Vizio TV’s are the Big Brotherlyist of all.

Well, this is good information for people who are interested in purchasing a Smart TV.

Vizio’s TVs capture what you’re watching, when, and how — so, for example, they know if you’re watching live broadcast TV, or something on your DVR, or on-demand programming from your cable provider, or an app like Netflix. All of the smart TVs can do that. But Vizio then goes farther: they then match that data to your IP address, which makes it personal. Because from your IP address, they can match it to third-party data sources that have a pretty good fix on your other demographic information: age, income, gender, and other marketable bits of information.

Not that I’d ever buy a Smart TV let alone a Vizio. Vizio’s suck. I find it’s better to get a regular TV and add a separate streaming device to it. Roku’s for example don’t Ad Target you, they have ads yes but it’s like normal cable when it comes to commercials (only with less commercials!). They’re random, not targeted. If I have to see any commercials/ads I like them randomized. It’s less creepy and hey, I might see something I never even heard of before.

What is a roku?

Roku

I’ve been getting asked this a bit lately by a some people who read here. Basically it’s a small streaming device that you can plug into your TV so you can watch channels and shows via the web without a computer. It’s like Apple TV but Linux based instead. They can be small like a thumb drive or big like a hockey puck. They’re even making Roku Smart TV’s now. O_o

You can also watch movies on it as well as play small games. My version comes with a free version of Angry Birds, so I’m cursed now…

Spicing up my nerd station a bit

I have a second monitor coming in the mail (yes, time to enter the dual monitor club) or rather an 32″ HDTV. Also got some HDMI cables, and a Roku 2 XS for whenever I feel like using it as an actual TV with the computer off. I’ve been considering this for quite some time, and I figure with taxes coming up it would be a good time to treat myself a bit. I’m mainly getting the TV for whenever I feel like gaming in bed with a controller in big picture mode. Should be nice and relaxing for those cold days. 🙂