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M
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Yesterday (3-14-12) DISH finally made "available" in the weekly Uplink the "FRANCE 24 ENGLISH" Live International News Channel (Chs. 665 & 9864) ....Been trying all day to add this great new channel to my account and it's been a total nightmare !.... My dish set-up is Western Arc 110/119/129 plus 118.7 for Internationals...

Apparently, the DISH software does not allow this channel to be added unless I drop "America's Everything Pack" which I have as my core basic package.... "FRANCE 24 ENGLISH" is ONLY available through the "International Basic" package ($10 per month) which CANNOT be added if someone has another "basic" package.... How crazy is that ???.... I'm willing to pay the $10 monthly fee to get the "International Basic" Package added (in order to see FRANCE 24 ENGLISH) and they won't let me do this unless I drop the $110 per month AEP package, which, of course, does not carry FRANCE 24 ENGLISH...

The DISH Supervisors/Managers I spoke with throughout the day today were also losing their patience with this major software error... They tried and tried and could not get it to work.... Since the DIRT Team monitors this website, perhaps they can get this mess straightened out.... Or, at minimum, make FRANCE 24 ENGLISH available in another package that can be added without having to drop AEP...

By the way, I also have the French Bouquet Package ($19.99 per month) which, ironically enough, does NOT carry the new FRANCE 24 ENGLISH... It only carries the French-language version of FRANCE 24.... I'd be happy to pay more for the French Bouquet just to get the new FRANCE 24 ENGLISH..... Help ! Someone please fix this mess.... And much thanks !!!
16 Replies · 2426 views
TNGTony
I am not disagreeing with you here. My Roku comment was really a negative one against Roku. I would prefer a higher res video stream. With Roku you get the same feed you would get through International breaking news and headlines - FRANCE 24
M
I am not disagreeing with you here. My Roku comment was really a negative one against Roku. I would prefer a higher res video stream. With Roku you get the same feed you would get through International breaking news and headlines - FRANCE 24[/QUOTE

Sorry, I did not mean for it to come across like that... I understand what you mean about ROKU and thanks for the heads-up....

On DISH all my International Channels look pretty good (considering they're not HD) and will assume FRANCE 24 ENGLISH will look as good, which is why I'm fighting for it....

So far, no fix or resolution from the DIRT Team to get this resolved.... I feel bad for them to have to deal with this DISH mess...
MattG@DISH
So far, no fix or resolution from the DIRT Team to get this resolved.... I feel bad for them to have to deal with this DISH mess...

France 24 English is only available in the International Basic Pack at this time. There can only be one Base/core package on an account, so this is not something that we would be able to add for you without removing your other core package (AEP/AT250)
Tampa8
Problem is you actually don't know if it is a software problem or done intentionally. My original reply above is based on my experience of about a year and half ago. It was just as I stated you have to have a core international package. And it does preclude you from having a second core TOP package. I could not keep the TOP package (in my case 250) and get an international core package. So perhaps it's a software problem never fixed from who knows how long, or it's a policy. If it's a software problem, of course it should be fixed. But if a policy then that is a different problem. You would need to find out why if Dish is willing to say.

Meanwhile, I spent all of $59 and can watch it, and all sorts of international programming on my Roku free. Problem solved. I really don't care find out why Dish won't let me get it, rather just watch the programming.

EDIT - didn't see reply above mine. That's exactly what I thought.
M
Problem is you actually don't know if it is a software problem or done intentionally. My original reply above is based on my experience of about a year and half ago. It was just as I stated you have to have a core international package. And it does preclude you from having a second core TOP package. I could not keep the TOP package (in my case 250) and get an international core package. So perhaps it's a software problem never fixed from who knows how long, or it's a policy. If it's a software problem, of course it should be fixed. But if a policy then that is a different problem. You would need to find out why if Dish is willing to say.

Meanwhile, I spent all of $59 and can watch it, and all sorts of international programming on my Roku free. Problem solved. I really don't care find out why Dish won't let me get it, rather just watch the programming.

EDIT - didn't see reply above mine. That's exactly what I thought.

Great points, Tampa 8, about whether it's a software issue or a policy issue and whether DISH will ever publicly say the truth on this one....

Bottom line is that they'd rather hide behind the illogical policy rather than admit it's illogical or admit the engineers screwed this up years ago and now they have to defend it.... I would hope DISH is big enough to admit the mistake and fix it-- rather than force all its Customer Service employees to stand behind and defend this nonsense...

