“This is getting ridiculous and I’m about to just toss the whole thing and move back to Google,” one Redditor said of the “full-volume” ads for Alexa+ on their Echo Show.

Oh sweet summer child, Google is NOT going to be any better at this. That will just be changing one corporate evil for another.

  • Almacca@aussie.zone
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    I don’t think I’ll ever buy any product that advertises itself as ‘smart’. They seem to be anything but.

    Edit: I do have a 14 year old ‘smart’ TV, but it’s basically only a monitor for my PC.

  • sturger@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    “Honey, you know what would really tie this room together? A giant electronic advertising billboard!”

  • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    JFC

    Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen.

    No fucks given, we’re gonna shove em down your throat.

    • kamen@lemmy.world
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      If they give you a “no ads for me at all, thanks” option, it’d be fine, but I highly doubt that this would happen.

  • Octavio@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I regret ever getting mixed up with Amazon in the first place. I canceled Prime, stopped ordering from Amazon’s website, found a Kindle alternative, pulled the plug on my IoT crap, and unplugged my Echoes. No regrets. YMMV.

  • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    Advertising…helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in.

    Someone needs to coin a word to describe this type of infuriating corporate statement. They make astonishingly piss-weak arguments in a patronising tone, as if to insist that reality must be whatever they say it is because they’re a successful company.

    It’s the kind of statement that’s not technically a lie, but still seems dishonest for them to present as though it were a sane response, almost like an attempt at gaslighting.

    I think the person who wrote that response should be forced to wear it around their neck so that everyone can see what sort of person they are.

      • dermanus@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        That sounds right to me. Maybe “spin” if I want to be a bit more neutral, but it doesn’t look like they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

        Theyre putting a happy spin on some bullshit.

        • ours@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Spin is bullshit’s little brother. It’s mostly the truth, but viewed from an angle that favors a specific point.

    • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
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      It’s not just companies. Amazon started pushing ads to subscribers who pay for ad-free Prime video content. Some idiot here on Lemmy actually insisted it wasn’t an ad at all, but a “promotion.”

      Companies are getting their customers to make infuriating, ridiculous corporate statements for them.

      • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        I guess? Someone also said “rhetoric”, and although it counts as both of these, I’m specifically thinking about these kinds of statements you get in press releases that obnoxiously try to paint the world the way that the company needs it to be in order to justify what they’re doing.

        Things like “Customers don’t like regulations that stop us giving them the best service”, “Our users are clear that they want the freedom to choose what subscription models work for them”, you know? Those kind of weaselly shit on my pie and tell me it’s a blueberry statements, where they dishonestly attempt to pose as the good guys wanting to do best for the world. They clearly must know that nobody actually falls for it, but they say it anyway because they need it to be out there in order for their paid-off politicians and useful idiots to have something to support deregulation.

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      There’s a certain amount of advertising I’ll accept. If I go to see an action movie, 1 to 3 previews of other action movies that are coming out in the next few months is okay.

      Of course, because they tried to force a Mission: Impossible movie down my throat, I might never go see an action movie made after 2014 ever again.

  • Deestan@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    My pet pony keeps shitting on the floor.

    I am very frustrated and did not expect it.

    I should sell it off and buy a horse instead.

    • athairmor@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Ponies are supposed to shit. It’s more like if the pony came strapped with ill-fitting saddlebags that leak toxic chemicals.

      • Deestan@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Yeah that was kinda my point :) A cloud controlled device from a tech giant is supposed to shit on the floor start doing ads and invade your privacy. It’s what they do. Like ponies pooping, you should expect it on purchase.

      • unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml
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        3 days ago

        No. It’s more as if you had to pay for the pony to get it, and then:

        If you want to ride the pony, that’s $2. The saddle has a coin slot to pay. It also has spikes poking both you and the pony if you don’t pay. Any time you get off, the spikes relock, requiring another payment to unlock.

        This is the exact same situation minus the animal cruelty part and with money being swapped with time.

    • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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      AND not even being paid for doing so. But paying for instead. that’s the most bizarre part of it.

      • U7826391786239@lemmy.zip
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        4 days ago

        it doesn’t take much critical thinking to conclude that smart tvs are bullshit, but apparently too much for most people

        • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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          Even worse than not-really-understanding-any-of-it is the wilful ignorance shown by some. “I have nothing to hide” is the epitome of obedient worker-ant stupidity.

