The proliferation of TV

I was doing Jury service recently and the court reception had TV's on the wall, is this eyecandy for our (increasingly) stupid populace?

While I am at it


I bought a DVD recently and got so p***ed off that I can't forward through the choclate bar ads and most annoyingly the ads chastising me for copying films (I don't and never have and object to sitting through these on a DVD I bought)

Nope it was a straight retail copy, what annoyed me was that I could forward through the ads for other films (which at least seems appropriate on a dvd) but not through the chocolate bar adverts (which just made me make the decision to never buy those chocolate bars) or the Pirating warnings)

I do understand the need for screens at airports, train stations etc. but not for random TV channels to be broadcasting to me, I will choose what I want to watch and when i want to watch it

For me, its not tv, its the proliferation of ads everywhere... and I mean everywhere. Gaaaa! TV's (or monitors) seem to be useful for that and they are now in places that do not even really make sense.

I find it odd that I pay 40 bucks for a T-shirt that says somebody's brand name on it... and 5 bucks for the same T plain. I get to pay to advertise.

There is something just warped about species that accepts that. Its like as a people we are but small children. We should be paying less for unleaded gas, we should be paying less for clothes with brand names splashed on them, we should be paying less for products labeled organic (I mean come on, I pay triple because it grew locally all by itself in soil??? - not that I believe anything is "organic" anymore... its just another way to pilfer money out of my pocket) we should not have to have ads in DVD's we have purchased.

And what is with these software or content licensing schemes anyway? I am sorry, when I pay money, I frickin own it, and I will do what I want with it, just like anything else I frickin own - throw me in jail, sue me, but I will continue to believe that till the day I die (that does not mean I can give a copy away to other people, but I should be able to use it on any computer or device I own, period - its like telling me that I can only play a record on one... and only one record player... ridiculous).

So that rant was to support this idea... content owners are going after people who put in TV's and radios to collect licensing fees, especially if the TV, radio, or mp3 player (I almost used the nasty "i" word, but I refuse to advertise) is in a commercial venue like a store, bar, waiting room, as they claim their content "adds value" to a business at their expense... even though that same content was bought and payed for with the ads I am being bombarded with. The only way I can escape them is to plug in to my mp3 player and read a book which is about as anti-social a behavior as one can get.

Why do we as a species accept this?

I was eating in a fancy restaurant the other day and there was an LCD screen over the urinal in the men's bathroom, showing the news. Each urinal had it's own little screen.
Like I can't take a leak without watching TV? Now if they had shown a flowing waterfall or something like that might've been useful. lol

ORIGINAL: foxwolfen

ORIGINAL: OffAnAirplane

I was eating in a fancy restaurant the other day and there was an LCD screen over the urinal in the men's bathroom, showing the news. Each urinal had it's own little screen.
Like I can't take a leak without watching TV? Now if they had shown a flowing waterfall or something like that might've been useful. lol

LOL

Oops.. I mean

I am laughing at your funny post. There is a big smile on my face and I actually made a sound when I laughed. I am a lone so nobody heard it, so did it really make a sound? My eyes are now wide open in mock horror at the philosophical question just posed, and now I am winking to show that I really am only just joking around, hoping that is not too self indulgent.

Lol


I'm not laughing outloud, I'm only abusing the acronym. lol

You have a choice. I made mine and these issues mentioned are not in my life. I have found that most things that bother me I can exclude.

Not mentioned to ruffle feathers.

You need to buy one of these....

TV B GONE


They are so cool. I have several. They're really fun in airports, bars, doctor's offices, resturants, and what a hoot at the Walmart TV wall... or Best buy....

Just point.... click.... and watch the TV's turn off. They work on hundreds of brands of TV's... you gotta get one if you are concerned about the blaring of TV's everywhere you go.

youtube vids>>>>

the CES show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpM3ItIhI0

some people get mad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf8Xfy4Qpw

high power long range test http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdKbSYMhugU

Get one.... join us.


BTW: use at your own risk in a sports bar with drunks.... just 5 seconds before the final point...Oh not a doubt in my mind it would be funny as all get out.....but, for obvious reasons, getting caught would be dangerous... not illegal, but highly dangerous.

ORIGINAL: Roflcopter

Always hated built-in computer cameras too. I never use them, but they're there. I can even turn someone's on remotely if they have a Mac... if I were so inclined.

People would be shocked if they knew how easy that is for some people, yes. Not only on a Mac.

I would hope people would have better things to do than watch me while I'm chatting on here. Talk about boring TV.

ORIGINAL: inmazevo

ORIGINAL: space_cowboy
You know the latest generation of plasma and lcd tvs are able to watch you when they are combined with a cable set, right? So far it is limited to cable, as the technology to uplink from an existing home dish is not there YET. But the reason you see so many TVs everywhere is that they are connected to the cable networks and are watching everything you do. Most people are so naive about this. They are watching you. While you sleep,. While you go to the loo. In the kitchen. At work. They are everywhere.
That is why I refuse to get cable and will only rely on dish connections. I also only drink grain alcohol and grain water - 4 oz of each. If you must have ice, make sure and use ice made from rain water. Also, never leave your drink where someone can get to it. The fluoridation of the water is designed to rob man of his purity of essence. Red Bas$#$ds.

Hehehe.
Not too far off.

Like how many of the new phones (and supposedly nearly all phones within the next couple of years) have GPS.
People are lining up to buy personal tracking devices so they can find the closest of the 6 starbucks within 3 blocks (here, anyway).
Naive, IMHO, but whatever people want.

Always hated built-in computer cameras too. I never use them, but they're there. I can even turn someone's on remotely if they have a Mac... if I were so inclined.

That's the crux about 1984-type stuff. We assume it's going to be forced on us. But it's not... we're volunteering.
Clueless.

- zevo

If I'm ever on the run from the police or government or any other agency with the ability to hack my phone to tell them precisely where I am at any given moment, I think the first thing I would do is smash my phone, or at least leave it somewhere like on a train or bus.

Now when they start implanting them in our bodies, that's when it gets more difficult.

Unlike talking about PCs and wanting to go to Arby's.

One of the strangest uses for bathroom TVs is @ a sports arena. They popped up a couple of years ago @ the local baseball park, and man... please... seriously... please... don't make half of the 140 people in front of me go SLOW in the 8th inning of a game @ which I've been drinking heavily. That really is wrong, and (occasionally) painful.

Escalators were originally intended to speed things up, on the assumption people would *walk* on them up or down the stairs. Nope, they come to a grinding halt and go admire the view, while being regally transported - in fact, slowing everything down.

Progress.