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Bruce
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
Here is a full copy of the new terms of service:

(Effective November 7, 2023, until replaced)

This Fee Schedule is part of the Terms of Service and End User License Agreement for DIRECTV STREAM (available at www.directv.com/stream-tose) and incorporates the DIRECTV STREAM Device Terms of Use (available at www.directv.com/stream-tos).

This Fee Schedule applies to DIRECTV STREAM subscriptions purchased with a 24-month term commitment. Unless otherwise specified, the DIRECTV STREAM monthly recurring and transactional Fees listed below are in addition to any monthly recurring charge due for your DIRECTV STREAM Service. This is not an exhaustive list; there may be additional fees that potentially apply to your DIRECTV STREAM Service. DIRECTV reserves the right to change these fees, increase or decrease these fees, or impose additional fees without notice (unless otherwise prohibited by law) by publishing an update to this Fee Schedule to www.directv.com/stream-fees).

The Fees listed below do not include applicable government taxes/fees, which vary by location. If you have questions about your bill, please call 855.298.5656.

MONTHLY RECURRING SERVICE FEES
FeeAmountDescription / When You Pay / Notes
Regional Sports FeeUp to $15.99Fee applicable to programming packages that include regional sports.
TRANSACTIONAL FEES
FeeAmountDescription / When You Pay / Notes
Early Termination Fee$480If you terminate your Service prior to completing your 24-month term commitment with us (see Terms of Service and End User License Agreement for details).
Non-Return Fee$120Applies to DIRECTV STREAM devices included with your subscription to the DIRECTV STREAM experience at no additional cost. If you do not return your device after (1) canceling service in accordance with our cancelation policy (click here for details) or (2) making a warranty claim (click here for details).
Activation Fee$19.95One-time fee for activating the service.
17 Replies · 3185 views
jcrandall
Pretty sure this is the DirecTV via Internet terms and not related to the BYOD stream product. The via Internet terms have always gone to a webpage that had DirecTV Stream and also showed terms for the BYOD product. They were mixed on the page. This is the result of mixing your sh*t, it makes people confused and, well, makes your product look bad.

Example from 3.4: The Subscription to the Service may have a 24-month term commitment for all new customers...

This is nothing new, just poor disclosure work by lumping two products together.
Bruce
Pretty sure this is the DirecTV via Internet terms and not related to the BYOD stream product. The via Internet terms have always gone to a webpage that had DirecTV Stream and also showed terms for the BYOD product. They were mixed on the page. This is the result of mixing your sh*t, it makes people confused and, well, makes your product look bad.
This is what it says on DirecTV's TOS for both Satellite and via internet-

Effective as of November 7, 2023, until replaced.

These Terms apply to DIRECTV residential customers with Equipment. If You purchased the DIRECTV STREAM experience without Equipment, these Terms do not apply to You. You can find the DIRECTV STREAM terms here www.directv.com/stream-tose.


Then if you hit the link for stream, it is the same as been posted here.

My guess is this is the first part of a merge between Stream and via Internet, or getting rid of stream entirely.
J
This is what it says on DirecTV's TOS for both Satellite and via internet-

Effective as of November 7, 2023, until replaced.

These Terms apply to DIRECTV residential customers with Equipment. If You purchased the DIRECTV STREAM experience without Equipment, these Terms do not apply to You. You can find the DIRECTV STREAM terms here www.directv.com/stream-tose.


Then if you hit the link for stream, it is the same as been posted here.

My guess is this is the first part of a merge between Stream and via Internet, or getting rid of stream entirely.
I just think there idiots and have the wrong terms in the wrong spot.. Not the first time there website has been a dumpster fire
Bruce
I just think there idiots and have the wrong terms in the wrong spot.. Not the first time there website has been a dumpster fire
I have been hearing rumors they plan on merging the two for a while now, since the price is just about the same, no reason to have both and confuse people.
J
I have been hearing rumors they plan on merging the two for a while now, since the price is just about the same, no reason to have both and confuse people.
I heard that also... And while they probably dont care since the plan is to sell off the system asap.. if they "merge" legacy stream into the internet model. they will lose a ton of people
jcrandall
I expect if they change the offering for "via internet" and "stream BYOD" they will just retire the stream BYOD option. That would force new customers to the traditional pricing model with an intro rate, 2 year contract, $15 advanced receiver fee, and a free piece of hardware. That $15 ARS for perpetuity is a major motivation for that possible change. If they feel they'll still capture a certain amount of new customers versus what they would lose by dropping the stream BYOD option they would make that change as $15/month for as long as they remain a customer is purely profit. Plus potential RSN fee if on Choice, though that isn't as profitable as the ARS fee as they have the cost for the programming.