Imagine if the CSR's had to apply this stupidity to the other add-on packages: "Oh, you can't add the Spanish-language Latino channels unless you drop America's Top 250"..... "Oh, you can't add the Multi-Sport Package unless you drop America's Everything Package".... "Oh my, you can't add the Superstations unless you get rid of your Top 200 Package".... And on and on and on.....
TNGTony
Thanks for checking into this Matt. But if you were a customer, what would be your recourse to get the channels on the International package AND keep the AT package channels? As stated above, this is like not allowing anyone to get Dish Latino channels (which is another base package) while having AT channels.
r10fret
Let me guess (on the dish side) you can't take the current RID and activate it as a second separate account and add the other core, so your only solution (on the subs side) is to get an owned receiver and activate it on the lesser package yourself because dish isn't changing anything anytime soon, they have had channel 641 flagged conus (really hawaii spotbeam) for years and when you channel up/down/across 641 you get signal loss message in conus. Just one of many examples of how companies get so big ....
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
31 Replies · 432 views
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Foxbat
Why isn't this Political thread over in the Pit? This is why there is a Pit, and why I rarely use the Chit Chat Club. But someone said, "The Pub is Elitist since you have to pay dues to enter, so please post in the Chit Chat forum so more guests can read and participate."
harshness
Why isn't this Political thread over in the Pit?
Because health care shouldn't be a political issue?
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osu1991
Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs. 😡
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dishstaller
I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years
That's why I cancelled ours and just started saving the money. We're about to do the same thing with our home insurance.....not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage. We're paying over $5k right now and that is AFTER I dumbed things down...and it keeps going up. Got a couple trees I want to have taken down first before I do that however. After we do that, it will knock about $3k off our annual premium.
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WhiteBeard
:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
I'm on Medicare but the rest of the family is on ACA. ACA is ridiculus. The ACA premium has been about about $1900/month with a $9K deductible for the past 10 years - no eye or dental. A lot of money and yet we get so little in return. I haven't signed up for 2027 yet but I expect the cost to be higher.
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WhiteBeard
Because health care shouldn't be a political issue?
It's political because government has inserted itself into the loop.
WhiteBeard
That's why I cancelled ours and just started saving the money. We're about to do the same thing with our home insurance.....not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage. We're paying over $5k right now and that is AFTER I dumbed things down...and it keeps going up. Got a couple trees I want to have taken down first before I do that however. After we do that, it will knock about $3k off our annual premium.
Our home and auto insurance has been stable so I'll continue with it but I'm going to have see what I can do about medical insurance. The biggest impact would be an ER visit.
b4pjoe
My wife and I use the same Medicare Advantage plan from United Healthcare. (Yes I have heard the horror stories about Medicare Advantage plans but we have used it for the last 5 years). We are both pretty healthy so it works for us. It costs $0.00 per month for both of us and it pays part of our Medicare part B premium. Next year it will be paying $170 per month of the $220 monthly part B premium for both of us. We also each get $90 per quarter to use on OTC products. $0.00 copay for Dr. visits and $55 copay for specialists. Includes dental and hearing coverage. Never have had an issue with it although I don't really use mine other than for the dental, Part B payments and the OTC benefit as I am a veteran and use the VA for all of my medical needs. I just had a kidney that had a cancer mass removed last month and they allowed me to use a non VA surgeon at a non VA hospital through the VA Community Care program. For all of the doctors visits, exams, tests, surgery, hospital stay, meds etc…was around $60,000 and the the VA paid for it entirely. I did have to pay $16 for the Oxycodone pain pills when I left the hospital that I got from my local CVS instead of waiting for a week for the VA to ship them to me from the VA pharmacy.
meStevo
They're pushing our high deductible plan pretty hard at work, including a couple thousand to seed a HSA. Covering my wife and 4 kids though that feels like a mistake and I'd rather the peace of mind and the potential higher cost via the PPO plan payroll deductions.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68698 Replies · 2682316 views
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long_time_Dish
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again - Steely Dan
freddylq
Heartbeat City - The Cars
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long_time_Dish
You Belong To The City - Glenn Frey
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J
You Belong To The City - Glenn Frey
Fool for The City - Foghat
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long_time_Dish
Hot Child In The City - Nick Gilder
M
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
I have Dish with Hopper3. I choose to get local channels OTA and had a "guide list" established at my previous home. Having moved a few miles away, I wanted to update the list by appending a couple new stations via a rescan. As many would know, some stations come in with the UHF/VHF antenna aimed in one direction, while others come in better with a different direction.

Unfortunately, when a scan is done (bringing in 25-30 stations for that particular antenna aim), the dialog screen does not present the established guide list; it presents an empty field to the right that the scanned stations may be selected one by one and added to the empty guide. But because of antenna aim, some stations originally saved are missing, and would have to be retrieved with a different antenna aim. But as I explain, if a 2nd​ scan is done with a different antenna aim, the stations saved from the first scan are lost.

