Nice to have common ground

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

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[u/purplereuben]

I don't really think this is generational. I think everyone is sick and tired of this!

[u/eXo0us → u/purplereuben]

yes, I was googling for "Non-Smart TV that doesn't spy on me" the other day.

Since my large dumb TV is slowly dying. Might need to open and repair it.

[u/CueCueQQ → u/eXo0us]

Learn the tech, these companies are hoping you won't. There are ways around most of the corporate spying systems. Ad blockers on browsers is step 1. DNS sinkholes, VLANs, and routing rules on your network to control what something can even see in the first place. There's a board you can just rip out of most new TVs that turns it into a dumb TV.

edit: This came off condescending, and I didn't intend it to, so I reworked my comment.

[u/GeneSpecialist3284 → u/CueCueQQ]

Not condescending. You simply have knowledge many of us don't. I see a potential business opportunity here bro.

[u/CueCueQQ → u/GeneSpecialist3284]

I don't think I could make a business out of it. Maybe a side hustle, but if it were a business, I'd get a SLAPP lawsuit as soon as it attracted attention. I think it's better for me to just encourage you to find the knowledge, because it's out there for free.

[u/Nerd-man24 → u/CueCueQQ]

Yeah, any company would come down on you HARD if you started dumbing down the appliances. Your smart TV likely has projected ad revenue and data sales baked into the price. That's the real reason big TVs are so cheap.

[u/_erika_ → u/eXo0us]

You can prevent a smart TV from spying on you by never connecting it directly to your WiFi/internet.

[u/Paul_Tired → u/_erika_]

LG smart devices search for neighbouring LG smart devices to figure out where it is when not connected to your WiFi.

I wouldn't be surprised if one day these devices do peer to peer networking to push ads on devices not connected to WiFi.

[u/Fr1toBand1to → u/Paul_Tired]

I just put my TV in a faraday cage, problem solved.

[u/SBSnipes → u/Fr1toBand1to]

Just make your whole house a faraday cage in the alaskan wilderness with a gameboy and lifetime supply of batteries

[u/zebrastarz → u/SBSnipes]

Retirement plans

[u/chinupf → u/Paul_Tired]

Open the thing, rip out the wifi antenna (its a smol module that has wifi written over it), close it and be done.

[u/halfpipesaur → u/_erika_]

It doesn’t stop it from constantly nagging about creating an account or blocking some basic functions until you sign up

[u/girlikecupcake → u/_erika_]

I disconnected my Roku TV from the Internet a few weeks ago. As a result, I couldn't change hdmi inputs without physically going behind my TV to swap the cables because the home screen never loads. The remotes don't have a button for each input or even cycling through them. Even the "TV inputs" section in the side bar refuses to load.

So my fix was reconnecting it, but using my router settings to block the TV from accessing proper Internet, that way I could at least send commands via lan. The home screen and input screen still refuse to load, but now I can press a button on my phone to send a command via tasker for the HDMI input I want.

It's so dumb, I hate it. And I imagine a lot of people would just get pissed after the first step and reconnect it. Which isn't a good thing, just wouldn't be surprising.

[u/RetainedByLucifer → u/_erika_]

I bought my first smart TV about a year ago. It would not permit me to use the TV without connecting to the internet first.

[u/teapots_at_ten_paces → u/RetainedByLucifer]

I'd take it back for a refund.

Got an email today for 40% off a 80-something inch Samsung. Thought it sounded like a good deal, until I saw it was a "Smart AI" TV and backed away real quick. There is nothing smart about AI.

[u/Previous_Composer934 → u/RetainedByLucifer]

So you bring it back and tell them it doesn't work. Bitching on reddit doesn't work. Not giving them money does

[u/Such-Background4972 → u/_erika_]

A lot of brands now require a always on connection.

[u/devonon2707 → u/eXo0us]

"commercial signage displays" they are not the best picture quality but they last ages and do not spy on you

[u/eXo0us → u/devonon2707]

Thanks, Yeah I'm going down the large display/ large monitor route.

They make PC screens up to 43 inches.

[u/tehlemmings → u/eXo0us]

For anyone who wants a truly lazy answer, look for the TV meant for conference rooms and shit. There's plenty that are just as good, but they literally don't do anything other that switch between inputs. The dumbest of TVs.

I only ever stream from my media server or Chromecast, so that'll be what I get next when my current one dies.

[u/I_Am_Zampano → u/eXo0us]

Team gaming PC monitor here. The smaller size is worth the privacy to me

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/purplereuben]

Totally agreed! We all need to band together!

