Miscellaneous Tech News
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@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
The fire tablets are super limited, but super cheap, and moderately kid friendly from an interface perspective.
Limited how? All she needs is something that'l let her play and learn numbers, letters and shapes. She doesn't need nor does she now how a web browser works.
App limited.
Gotcha.
@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
You can get a new iPad 6th gen for $240 from Microcenter. It is 100% worth the cost.
But shop around, find a used device, you can easily get something cheaper.
Absolutely, I don't know if I'd want to part with that much money without doing some searching.
Just don't get too hooked on "that much money." It is something that will be used for multiple years. I had an iPad purchased in 2012 that was used until 2018. even considering the drastic improvements over those 6 years. Today, the improvements are less drastic.
$250 / 5 years = $50 per year.
For English learning games, I recommend Osmo for at home. Less useful out and about.
https://www.playosmo.com/en/little-genius-sk/They didn't have the Little Kids stuff originally. I was a Kickstarter (or what ever platform they used) backer for the original set.
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@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Just don't get too hooked on "that much money." It is something that will be used for multiple years. I had an iPad purchased in 2012 that was used until 2018. even considering the drastic improvements over those 6 years. Today, the improvements are less drastic.
$250 / 5 years = $50 per year.Yeah, we've found them to be a pretty good value. It's surprising, but they hold up so well compared to the alternatives.
Now we are getting Fire Tablets on sale and get 3-4 years from them for more like $25-$35 / year cost. And that's x2 because of two kids. But the savings per year are pretty small considering it's the device that they use most in life.
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@JaredBusch That is true, it wouldn't be much at all over the life of the device. I was just saying for a used device I don't know if I'd want to spend it on it.
The osmo thing looks cool, but seems like it might be for another year or two down the road.
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
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@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
overthinking things.
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@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
overthinking things.
The osmo has parts she'd loose or try to eat. A tablet is one piece and charger - thus "better" for the now.
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@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
overthinking things.
The osmo has parts she'd loose or try to eat. A tablet is one piece and charger - thus "better" for the now.
Please note the part I quoted...
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@JaredBusch sorry where?
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@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
overthinking things.
The osmo has parts she'd loose or try to eat. A tablet is one piece and charger - thus "better" for the now.
Consider wireless charging for even more protection.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
I think a tablet I could lock into a single app mode might be better.
overthinking things.
The osmo has parts she'd loose or try to eat. A tablet is one piece and charger - thus "better" for the now.
Consider wireless charging for even more protection.
I would likely just setup whatever charging system any tablet came with at my desk and take/give her the tablet to play with whenever.
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YouTube to Make Original Content Available for Free Starting Sept. 24
YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24, though non-paying viewers will have to deal with ads.
Eager for YouTube to make its original content viewable without a premium subscription? The wait is almost over. YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24. Here's the catch: non-paying viewers will see ads when watching this content, and "only select episodes may be available for streaming [for free] at any time," YouTube said. Premium members can watch YouTube originals without ads and download content for offline viewing. They also get access to all available episodes in a series right when they premiere and exclusive bonus content like director's cuts and extra scenes. Note that some YouTube originals will remain exclusive to Premium members; to check out the full list, head here and click on "Availability of YouTube Originals." -
@mlnews said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
YouTube to Make Original Content Available for Free Starting Sept. 24
YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24, though non-paying viewers will have to deal with ads.
Eager for YouTube to make its original content viewable without a premium subscription? The wait is almost over. YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24. Here's the catch: non-paying viewers will see ads when watching this content, and "only select episodes may be available for streaming [for free] at any time," YouTube said. Premium members can watch YouTube originals without ads and download content for offline viewing. They also get access to all available episodes in a series right when they premiere and exclusive bonus content like director's cuts and extra scenes. Note that some YouTube originals will remain exclusive to Premium members; to check out the full list, head here and click on "Availability of YouTube Originals."I'm fine with add if the content is free.
I'm not fine with add when I'm paying for content though.
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@mlnews e.g. YouTube figures out that no one is going to pay for that.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@mlnews e.g. YouTube figures out that no one is going to pay for that.
Yet somehow Hulu is still in business. Ads and it's subscription only too.
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@mlnews said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
YouTube to Make Original Content Available for Free Starting Sept. 24
YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24, though non-paying viewers will have to deal with ads.
Eager for YouTube to make its original content viewable without a premium subscription? The wait is almost over. YouTube's original series, movies, and live events will be available for free starting Sept. 24. Here's the catch: non-paying viewers will see ads when watching this content, and "only select episodes may be available for streaming [for free] at any time," YouTube said. Premium members can watch YouTube originals without ads and download content for offline viewing. They also get access to all available episodes in a series right when they premiere and exclusive bonus content like director's cuts and extra scenes. Note that some YouTube originals will remain exclusive to Premium members; to check out the full list, head here and click on "Availability of YouTube Originals."I’m ok with ads, since I’m planning on ending my YouTube TV subscription soon.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@mlnews e.g. YouTube figures out that no one is going to pay for that.
Never.
We only allow supervised YouTube use, typically for Curious George shows.
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@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@mlnews e.g. YouTube figures out that no one is going to pay for that.
Never.
We only allow supervised YouTube use, typically for Curious George shows.
You can do this with pretty much any service or device. Roku (premium) has this functionality baked in where you can stream all of PBS kids lineup back to back.
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@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@DustinB3403 said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
The fire tablets are super limited, but super cheap, and moderately kid friendly from an interface perspective.
Limited how? All she needs is something that'l let her play and learn numbers, letters and shapes. She doesn't need nor does she now how a web browser works.
App limited.
For anyone interested, you can install the full Google Play store on a Fire tablet. Recently purchased a Fire tablet and through the install of Google Play, I was able to install any Android app from the store. Haven't run into anything that wouldn't work so far. It's now in use as a security display for my Unifi Video cameras at my house via the Android Unifi Video app.
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Google Play Store’s blindingly white redesign starts rolling out
The all-white theme might actually be a good sign for dark mode lovers.
Google seems to be rolling out a major new redesign of the Google Play Store. We've seen this design slowly take shape through limited testing over the past few months, but now it seems like the design is finally coming to a wide array of devices. These designs are occasionally just for testing and get rolled back, but with the launch of Android Q on the horizon, we get the feeling this version will stick. The new design is in line with the revamped "Material Design" spec that Google launched with Android 9 Pie last year. This style uses the Google.com homepage as a design inspiration and as a result it is very, very, very white. You can see a lot of this design today in Android P and Q and in the new Gmail design that launched earlier this year. -
Ransomware Infects 20+ Local Government Networks in Texas
At this time, the evidence gathered indicates the attacks came from one single threat actor,' the Texas Department of Information Resources said. It's unclear which ransomware strain was involved and how much the hackers are asking in payment.
A ransomware attack has infected computers at almost two dozen government agencies in Texas. The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) first reported the outbreak on Friday, describing it as a "coordinated ransomware attack." The agencies hit were mainly smaller local governments in the Lone Star State. "At this time, the evidence gathered indicates the attacks came from one single threat actor," the department said in a followup statement on Saturday. A spokesman for the department declined to name the ransomware strain involved and which cities were hit. But the department confirmed that computers at 23 government entities in the state were infected. How much the hackers are demanding in ransom, and whether the state will pay it, is also unknown, but the department plans to issue an update today or tomorrow, the DIR's spokesman said. Ransomware attacks typically work by infecting a computer and encrypting all the data inside. A ransom note will then be posted to the computer's screen demanding victims pay up or else see all their data erased. In some cases, the attacks can infect entire fleets of machines once they infiltrate a corporate or government network.