            • lightnegative@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              What are you going to do, send them money? That information isn’t private, people have to give it up all the time to receive money…

              • BarbedDentalFloss@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                3 days ago

                That’s from the ancient banking system designed in the 1940s that is still lurching around. The protection on a check isn’t cryptographic - it relies on the issuing bank to confirm the authenticity by examining heuristics on the paper check like paper type, ink and font used, check number, issuing address and the person’s signature. It used to be that you would deposit a check at your bank and then it would be mailed to the issuing bank to be cleared for transfer. You wouldn’t just deposit it and get your money instantly, it would take up to 10 days.

                Honestly it is bewildering to me that they haven’t changed the system to issue cryptographically secure deposit-only numbers and unique withdrawal numbers that at least verify the authenticity of the check itself.

              • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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                4 days ago

                Ha! Try that with a german boomer. It’s one of the most well guarded secrets to them.

        • Pika@sh.itjust.works
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          In the case of smart tv’s it’s obvious why it works. It’s way cheaper to buy a smart tv vs a dumb tv now, and It’s all companies make for consumer side, which only leaves business grade TV’s/advertisement boards which cost more. Even if this isn’t the case though, with how streaming oriented most people are, the general public won’t buy a dumb tv because they would still need to buy some sort of device to allow them to access their stuff. It’s just convenient to have it in the same device rather than buy a tv then spend another $25+ on a device that can allow access to streaming, when one device can do it all.

          I upgraded to a “decent” Smart TV for my den (my previous one was an early stage Phillips smart TV that the store was basically deprecated on), and it converted 3 devices I had for my dumb tv, into that one device. It’s just convenient.

          I personally think that people should be focusing more on not buying slop-ware, and working on implementing legislation of what companies are allowed to do to consumer purchased products before trying to revert back to dumb tv’s and spending 3x as much. The future is going to happen regardless, and people are going to take the easy way out, the easier way is going to be preventing the annoyances from being allowed in the first place.

          • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
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            I’d far rather have a dumb TV/monitor and a cheap, easily upgradable smart device connected to it, but I’m on Lemmy so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

          • U7826391786239@lemmy.zip
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            3 days ago

            you do you. enjoy your convenience. for my part, i will continue to spend $0.00 for the privilege of being the product.

            all of these brands can take their smart devices and go fuck themselves with it. “convenient” GTFO

    • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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      I still have the first Google Home speaker I got for free via Spotify subscription years ago, and it’s as far as I went, wouldn’t have put money on this

  • Alenalda@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Wait until your smart TV starts playing adds every 10min no matter what your watching, or even if the TV is “turned off”

  • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Anyone know a good TV on the market now? I don’t need ultra resolution. I want it unsmart. I need it to switch between HDMI inputs.

    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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      For a TV, just don’t connect it to a network.

      This doesn’t work for the Amazon Echo Show though, since internet connectivity is required for its core function.

      • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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        I know, that’s what I do. It’s just so bloat ridden it’s 5 clicks with a shitty remote to switch inputs. I want a tv with no UI, just a power button, volume, channel, and input. Maybe a menu for color settings. The menus on mine are built to push me to one app or another. Every time I turn it on I have to navigate pop ups and prompts trying to get me to connect it and spend money on one app or another. I just want to go to HDMI 1.

    • kamen@lemmy.world
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      I’m also in the market for one. Can’t give you a recommendation from experience, but from what I read some smart TVs can be booted up and operated in “dumb” mode, which I think would be a good compromise - you might wanna look into that, because dedicated dumb TVs seem to be next to non-existent.

    • rmuk@feddit.uk
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      3 days ago

      You’ll pay through the nose, but look at digital signage panels. They are bristling with I/O, configurable to the nth degree, wonderfully over-engineered and utterly free from bloat.

    • Petter1@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 days ago

      B&O 😊 awesome Picture and awesome Sound.
      Smartness is only achieved by placing an Apple TV into it.

      And price is way too high.

      My dad has one.

      I have an old LG and have set on my router to keep it offline

      I only use it with ISP TV box, Nintendo Switch and Apple TV