[u/1MechanicalAlligator → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

I'm happy to organize a cross-generational boycott and info-sharing app.

Membership starts at just $3.99/month^{forthefirst3months,} with a $60 season pass for early-access updates and a gold "PIONEER" badge next to your name.

[u/Aggravating_Fox_8159 → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

Just don't give it your Wi-Fi password and it is a dumb TV.

[u/Kitselena → u/purplereuben]

Plus the game boy advanced, DS, PSP, Vita and 3DS all worked without a subscription and you didn't even need a recurring payment for batteries since they were rechargeable
Gen Z got to experience a world with much less greed and enshittification, it was just taken from us while we were too young to do anything about it

[u/SassySweetSorceress → u/Kitselena]

Not to mention when games came out when they’re actually finished (even with a few bugs - which usually helped you win somehow if you figured it out) now people are paying for “beta”, paying to do work (people were paid to be testers), crying that the game still isn’t finished 2 years later even though they paid $60 2 years ago. Now everything is beta, nothing is actually owned & can be wiped off whatever you play it on at any point they want it to, or they just stop updating it making it unplayable, not to mention the dumbass pay to play bullshit people support.

[u/Kitselena → u/SassySweetSorceress]

It's really insane, especially because the old games never went anywhere and they're even better than on release because of mods.

[u/MetalEnthusiast83 → u/Kitselena]

Plus the game boy advanced, DS, PSP, Vita and 3DS all worked without a subscription and you didn't even need a recurring payment for batteries since they were rechargeable

Um, same with the Switch and Switch 2.

[u/Arrav_VII → u/MetalEnthusiast83]

You do need a subscription to use the online features of both.

[u/MetalEnthusiast83 → u/Arrav_VII]

Well yeah. The other ones you named didn't really have much in the way of online.

But if you want to just play games on the go, there is no subscription needed. Same with a Steam Deck.

[u/ultragoodname → u/MetalEnthusiast83]

The 3DS had some cool online features for an early 2010s handheld. They even had a YouTube like video platform where they had cool indie animations like Bravest Warriors and Bee & Puppycat.

[u/jmkdev → u/ultragoodname]

They literally had youtube itself.

[u/ultragoodname → u/jmkdev]

There was other exclusive comedy sketches and 3D videos that would become lost media until last year.

[u/rizoula → u/purplereuben]

My parents just bought an electric Cadillac and omg this is NOT a car it’s a fucking IPhone on weeks .

I could NEVER.

[u/Thefrightfulgezebo → u/purplereuben]

From what I've seen, many teenagers do not mind because for them, that's just how things have been for most of their life.

[u/eXo0us → u/Thefrightfulgezebo]

Many teenagers mind very much, they are actually hyper aware about their online persona.

That's why bars and clubs are dying - the young generation is not going there anymore - they are afraid that they got posted and go viral when partying.

[u/Mr_Ignorant → u/eXo0us]

Is that really the only reason? They already put so much of their personal info online, is the fear of additional videos an issue here?

I genuinely think the cost of going to clubs AND the fact that they are almost always online plays a role in not wanting to go out.

[u/Biduleman → u/Mr_Ignorant]

Yeah it's definitely multiple things.

When I (36) was young, at like 7-8 my parents were letting me bike around alone. My friends were in the neighborhood so I'd just take my bike, ride to their place, knock on the door and ask them to come. When the street lights came on, we knew that nobody could go home to take a leak or get a glass of water, otherwise our parents wouldn't let us get back out.

When I got older and went to high school, parents were already stopping their kids from going out alone for fear of being kidnapped. Public spaces were already starting to tell us to GTFO. During lunch time, we would often go to the grocery store to get some food as it was better than the school cafeteria, and they wouldn't even let us sit in the public square to eat because they didn't want kids there. But we still pushed to see each others in real life as we were used to it. We wanted to be with each other physically.

These days, the kids who grew up with much less "IRL liberties" found these liberties online in Games, Discord, Social Media, etc. It's not a reflex to go out, the reflex is to hang out with their friends where they hung for all their life. And when they do go out, everything needs to be documented for their online friends, so you end up with people who don't want to dance, don't want to do karaoke, don't want to be shit at mini-putt because they know they'll get laughed at on the Discord the next day. And like you said, the cost of going out is becoming ridiculous, so much so it's actually killing industries like bowling.

Since Covid, I've seen the same with a lot of my friends. I'm lucky to have had the same group of friends for 15+ years. We used to hang out IRL, go to people's places, go to restaurants, bars, etc pretty much every weeks. These days, everyone is on Discord and during the summer we might do something once a month if that. But it started with Covid when we had to hang out online if we wanted to talk to each other.

