Author Topic: modern tech is better or is it?  (Read 8828 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline tooki

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13157
  • Country: ch
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #50 on: October 27, 2022, 06:39:52 am »
With that said, the narrow border on my iPad Pro causes me to frequently press things when just carrying around the iPad (e.g. while playing a video). I get that narrower borders mean a larger display in a given device size, but IMHO usability suffers. I’d rather they have slightly larger borders, and use that space for more battery still (though iPad battery life is superb) and to add extra selfie cameras so that you’re centered in both landscape and portrait video calls.

It wouldn't have to be very big, 3-5mm wider bezel around the device would result in the overall size increasing by less than 10mm for a significant boost in usability. The notch is even more stupid on the Macbook, it is totally unnecessary and I think they did it on purpose to get the distinctive brand look, which of course random Chinese companies will copy right away.
Agreed on the iPad.

Not so much on the MacBook, since it’s not a touchscreen and thus there’s no advantage to a bezel. And since the Mac has the fixed menu bar at the top (so it’s almost never screen area controlled by the application), it’s really easy for the OS to avoid the notch intelligently. In exchange you get more vertical real estate, which is sorely lacking on modern widescreens.

I remember using the Macintosh Portrait Display, a 15” vertical grayscale CRT (640x870px). Lovely to work on for office type work. I occasionally attach my old 24” (1920x1200) LCD as a secondary display, pivoted vertically, for document editing.
 

Offline Halcyon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6126
  • Country: au
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #51 on: October 27, 2022, 06:40:45 am »
Remember the 90s and early 2000s where the cellphone makers were in an arms race to make smaller phones, and we ended up with things the size of a C battery? ::sigh::

I miss those days.
 

Offline Ed.Kloonk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4000
  • Country: au
  • Cat video aficionado
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #52 on: October 27, 2022, 06:45:04 am »
Remember the 90s and early 2000s where the cellphone makers were in an arms race to make smaller phones, and we ended up with things the size of a C battery? ::sigh::

I miss those days.

Do you?

They were good until they got so small the screen connector got so tiny and flimsy you had to squeeze the phone to see the display.
iratus parum formica
 

Offline cortex_m0

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 116
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #53 on: October 27, 2022, 11:31:23 am »
[P]lug in an external player that doesn't spy on you or serve ads.

Are there streaming boxes that fit this profile? The ones I've tried all serve ads, at a minimum.
 

Offline rdl

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3667
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #54 on: October 27, 2022, 02:10:16 pm »
What do you need to stream? I use a PC, but I only watch youtube. They've made changes in recent times to where I can't get videos to play without unblocking google, but I still don't see ads.
 

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #55 on: October 27, 2022, 02:36:54 pm »
If you need ZERO ads on YouTube, install Chrome OS inside a disk image using "sebanc brunch" framework, as Chrome OS can install and run Android apps... THEN install "Smart YouTube TV" app (APK) ... NO ADS EVER!!!!

You install Chrome OS into a disk image using either your current windows or Ubuntu OS, so that doing so doesn't alter your partition table. It's simple as pie! Google "sebanc brunch"

I've been using "Smart YouTube TV" app for well over two years, not one SINGLE and, and no DNS messing needed. You can also configure it to auto skip in-video sponsor messages etc. Brilliant!!
« Last Edit: October 27, 2022, 04:28:57 pm by eti »
 

Offline james_s

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21611
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #56 on: October 27, 2022, 08:02:58 pm »
Not so much on the MacBook, since it’s not a touchscreen and thus there’s no advantage to a bezel. And since the Mac has the fixed menu bar at the top (so it’s almost never screen area controlled by the application), it’s really easy for the OS to avoid the notch intelligently. In exchange you get more vertical real estate, which is sorely lacking on modern widescreens.

I remember using the Macintosh Portrait Display, a 15” vertical grayscale CRT (640x870px). Lovely to work on for office type work. I occasionally attach my old 24” (1920x1200) LCD as a secondary display, pivoted vertically, for document editing.

The advantage is that there's no stupid notch, a controversial feature that may not bother you but it bothers many people, I know at least one person who was all stoked to buy one of the new MBPs when he discovered it had a notch. That would prevent me from considering one too if I was in the market. I shouldn't have to avoid the notch, there's no excuse for it to be there in the first place. Make the bezel a few measly mm taller and it wouldn't be necessary. Un-interrupted screen is an absolutely mandatory non-negotiable feature to me.
 

Offline james_s

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21611
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #57 on: October 27, 2022, 08:03:46 pm »
What do you need to stream? I use a PC, but I only watch youtube. They've made changes in recent times to where I can't get videos to play without unblocking google, but I still don't see ads.

I stream absolutely everything, 100% of my TV usage is streaming and has been for years. It's the future of TV.
 
The following users thanked this post: eti

Offline james_s

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21611
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #58 on: October 27, 2022, 08:05:27 pm »
[P]lug in an external player that doesn't spy on you or serve ads.