It troubles me that Dish didn't develop software that would allow a user to simply append only 1 or 2 channels to the established list. :mad:

Any thought on this? Has anyone experienced this or heard of this from others?
1 Replies · 34 views
dishstaller
I hear complaints from customers each and every day. I chose not to install OTAs with a doggle for a reason.

BTW, I like your user name


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MXNU6pQFkok
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R
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.
8 Replies · 130 views
EarDemon
Why not do a CTO directly through the manufacture? Get exactly what you want. Plus It's quite common to find 10%% (or higher) discount codes for Dell and HP.

Backlit keyboards are pretty much standard, and in the constant effort to try to make devices and thin and dainty as possible ethernet ports are becoming rarer, if not a normal ethernet port, you may be able to find a laptop with drop-jaw style one.
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TRG
TRG
Dell and HP are usually heavily discounted during Black Friday sales. I picked up a Dell from Best Buy for 50 percent off. I ordered it online and picked it up locally at the store. Black Friday deals are just a couple of weeks away.
arlo
Can't really help with an exact set of suggestions. I can say that if you have a set budget. And $600 these days wont get you much. One thing I can say is check out Dell Refurbished.
I've suggested and even configured, ordered a few for friends who were a bit iffy in deciding what they needed and wanted.
Refurbished doesn't mean that they came back defective and were repaired. Companies and organizations who order quantities of the same computers often cancel or modify their requirements.
Dell builds usually on demand. Their direct refurbished line will be brand new, unused. Perhaps not exactly the "today" specifications of the latest-greatest. And you can get a nice pc for quite a bit less with full warranty.
Just a suggestion.
"I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus".

As far as Asus, HP goes. And others you may consider. I'd think $600 (new) would get you a laptop. A quality, long lasting one? Not so sure. Now. If you could get a $1000 lappy for $600. Good deal, don't you think?
Surf the web doesn't need a killer Nvidia graphics chip. Nor a pinnacle, top of the line Intel, AMD processor.
12-16 gigs of memory will get you by just fine.
I'm personally an Asus fan. Brands aside. The one thing is the batteries. We discussed that here someplace else.
I repair these critters. Batteries. Cheap laptops have cheap batteries. Asus suggests that you don't keep the charger plugged in all of the time to make them last. Like you see on phones where 85% vs full charge is suggested to preserve battery life.
harshness
Why not do a CTO directly through the manufacture?
Because there are fewer economies of scale with custom products. Savings come from giant contracts with major retailers.

RAM and GPUs make buying a computer now financial suicide. In 2023, I bought two 16GB RAM modules for my lone Windows machine. The cost was under $100. Now that equivalent RAM goes for $260.

One can opt for an on-CPU GPU, but you can't opt out of RAM. While Microsoft goes on and on about Windows 11 eventually being happy with 8GB of RAM, we know how that always ends.
Foxbat
GB is the new MB (remember when Windows used to be happy with 8 MB of RAM?)

I had great experiences with Dell's Refurbished systems in the past. I ended up getting Business desktops instead of the Home PCs since they didn't come loaded with bloatware and the one Desktop I got for Mrs. Foxbat even had a license for MS Office Professional included.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
· posted in The Chit Chat Club
Dang female lions don't mess around when it comes to their kiddos....aka whelps.


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vvefv5xW77s?feature=share
0 Replies · 20 views
TheForce
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone
Apple Fall Hardware Event takes place today, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. It marks the debut of new CEO John Ternus and the expected reveal of Apple's first foldable phone.
139 Replies · 2038 views
harshness
Gone are the days when Apple "perfects" what debuted years earlier on an Android phone.
comfortably_numb
Gone are the days when Apple "perfects" what debuted years earlier on an Android phone.

Or better yet, innovate something "completely revolutionary!"
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S
Or better yet, innovate something "completely revolutionary!"
when was the last time they innovated something:rolleyes:
Foxbat
when was the last time they innovated something:rolleyes:
I'd probably say when they came up with their M-series of processors with integrated memory. That allowed Apple to get away from the inefficient Intel CPUs that were limiting their notebook computers.
Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
180 Replies · 3060 views
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osu1991
:mad:..I hate playing in Ames.
Jimbo
:mad:..I hate playing in Ames.
I hate playing in LA ... :oldmad
Buckeyes had 2 weeks off and came out and looked absolutely terrible ... broke in a new Freshman Qb, but that wasn't the worst part ... undiscipline play, at last count they had 10 penalties.
Freshman in the end of the game trying to play catch up, had a lot of Over throws ... Bucks lose ...

