I'm personally seeing an explosion of people embracing piracy. People that were previously vehemently opposed to it (like my in-laws) are now pirating large amounts of content. The rise in streaming service costs while simultaneously reducing catalog content is pushing a lot of these folks over. What we have now is almost worse than cable TV, so it makes sense.
Most of my life I was strongly opposed to piracy for moral reasons. Now I... intentionally try to own (download/pirate) content I consume and I also do this for ideological reasons. So yeah, this effect is real.
Almost worse? Cable doesn't have unskippable commercials, we've had the DVR since 1999. In 1999 it was still possible for a new tech product to be user friendly.
Streaming was designed from the ground up to be user hostile with surveillance and reduced control over the video stream. People hold onto old specious ideas and don't update them.
If you're under the notion that your digital cable box wasn't surveilling you, then you just weren't paying attention. Of course that box knew what channel you were watching and what time meaning they knew what you watched since your name and address and phone number and email address were all linked to that box.
Best investment I made this year was an old refurbished PC to use as a home server. Having my personal streaming services is actually pretty amazing.
There was a point in time, around 10-12 years ago, that I thought that piracy would eventually die, as the streaming services were pretty cheap and offered good quality/quantity. How wrong I was.
But it is refreshing to be sailing the high seas after such a long time. Brings back memories. Contrary to paid services, piracy actually got much better and convenient. Better quality audio/video, etc
On top of that, as long as big companies don't take the protection of my personal information seriously, why should I worry about violations of copyright laws? It works both ways.
Tbf, that's a third party selling that box. But Walmart themselves do sell the Onn 4k stick/box which is the current every level pirates HW of choice to replace the firestick.
Totally agree. They give what should be a consumer right, who has paid for the device, a very sinister sounding label. People freely "sideload" on their PCs all of the time; installing software.
The people need to fight back, by supporting alternatives. Linux-based, de-googled, or de-amazon alternative devices.
It's a term simply used to describe installing software not through the official channels.
You'd be lying if you said it was normal practice sideloading applications to your mobile phone. The majority of people are used to installing apps through their respective platform stores. Which is why there is a term to name that practice outside of installing apps through the Google play store, for example.
We don't use that term on PC because it is the normal practice and our norms have evolved around that. Over time if sideloading becomes normal practice, we will stop calling it that and start calling it installing or downloading like we do normally.
There is no "official channels" on systems that allow installing software packages. Android for example, has no "official" channel because all stores just download and install APKs, like the Play Store, and FDroid. The same way you can go to a Github page and download an APK through your browser and install it. The only "official channel" I would say is the system APK installer.
But to do that on many Android devices you need to specifically enable that in the settings. You have enable installing what Android calls "unknown" apps.
I don't really care about the technicalities of it. The point still stands that sideloading is a term referring to installing software outside of the vendors preferred method.
It doesn't mean its bad, its just the term used on devices like mobile phone where the installing of software has been traditionally more locked down to specific shopfronts.
The term being born more so out of Apple than Android to begin with.
Sideloading was basically the main reason people picked Fire Sticks over more locked-down options. Without it, it just becomes another closed streaming box, and a lot of the “power user” appeal disappears.
I can count among my friends and family some 50 Fire Sticks, and we're all happy with them, as they do what they say on the box.
We Tech folks (and some more than others) live in a bubble, but the other 99% of the users couldn't care less about this.
> In the fall, Amazon started blocking apps that the Alliance for Creative and Entertainment, a global anti-piracy group, has blacklisted.
I love how corporations are building an ecosystem where they don't have to bother with courts or the police, they can just ask each-other to limit what citizens, sorry, consumers can do. Fortunately they also spy on us profusely, which makes it less likely they get it wrong when those restrictions are used in more punitive ways.
The one of most important things alternative app stores allowed on Fire Sticks was the ability to change the apps remote buttons invoked rather than whichever dumb partners Amazon foisted on its users. Now, it becomes a jail break necessity for reusing and freeing locked-down corporate garbage. Oh and a hack to remove home screen ads or replace the home screen launcher would be awesome.