Are there streaming boxes that fit this profile? The ones I've tried all serve ads, at a minimum.

I made my own with a Raspberry Pi and it doesn't have ads. My girlfriend has a couple of Roku boxes and I've never seen an ad on one of those. If I did see an ad on any device I bought it would promptly be boxed back up and returned for a refund. Ads baked into hardware I paid for are absolutely not welcome and not acceptable.
 

Offline rdl

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3667
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #59 on: October 27, 2022, 08:55:23 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.
 

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #60 on: October 27, 2022, 09:08:05 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

Netflix now have a tier that does that. The CHEEK! Talk about "Wanting to have your cake AND eat it"!
 

Offline PlainName

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7508
  • Country: va
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #61 on: October 27, 2022, 09:19:37 pm »
Sky have been doing that since forever.
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28429
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #62 on: October 27, 2022, 09:27:18 pm »
The very, very best CRT displays ever made could be pushed (beyond their published specs) to 2560x1920 dpi at 75Hz, but individual pixels were quite blurry at that point. And don't forget that CRTs have convergence and focus errors, various geometric distortion, etc. The best ones kept those things under control quite well, but they couldn't reach the absolute perfect geometry of flat panels.
IIRC LG Flatron monitors had excellent geometry. The best I have seen ever. The high end brand Eizo had CRT monitors that used digital convergence control which worked very well on big monitors. But yes, flat panels kick the crap out of CRT. Unfortunately software makers have started to blur lines and text that basically undo all the sharpness we can get from TFT screens  so we are back to blurry images again that are worse than a good CRT monitor :palm:
« Last Edit: October 27, 2022, 09:29:33 pm by nctnico »
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline james_s

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 21611
  • Country: us
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #63 on: October 27, 2022, 10:02:30 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

There is free ad-supported streaming, subsidized ad-supported streaming that you pay something for, and paid ad-free streaming, the latter is the only one I would consider. I've hosted my own streaming service with Plex for several years now and it is "free" in that I don't pay for the service itself but I bought most of the content and ripped the discs.
 

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #64 on: October 27, 2022, 10:23:04 pm »
Sky have been doing that since forever.

What annoys me is the NERVE of how the system works; you watch a video, and are FORCED to watch two UTTERLY inane, idiotic GenX-designed ads.... app crashed? Ooops, sorry Sir, not OUR fault Sir, here's two MORE ads (often the same ones) - thankfully ALL my gadgets block them stone cold.

 

Online SiliconWizard

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 15797
  • Country: fr
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #65 on: October 27, 2022, 10:49:14 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

Netflix now have a tier that does that. The CHEEK! Talk about "Wanting to have your cake AND eat it"!

Netflix is pushing a bunch of woketard series and movies. It's not worth even 1 penny.
But their share has lost more than half of its value in the past few months, so. Good riddance. :-DD
 
The following users thanked this post: eti

Offline tooki

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13157
  • Country: ch
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #66 on: October 27, 2022, 11:05:41 pm »
The very, very best CRT displays ever made could be pushed (beyond their published specs) to 2560x1920 dpi at 75Hz, but individual pixels were quite blurry at that point. And don't forget that CRTs have convergence and focus errors, various geometric distortion, etc. The best ones kept those things under control quite well, but they couldn't reach the absolute perfect geometry of flat panels.
IIRC LG Flatron monitors had excellent geometry. The best I have seen ever. The high end brand Eizo had CRT monitors that used digital convergence control which worked very well on big monitors. But yes, flat panels kick the crap out of CRT. Unfortunately software makers have started to blur lines and text that basically undo all the sharpness we can get from TFT screens  so we are back to blurry images again that are worse than a good CRT monitor :palm:
Sony and Mitsubishi probably had the best CRT computer displays out there. LG wasn’t as far (they didn’t even have aperture grille CRTs, IIRC). Not saying they were bad, just not the top.

Many high end CRTs had advanced digital control of the geometry. Digital control was absolutely the norm for the final 10 years or so of the CRT’s dominance, though of course simpler versions in cheaper models.
 

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #67 on: October 27, 2022, 11:17:39 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

Netflix now have a tier that does that. The CHEEK! Talk about "Wanting to have your cake AND eat it"!

Netflix is pushing a bunch of woketard series and movies. It's not worth even 1 penny.
But their share has lost more than half of its value in the past few months, so. Good riddance. :-DD


And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!
 

Offline Monkeh

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 8135
  • Country: gb
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #68 on: October 27, 2022, 11:18:33 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

Netflix now have a tier that does that. The CHEEK! Talk about "Wanting to have your cake AND eat it"!

Netflix is pushing a bunch of woketard series and movies. It's not worth even 1 penny.
But their share has lost more than half of its value in the past few months, so. Good riddance. :-DD


And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!

Then don't watch it, and while you're at it, stop bitching about it. Nobody wants to hear you complain the world is changing.
 