#1 Miami struggled but pulled away in the end beating North Carolina by 3 ...

Tuesday the CFP brings out thier Playoff Top 12 again ... Buckeyes should drop from #2 to about #22 (they won't) had they had thier Starting QB, it would have been a different game ...

They could lose the rest of thier games at this point.
Foxbat
:mad:..I hate playing in Ames.
My in-Laws came from Iowa, she was a graduate of ISU. Unranked Iowa teams beat the #24 and #25 teams on Halloween.

And I heard that your QB made a poor choice after scoring the tying touchdown, leading to a fifteen yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The Cyclones were then able to take advantage of the resulting field position to get close enough to score the winning field goal.

In a NCAA Football season of bizarre endings, this has to rank right up there.
osu1991
My in-Laws came from Iowa, she was a graduate of ISU. Unranked Iowa teams beat the #24 and #25 teams on Halloween.

And I heard that your QB made a poor choice after scoring the tying touchdown, leading to a fifteen yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The Cyclones were then able to take advantage of the resulting field position to get close enough to score the winning field goal.

In a NCAA Football season of bizarre endings, this has to rank right up there.
Yep, but wasn't the QB. Was WR. Offense had a great game but defense didn't show up at all. I don't think they were even in the State.
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R
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
I had an old Wireless Joey replaced by a Wireless Joey 4 (Android TV) - still have a Hopper 3 without the Hopper Plus. What do I have to do to get the EPG to show channel logos instead of "Dish"? This is annoying as hell and it's been this way for over a month…
1 Replies · 28 views
B
That kind of crap annoys me to no end.
That is one reason I haven't switched to h3and the same wireless joey 4
Hope you get it resolved.
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ewindowman
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Looks like dish is Bankrupt. Filling tomorrow Tuesday June 30th
432 Replies · 14603 views
ewindowman
Correct me if I'm wrong but Dish borrowed lots of money to start a wireless company that was most likely doomed from the beginning. They bought spectrum at any cost to acquire enough bandwidth to achieve their goal. They signed leases and bought equipment and borrowed more money. They held onto the spectrum as long as possible. They then sold most of it to different companies and made a lot of money. Then they started to screw the companies that were installing and leasing the equipment and cell towers. Now they are going to claim bankruptcy under the Dish Network part of Echo Star while they have billions of dollars. So Dish basically took everyone's money that was involved in the financial part of this transaction made a huge profit is screwing everyone over from the banks to the little guy working on the towers and infrastructure.
nelson61
"
They note that the Dish Wireless radios at issue support the 2GHz and 800MHz spectrum SpaceX is acquiring from EchoStar and Grain.

"Buying compatible equipment already installed on towers could give SpaceX a head start on its wireless terrestrial network build and throw a big bucket of cold water on Verizon's four-to-six-year timeline and $300-$500 billion estimate for SpaceX's buildout," said the analysts."
S
Correct me if I'm wrong but Dish borrowed lots of money to start a wireless company that was most likely doomed from the beginning. They bought spectrum at any cost to acquire enough bandwidth to achieve their goal. They signed leases and bought equipment and borrowed more money. They held onto the spectrum as long as possible. They then sold most of it to different companies and made a lot of money. Then they started to screw the companies that were installing and leasing the equipment and cell towers. Now they are going to claim bankruptcy under the Dish Network part of Echo Star while they have billions of dollars. So Dish basically took everyone's money that was involved in the financial part of this transaction made a huge profit is screwing everyone over from the banks to the little guy working on the towers and infrastructure.
i heard charlie went to dubai begging for money. but he didn't get none... that should have raised red flags.
R
"
They note that the Dish Wireless radios at issue support the 2GHz and 800MHz spectrum SpaceX is acquiring from EchoStar and Grain.

"Buying compatible equipment already installed on towers could give SpaceX a head start on its wireless terrestrial network build and throw a big bucket of cold water on Verizon's four-to-six-year timeline and $300-$500 billion estimate for SpaceX's buildout," said the analysts."
Back when Dish was installing antennas everywhere for their internet service I mapped several of the tower locations around me. One is less than a mile away from me and several more about three miles away in several different directions. If SpaceX does something with these I may be in a prime spot.
S
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dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
This should hit a lot of folks with a dose of reality. I can only imagine how much more common this will get as AI progresses.

I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.

