I've long wondered if there is any similar law in the U.S. I have a "smart TV" that came with logos for Facebook and YouTube on the box. Both apps have since been retired. I imagine there will be a day when my so-called smart TV is nothing more than a CRT screen. It seems like consumers should be protected against this sort of thing.
Then again, the U.S. government forced broadcasters to switch from analog to digital transmissions, making all old TVs nonfunctional without additional hardware. So I guess we should just expect this sort of thing?
But that same Gummint also created a service that provided up to two ATSC converter-boxes for FREE; so that's kind of how they got around that "obsoleting" thing.
You can't waive statutory rights; you have them irrespective of any contract, and it's illegal for a company to ignore them.
I believe you can actually waive ANY rights, including Constitutional Rights; but the waiver must be "knowing and specific", Just clicking "I Agree" in a Click-through EULA likely isn't going to stand up as a "knowing and specific" waiver of rights.
You need to make the comparison using apples and apples. Of course it will be a bargain when you already grossly overpay for wireless service. They get your money, just through different channels. A fair comparison would be to add the wireless service charge on top of it because this is a precondition for your preferred pricing.
But for me, I was on an ATT Wireless plan with a paltry 2 GB data-cap for $50/mo; so to increase that to "Unlimited" (yeah, I know, with asterisks) for an additional $15, in order to get 60+ "channels" of Streaming for $10 was a no-brainer. The $50 a month I was paying for cell service WAS kind of high; but the $65/month I pay for "Unlimited" cell service isn't that bad. And any DirecTV Now stuff I want to stream to a mobile or computer device over cellular "doesn't count" against my "unlimited" data-cap. But I rarely do that, anyway.
I already had the cellphone service; so in my PARTICULAR case, it was a good deal over having the cellphone service PLUS paying Spectrum $169/mo for cable + internet. In fact, it is a net savings of around $100 a month. PLUS I now have HBO (for an addition $5/mo), instead of the zero "premium channels" I had with Spectrum.
I thought I made it clear that this only applied in certain circumstances. I just put it out there as ONE of the ways to "beat cable".
And you can get a DVR experience from Tivo that works well with Antenna.
Or you can buy a SiliconDust box (for about $90) that works with an antenna. The 2 tuner HDHomeRun Connect for example.
You can even build a backend system to record OTA television.
Does anyone have any experience with the TabloTV DVR, especially in conjunction with an AppleTV (4th gen) box?
Their offerings look pretty enticing (if just a little pricey); but they have up to 4 tuners, and can stream to multiple set-top boxes (and mobile devices). Plus their control-App fits right into the App ecosystem on the AppleTV, making it easy to use for non-techie family members like I have.
They may have other Set-Top Box Apps, too, like for Roku.
Nice that you can just connect one antenna to that box, and have OTA tuner/DVR capabilities anywhere (including outside the home if you wish) without having to mess around switching inputs on your TV.
Any TV manufacturer that advertises a television flat screen will include an ATSC tuner; that is required by federal advertising laws.
A flat screen that does not have a built in ATSC tuner is a monitor or flat screen. They can be used to view "TV" programs, but that does not let vendors advertise them as TVs.
Direct Tv Now starts at like $10 if you have AT&T Wireless, doesn't count against your data usage, and has like a hundred channels and add-on packages.
Even if you don't have AT&T Wireless, it was available with their "go-big" package for $35 for life. They gave me an AppleTV just for signing up.
With all the apps on that device, you absolutely don't need a cord unless as far as I can tell you have to watch sports.
I was paying $169/mo for basic "Digital HD" cable service, 60 Mbps internet, plus 1 DVR and 1 other non-DVR cable-box from Spectrum.
DirecTV Now was what allowed me to say "Yeah, let's do it!"
If you already have ATT Wireless like I did, it was only a $15 upcharge to get me to the lower-tier "unlimited" plan, and then $10 per month for 50+ channels, which overlapped about 85-90% of what I generally watch. It was an easy "sell" at that point to add-on $5 for HBO (which I didn't have with Spectrum). I could pump up to more channels (up to around 100) for a maximum of $70 - $25 (credit for having ATT wireless), or $45. Not bad.
Oh, and the 60 Mbps Internet (which is plenty for me) is only $45/mo from Spectrum.
And DirecTV Now has already announced the addition of more channels, and is supposedly adding a cloud DVR service (although pricing is unknown at this point).
I also have a Hulu ($12 commercial-free) and NetFlix account; but they "factor out" because I have had them even with cable.