[u/Safe-Historian4028 → u/Mr_Ignorant]

It's not a reason at all. The real reason is the astronomical prices and having more entertaining options that don't involve selling a kidney. People are less dependent on alcohol, and alcohol has been the nightlife industry standard and they are struggling to move past that.

[u/DoctorSpoya → u/Mr_Ignorant]

It's all of those reasons

Teenagers are not a monolith, same as every age group

most millennials don't have the hatred of smart devices that the millennials on reddit do

[u/lauren-ipsum13 → u/eXo0us]

i assumed it was because no one can afford $20 drinks on shit wages

[u/CraigsAndBacon → u/[deleted]]

I remember the Light Boy being a game changer for car trips at night. Snap it on, get lights and a magnified screen. And then the next day when my Gameboy was about dead, I'd pop out the batteries and plug them into the Gameboy for a very limited amount of extended play!

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/CraigsAndBacon]

That light boy would’ve been a game changer all those nights I used a flashlight to play Mario into the wee hours of the morning!

I thought I was pretty fancy because I got a rubber case that had a shoulder strap. Finally a “purse” that my little Tom Boy self actually liked lol

[u/MyGamingRants → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

I had the whole kit! Light up screen magnifier that folded in, the over the shoulder carry case, and individual cases for my cartridges lol I was the coolest kid in school for sure

[u/kashy87 → u/CraigsAndBacon]

I preferred the worm light to the light boy. For some reason the magnification messed with my eyes.

[u/CraigsAndBacon → u/kashy87]

The magnified screen absolutely messed with me, particularly on games I was already familiar with. Making jumps I'd done multiple times would throw the balance off ever so slightly. But it was also great for other games, mainly non-platformers.

[u/Loampudl]

so wrong.

game boy needs 4 batteries

[u/history_is_my_crack → u/Loampudl]

That's nothing compared to Game Gear. That bastard was the devourer of batteries. 6 batteries need. Felt like they'd last an afternoon gaming session at most.

[u/OldSchoolAJ → u/history_is_my_crack]

And the Nomad was even worse. I don’t know why they thought a portable Genesis was a good idea, but they damn sure sold it.

[u/GovernorHarryLogan → u/OldSchoolAJ]

Atari Lynx extra power pack. 6 D-cell batteries.

Ngl best handheld

[u/Free_For__Me → u/OldSchoolAJ]

I loved my Nomad and wish to heaven that I still had it.

That being said, I almost never used it on battery and had it plugged in 90% of the time, lol.

[u/Get_your_grape_juice → u/history_is_my_crack]

I didn’t know batteries could explode until I had a Game Gear.

Thankfully I wasn’t using it at the time.

[u/gcko → u/history_is_my_crack]

You got a whole afternoon of play out of one set of batteries!? I remember having to bring a club pack just to make it til the end of the road trip and would have to swap them out every couple hours.

[u/PercentageNo3293 → u/history_is_my_crack]

I grew up in north florida, grandparents lived in south florida. My parents would buy a giant pack of batteries for the trip. I'd need to change them out halfway through the 6ish hour trip lol.

[u/TGordion → u/history_is_my_crack]

A battery de-charger that came with some games

[u/Gulbasaur → u/Loampudl]

Later game boys (e.g the pocket) ran on two. The early ones (like I had) did not. 

[u/MamaOnica → u/Gulbasaur]

Or you were like me and your parents refused to buy batteries because you'd go through 4 per day, so you were stuck to the wall with the charging wire.

[u/Gulbasaur → u/MamaOnica]

I am also in this picture. 

[u/Free_For__Me → u/MamaOnica]

I was lucky, my grandparents got all 5 of us grandkids Gameboys one Christmas in like 1991. They got us the deluxe kit that came with a case AND the rechargeable battery pack.

It lasted longer than using AA batteries, but on a road trip it still didn't make it the whole way. It was also heavier than the Gameboy itself, lol. But at least it had a belt clip.

[u/miniangelgirl → u/Gulbasaur]

Game boy colour?

[u/Biduleman → u/miniangelgirl]

The Game Boy Pocket, Color, Light and Advance all ran off 2 batteries.

[u/FrostyD7 → u/Biduleman]

The pocket used AAA's which was kind of a nightmare. Rarely did that benefit me and AA's last quite a bit longer.

[u/Edexote → u/Loampudl]

The Game Boy Pocket and Color needed only 2.

[u/Imrtltrtl → u/Edexote]

Gameboy Advance was also just 2. The Advance SP was the first to have a rechargeable built into the handheld.