17 Replies · 272 views
Juan
Where would you spend 6.3 billion in crypto without anyone noticing?..In today's digital world most countries are watching purchases over 10k
dishstaller
Where would you spend 6.3 billion in crypto without anyone noticing?
They say it was North Korea so they'll probably just use it to buy things they need....oil, food, etc from nations and entities who don't care where the money comes from and since it is BTC...it can be spent anywhere with no blowback.
meStevo
They say it was North Korea so they'll probably just use it to buy things they need....oil, food, etc from nations and entities who don't care where the money comes from and since it is BTC...it can be spent anywhere with no blowback.
North Korea can't pay for oil with BTC. The money has to be laundered and cashed out first. Analytics firms can trace it on the public blockchain, and exchanges (including Binance) have frozen money traced back to prior hacks when it showed up. Much of it may still gets through eventually. It's just slow and lossy, not "spend anywhere."

Someone using AI would be able to see the purchase...plus if you were to buy a couple billion barrels of oil or any other commodity..someone would notice..or if you bought your own country

It can be traced, the rest of this is pretty much your usual nonsense though.

How does it have such billions simply "on hand" to replace stolen billions?

Binance has had an insurance fund since 2018, funded by 10% of trading fees. It's around $1.2B, and Binance says it'll cover the rest from company money. As the world's largest exchange, it makes a lot in fees. On top of that, the ~$3B in frozen stablecoins can be reissued by Tether/Circle, so the actual hole is smaller than the headline.

You "print" it, of course. That's part of the magic of cryptocurrency.

Nobody can print bitcoin, Binance included. Supply is fixed by the protocol. The only thing in this story that can be frozen and reissued is stablecoins, because they have a company behind them.
R
They say it was North Korea so they'll probably just use it to buy things they need....oil, food, etc from nations and entities who don't care where the money comes from and since it is BTC...it can be spent anywhere with no blowback.

HA! That short/fat Dictator will buy more arms. He does not care about the people.
dishstaller
North Korea can't pay for oil with BTC. The money has to be laundered and cashed out first. Analytics firms can trace it on the public blockchain, and exchanges (including Binance) have frozen money traced back to prior hacks when it showed up. Much of it may still gets through eventually. It's just slow and lossy, not "spend anywhere."
Yeah, I read the same thing in multiple articles. However, when some type of hack takes place and a company's computer system is hit with ransomware, the culprits always demand BTC and those stories always say they want BTC because it is untraceable so the hackers are therefore never caught. It is contradictory crap like this that causes people not to believe any "official" statements when something like this takes place.
meStevo
Yeah, I read the same thing in multiple articles. However, when some type of hack takes place and a company's computer system is hit with ransomware, the culprits always demand BTC and those stories always say they want BTC because it is untraceable so the hackers are therefore never caught. It is contradictory crap like this that causes people not to believe any "official" statements when something like this takes place.
Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous; every transaction is public forever. Ransomware gangs ask for BTC mostly because it's easy for a victim to buy and can't be reversed, not because it can't be followed. The privacy-focused ones demand Monero instead.

The reason hackers often aren't caught is where they are, not the coin. If the wallet traces back to a group in Russia or North Korea, everyone can see the money and still can't arrest anyone. Traceable and catchable are two different things, and the media mashes them together.
dishstaller
The reason hackers often aren't caught is where they are, not the coin. If the wallet traces back to a group in Russia or North Korea, everyone can see the money and still can't arrest anyone. Traceable and catchable are two different things, and the media mashes them together.
Then doesn't that mean that NK can spend the BTC as it wants to or is there a way to flag the BTC, kinda like blacklisting an IMEI when it comes to cell phones.
meStevo
Operations returning to normal today as withdrawals are opening back up for Binance users.

Then doesn't that mean that NK can spend the BTC as it wants to or is there a way to flag the BTC, kinda like blacklisting an IMEI when it comes to cell phones.

Pretty good analogy actually. Bitcoin itself can't blacklist a coin since nobody runs the network. But the exchanges and cash-out points can, and do. Treasury publishes sanctioned wallet addresses (North Korea's included), and exchanges run every deposit through tracing tools. Coins traced back to a flagged wallet get refused or frozen.

So it's like a blacklisted phone: it still powers on, but no carrier will activate it. And just like those phones, the coins get shipped off to someone who doesn't check, in this case shady brokers who'll swap it for cash at a steep discount. NK can't walk up and buy oil with BTC, but after enough laundering, most of it does eventually turn into usable money.

Extending the analogy, if Bitcoin is an IMEI blacklist then stablecoins are like Apple's Activation Lock. The issuer controls it at the source, so once it's locked it's a brick everywhere. That's why the stablecoins in this hack got frozen within hours and the bitcoin didn't.