Now that said, a savvy customer can get the two year price lock, a gift card offer, pony up the $15 ARS for two years, then cancel, rinse & repeat under a spouse or partners name for multi-people households. Pricing wise it comes out very similar to the BYOD cost if you factor it over two years. Depending on the gift card amount, it may actually be just a bit cheaper if you factor in potential price increase at the one year mark.

Anyway, it sure would be easier for new customers to understand if there was only one model, regardless of how ugly they make that model.
C
CSM
Would DTV want to lose the DTV Stream customers if they didn't want to go to DTV via the Net?
J
Would DTV want to lose the DTV Stream customers if they didn't want to go to DTV via the Net?
I don't think they care. If they sold it tomorrow and DIRECTV ceased to exist no one at TPG or ATT is going to shed a tear
Former member 209992
Last reply · posted in SatelliteGuys Support Center
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
527 Replies · 17903 views
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Scott Greczkowski
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
Foxbat
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
S
zipping right along here
S
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
wow what a kick in the balls!!! the wife blames you when things don't work now scott's blaming you :biggrin
Foxbat
wow what a kick in the balls!!! the wife blames you when things don't work now scott's blaming you :biggrin
I know. Here's what Scott has in store for me if I get out of line:
IMG_1990.webp
IMG_1989.webp
jannah
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Help, I'm a little confjused on the activation process.
I purchased the Joey 4 from Solid Signal and shipping box has Call 866 726-4282 to Avtivate new Receiver. That number is Solid Signals number.
I googled and that search said call Dish to activate. I assume that is correct unless this requires a 2 step process.
Please let me know.
Thanks
6 Replies · 186 views
jannah
All good called Dish and new Joey 4 is activated and working.
Old Joey 2 deactivated and no need to return. 🙂
S
All good called Dish and new Joey 4 is activated and working.
Old Joey 2 deactivated and no need to return. 🙂
i bought mine straight from dish as it was only $ 100.00 bucks!!! had the protection plan they came out removed and deactivated the 4k joey and activated and installed the joey 4.
zcrayfish
Solid signal has provided the wrong number on their website to activate Dish boxes for years now.
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Nominal
I don't know if things are different with Dish but when I first rejoined DirecTV a few years ago Solid Signal was able to create my account and activate the equipment I got from them on a self-install without a truck roll.
S
Solid signal has provided the wrong number on their website to activate Dish boxes for years now.
1-800-333-3474. billing or tech support should be able to do it!!!
S
Help, I'm a little confjused on the activation process.
I purchased the Joey 4 from Solid Signal and shipping box has Call 866 726-4282 to Avtivate new Receiver. That number is Solid Signals number.
I googled and that search said call Dish to activate. I assume that is correct unless this requires a 2 step process.
Please let me know.
Thanks
just call dish and iggy the number from solid signal!!
Foxbat
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum
Apple has finally released their Apple TV 4K with built-in Siri and a microphone so it can respond to your queries even if you don't have the remote. It also increases in price, to $299. I had been planning on updating my current Apple TV 4K streamers, but that's $600 for the two of them, and that's a pass at this point.

At $299, it had better come with 256 GB of Storage, Gigabit (or better) Ethernet, the latest HDMI tech and standards, and one year of free Apple One. But it probably won't…
14 Replies · 172 views
Ronnie-
Meh. The 4Ks I have will do everything that these do that I need them to do.


Which that's most tech these days for anything released the last four to five years.


It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.
navychop
It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.

Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.
Foxbat
The only thing I can see that is compelling is the AV1 decoding done in the A19's hardware instead of the current ATV4K's processor.
navychop
Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?
KAB
KAB
Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?
Not a bit. IMO, apple's are slow to boot up. Time is about the same with 1st gen and 3rd. Roku runs rings around them in that department. I only stick I with the Apple tv's is the Apple infrastructure, which has it's definite advantages. But $300 is not worth sticking with it. Later, Apple!
S
Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.
they all do that anyways.. ever notice your cell phone slows down when you come up for an upgrade.. :what. apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while
cpdretired
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Several Dish offers showed up today in my account. Once you choose one the rest are removed. Offers were Showtime, Starz, AMC and others.
31 Replies · 1537 views
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B
Just checked my account and it shows mgm+ at 8.00 per month, but that has red line drawn thru it and shows 0.00 per month. But it doesn't say how long this lasts,...... 1 month, 3 months, forever. I called customer service to get an answer, and they said nothing like that exists. Should I add the offer or not? Already paying them too much, but want to take advantage of something free.
S
i went into my acct on the hooper and to my offers and everything turned back up as if i was a new customer!!! has anyone tried looking on the my dish app via there hoppers lately.. there was a strange update yesterday affternoon my hopper has never done updates during the day.
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cpdretired
i went into my acct on the hooper and to my offers and everything turned back up as if i was a new customer!!! has anyone tried looking on the my dish app via there hoppers lately.. there was a strange update yesterday affternoon my hopper has never done updates during the day.
Yes the offers are back again.
bookworm370
Yes the offers are back again.
Where? I signed on to Dish and can't find any
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S
Where? I signed on to Dish and can't find any
what cpdretired said
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ewindowman
Lots of offers on the hopper account app . On the website there are only a few.
Almighty1
Lots of offers on the hopper account app . On the website there are only a few.
Never had time to use the Hopper 3 account app yet. I also have a Hopper Plus so it's not the same as the Hopper 3 standalone. Will try it when I have more time, need to beat the taxes extension filing deadline first as I am still working on entering the data into the tax software.
Almighty1
This is what I see when it comes to offers on My Account on the Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com:

AMC+ 50% off for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)
AMC+ Free for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com)
AMC+ 1 month free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Cine y Entretenimie 50% off for 3 months

DOGTV 1 month free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

DISH Movie Pack 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com)

DOGTV 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)
DOGTV 1 month free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Gallery First Month Free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Heartland Pack 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com)

Mexico y Mas 50% off for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

MGM+ $0.00/Month not saying how long (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Multi-Sport Pack 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Netflix Standard with Ads, $7.99/month credit toward Netflix Standard with Ads ($.99) month with 24 month DISH commitment
(Only on My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Outdoor Pack 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME 50% off for three months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com)
Paramount+ with SHOWTIME 2 months free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Playboy TV 50% off for 6 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

Republica Dominicana 50% off for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

STARZ 50% off for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)
STARZ $1.99/month for 2 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus and dish.com)

Sudamerica y Mas 50% off for 3 months (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)

UP Faith & Family 1 month free (My Account Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus)
S
Just checked my account and it shows mgm+ at 8.00 per month, but that has red line drawn thru it and shows 0.00 per month. But it doesn't say how long this lasts,...... 1 month, 3 months, forever. I called customer service to get an answer, and they said nothing like that exists. Should I add the offer or not? Already paying them too much, but want to take advantage of something free.
look again mine says free for 1 month
jamieh1
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV Programming Forum
The new curated multiview is now live.
While on many of the sports channels and non sports channels there is a multi view option button. It will pull up a side bar with many different multi view options.
3 Replies · 153 views
K
It's now expanded to a Build Your Own Multiview, currently available to streaming customers with Geminis and Roku, and coming soon to Android TV, Fire TV, Vizio, LG, Apple TV and Tizen.
b4pjoe
It's now expanded to a Build Your Own Multiview, currently available to streaming customers with Geminis and Roku, and coming soon to Android TV, Fire TV, Vizio, LG, Apple TV and Tizen.
But not on the only device they ship out right now which is the Gemini Air.
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TheRatPatrol
It's now expanded to a Build Your Own Multiview, currently available to streaming customers with Geminis and Roku, and coming soon to Android TV, Fire TV, Vizio, LG, Apple TV and Tizen.
How soon will it be available on Apple TV? Thanks
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.
141 Replies · 1343 views
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Y
24 team playoff seems to be real close.

Are we really that far from a 64-team tournament?

