Maybe, but for now all we can substantiate is that Smart TV’s scan for other networks as a means of location tracking. (Which in and of itself is valuable for targeted ads.)

many of the municipalities that cancelled their Flock contracts just to sign on with a new ALPR vendor.

People keep saying this, but there’s not a ton of info out there to substantiate it that I’ve seen. More than 100 of those Flock contracts were canceled in September alone. I think it’s just speculation, but there is also an election in a few weeks, so I suppose it’s possible we could see a pivot post-election.

I also don’t think a brand change is going to matter. People are pissed in bi-partisan fashion, and it’s weird, but there’s something about this level of surveillance that has inexplicably radicalized otherwise apolitical people.

You’re more hopeful than I am,

It’s not so much a matter of hope as it is a matter of what’s dangerous to the state, which is ironically why Paxton’s so hardcore on this. TV’s being weaponized as mass surveillance tools is, evidently, something the state was not clued in on and most of these are manufactured in China. I don’t think any US government at any level cares much about intruding on civil liberties, but they do care about protecting the Epstein Class.

Could be. I don’t think it’s going to get that far.

Companies are trying to speedrun and normalize intrusive tech like this because people and governments (at least at the state level here in the US) are starting to catch on. For example, since June Flock has lost nearly 400 contracts in 36 US states, which I personally would never have predicted, and if Texas of all states is taking on mass surveillance, it’s not a stretch to think that local laws against this kind of tech will materialize in at least 2/3 of the US states.

Yup, Smart TV’s of any brand (at least in the US) are essentially spyware. I made a video about it recently.

The upside is that if you don’t connect your TV to the Internet, all that data just sits in its internal memory and doesn’t go anywhere. So don’t connect it.

The weirdest thing in all this is that it’s Texas, of all places, leading the charge to hold these TV manufacturers accountable. (And Ken Paxton, the most cartoonishly corrupt politician in recent memory at that.)

Also picked up the new Castlevania title. (Belmont’s Curse)

It, like Dead Cells, is gorgeous visually, plays very well, and is good fun. It does not stick to the OG Castlevania formula, but is more of a souls-like, and that’s not a bad thing.

The only major downer is I don’t like the music, so I’ve muted that and just have the OG Castlevania soundtrack playing on random while I play.

That is some seriously petty bullshit on the part of the HOA.

Get a fucking life.

This is fascinating as heck. I’ve never even heard of the concept of wargaming sciency stuff. I’m going to have to make a video about this on my channel. Thanks!

I am, once again, playing Noita.

I have come to really like this game. A lot of it is how the procedurally-generated levels are always interesting, the spells are randomized, so literally every run is different. I also end up killing my wizard in fun, weird ways, like summoning a giga black hole and being sucked into it.