All-in-all, I am saving about $100/mo over my cable service. $1200 a year is much more than a carton of Parliaments!
Right. Because the user taps in several places on the screen; but unless the display/digitizer is privvy to exactly WHAT App is running in the foreground, those taps and swipes are USELESS outside of the phone.
FUD.
No, it's not. Because if you log where you touch on the screen and where you swipe, you can probably figure out what's going on.
Look at the lock screen on your phone, and your keypad is probably laid out like every other keypad out there. In fact, it looks remarkably like the phone keypad too (if you're using a PIN). So any succession of taps in that region of the screen with the relatively wide spacing may be either a phone number, or the PIN code to unlock your phone.
Ditto with the keyboard - if you're making a bunch of taps in the lower 1/3rd of the screen, I don't need to know what you're running in order to guess you might be typing something. If I record the locations of the taps, and then try to play it back with various scaling on the keyboard, I might be able to recreate what you typed.
Heck, I might log information about when the touch screen chip is turned off so I can tell when you power it up, you're screen is probably locked and to note the next few taps and swipes.
I'm sorry; my lock screen doesn't have a keypad, nor do I swipe to unlock.
Following up to my own post: OK, it's not (don't)TrustZone but a distinct processor. Well done Apple for doing it properly (although this ref then claims it's just TrustZone, which doesn't seem to be the case).. I'm assuming the guy found a flaw in the SEP, which for example has it's own I/O lines for GPIO, SPI, I2C, etc, so you've got a large attack surface and direct access to the CPU.
From what I understand from previous flame-wars on the subject, it is NOT TrustZone-based, but rather completely home-grown by Apple. Since Apple has an Architecture-level license with ARM (one of the few companies that do), they can pretty much do what they please inside of even the ARM core, let alone any peripheral subsystems.
It's also an easier term to coin while massaging sage scented beard oil into your soul patch while cruising along on a hover-board discussing the profound implications of embracing the semi-popular ideas..
But remember, hover-boards should not be used while consuming locally sourced craft beers!
"Integrated" would be a less colloquial term and clearer and more transparent to a diverse audience.
Oh, FFS! Knock it off with the juvenile sophistry already!
Did you understand the intent of the term?
Then that is all that is required, unless we are talking about a "Scope of Work" or other contractual-type document, where every word must be clear and precise in its meaning. And if you want to do that, use German. It has a "one word, one meaning" aspect to its language.
In fact, I don't know the language; but if what I said above is actually accurate, I'm not sure you can actually make Puns in German at all...
Honestly, with the baking of a PCB, I'd be curious as to what other term you'd use. You smear it with solder paste, put components on top of the paste, and put it into a big ass oven at 500 degrees or so for 15 minutes to melt the paste, then put it on a cooling rack so the solder can solidify. If that's not baking, then I don't know what is.
If you are doing reflow soldering at 500 deg. F for 15 minutes, you're going to be pulling out a charred, useless, potato-chip-looking specimen, unless most of that time was spent doing pre-heat and cooling profiles.
When we did prototype reflow in a toaster oven (with a temperature controller!) in our lab, IIRC, it generally took under 30 seconds at around 425 F to get a good flow of the solder-paste. Of course in our lab, we didn't use lead-free (RoHS) solder-paste, either. But still...
Apple and Samsung devices and software have been evaluated and validated against FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria and Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) standards and are considered safe enough for use by the US government and others which respect those certifications (such as the 20+ countries in the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement).
Huawei has financial and political ties to the Chinese government, which has a well known history of taking "cyber" action for both political and industrial espionage purposes, in addition to siding with adversarial countries such as Russia, North Korea, etc. on a number of issues.
Therefor, Apple and Samsung are probably better choices from a trustworthiness standpoint. On the other hand, they're largely manufactured and assembled in the PRC and would be targets for the kind of supply-chain-infiltration type hardware implant attack. It'd just be less easy to accomplish than embedding implants or back doors into the hardware of one of their own companies.
In theory, Apple and Samsung have a lot more to lose. Apple especially, since their reputation as a phone provider rides on how secure their devices are, and if something is discovered, there are many rivals who will be happy to take the loss. Samsung, similar.
Huawei? Not as much, as they are in a different market segment.
now android marketing and spy OS,there is no difference to ios,(it's not for geek), I used to like before there was a 2.3 version, now I use a simple push-button telephone
But like I said, super easy to trace back and with tons of hard evidence, both on-premises and in all of your victim's hands. Plus the circumstantial evidence of all the ripped off people having a common experience of using your business. Much better off with a software hack. I mean, you have the person's phone in your possession... why not just install whatever software that you want - where there is at least some degree of plausible deniability?
Good luck doing that with a signed OS, like iOS... You can't even install a LEGIT, but no-longer-signed, version of iOS; let alone some backroom-hacked FrankenWare version.
If it knows what touches to simulate, then it can use any of a number of ways of doing so when the user isn't actively handling their phone (e.g. after it has been set down, but not yet auto-locked).
But unless it knows exactly WHAT App is receiving those "taps" (which the display and digitzer most assuredly do NOT), so the fuck what?
How can a screen or digitizer communicate to the outside world? It likely isn't on a bus where it can ask the radio or NIC to packetize stuff it feels like. At best, it can record taps on a screen, but getting those out would be a different story. Perhaps for physical snooping where the device is captured later on (say to glean someone's PIN), but for a remote attacker, it isn't that feasible.
Right. Because the user taps in several places on the screen; but unless the display/digitizer is privvy to exactly WHAT App is running in the foreground, those taps and swipes are USELESS outside of the phone.
It was a coding error, subsequently fixed with an Update (which iOS devices actually RECEIVE, unlike 99.9999999999999999999999999999% of Android devices).
Probably our friendly, neighborhood, fruit tree company...
Probably not; but I'll bet their devices don't share this issue. Not because of good design (but that is likely part of it); but because they don't use commodity SoCs like in 100% of Android devices.
But I would really be surprised if ANY independent repair shops are replacing BGA-packaged SoCs, anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
I have optical/rca to the pre-amp, but the pre-am to amp connections are all over balanced lines, specifically, XLR.
That's because you actually have a PA amp as your home-stereo power amp, I assume.
I've long wondered if there is any similar law in the U.S. I have a "smart TV" that came with logos for Facebook and YouTube on the box. Both apps have since been retired. I imagine there will be a day when my so-called smart TV is nothing more than a CRT screen. It seems like consumers should be protected against this sort of thing.
Then again, the U.S. government forced broadcasters to switch from analog to digital transmissions, making all old TVs nonfunctional without additional hardware. So I guess we should just expect this sort of thing?
But that same Gummint also created a service that provided up to two ATSC converter-boxes for FREE; so that's kind of how they got around that "obsoleting" thing.
Do terms of service agreements stand up in court?
Depends. But generally no; but you spend your life and fortune proving that point,
You can't waive statutory rights; you have them irrespective of any contract, and it's illegal for a company to ignore them.
I believe you can actually waive ANY rights, including Constitutional Rights; but the waiver must be "knowing and specific", Just clicking "I Agree" in a Click-through EULA likely isn't going to stand up as a "knowing and specific" waiver of rights.
You need to make the comparison using apples and apples. Of course it will be a bargain when you already grossly overpay for wireless service. They get your money, just through different channels. A fair comparison would be to add the wireless service charge on top of it because this is a precondition for your preferred pricing.
But for me, I was on an ATT Wireless plan with a paltry 2 GB data-cap for $50/mo; so to increase that to "Unlimited" (yeah, I know, with asterisks) for an additional $15, in order to get 60+ "channels" of Streaming for $10 was a no-brainer. The $50 a month I was paying for cell service WAS kind of high; but the $65/month I pay for "Unlimited" cell service isn't that bad. And any DirecTV Now stuff I want to stream to a mobile or computer device over cellular "doesn't count" against my "unlimited" data-cap. But I rarely do that, anyway.
I already had the cellphone service; so in my PARTICULAR case, it was a good deal over having the cellphone service PLUS paying Spectrum $169/mo for cable + internet. In fact, it is a net savings of around $100 a month. PLUS I now have HBO (for an addition $5/mo), instead of the zero "premium channels" I had with Spectrum.
I thought I made it clear that this only applied in certain circumstances. I just put it out there as ONE of the ways to "beat cable".
One of the big changes that happens when cutting the cord, is the realization that there are many other things to do instead of watching tv.
Sure; but doesn't your hand get tired?
And you can get a DVR experience from Tivo that works well with Antenna.
Or you can buy a SiliconDust box (for about $90) that works with an antenna. The 2 tuner HDHomeRun Connect for example.
You can even build a backend system to record OTA television.
Does anyone have any experience with the TabloTV DVR, especially in conjunction with an AppleTV (4th gen) box?
Their offerings look pretty enticing (if just a little pricey); but they have up to 4 tuners, and can stream to multiple set-top boxes (and mobile devices). Plus their control-App fits right into the App ecosystem on the AppleTV, making it easy to use for non-techie family members like I have.
They may have other Set-Top Box Apps, too, like for Roku.
Nice that you can just connect one antenna to that box, and have OTA tuner/DVR capabilities anywhere (including outside the home if you wish) without having to mess around switching inputs on your TV.
https://www.tablotv.com/produc...
Disclaimer: Haven't bought one yet; but it seems to be a serious contender to the HDHomeRun stuff.
Any TV manufacturer that advertises a television flat screen will include an ATSC tuner; that is required by federal advertising laws.
A flat screen that does not have a built in ATSC tuner is a monitor or flat screen. They can be used to view "TV" programs, but that does not let vendors advertise them as TVs.
Thanks for the clarification!
Even so. Seems like a poorly researched article.
Direct Tv Now starts at like $10 if you have AT&T Wireless, doesn't count against your data usage, and has like a hundred channels and add-on packages.
Even if you don't have AT&T Wireless, it was available with their "go-big" package for $35 for life. They gave me an AppleTV just for signing up.
With all the apps on that device, you absolutely don't need a cord unless as far as I can tell you have to watch sports.
I was paying $169/mo for basic "Digital HD" cable service, 60 Mbps internet, plus 1 DVR and 1 other non-DVR cable-box from Spectrum.
DirecTV Now was what allowed me to say "Yeah, let's do it!"
If you already have ATT Wireless like I did, it was only a $15 upcharge to get me to the lower-tier "unlimited" plan, and then $10 per month for 50+ channels, which overlapped about 85-90% of what I generally watch. It was an easy "sell" at that point to add-on $5 for HBO (which I didn't have with Spectrum). I could pump up to more channels (up to around 100) for a maximum of $70 - $25 (credit for having ATT wireless), or $45. Not bad.
Oh, and the 60 Mbps Internet (which is plenty for me) is only $45/mo from Spectrum.
And DirecTV Now has already announced the addition of more channels, and is supposedly adding a cloud DVR service (although pricing is unknown at this point).
I also have a Hulu ($12 commercial-free) and NetFlix account; but they "factor out" because I have had them even with cable.
All-in-all, I am saving about $100/mo over my cable service. $1200 a year is much more than a carton of Parliaments!
My two year old Samsung still gets an update at least every other month. Soooooo wth were you saying again champ?
So, you're in the .00000000000000000000000000000001 percent of Android users that have gotten mire than an updated or two.
No, it's not. Because if you log where you touch on the screen and where you swipe, you can probably figure out what's going on.
Look at the lock screen on your phone, and your keypad is probably laid out like every other keypad out there. In fact, it looks remarkably like the phone keypad too (if you're using a PIN). So any succession of taps in that region of the screen with the relatively wide spacing may be either a phone number, or the PIN code to unlock your phone.
Ditto with the keyboard - if you're making a bunch of taps in the lower 1/3rd of the screen, I don't need to know what you're running in order to guess you might be typing something. If I record the locations of the taps, and then try to play it back with various scaling on the keyboard, I might be able to recreate what you typed.
Heck, I might log information about when the touch screen chip is turned off so I can tell when you power it up, you're screen is probably locked and to note the next few taps and swipes.
I'm sorry; my lock screen doesn't have a keypad, nor do I swipe to unlock.
Following up to my own post: OK, it's not (don't)TrustZone but a distinct processor. Well done Apple for doing it properly (although this ref then claims it's just TrustZone, which doesn't seem to be the case).. I'm assuming the guy found a flaw in the SEP, which for example has it's own I/O lines for GPIO, SPI, I2C, etc, so you've got a large attack surface and direct access to the CPU.
From what I understand from previous flame-wars on the subject, it is NOT TrustZone-based, but rather completely home-grown by Apple. Since Apple has an Architecture-level license with ARM (one of the few companies that do), they can pretty much do what they please inside of even the ARM core, let alone any peripheral subsystems.
It's also an easier term to coin while massaging sage scented beard oil into your soul patch while cruising along on a hover-board discussing the profound implications of embracing the semi-popular ideas..
But remember, hover-boards should not be used while consuming locally sourced craft beers!
Or using your iPhone to control them!
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/a...
"Integrated" would be a less colloquial term and clearer and more transparent to a diverse audience.
Oh, FFS! Knock it off with the juvenile sophistry already!
Did you understand the intent of the term?
Then that is all that is required, unless we are talking about a "Scope of Work" or other contractual-type document, where every word must be clear and precise in its meaning. And if you want to do that, use German. It has a "one word, one meaning" aspect to its language.
In fact, I don't know the language; but if what I said above is actually accurate, I'm not sure you can actually make Puns in German at all...
No, "baked into" implies the author is an arse.
No.
COMPLAINING about the generally-accepted term "baked into" implies the POSTER is an arse.
Honestly, with the baking of a PCB, I'd be curious as to what other term you'd use. You smear it with solder paste, put components on top of the paste, and put it into a big ass oven at 500 degrees or so for 15 minutes to melt the paste, then put it on a cooling rack so the solder can solidify. If that's not baking, then I don't know what is.
If you are doing reflow soldering at 500 deg. F for 15 minutes, you're going to be pulling out a charred, useless, potato-chip-looking specimen, unless most of that time was spent doing pre-heat and cooling profiles.
When we did prototype reflow in a toaster oven (with a temperature controller!) in our lab, IIRC, it generally took under 30 seconds at around 425 F to get a good flow of the solder-paste. Of course in our lab, we didn't use lead-free (RoHS) solder-paste, either. But still...
Apple and Samsung devices and software have been evaluated and validated against FIPS 140-2, Common Criteria and Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) standards and are considered safe enough for use by the US government and others which respect those certifications (such as the 20+ countries in the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement).
Huawei has financial and political ties to the Chinese government, which has a well known history of taking "cyber" action for both political and industrial espionage purposes, in addition to siding with adversarial countries such as Russia, North Korea, etc. on a number of issues.
Therefor, Apple and Samsung are probably better choices from a trustworthiness standpoint. On the other hand, they're largely manufactured and assembled in the PRC and would be targets for the kind of supply-chain-infiltration type hardware implant attack. It'd just be less easy to accomplish than embedding implants or back doors into the hardware of one of their own companies.
PERFECT answer!
Mod Parent "Informative"!
In theory, Apple and Samsung have a lot more to lose. Apple especially, since their reputation as a phone provider rides on how secure their devices are, and if something is discovered, there are many rivals who will be happy to take the loss. Samsung, similar.
Huawei? Not as much, as they are in a different market segment.
Exactly.
now android marketing and spy OS ,there is no difference to ios,(it's not for geek), I used to like before there was a 2.3 version, now I use a simple push-button telephone
WTF are you even talking about?
Dumb question here. Why do we trust Apple or Samsung parts more than Huwai?
Because by now, any nefarious transmissions would have long-ago been discovered by people like you.
But like I said, super easy to trace back and with tons of hard evidence, both on-premises and in all of your victim's hands. Plus the circumstantial evidence of all the ripped off people having a common experience of using your business. Much better off with a software hack. I mean, you have the person's phone in your possession... why not just install whatever software that you want - where there is at least some degree of plausible deniability?
Good luck doing that with a signed OS, like iOS... You can't even install a LEGIT, but no-longer-signed, version of iOS; let alone some backroom-hacked FrankenWare version.
If it knows what touches to simulate, then it can use any of a number of ways of doing so when the user isn't actively handling their phone (e.g. after it has been set down, but not yet auto-locked).
But unless it knows exactly WHAT App is receiving those "taps" (which the display and digitzer most assuredly do NOT), so the fuck what?
How can a screen or digitizer communicate to the outside world? It likely isn't on a bus where it can ask the radio or NIC to packetize stuff it feels like. At best, it can record taps on a screen, but getting those out would be a different story. Perhaps for physical snooping where the device is captured later on (say to glean someone's PIN), but for a remote attacker, it isn't that feasible.
Right. Because the user taps in several places on the screen; but unless the display/digitizer is privvy to exactly WHAT App is running in the foreground, those taps and swipes are USELESS outside of the phone.
FUD.
"error 53"
That again?!?
It was a coding error, subsequently fixed with an Update (which iOS devices actually RECEIVE, unlike 99.9999999999999999999999999999% of Android devices).
https://ifixit.org/blog/7924/e...
Probably our friendly, neighborhood, fruit tree company...
Probably not; but I'll bet their devices don't share this issue. Not because of good design (but that is likely part of it); but because they don't use commodity SoCs like in 100% of Android devices.
But I would really be surprised if ANY independent repair shops are replacing BGA-packaged SoCs, anyway.
I agree: The article is FUD.