[u/Edexote → u/Imrtltrtl]

The Game Boy line was fucking awesome.

[u/redditydothis → u/Loampudl]

Thank you! I was thinking they might have updated it or something because when I was a kid the gameboy used 4 batteries and if you have the light attachment that used even more batteries.

[u/ConstableBlimeyChips → u/Loampudl]

Four batteries and doubled as a goddamn home defense tool. I could be playing Pokemon Red, pause to use it to give a home intruder a severe concussion, and go straight back to battling fools outside Cerulean City.

[u/survivalist_guy → u/Loampudl]

Thank you! I was tripping like "I'm pretty sure it was four...."

[u/CaptainArren]

Two?! I had the old grey brick Game Boy that required 4 AA batteries, no color screen or back light.

But anyway, agree with no more smart technology that doesn't need it.

[u/Jass0602 → u/CaptainArren]

Remember getting my color around 98 or 99, it was like a whole new world and the most amazing thing ever. Now I’m an educator and my students have no idea how far we’ve come 😂

[u/MothSign → u/CaptainArren]

Came here to say this. This post is obviously ai. Nice try to robots! We see through your ruse!

[u/c__beck → u/CaptainArren]

Same! Had to get the HandyBoy to get a light and decent speakers!

https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/2015-07-31_12-51-56_game-boy-handy-boy.jpg

[u/Sparkadark808 → u/c__beck]

Don't forget about that game genie!

[u/Dreadwings → u/CaptainArren]

us 90s millenials had gameboy pockets and color for pokemon lol. i had my green og gameboy too but was second hand.

[u/sohcgt96 → u/CaptainArren]

This is the top comment for a reason, I only jumped to the comments to swoop in and make this correction.

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/CaptainArren]

That’s the one I had!

[u/Pardybro911]

Why are you censoring fucking.

It’s okay to curse. Especially when emphasizing a point out of fury and frustration.

[u/MrTerribleArtist → u/Pardybro911]

I'm guessing this was recycled from somewhere else - the red splotch of a censor job is very likely done from a mobile/tablet screenshot edit

Not to sterotype but; mobile edit, self censorship.. this was originally taken by a Zoomer

[u/kronkarp → u/MrTerribleArtist]

Are those afraid of words?

[u/the_moosen → u/kronkarp]

Absolutely they are. Have you seen them say unalive instead of dead/killed? It's fucking atrocious.

[u/MrTerribleArtist → u/the_moosen]

Destruction of language to appease corpos

[u/Pardybro911 → u/MrTerribleArtist]

It all kind of stems from TikTok right?

[u/MrTerribleArtist → u/Pardybro911]

I can't say for certain where it started, but tiktok ain't exactly helping

[u/CloudClean4676 → u/MrTerribleArtist]

It's no different from TV and radio bleeping. But because of social media and youtube they treat the entire internet like they have to bleep.

[u/MrTerribleArtist → u/CloudClean4676]

I'm against censorship of all kinds, however having an agreement with a broadcasting company about what can cannot be done, in a legal arrangement company to company, as well as following government guidelines and restrictions is one thing

Self censoring a video you made on your phone in your room under the hope that the mystic algorithm du jour won't decide you're not worth paying or promoting - a system entirely controlled by the provider (youtube/google). This type of power dynamic is very much a different thing

Even worse when impressionable minds watch said content, to which they then conclude that this is the "correct" thing to do, which only exacerbates the problem

[u/Metalorg]

My washing machine updated itself and it erased all the options on the touch screen interface. Took 20 minutes to find how to add the dry function back. It was a gift from my mother in law, thanks and everything but I just want one with buttons.

[u/MrOopiseDaisy → u/Metalorg]

I just went to buy a washer. I told the guy "I just want a machine that washes clothing, and doesn't have any other features."

He walked me over to some ridiculous model and immediately started talking about wifi and internet connectivity. I walked away from him while he was talking and went to the other salesman and said, "hello, I just want machine that washes clothing, and doesn't have any other features."

He asked, "isn't that guy helping you?"

I said, "No. That guy is helping himself." Five minutes later, he was ringing me up for the most basic unit they had.

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/Metalorg]

I am not looking forward to replacing our ancient washer and dryer for this reason!

[u/vemundveien → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

You still get non-smart appliances. I bought a dryer, a microwave, a stovetop, a oven, a fridge and a dishwasher brand new this year and none of them can connect to anything.

[u/CloudClean4676 → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

Speed Queen washers are supposed to be really good, or so I've read. No smart features, they're supposed to last your whole life, and they're made by unionized labor. Really expensive, though.

