse to the point it can't even maintain a façade any longer.
real problem is US consumer law allows consumers to be boxed in by contract terms which should be legally unenforceable. Especially, their ability to vary the terms after purchase, if you don't go through ridiculous hoops. HP printers bricked after purchase if you don't sign up to their subscription for ink. Even if you just want to use the scanner. Or RV warranties. Should be some basic consumer rights which cannot be sidestepped by companies saying "by purchasing/ticking the box etc you accept your rights are down the toilet". Maybe US consumers get the legal framework they deserve, if they don't "rise up". I accept that the political system is corrupted by big business & weighted against them.
If they're going to frame the use of products as a lease, they should treat it more like a car or apartment lease. That is, you give it back to the company, and you can use the residual value of the item to help you buy into the next one. If they brick the thing you are still using, wouldn't that amount to vandalism?
E-waste piles up in landfills, so that a line on a graph somewhere goes up.
"...line on graph must go up."
As something of a safety-aware individual, I had the pleasure of advising some folks I know how to safely view an eclipse. The folks who were able to view have taken some nice photos with the lens filter included in the kit (Celestron) that I recommended. I hope to get copies of them soon. Thanks for the coverage of Tom Stafford's passing. All of the Apollo astronauts were and still are the real deal. They are all men of passion and true commitment to the program. May all those who have gone on to "eternal explorations" rest in peace on the bosom of the stars.
People should get credit for their contributions and it is inspirational for others.
I drove with my son 30+ hours round trip and got a clear view. We were dumb and didn't buy glasses, every place within 200 miles was sold out! 😂 But, luckily I had brought my sextant, which has a telescope and filters to look directly at the sun. Was the coolest event ever.
If we don't own our products, who is responsible for recycling them?
Don't give the lawyers any ideas! LOL
The owners, whoever THEY are...
The owners, whoever THEY are...
Red dye no. 3 is a vital nutrient when growing maraschino cherry trees.
The sky cleared at the last minute up near Conneaut Lake, PA. We saw everything including the large solar promininces. The local winery/distillery opened their property to picnicers, and a good time was had by all.
re: "Right to Own"... yes, the propensity of manufacturers to build or deploy "planned obsolescence" into their products is predatory and there ought to be some form of consumer protection against it. On the other hand, there is this thing called "product liability" which puts manufacturers on the hook for harms arising out of product defects, malfunctions, or even misuse. If a consumer wants "right to repair" and "right to own", said consumer would have to forfeit any right to sue for any harm arising from normal use, misuse, malfunction or defect of a product, especially if said consumer has undertaken their own repair. It kinda makes sense for a phone manufacturer to "brick" an obsolete device rather than remain perpetually obligated to supporting it. By the way... the whole cellular evolution thing "bricked" 2g-only phones cuz that's all they were built to do, and (1) 2g utilized RF spectrum much less efficiently than subsequent generations, and (2) all that network infrastructure costs time and money to maintain, so there's no economic case (which comes out in your cell bill) to keep it alive when there are better options.
ALL those Consumers that Bought Products from ROKU should get together and SUE ROKU for their money back ! The answer is DON'T Buy Their Products Government can't make you do that !
HACK the crap out of that thing.
steal it !
The Government, through tegulation, can make ownership onerous and expensive, and we are seeing that with cars and homes, let alone products like Roku. "You will own nothing, and you will be happy."
Didn't even think about the air traffic solution until you mentioned it, Fran. Extremely good point!
I agree with you about having the little speaker to hang from your window at the drive-in theater, if we still had drive-in theaters.
I got to see totality for maybe 45 seconds....the cloud cover broke a little..
Thieves can be faster than you think. I rode a bike to the local library, locked it up and went inside to drop off a flashlight to someone I know who worked there...gone maybe 90 seconds..bike and lock were gone when I got back. .. a police station is next to the library. Didn't have far to go to report the theft.
Sounds like the type of location likely to have a couple of security cameras, to catch the thief in the act.
IIRC, there is a British candy I used to like that I can no longer get because it uses Red Dye #3. The previous eclipse I watched via a pin hole camera set up. This eclipse I stayed inside. It was completely overcast. I did notice it get dark then light again. I watched the actual eclipse on TV.
I really appreciate hearing the latest science through your perspective Fran
Fran, you are 100% correct in your assertion that right to own is the REAL question.
Real maraschino cherries don't have artificial coloring, they're dark red, almost black. The bright red ones are fake. Try Luxardo, they're pricey, but the flavor is intense.
Old type drive in movies with food to car delivery are good retro business idea. Bad news is that big drive in movie screens are used for indoor I Max theaters. 😮.