All of the streaming devices except for the AppleTV are sold at or below cost subsidized by advertising. If you care about a good streaming devices with anything above bottom of the barrel hardware and you don’t want to buy an Apple device, get an Nvidia Shield.
This sort of thing brings back the late 2000's in Europe. Governments demanding devices "don't support piracy". Tech giants (really: Microsoft) responding, kind of, and failing.
Meh. These sorts of restrictions are a problem with cell phones because you have two choices.
For this application, you can just get a raspberry pi for about the same price. And they’re not even taking it away from ones that I already had it. They just aren’t selling the ability anymore so you know it when you bought it.
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I still pay for Netflix, Disney, Apple, Spotify and bbc. I’m happy to pay for my entertainment, I refuse adverts.
When Clarkson farm came back I looked at re subscribing to Amazon, there were three choices, all with adverts.
I’m sure it makes money, but for me you get greedy and you lose money.
>I still pay for Netflix, Disney, Apple, Spotify and bbc
I have to admit that's a lot of subscriptions. Most people here are relatively rich, but no wonder people are priced out.
Streaming was designed from the ground up to be user hostile with surveillance and reduced control over the video stream. People hold onto old specious ideas and don't update them.
There was a point in time, around 10-12 years ago, that I thought that piracy would eventually die, as the streaming services were pretty cheap and offered good quality/quantity. How wrong I was.
But it is refreshing to be sailing the high seas after such a long time. Brings back memories. Contrary to paid services, piracy actually got much better and convenient. Better quality audio/video, etc
https://www.walmart.com/ip/S6-Elite-Ultra-2024-SuperBox-TV-2...
In fact here’s the conversation transcript of me asking about it:
Me: What was that piracy streaming box Uncle Gary got from Walmart? Superbox?
Them: Yeah
Me: Thanks
Them: I have it and I literally get everything for free. Like it already has the new super smash Brothers on it.
Them: Has every series and everything. I can give you the apps I have
Me: I dont need it haha just was showing people how illegal streaming is being sold in stores.
The people need to fight back, by supporting alternatives. Linux-based, de-googled, or de-amazon alternative devices.
It's a term simply used to describe installing software not through the official channels.
You'd be lying if you said it was normal practice sideloading applications to your mobile phone. The majority of people are used to installing apps through their respective platform stores. Which is why there is a term to name that practice outside of installing apps through the Google play store, for example.
We don't use that term on PC because it is the normal practice and our norms have evolved around that. Over time if sideloading becomes normal practice, we will stop calling it that and start calling it installing or downloading like we do normally.
I don't really care about the technicalities of it. The point still stands that sideloading is a term referring to installing software outside of the vendors preferred method.
It doesn't mean its bad, its just the term used on devices like mobile phone where the installing of software has been traditionally more locked down to specific shopfronts.
The term being born more so out of Apple than Android to begin with.
> Sideloading was basically the main reason people picked Fire Sticks over more locked-down options.
Any advantage to a Firestick over a Chromecast with Google TV?
I can count among my friends and family some 50 Fire Sticks, and we're all happy with them, as they do what they say on the box. We Tech folks (and some more than others) live in a bubble, but the other 99% of the users couldn't care less about this.
> In the fall, Amazon started blocking apps that the Alliance for Creative and Entertainment, a global anti-piracy group, has blacklisted.
I love how corporations are building an ecosystem where they don't have to bother with courts or the police, they can just ask each-other to limit what citizens, sorry, consumers can do. Fortunately they also spy on us profusely, which makes it less likely they get it wrong when those restrictions are used in more punitive ways.
Getting worse on every metric isn’t a system seller
For this application, you can just get a raspberry pi for about the same price. And they’re not even taking it away from ones that I already had it. They just aren’t selling the ability anymore so you know it when you bought it.