But he did resist 
@person
Android while it is Google created is also an open source project. We are at liberty in the code to dissect Google out of it, some do and some don’t.
It was a long and tortuous journey, perhaps just at the beginning with Google.
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Providing that you can load your de-Googled code into the device. Ever noticed how some devices either outright prevent you doing that or ensure that needed information is kept secret so that in practice you can’t do it?
Also, it remains to be seen whether that really works because even though the core OS may be able to be made open source, that doesn’t mean that specific apps are open source or will work in a freed environment.
The ABC has spent some years trying to make it difficult to download videos that are available on iView. So what happens if the ABC provides an iView app for a Google-surveillance TV and then you replace the core OS with a freed version?
Beware of confusing operating systems, like Android, with applications. The later are almost always proprietry, and are almost always dependent for function on the former.
And operating systems are constantly changing to make use of hardware changes.
Some try and I like the following for it’s ongoing work:
and so on…
It can indeed, though Fetch seems to be gradually adding more features, not less. I do not subscribe to any channels these days, because the ones I liked (British based) are now N/A. However I do gain much from being able to watch TV (without streaming) or else choose to stream from an FTA channel, or Netflix, Stan and amazon Prime video. (Though I have taken a permanent break from Stan, and a temporary one from Netflix). They also have Youtube, Optus Sport and Hayu, sport and “reality” tv dont interest me…
Rumour has it that more streaming channels are to be added in future. Its operating system is in constant development, too… was that the case with TIVO? I never had one of those, I went with a Topfield STB instead (and now it doesnt recognise the newer channels, because its OLD)
Me neither, so I can’t answer that question. I expect though a trajectory of initial release, increasing uptake, high rate of change, eventually reaching maturity (stability), followed by stagnation, abandonment and shut down. For any product.
I don’t have a problem with the product life cycle. I have a problem when it is happening embarrassingly quickly, so that function rot is occurring even one or two years after purchase. That to me is unacceptable.
In the specific case of TV channels, there is only so much that software upgrade can achieve. When you start getting channels with an encoding that the hardware is simply incapable of decoding (which is perhaps the problem with your Topfield STB, that or it is limited to SD i.e. 576i) then your options are limited:
- junk it
- ignore the new channels
- or, who knows, a manufacturer with a modular, future-proof design so that you can take the equipment in for a hardware upgrade (sadly, not going to happen, because most industries are not structured around that kind of approach).
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I find the Fetch is more than adequate. Ours is rather old and came when we changed our ISP. It can record to a schedule, access guides and the major networks streaming options.
For the rare exception the big TV has an HDMI port and also WiDi capability.
The other user in the home prefers to simply hit the NetFlix button on the TV remote. This often leaves the dumb smart TEAC stuck somewhere in the menus at the end of what-ever. The TV is smart enough to remember this same point when turned back on later in the day, requiring targeted intervention. The menu systems seem most adept at locking you to the selected service than aiding escape. 
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Here’s one to perhaps be of concern. Did you know Samsung can disable your Samsung Smart TV remotely? I don’t mean until you restart it but indefinitely. They have just applied their blocking ability to Sth African Samsung TVs stolen from their warehouse there. When the TV is first connected to the internet to activate it, the serial number detail is sent to a Samsung server and if the serial number is on the block list they by remote block all TV functions. This renders the TV useless. If a TV has mistakenly been rendered inoperable they require proof of purchase and it may take up to 48 hours before they reverse the block.
They won’t apply the block for you if your TV has been stolen, but the risk is that they could apply the block anytime they have a change of policy about the use of their TVs.
NB The alert refers to a TV licence as part of the proof needed for the block reversal. A valid licence is a requirement in Sth Africa to use a TV.
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I read this the other day, and looks like they are potentially going down the Apple path where they have overreaching control of their products and what their consumers do.
I can see why it has advantages, but disagree that companies should in effect control consumer rights as they see fit.
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A useful tool in the case of theft like with IMEI blocking on Mobiles but Samsung are not making this facility available to consumers ie to block a TV stolen from an owner. It is currently only at their whim that it is used and the time frame for reversal of a mistake (and probably no compensation) is quoted as 48 hours. If they get the serial number wrong it could currently mean a TV here has stopped working and the poor user none the wiser why it ceased functioning.
More concerning as well is what other Brands may have implemented such a system into their TVs and other smart devices and have not disclosed it. Fridge working one day and the next not? Smart lighting systems?
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Not if you don’t put it online. Yet another argument for using a dedicated ‘smart TV’ appliance rather than whatever the TV maker has shoved onboard at the last minute.
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They talked about needing to go online to activate it in the first place…I wonder if that means the latest lot out of the stable need to at least once connect to activate the TV so it even works?
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When I lived in England years ago, you needed a licence to watch TV. As far as I am aware you still do.
Maybe this is a feature in TVs for those markets that require such a licence?
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Jeez… thats nasty. There’s probably a rule that says they can’t make you do that… maybe?
That was the case for both radio and TV in Australia until Whitlam put a stop to it.
One of the few useful things he did. Another was the Trade Practices Act.
History tends to repeat itself, with Governments of the day looking to change the directions of their predecessors.
Whether the current Govt will reintroduce paid TV licensing and conscription, and abolish free health care are all worth asking. The legacy of free Tertiary Education has been dismantled. The Govt of the day also has the power to close FTA TV, whether in total or selectively starting with the ABC.
Our smart TV’s and devices have the power to stream all our content. In a way paying for internet services via the NBN or other provider is the same as paying for a license. Addicted consumers get the option to pay twice trough streaming services. The ABC, SBS and commercial stations have all made the pivot. For now the ABC streams for free, and user login is not required. Seven with their added Olympics coverage showed the future. One needed to register directly with 7 on the internet via email to enable the Smart TV App to function fully and not appear a wasted dumb lump of tech.
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It would be hard to justify these things as the “TV” of today takes content from so many sources and we don’t have a convenient war to compel youths to attend so that they might become men.
No Samsung have said the Block feature is built into every Smart TV they export as per their previously linked release.
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That is still the case. The licence fee is collected by and used to fund the BBC (after a brief detour in consolidated revenue). Allegedly vans drive around to detect unlicensed receivers.
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