WESTERN ELECTRIC phones were leased by Bell. It was taboo to modify their phones, or even hook up extensions up intil the 70s. I remember getting a four pin wall jack, and learning that you only needed two wires, and you coukd get an off brand phone at Olson Electronics to hook up an ""illegal"" extension.
Love your videos. Thanks!
Thanks for your support!
NB: I remember drive-in window speakers too! Darned kids used to steal them occasionally....
Oooh that's a Texas Instrument calculator on your desk.
Things I've never expected to hear... 'Heavy lobbying from the Maraschino Cherry Industry...' xD wtf
I've been in Ft. Pierce, FL for the past few months. Usually once a week we can see a Space X Launch from Canaveral. Private space launches are indeed, now, a frequent event.
In South Africa we used to have drive inns
So delicious - 🤣
I'm a mosquito !!
Thanks for sharing about Lisa Lane - I'm a big Bobby Fan 😉
And Roku ... wow !! Unbelievable !
Like your style 😘
19:09 but that's not possible if the device has any software. It seem that the problem is software is considered apart from the hardware, thus you don't own it. Like if software was an ethereal soul without a body...
Or that the body of the machine is the entire machine without the software, but without the software the machine is a useless brick.
The only solution for that is to basically ignore EULAs and just do what you want because you literally POWN the device, you physically own it, so it you basically have the NATURAL right to do whatever to the bits stored on its ROM.
If I own the atoms, I own everything, I don't need to ask permission from the law, imagine if I had to ask permission from the law/government to use a screwdriver on a green screw because the manufacturer of such screwdrivers made it so you can only use it for blue screws, that would be insane if we we're talking about any purely mechanical device, yet the moment there's stupid computer software...
It can't be immoral to hack devices I own, and I'm going to die on this hill. It might be illegal, but I don't care, you're going to have to rewrite all the ownership laws so I don't own the hardware to stop me from modifying software that's running on machines that I have physical access to.
Such stupid dualism of our western philosophy...
I think the point here is that for as long as you don't tamper with the device, Roku has at least an implied warranty that the device and its software will function "as advertised" (although software disclaimers often are "as-is" with "best-effort" to correct any defects). If they decide the world or the product space has changed enough that it's no longer viable for them to continue supporting your device as-is, it truly becomes yours and your problem. If you want to tinker with the software on it, you're entirely on your own for any consequences arising from your tinkering. I think this all becomes an issue when either the manufacturer or the consumer tries to have it both ways.
When satellite tv companies put satellites into orbit were they using non government rockets? Did they pay taxes?
*I had to choose between a perfect partial or an iffy total and a 3 hour (each way) drive. Stayed home.*
I regularly go to both Shankweiler's and Becky's drive-ins up here in the Lehigh Valley.
I disagree with your thoughts on window speakers. They were bulky and sounded horrible. Using the car's sound system is much better. The mosquitos can't squeeze in the crack in the window that way. BTW, Becky's was selling their window speakers for a while but I think they are sold out at this point.
A couple of years ago I bought a 3G dumb phone just calls and text was all that I required lovely little phone and not that expensive I thought I will get a 3G rather than a 2G as they say that they are stopping the signal for 2G signal soon now I find they have stopped the 3G but still leave the 2G on at least in the UK I am so pissed off all of that money down the drain if I had paid less and got a 2G one it would still be working.
You impart important information.
RIP Apollo hero’s.
Luckily i had a clear sky and extra dark welding glass. Was 93-95% My camera couldn't focus but i got to see.
Sorry about the poor view. We had great weather in upstate NY. It was really cool to watch.
Perpetual leasing without consumer's consent is unfair and illegal.
Here I thought, especially in the US, that the "personal property ownership" would be less of a debate... how unpatriotic of big tech companies to NOT allow personal property... that's soooo communist [scnr]
Recently, Portland (similar to I think New York and California) has been introducing or maybe just passed a bill that Apple's ticked about it limiting parts paring. It's not extensive, so I won't be doing back flips, but it's better than no regulation. I agree that ownership is paramount, but there's also no point in owning if something is built to break. Feels like it's a several prong issue and I'd be for both pushing for regulation against planned obsolescence coupled with right to repair.
Some things to keep an eye on. Definitely 100% agree companies are getting out of hand with their terms of service and forcing people into contracts to use something they bought and should now own. The power imbalance is frustrating.
Don't always comment, but I do enjoy the channel. Thanks for sharing the news.
You can't repair if you can't buy parts. Now, you can salvage parts from broken equipment sometimes, but that is replacing your broken part with a used one, and the lifetime left may be an issue. So, it used to be that parts for anything had to be made available. The quirk with that is manufacturers made the replacement part so expensive that you did not want to repair the item. When they did that, they made a new business of OEM clones come into being. Now though, the parts are way too small, and chips that have algorithms contained are copyrighted, so they can't be made.
