
Roku is no longer a neutral platform after today’s Roku OS 9.1 update - e1ven
https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/09/roku-is-no-longer-a-neutral-platform-after-todays-roku-os-9-1-update/
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dgellow
Wow. TechCrunch is hijacking the back button on mobile in a really bad way.
After opening the link I see 5+ entries in my browser history, meaning I have
to use the back button really a lot to go back to HN!

What a great way to make me feel I shouldn’t have agreed to the the Oath
screen ...

~~~
jackewiehose
And when you scroll down to the end of the page you will be redirected to some
other page and you cannot scroll up back to origin.

What is wrong with you web developers? Have you ever used a mouse-wheel
before??

~~~
reificator
I have no clue why so many sites break the scroll wheel, break the back
button, break default functionality that you'd otherwise get for free.

I've successfully pushed back against requirements to do this, and I've
unsuccessfully pushed back. I've tried to not do this kind of thing in my own
work whenever possible. Usually it's very easy to do so, because _it 's the
default behavior that you get for free_.

~~~
dwighttk
It a/b tests well for some metric they love

~~~
mamon
Yes, being forced to hit back button 5 times equals 4 additonal page views :)

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dwighttk
Even more if those are auto forwarding you faster than you can hit it

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phjesusthatguy3
I just bought a Roku for my elderly in-laws; I was expecting the experience to
be _awful_ but instead it was very nearly everything I could hope for from an
embedded device. If these changes mean they get pointed to free content first
(above what the thing already did!) I'm going to have to say this is a good
change.

They're going to be watching live TV on Sling for the most part. We're going
to add on an AirTV so they can get PBS in the Sling interface as well. They
already watch Netflix on their Vizio TV, and hopefully we can get them to turn
off the TV's internet connection with the Rokus.

~~~
cdubzzz
Get them to join PBS Passport, as well! (:

[https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/12000012972-...](https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/12000012972-how-
do-i-log-into-my-passport-account-on-my-roku-device-)

Disclaimer: I work for a PBS member station.

~~~
redstar92
Any chance for an Xbox one app by PBS? Paying member of passport but this
would really increase my watching. It's weird that there is a pbs kids app but
not the full pbs app on Xbox one.

~~~
cdubzzz
Unfortunately I don’t have any deep insight on big PBS’s plans in that
respect. I do know some major changes are coming to their OTT apps, but PBS
has been tight lipped about it.

KIDS is funny, they are basically a (well staffed) separate entity and often
test the waters of new/potential technologies for the whole org.

Fun fact: pbskids.org is a static site! I can’t remember what generator they
use, but apparently the codebase is a bit of a beast with all the interactive
games.

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jordigh
I have kind of enjoyed Roku, but I've wished to install adblock on it, and
perhaps an alternative Netflix interface that doesn't have any kind of
autoplay.

Is this currently possible? Someone must have already figured out how to truly
own their own device, haven't they?

~~~
ukyrgf
The only way to stop Netflix's insane autoplay feature is to stop subscribing
to Netflix.

~~~
onlyrealcuzzo
Serious question: why does everyone seem to strongly hate the auto-play
feature? I kind of like it. Ditto for YouTube.

~~~
larkeith
For YouTube, a number of reasons:

1) The recommendation algorithm provides entirely negative value for my use
case:

1a) I have a _very small_ set of videos I regularly enjoy watching, from a
select group of channels. Recommendations tend to direct towards videos I have
no interest in at best, or, more frequently, are actively irritating.

1b) In the rare case the algorithm happens on a video I might enjoy, it is
almost always something I have already watched. I don't know if it entirely
fails to take view history into account while recommending or if it's simply a
matter of my small target interests, but either way, I do not remember the
last time I intentionally followed a recommendation.

2) I often leave a video on either in the background or on a second monitor.
When enabled, YouTube autoplays regardless of if the window is focused,
meaning the obnoxious recommendations break my workflow by forcing me to
locate and stop the video.

3) YouTube fails to normalize audio. Therefore videos autoplayed after a quiet
video have the tendency to blast out my eardrums.

I also find autoplay a rather exploitative way of increasing viewer retention
in general - it abuses the psyche and addictive nature of the internet for the
sake of profits.

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desireco42
I think TC is overreacting and being sensationalistic here. We should treasure
Roku especially today when every platform is blocking every other platform,
they are place of sanity.

At least I do.

~~~
tssva
Especially when all the new "exclusive" to the Roku Channel features are
either actually already available for other channels to take advantage of or
will be shortly.

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kevin_thibedeau
I pretty much ignore the Roku search as it has too much PPV content. If I care
about what's on the Roku channel I'll just navigate to it.

What they really need to do is get rid of the high friction signup process for
new channels. Why should I have to go to an external website when Roku should
have all the identifying information third parties would need?

~~~
shados
I literally gave up on Funimation because every time I had to login, and
looked at my password manager's randomly generated password, I died a little
inside, since they didn't use the typical "just enter those couple of digits
from the website and you're good to go", which is a nice compromise.

Dunno if it changed, it was a while ago.

~~~
clintonb
Blame the channel creators. I'm surprised Netflix still doesn't have the
option to input a code on a website. Amazon, Showtime, and numerous other
channels support this feature.

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scarface74
Roku has never been neutral. The CEO said himself that he doesn’t see Roku as
a hardware company. Roku has always made money by advertising. From the ad
that takes up half the home screen to the hardcoded short cut buttons that go
to the highest bidder.

[https://www.recode.net/2018/9/13/17852908/roku-anthony-
wood-...](https://www.recode.net/2018/9/13/17852908/roku-anthony-wood-apple-
google-amazon-tv-competition-peter-kafka-media-podcast)

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cptskippy
Roku previously sold content but then it was transitioned to FandangoNow.

