shackled

Ah got it. I know Android phones have a similar feature where they pretty much track every wifi network. It’s opt out last I check but I definitely disabled that option up on setup. As for TVs it seems like if you toggle of network connectivity all together you should be good. Not sure how I can check if my TV has been pinging anything even with the wifi switched off. Might have to dig around.

The best I can recommend is probably projectors. They seem to be the last bastion of non-smart/internet displays with large screen sizes.

With respect, there really aren’t non-smart TVs. I searched when I upgraded and the best I could do was the LG C series which has webOS as it’s platform but didn’t require me to connect to the Internet to start using it. It let me skip all connection options after selecting the basic audio and picture display settings. The webOS is the default home screen if you start without having an active HDMI input but it mainly shows input options and other settings. The rest of the items are default apps which are non-functional with the home screen stating “Connect to Internet to access smart functions”.

Not sure what you mean by “seek access through open wifi” but on my TV once I declined Internet connectivity it hasn’t requested access after giving me a warning that firmware updates wouldnt be available through internet. I also have Raspberry Pi that works as an internal DNS and ad block for my home network and I haven’t seen any pings from hardware other than the ones on my networks approved list (tracked by MAC address) The TV has a USB port so manual firmware update is possible if you want that. It has also never requested access for Bluetooth. I’m not aware of HDMI providing Internet connectivity so I can’t make a statement there other than my TV hasn’t requested anything of the sort. All of the connectivity goggles are off in the TVs settings.

Unfortunately the ship for non-smart home TVs sailed a long time ago. Especially if you want quality 4K panels. There might be a shot at some cheaper ones but those will have subpar panels. The downside has also become that most cheap TVs now depend on the “smart functions” (aka ad revenue) to subsidize the cost of their low prices.

That’s Rabbit not Humane AI. These two clowns came from Apple and started Humane

Asus zen phone had received great reviews. You can use it as stock Android or with Asus’ slight customizations. It’s on the smaller side but it’s a good price.

It was disappointing to go through the saga of thinking I found a semi reliable podcast regarding health and current research, to finding some weak episodes, and finally arriving at the conclusion that his methodology is sloppy at best. The Dr Lustig episode was especially egregious. He let that guy make some of the most outlandish claims that I’ve heard. He made up statements about how FDA nutrition labels are required which was easily dismissible by a quick look at the FDA website. That was more or less the final nail in the coffin for me.

The biggest indicator to the scientific weakness of his podcast is the rate of release. It is not possible to do weekly releases on the complex topics he covers AND maintain the level of scientific scrutiny required to vet the referenced research or guest.

Another option is rocket language. It seems to be a lot focused on developing conversational skills. It’s is paid but not subscription which I’m a fan of. You just buy the language you want. The first few lessons of a language are free if you want to try it. I’m test running it right now to start my switch away from Duolingo

I’ll also add that spending habit data is very valuable in terms of advertisement. We are in the age of very targetted advertisement. Just a random example: *user14555* on our T-Mobile app eats at a restaurant for lunch every Thursday. Have the app pop-up with a coupon from one of our participating restaurants on Thursday morning.

Restaurant will pay or give exclusive coupons to T-Mobile in exchange for these benefits. T-Mobile then hopes to entice more users by listing their app and “exclusive coupons” as unique benefit to using them as a cellphone provider. All the major providers have more or less settled at similar prices for cellphone plans so they lean on these extras as marketing tools.