It shouldn't be a tax, it should be a license and a toll to the FAA. We pay for a license to drive cars and toll to use the turnpike. That's fair.
I worked in a manufacturing reasearch and development department. The product was carefully designed to be 'just about good enough' to last and function for a few years only. Materials cheapened, castings had the strengthening portions reduced and paint process had been applied so thinly, you almost see through it. That's the real R&D funtion. I initially naively thought it was to improve the product....😢
Don't forget that Free and Open Source Software exists! There's a FOSS program or package for most things that most people do.
It's similar with software. You could buy a graphics suite that did, and still does, everything you want but each year a new version comes out. You wanted a few years then, because people were sending stuff done on the latest version - that you weren't able to open - you upgraded at a reduced price. Now there's the trend to never own the software but pay an annual fee. If you're a part-time worker, or hobbyist, it's no longer viable.
In the 1905s and 1960s car companies devised ways to make cars corrode within a few years using incompatible metals
I live up, a few miles north of Allentown, and had the same. The clouds really ruined it.
I think phones and computers haven't really changed in many years, they just make the old ones fail. But, this is also with the rise of Chinese Engineering a situation by which we can get many wonderful things of mediocre quality for much cheaper than mainstream brands. It is very much the market that American Engineering had back in the 60s, when things barely worked, but were well built.
While Washington is somewhat limited in how it can treat these giant tech firms, the EU which has less skin in the game but a very large and tech hungry populace is showing time and again that it will support its citizen's rights. Non replaceable batteries in phones being the most recent target and proprietary chargers being an earlier example. The tech firms lobby and threaten and cry like babies but the eu tend to stand by their consumers. They could certainly do a lot more still but it does make me happy that perhaps just through the sour grapes of having very few true tech giants native to the eu we have instead someone giving the fight for us.
11:41 Yeah we can hear those mosquitos you were talking about.
this Right to Repair stuff really took off with comuter software: an important product not beeing sold but licenced, or if sold, then with frequent regular updates etc. You can own the hardware but need almost permanenntly pay for updates. Big industry has a knack for overdoing their business tricks until something gets unbearable!
Limerick, HiWay drive in!!! Man, long gone.
I have a 72 Dodge pickup, with a 360 cu in, rebuilt by me and a friend. If something goes wrong, I can fix it with out a computer, As this pickup ages and I can't find the part I need, I go to junk yard eeer recycle yard and get what I need. Spark plugs can be sometimes an issue, but there is a work around. O, and down the road there is a 3d shop, sometime expensive, but they fabricate good products.
I would tax Elon Musk for even installing a sink at Twitter building, For SpaceX, I would fine Elon's company for environmental damage and overuse of tap water at its launch pads.
the candidates tournament is on this moment for chess fans. i believe it is open to women if they qualify but men can't play in the women's tournament.
The next total solar eclipse will be in 2026, it will be visible from Iceland and Spain (among other places). If at all possible, see a total solar eclipse. I traveled to Tennessee for the 2017 event and to Plattsburgh, NY for last week's eclipse (I live in the suburbs of New York City). A total solar eclipse is a spectacular sight.
Companies do what they do to maker money. The consumer has yhe ultimate power, in that if you don't follow the hype and get the latest iPhone or whatever is what a company is the latest and greatest, then they won't do that. However, it takes an entire market to influence a company.
I keep thinking of the iPhone's predecessor- the Newton. Also, Windows ME, Vista, 8, and looking more like Windows 11 is following that route.
Not yet!
I grew up in Upper Darby .
go to your local metal salvage depot and you'll find an aluminum tripod, or place one on order.
Peeps should be yellow. Don't get me started on flavored Peeps.
Fran: *_"...and looking up without glasses..."_*
Sometimes the gene pool is self-cleaning...🤦♂️
I must have blinked....
520 likes... I'm 100 too late!
Not much has changed among humans for eclipses, except now we (usually) know that a dragon isn't eating the sun.
Regarding SpaceX taxes, why not have an autonom city or base on Mars and then tax? Isn't it for humankind?
Go Fran !!!!!
Imagine if every small appliance you bought had a proprietary 110 volt plug and you had to rewire outlets to use the damn thing. We'd laugh the company that tried to do that right off the market, but with power tools, they are getting away with it. Why, if you plug an incompatible battery into you tool, you might blow them both up! The other guys electricity is not compatible with our tools don'tchya know! Don't even get me started about HP and their damn ink cartridges!
What do you want? It's Philly.
private sector launchers shouldn pay a space junk tax also with all the extra crap which is going to have an impact sooner or later
Fran XLNT commentary and knowledge and information about Events of Science 😝🚀⚡💥🎧🖥️🖨️💾🔬🔭📡👽👾😝
Does NASA pay fees when they launch a rocket? Does the Military pay fees when they launch a rocket?
Thank you, Fran. Tom Stafford. One of the last of Apollo Era. 😢 🙏
A more natural alternative to petroleum-based red dye #3 is Carmine Red, made from the cochineal bug that feeds on prickly pear cactus. It has a long medieval history as a clothing dye, but It's much more expensive than synthetic dyes because it takes 70,000 of these insects to produce 1/5 of a pound of red carminic acid, and collecting the bugs is labor-intensive. Carmine red is used in Yoplait yogurt, and it used to be used in some Starbucks products but people complained that it wasn't truly vegan because the dye is derived from insects, and so Starbucks discontinued it's use. The only known health effect is that a very small number of people can have an allergic rejection to it. It's not known to aggravate ADHD or cause cancer, and scientists are currently trying to genetically engineer bacteria to create carminic acid or a close precursor so that it's not necessary to harvest bugs in order to make it.
Pretty cool intro.
I am oh so lucky to live in Indianapolis, so it wasn't a problem at all to look directly at it for four minutes or so during totality. It was breathtaking, especially the moment when it suddenly darkened the sky and was easy to look at without the glasses. I will never forget it, ever. I did some magick spells for fun and to make my life suddenly magickally better. Take that for what you will but it was quite a special moment, to have a whole city of over a million pause and gasp.
You shouldn't perform magick during an eclipse. That would be... dark magic! 😆
@@horusfalcon nice!
But also sounds so funny to hear "it wasn't a problem at all to look directly at it" (interpreting: without filter).
@@SamiJumppanen During totality, you won't see anything at all looking through a filter. The filter is only for when some of the sun is showing.
@@franklittle8124 I know. But it's surprisingly complicated thing to educate and explain. I was thinking about it for a while, like some people believe the sunlight is stronger during the eclipse... So the comment became too long and I dropped it.
Or space-X could trade for lifting things up to orbit..
space-x could make a floating launch boat and not pay any tax. remember when people got fed up with taxes in the Great Britain and went to create the United States ?
@@monad_tcp Just for the sake of context, I don't see the US. as king's and queens taxing the citizens..
If there were no tax's , we would see things grind to a halt pretty fast..
@@parttime9070 it's not the taxes but their continual increase; especially the mil-rate. each increase usually involves more government related jobs which gives said government increasing power over you.
Aren't they launching from NASA facilities? If so, don't those areas already have no fly zones?
If you want to stop mosquitos from biting you get some skin so soft and some povidone iodine and mix some of the iodine with the skin so soft and apply it to your skin and they won't come near you.
A launch needs a lot more airspace to be closed. And water, too, though that's not relevant to the FAA duties.
Mosquitoes hate onions and garlic.
Thanks Fran. Great topics/news as usual.
Methylene Blue forever
Their montra is that you will own nothing and be happy.
The only place to get science news. Frans lab.
Mosquitoes go for "sweet meats" lol
Didn't see eclipse here in Europe.
I won't buy. and have never owned, anything from Apple or Roku. There are brilliant people developing devices these days which do not incorporate this kind of trap. This kind of drek is why I got into Linux back in 1996 (after a close reading of Microsoft's _Licensing 6.0_ made the future of tech clear to me.) This stuff is going to make early adoption of bleeding-edge tech much less popular than it already is. It will eventually have detrimental economic impacts, too.
Make wise choices in tech, and in all aspects of your lives. Spend your money only on products, goods, and services which align closely with your own personal views, beliefs, and goals.
That's so mean!
I appreciate your take on tech.
Had roku v1. They bricked it snd informed me that I'd have to buy the newest version. No roku for me any more, thank you very much
For roku, the problem is there are alternatives to them.
On an aside, id like to thank the EU for making things a little more consumer centric and not so heavily capitalist. Balance is there somewhere, it just not as profitable, moneywise.
I love these "read the news" videos
That watch probably costs more then your immortal soul.
Edit: goddamn 14.3k.
Yeah way more then my immortal soul jfc
Dear Fran. Thanks so much for your awesome and informative videos! I really love your philco tv! Ive restored 2 philco sets and both utilized the same crt and chassis from the predicta
2:47 I hate "people" like that, bunch of demons
Great episode Fran. Appreciate the curation of the news selections.
If I don't "own it" then why do I "pay" for it?
My 81 Ford f100 is just fine. And my arsenal keeps my ownership question settled succinctly.
I've essentially put a giant break on buying any tech. If others are stupid enough to put up with this nonsense then more power to them. The Roku devices that I stupidly put money into years ago have long since passed through the metaphorical wood chipper. I will never ever buy any electronics with an Apple, Samsung, Roku, LG logo on it. That list keeps getting longer end longer.