[u/NonVeggieRaccoon → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

we paid extra to get an Electrolux one with buttons and no app last year

[u/Cessnaporsche01 → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

Why would you? Washers and dryers are incredibly simple appliances. Just maintain them

[u/MrNiceguy037 → u/Metalorg]

Totally agree. Energy efficiency and those things are all I care about with newer devices but other than that, I need no smart features, no damn capacitive touch control. Just a button. I bought a microwave that only let's me set time and wattage

[u/a_shootin_star → u/Metalorg]

My washing machine updated itself

.. lemme get this straight, your machine is allowed on your WiFi network? Terminate that shit.

[u/Kup123]

Fake ass millennial everyone know gameboy took 4 batteries.

[u/iamthedayman21 → u/Kup123]

Probably means the Color, which ran on two. The oldest Millennials were 8 when the original came out. So a majority of Millennials would’ve been kids/teens when the Color came out in ‘98.

[u/CarefulNow_ → u/iamthedayman21]

Specifics matter. A Gameboy was a glorious 4 battery grey cased green and black beauty

[u/iamthedayman21 → u/CarefulNow_]

I didn’t know better and had a Game Gear during those years. A black obelisk of 6-battery destruction.

[u/Killerkendolls → u/iamthedayman21]

At least the power pack was only the size of a 20oz soda and took a full day to charge.

[u/iamthedayman21 → u/Killerkendolls]

I basically tethered myself to a wall or car charger at all times.

[u/Ladikn → u/CarefulNow_]

Which had a habit of overheating if the back vents were covered to the point that the AAs could explode. That's how I found out what battery acid is! My buddy and I were playing Pokemon Red/Blue (I had Red) and I had it laying on the bed.

[u/ClassIINav → u/iamthedayman21]

The original sold for 6 years (an eon for any consumer electronic device, let alone game console). So it's likely lots of elder millennials picked up one of the later OG models. The first main revision was the Pocket that came out in '96 and the Color came out October '98.

So yes probably younger Millenials' first Game Boy was a 2-AA battery model most of the older ones probably spent their childhood rocking the OG. This Millennial had friends with an OG but got my own in high school when the Color came out.

[u/Turgid_Donkey → u/Kup123]

Unless you had that voltron abomination with the magnifying glass, speakers, and a book light. That thing chewed through batteries worse than the game gear. 

[u/sirlelington → u/Turgid_Donkey]

Game gear was great. If you had an AC adapter. Otherwise it ate batteries like candy

[u/spacestonkz → u/sirlelington]

8 batteries!!!

[u/adalaar → u/Turgid_Donkey]

the magnifer was so cool, had it's own little lights as well it had it's own batteries tho and they lasted a good bit

[u/LordFarthington7 → u/Turgid_Donkey]

You’ll never know how much I wanted that thing

[u/SpunkyMcButtlove07 → u/Turgid_Donkey]

My grams gifted me a genesis nomad.

6 AA batteries. 1-2 hours.

Shame i don't have it anymore. Played the life out of it with a wall wart.

[u/Osiris8869 → u/Kup123]

You aren't a true gamer unless you played an OG big gameboy between street lights in the back seat of a Chevy Nova.

[u/onascalefrom20to80 → u/Kup123]

I can go take a picture of my Gameboy color right now. The battery cover was lost decades ago. I have played on that thing touching the two AA batteries in there since I was 12.

[u/DeadliestArmadillo → u/Kup123]

Game Boy Colour was a 2 battery Chad.

[u/Rarpiz → u/Kup123]

Yes, the original gameboy does take four AA batteries.

However, a newer model, the gameboy color (model CGB-001 to be exact) DOES take only two AA batteries. That one was made in 1998.

Source: I own both and looked at them while typing this.

[u/Regular_Wedding_36 → u/Kup123]

Fake ass millennial not knowing about the Pocket and Color models which only take two.

[u/symb015X → u/Regular_Wedding_36]

Millennial who had a gameboy color, can confirm- we plowed thru two batteries at a time

[u/Ill_Statement7600 → u/symb015X]

It was a good thing they took the same amount of batteries as our parent's TV remote. They would buy all sorts of batteries for their remotes but none for the handhelds lol.

[u/cosmolitano → u/Kup123]

Somebody never got the Game Boy (its two words) Pocket and it shows. 2 AA batteries was all it took

[u/schu2470 → u/cosmolitano]

Gameboy Color took 2 AA batteries as well. My mom got sick of buying me batteries so one year I got rechargeable for Christmas.

[u/ForexGamer → u/Kup123]

I still have my original grey gameboy from the year they came out and my original saves of Pokémon blue and silver.

[u/gba_sg1 → u/Kup123]

"my Gameboy" could be the Color, Pocket or Advance.

They didn't say "my DMG". Gameboy is a blanket term, they were nonspecific.

[u/dookieshoes97]

$1500 tv? What year is this? My 55" 4k was $300 in 2023.

[u/WhiskeyRadio → u/dookieshoes97]

Probably has a larger OLED.

[u/Radiomaster138 → u/WhiskeyRadio]

Or Micro LED.

[u/FroggerC137 → u/dookieshoes97]

There’s still different tiers of quality. My Bravia 8 OLED was about that much and it’s definitely the best looking TV I’ve ever seen.

[u/h0sti1e17 → u/FroggerC137]

I’ve had cheaper TVs but once I got my OLED I can’t go cheap anymore.

[u/Darkdragoon324 → u/dookieshoes97]

How smart was it though? THIS one shows you ads. That's, like, super ultra mega smart.

[u/TelevisionExpress616 → u/dookieshoes97]

That's the price of a 55" 4k tv if you want it with absolutely zero smart features. Of course, you could just buy a smart tv and never connect it to the internet, but the principle of the thing does enrage me. The reasonably priced product is only reasonable because it spies on you and feeds you ads

[u/schu2470 → u/TelevisionExpress616]

I WISH I could get a 55” dumb TV like back in the day. I’d pay way more for one with no smart features or built in operating system. Just want it to turn on and be a display for the things plugged into it.

[u/TelevisionExpress616 → u/schu2470]

I just about threw a fit when my local Sam’s club AND Costco only sold smart tvs.

If I want one that’s 4K, big, and just a display Id have to buy online and for a much steeper price. Ultimately though, you can just buy a smart tv and never connect it to the internet.

That way it wont all of a sudden prompt you for an update in the middle of your tv show or show you the home dashboard riddled with ads as opposed to defaulting to the input your Console or Roku or whatever is connected to

[u/MetalEnthusiast83 → u/dookieshoes97]

Right? I've got an 85" TV and it cost less than a grand.

[u/sh0rtchica → u/MetalEnthusiast83]

My 85” TV was over $2k on sale, so there’s a wide range in pricing when it comes to TV technology.

[u/alex3omg → u/dookieshoes97]

I recently bought a nonsmart tv and it works fine... With the Amazon fire stick I plug into it 🤷

[u/Orchuntsman → u/dookieshoes97]

I got a 55" for less than 300 this year from Walmart. It's a super off brand and I got it during the selling off of last year's stock to make room for Black Friday inventory in the warehouse "event" that happens every summer.

[u/superdeedapper]

There are really good tvs for way less than $1500, cars that don’t need a subscription, and normal ass refrigerators. Why do you have all this stuff

[u/Quercus408]

My 14yo Vizio TV don't give me ads...

[u/NRMusicProject → u/Quercus408]

Neither does my 2 year-old Samsung. I just simply didn't connect it to the internet.

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/Quercus408]

That is the exact age and brand of my tv 🤣

[u/Quercus408 → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

Runs great, don't it? And mine sits above a fish tank!

[u/The_BarroomHero → u/Quercus408]

Sword of Damocles over those poor fish

[u/SnookerandWhiskey]

Why does everyone keep buying these things? I have none of these in my home, not even an old school TV and no listening devices, and it wasn't hard to find normal appliances. 

[u/InvictvsNox → u/SnookerandWhiskey]

It was a lot easier to convince us that tech upgrades were worth it back in the day because things actually did improve at a good rate.

Now we have the same solid 1000 dollar slab in our pockets that haven't changed in 20 years.

[u/angrytroll123 → u/InvictvsNox]

Tbf, phones do change incrementally. I’m fine with them not changing drastically. It lets me hold on to my phone for several years.

[u/InvictvsNox → u/angrytroll123]

We used to have our phones for 5+ years on average. Now that's noteworthy.

I meant change in terms of design language for the better.

[u/TaiyoT → u/InvictvsNox]

the first iphone came out in 2007 and had a large button on the front.

[u/NudityMiles]

Midnight gaming under passing headlights <3

[u/miniangelgirl → u/NudityMiles]

They used to sell the light to attach to it overhead haha

[u/NudityMiles → u/miniangelgirl]

Oh yeah, I wanted one for years before I got one, I have siblings and we didn't have much growing up. But they were so cool. Just getting the Game boy was like a blessing, so in the end I was very happy with that struggle. Oh how I loved that Game Boy.

[u/miniangelgirl → u/NudityMiles]

Same here haha. And same

[u/Crucial_Fun → u/miniangelgirl]

I remember my grandparents getting the attachment for my older brothers and I.

[u/DiekeDrake → u/NudityMiles]

It was so annoying at the time. But I love having the memory of it.

Edit: I prefer above struggle than what kids are dealing with nowadays.

[u/fieregon]

Is this an american thing? My tv, fridge or car doesnt require any of that.

[u/Forest_Orc → u/fieregon]

There is a trend of internet of shit where you connect appliance to your home wifi. So instead of the old washing machine or oven that you start by turning a knob and plays a beep when done, you program it with a smartphone and it sends you a notification when done.

Doesn't feel like a useful feature

[u/ourlastchancefortea → u/Forest_Orc]

here is a trend of internet of shit where you connect appliance to your home wifi.

1. Don't buy one, that does it.

2. If it does, don't connect it.

3. Profit.

[u/Cromasters → u/Forest_Orc]

It's still very easy to get appliances that don't do any of that crap. I don't own any!

[u/The_BarroomHero → u/Forest_Orc]

So much (maybe all) of the "internet of things" was selling consumers a not-particularly-useful feature that normies had never seen before (and didn't really need), and just waiting for that sweet, sweet data to come rolling in... which was what They really wanted.

[u/chiharuki → u/fieregon]

You have the option to not get the fancy stuff that does all that

[u/alcomaholic-aphone → u/fieregon]

For fridges and cars it’s usually only the fancy ones. The TVs though happen with even the cheap ones. They have Roku or whatever other device built in that want to show you ads and then the streaming services want to show you ads too.

[u/Timeshocked → u/alcomaholic-aphone]

I got so lucky with my last Roku and Samsung tv’s…the models just before they started doing that shit. I hope these tv’s last forever! lol

[u/WideHuckleberry1 → u/fieregon]

No, it's simply that these things all exist and people like to pretend it's the only option rather than some niche thing.

[u/MetalEnthusiast83 → u/fieregon]

Nope. I’m American and none of that is accurate for me.

Also the game boy used 4 batteries

[u/Successful-Reason403 → u/fieregon]

None of my American electronics or appliances are required to be connected to the internet.

[u/hatesnack → u/Successful-Reason403]

Yeah not sure why this myth gets spread so much lol. No cars "require a subscription", no appliances NEED to be connected to the internet if you dont want to use the online features, and idk where people are seeing ads all over their TV. My Samsung OLED only has ads for shows I might watch, which seems fine to me lol.

[u/ColumbaPacis → u/hatesnack]

Because they do.

> No cars "require a subscription"

Tesla FSD (Full Self Driving) is a software update, that costs $99 / month.

A few others car companies require you to subscribe for features like remote heating over your phone, or similar features. Most do allow you to drive the car without a subscription... still. But given the trend, I would not be surprised if they started requiring an app and subscription to even open your car door.

> no appliances NEED to be connected to the internet

The LG Smart TV I bought recently does not allow me to open ANYTHING without singing into the LG account first. Not even Youtube as a guest or any other app. Even if some of these apps allow you to use them without an account (most don't), the TV itself doesn't let me do that. Bought it in 2026.

You probably didn't buy any of these things since 2021. Things have gone REALLY downhill since COVID.

[u/ColumbaPacis → u/ColumbaPacis]

Regarding the Smart TV thing. I ended up getting a separate smart stick, even though the TV was already "smart".

Never connect your Smart TV to the internet!

And yeah, it is a pretty cheap TV, so they are cramming all this stuff in there to get extra margins when they can't on the TV itself I guess.

[u/lavapig_love → u/ColumbaPacis]

You need to hit up your local thrift stores and buy old tech while you can.

You've essentially paid however much that smart TV costs for a black brick, which is stupid.

[u/maevian → u/fieregon]

I have a cheap Chinese fridge from haier and it had a WiFi feature, but you can just not connect it.
The same for my TCL tv, it has an Apple TV connected, but the TV itself has no connection to my internet. When it fully reboots it gives a notification ‘microphone on’ and a few seconds later, couldn’t connect to the internet. That always confirms my paranoia about not connecting it.

[u/SnooSuggestions9294 → u/fieregon]

No this guy is just dumb

[u/sohcgt96 → u/fieregon]

TVs... hard to avoid smart TVs. Fridge? Easy to buy non-smart, most of them are. Car can, but that's so I can do software updates myself vs dealer. I just use my phone's hot spot instead, which is off most of the time.