The following users thanked this post: tooki, newbrain, brammus, alm

Offline Halcyon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6126
  • Country: au
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #69 on: October 27, 2022, 11:19:35 pm »
Is all this streaming TV free? I'm guessing no, because if I was paying to watch something and they tried to stack ads on top of that, I'd be pretty ticked off too.

Netflix now have a tier that does that. The CHEEK! Talk about "Wanting to have your cake AND eat it"!

Netflix is pushing a bunch of woketard series and movies. It's not worth even 1 penny.
But their share has lost more than half of its value in the past few months, so. Good riddance. :-DD


And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!

LGBTIQ++!!111 or otherwise, television is mostly garbage these days. I would sooner watch episodes of "Queer Eye" than "Married at First Sight" or anything involving "influencers" (I'm sorry, that's not a real job).
 
The following users thanked this post: eti

Offline tooki

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13157
  • Country: ch
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #70 on: October 27, 2022, 11:23:42 pm »
And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!
As a gay person, I’m glad it’s there. You don’t have to watch it. (Though maybe you should, so it will become normalized to you.) Heck, I don’t watch all of them, because many are crap, just like many non-LGBT shows.

But don’t think for a second that you get to shove us back into the closet just because you don’t like being reminded that LGBT people exist. We do, we always have, and we’re not going anywhere.
 
The following users thanked this post: newbrain, brammus

Offline Halcyon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6126
  • Country: au
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #71 on: October 27, 2022, 11:26:37 pm »
And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!
As a gay person, I’m glad it’s there. You don’t have to watch it. (Though maybe you should, so it will become normalized to you.) Heck, I don’t watch all of them, because many are crap, just like many non-LGBT shows.

But don’t think for a second that you get to shove us back into the closet just because you don’t like being reminded that LGBT people exist. We do, we always have, and we’re not going anywhere.

They're just jealous because they aren't one of the cool kids.  ;)
 
The following users thanked this post: tooki, newbrain

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #72 on: October 27, 2022, 11:31:21 pm »
Calm down guys, I don't find it appealing - it IS mostly crap, but don't make me spell it out... it is JUST the opinion of me, a stranger, and I DO think it is crap, but you DO NOT have to agree, any more than I have to side with you that it is "good".

There, we are all mutual strangers, so why my views should concern other strangers is beyond me... you liking it is fine by me (and why wouldn't it be!) ; most TV is crap anyway, so yeah... watch what you want, it's your life :)
« Last Edit: October 27, 2022, 11:32:54 pm by eti »
 

Offline eti

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • !
  • Posts: 1801
  • Country: gb
  • MOD: a.k.a Unlokia, glossywhite, iamwhoiam etc
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #73 on: October 27, 2022, 11:34:21 pm »
And a WHOLE SLEW of "LGBT" trash. Gimme a break, we don't ALL want to be woked-to!
As a gay person, I’m glad it’s there. You don’t have to watch it. (Though maybe you should, so it will become normalized to you.) Heck, I don’t watch all of them, because many are crap, just like many non-LGBT shows.

But don’t think for a second that you get to shove us back into the closet just because you don’t like being reminded that LGBT people exist. We do, we always have, and we’re not going anywhere.

I said the programmes are trash, not that you are. Take it easy  :)
 

Offline tooki

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13157
  • Country: ch
Re: modern tech is better or is it?
« Reply #74 on: October 27, 2022, 11:43:34 pm »
LGBTIQ++!!111 or otherwise, television is mostly garbage these days. I would sooner watch episodes of "Queer Eye" than "Married at First Sight" or anything involving "influencers" (I'm sorry, that's not a real job).
Of course not all TV is good, but I think it’s completely wrong to say that TV is mostly trash “these days” (implying that it used to be better). I think the exact opposite is the case, and I am not alone in saying this: the last 10-20 years are being described as a “golden age” of television because the best TV that’s being made now is spectacularly good. (Who cares what the average quality is — there’s not enough time in the world to watch it all, so we may as well focus on the best of the best only.) The Sopranos and the Wire are often cited as the first of these top-quality shows, then Breaking Bad, and (to list some favorites of mine) Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Black Mirror, Sense8, Heartstopper, Squid Game, Dark, Orange is the New Black, Altered Carbon, La casa de papel, and numerous others.

Something that I think is awesome about Netflix is that they bring to the world stage the best of TV shows from around the world. Before that, very few shows from anywhere other than Hollywood made it very far from their countries of origin. (In particular in USA, there was extremely little foreign TV.) I am absolutely delighted to get to see shows from around the world, with high quality subtitles. (Netflix’s translation quality standards are far above industry-standard for non-children’s programming. I say that because Disney’s dubs are olympic-class.)

What I think is unusually bad now is the movies: Hollywood has apparently forgotten that it is in fact possible to make a movie that isn’t based on Marvel or DC Comics characters.
 
The following users thanked this post: tom66


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf