
Your TV Is Now a Computer, but Not in a Good Way - steven2012
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/smart-tvs-are-dumb/581059/
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brokenmachine
Putting aside my personal feelings about the spying that "Smart" TVs do on
us...

The specific problem described in the article (a TV that won't work properly
because of an app that you cannot uninstall), under Australian consumer laws
this would not be a problem. I would be able to demand a fix, replacement or
refund from the seller.

Of course, that doesn't help people in places with weak consumer laws such as
the US.

In a more general sense, I believe it should be illegal for a manufacturer to
remotely update firmware in a way that the purchaser is not able to downgrade
to the exact configuration that it was at the time of purchase.

I wish our governments would actually work for the people.

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woodandsteel
Economists (at least the sane one) talk about market failure, which means when
things being sold for a profit but those who buy them are coming out worse
than they would be in a well-functioning market. And example would be where
there is price-fixing.

Another type is information asymmetry, which is when the seller knows
something the buyer would benefit from knowing but doesn't. An example would
be some sells a car as running great but knows it is really a leamon.

What we have here as a case of blatant information asymmetry. Consumers think
they are basically buying a TV set, but it is actually doing all sorts of
things they have little or know awareness of. And there is an unspoken
agreement among the TV set producers that they won't tell the consumers, much
less offer them real alternatives.