[u/ThoughtsandThinkers]

Picking up something and having it work like it did last time instead of an update breaking or changing something

Turning something on and being able to use it without logging on or waiting for an update

Being able to buy something and then give it away or sell it second hand

Corporations are intruding waaayyyy too much into our every day lives. They are no longer in the business of making innovative products or competing to make customers happy

They instead use their resources to stifle competition, lobby government, and entrap and extract rent from customers

Buy less when you can. Buy local when you can. Buy from those who support open source and right to repair

[u/boner4crosstabs]

Who spends $1500 on a TV these days?!

[u/master_prizefighter]

When I was younger, I thought putting batteries in the freezer recharged them. I remember countless times throwing dead batteries in the freezer to have an extra hour of play time.

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/master_prizefighter]

I heard it made them last longer. Also, I’m pretty sure my dad still does this lol

[u/DerChrom]

Millennial here. My Game Boy Color is still running on two AA's. Things just worked back then.

[u/TawnyTeaTowel]

It takes a special kind of idiot to pick one of the 6 smart fridges out of the 40 alternatives on display at the store, then complain about having a smart fridge.

[u/DisastrousCoast7268]

Elder millennial and first thought was : "Two Batteries?... You mean four"

Second thought was "ahh shit, they're taking about the Advance"

[u/Hockey-Gym]

Back in my day you’d close an ad and two more would pop up!

[u/Great_Apez]

I agree with the first dude but no the past isn’t better just cause you were there. Rose tinted glasses and all that 

[u/dewhashish]

the original gameboy required 4 AA batteries. it was every gameboy after (until the SP) that only needed 2 AA or 2 AAA batteries

[u/upstatedreaming3816]

This is Reddit. You can say “fucking”.

[u/AppropriateTouching]

You can say fucking. Weird self censoring shit.

[u/red_sky7447]

My oven has an air fryer feature (which is stupid because isn’t that when an oven does to an extent?) anyways, you need to connect to wifi for that feature. I’m tired of everything needing to connect to WiFi or needing to download an app for something. OR, needing a subscription it’s insane

[u/ScarTheRebel]

There was tvs from early 2000s that have built in DVD players

Yeah I'm never buying a ai smart tv

Old TVs better and simple

[u/A-Helpful-Flamingo → u/ScarTheRebel]

I wanted one of those so bad, except it was the kind with built in VHS 😭

[u/spade_bodega663 → u/A-Helpful-Flamingo]

lol my grandparents had those in the spare bedrooms at their house 🤣 I found one at Goodwill years ago because I hadn’t gotten my library of childhood VHS camcorder footage converted yet and some tapes weren’t labeled. I still have a VCR/Dvd Combo in storage lol.

[u/Former_Mobile3101 → u/ScarTheRebel]

Gotta find the ever elusive dvd/vhs combo TV.

[u/dnuohxof-2]

Gen Z wanted this.

Gen Z thought it’d be funny to vote for HIM (can’t say his name or the stupid automod deletes my comment) . Now Gen Z can’t stop complaining…..

[u/OverdressedShingler]

I died in Gears of War E-Day last night after I left it on quick resume on the Xbox. A single player game had to re-establish and reconnect to the fucking game servers before it let me control the character again! I mean, what the fuck?

[u/Crypto_Stoozy]

The era of trash software like this is coming to a end everything can be reverse engineered. You can reverse engineer an Amazon tablet and remove Amazons ads from it now. If you don’t like Adobe you can reverse engineer all their software and use your own version for free.

[u/Own-Raisin5849]

I would argue it's worse for Millennials, as we got a front row seat in watching it all burn down.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Sky7341]

Are posts like this also fake like AI or is that just a poser/really dumb Millennial? No Gameboy ever ran on two batteries, easy math is easy.

[u/fielvras]

It was 4 batteries.

[u/seanwdragon1983]

That's a gameboy color that ran on two batteries. Classic gameboy ran on 4x batteries.

[u/Minja78]

Genx here. Fuck it all.

[u/The_BarroomHero]

Hey dumbass, buy better things. Be more suspicious when selecting an item for purchase. Be more critical in general. You can still buy a cool & reliable car for less than $10k that doesn't require any online connection. You can still buy a $500 TV that's big and looks good and doesn't have ads. You can still buy a fridge that keeps your shit cold for like $500 and doesn't have an internet connection.

You trusted big tech and found out. Learn from it. There's still time to settle in with a few well curated items you're ready to keep in your life for the next decade or so while, ahem, things work themselves out.

[u/Not-An-FBI → u/The_BarroomHero]

You aren't wrong. There are like 50 different companies selling Gameboy replicas with way nicer screens to boot.

[u/mizushimo]

*four batteries