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Joined 4 months ago
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Cake day: February 25th, 2024

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  • Meanwhile, if you use Microsoft Teams & Outlook with the Teams add-on installed … and you are wondering why your email links are suddenly opening in Edge instead of your default browser, disable the Teams add-on in Outlook and rage for a moment at the stupidity.

    Teams is forcing Edge browser to open links in new Teams and by extension, in Outlook. Setting the default browser to open links within Outlook settings just leads to un-clickable links. The only way to fix it is to disable the Teams Outlook add-on.

    Yes, same old Microsoft. Anyone who thinks they have changed in any way since the days of forcing Internet Explorer as the default are sadly and woefully mistaken.






  • To some extent yes. However, the problem doesn’t go away. It just becomes cyclical.

    Not many people out there are likely to say that they haven’t spent money on a number of brands hopping from one to the other until the enshittifcation catches up to the brand.

    When we run out of brands, then what? Amazon Firestick, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, WebTV OS …

    I just think on top of not buying their products in the future, it would make sense to also fight the fight that will prevent others from doing the same thing now and in the future. Eliminate the need to turn away from a brand because they are allowed to screw us on the value of our purchase trying to milk us for more profit. TV prices might go up a few hundred or more (and if you want a new feature, it might cost you) but you know that what it does or doesn’t do when you get, it will still do it later on it’s it’s lifespan. Of course, this will be all moot once hardware becomes a subscription model. The lack of personal ownership of things in the name of perpetual profits is a thing coming …


  • Oh please don’t misunderstand my post. I’m in total agreement that this bullshit can’t go unchallenged and that posting about it is necessary and good. It’s just that, like public comment town halls, all the complaining in the world does not affect change.

    Instead, I meant to imply that more needs to be done and in a way that people who have already paid can use to fight against them.

    Like encouraging all Roku TV owners (and eventually all Smart TV owners) to contact their local, state and federal representatives to demand they enact consumer protection laws against post purchase forced software changes to functionality of the product (aside from security patches) or forced acceptance of ‘terms of service’ that essentially take away your right to your preferred method of recourse.

    I mean, the idea that we buy something for the features and capabilities it gives us just to have it changed at the whim of a corporate moneymaking scheme is insane. Even moreso when policy changes mean you accept something you don’t want to or lose what you paid for (i.e. Roku’s forced arbitration acceptance that would otherwise brick the TV).

    It’s fine to vent frustrations but in the long run, jailbreaking and looking to buy something different doesn’t resolve the root problem. Greed overcoming consumer protection in the name of shareholder interest (most of which are corporate C level douches).

    Sorry if I wasn’t clear with my opinion but my posts usually are already too long before they even start. lol


  • Not a software dev but tech is central to my life.

    3 monitors for normal use

    1 - personal streaming, video meetings

    2 - remote business desktop access, main personal browsing window

    3 - online chat presence window, personal email client, other

    3 monitor gaming

    3 monitors for racing simulators and any games that support it (which make sense)

    Single monitor gaming

    1 - Game related content on left 2 - Game window in center 3 - Game related social media or streaming

    3 monitor home labbing

    1 machine or app per monitor Triple monitor stare and compare windows GUI / CLI / Monitoring system interface

    I didn’t realize how extensively I used my monitors until this exercise. Feel better about the spend and space tax related to it.


  • You know what people tend to forget?

    Shareholders = Consumers of the product too

    Marketing departments that come up with these assinine ideas are staffed with consumers of the product too.

    As long as enough people are making bank from this stupidity, it will not stop.

    The only right answer is not to give them your money. Hard to do that when they all do it and after purchase protests are kind of pointless since they already got paid. So, how to actually impact their bottom line? That’s the only language they listen to.


  • What about for people like me?

    I bought my device outright. No loans, no payment plans and no reason for that functionality to exist on my phone. Yet there it is, just waiting to be taken advantage of whether there is a valid reason or not.

    This is the kind of apathy that leads to phrases like, “If only we had known” but we do … and do nothing about it.

    I can and will at least do my part for myself and encourage others to do the same.