The benefit of the 24 team playoff:
  • All the cartel teams that cartels want in playoff are in playoff
    • Independent of record too! Bonus.
  • MONEY!!!!! for the cartels.
  • I'm out of ideas.
Cons
  • Regular season really doesn't matter now other than the rivalry games
    • Top cartel teams can lose three games and still make the playoff
  • Going to start resting players?
    • The playoff is going to be *checks notes* several games!
    • Resting players could make games dumb.
    • Maybe even restrict NIL players from games played.
  • How much are streaming sub costs going up a month to pay for this?!
AZ.
AZ.
24 team playoff seems to be real close.

Are we really that far from a 64-team tournament?

The benefit of the 24 team playoff:
  • All the cartel teams that cartels want in playoff are in playoff
    • Independent of record too! Bonus.
  • MONEY!!!!! for the cartels.
  • I'm out of ideas.
Cons
  • Regular season really doesn't matter now other than the rivalry games
    • Top cartel teams can lose three games and still make the playoff
  • Going to start resting players?
    • The playoff is going to be *checks notes* several games!
    • Resting players could make games dumb.
    • Maybe even restrict NIL players from games played.
  • How much are streaming sub costs going up a month to pay for this?!
One of the pro's I see is in a year with so many undefeated teams they have a good chance of an opening. Few years back you had lower divisions that didnt get a shot. I love collage football and I have no problem with that addition.

We are in what week 5 now? Been two real good ranked games to watch.....Other than that top 25 teams are playing nothing.
Jimbo
One of the pro's I see is in a year with so many undefeated teams they have a good chance of an opening. Few years back you had lower divisions that didnt get a shot. I love collage football and I have no problem with that addition.

We are in what week 5 now? Been two real good ranked games to watch.....Other than that top 25 teams are playing nothing.
There are 68 Power 4 teams, so eventually they will get there I wouldn't imagine ...
AZ.
AZ.
There are 68 Power 4 teams, so eventually they will get there I wouldn't imagine ...
Far from it but you know that....You dont like the larger playoff.....Its ok.....
Jimbo
Far from it but you know that....You dont like the larger playoff.....Its ok.....
Oh, I Hate the idea ...

It would be different if it was a game that you could play 2 or games each week, but when you only play 1 game a week, the larger playoff is Not a good thing ...

The season has how many games now, is it 14 ... then you want to play another 5 (with more to come) against Top 12 (eventually 24 teams) ... remember, the 5 games in the playoffs will be the hardest games all year and back to back.

For example, IF Ohio State should win it all this year ... they play 5 teams in the Top 25, plus they would play 5 more to win it all, depending on how the ranking shake out and if Bye weeks are given.

Thats 10 Ranked teams ... in one year ...
I don't see that happening very often ...
Edit, Bama plays 4, Georgia plays 3, But Ole Miss plays 5 (didn't expect to see that)

That said, I don't see the Buckeyes winning it all this year.
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AZ.
AZ.
Oh, I Hate the idea ...

It would be different if it was a game that you could play 2 or games each week, but when you only play 1 game a week, the larger playoff is Not a good thing ...

The season has how many games now, is it 14 ... then you want to play another 5 (with more to come) against Top 12 (eventually 24 teams) ... remember, the 5 games in the playoffs will be the hardest games all year and back to back.

For example, IF Ohio State should win it all this year ... they play 5 teams in the Top 25, plus they would play 5 more to win it all, depending on how the ranking shake out and if Bye weeks are given.

Thats 10 Ranked teams ... in one year ...
I don't see that happening very often ...

That said, I don't see the Buckeyes winning it all this year.
Yes anyone here knows you 100%....Astros failed no posting...Ohio state loses we hear it.....Its ok....Its called an opinion....I have one so do you.....Problem is?
Jimbo
Yes anyone here knows you 100%....Astros failed no posting...Ohio state loses we hear it.....Its ok....Its called an opinion....I have one so do you.....Problem is?
Seeing theres very little activity in the MLB threads, it wouldn't matter if I posted that the Astros didn't make the Playoffs ...

Theres more NFL info in the Pub section than in the Sports/NFL thread.
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Jimbo
IF they go to 24 teams, and it looks like they will soon ....
Do we Really want Teams with 3 and 4 losses in the Playoffs ?
Is a 3-4 Loss team one thats able to win 4-5 more games against Top teams ?
Bobby
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
This thread is a place to discuss the 4K events that appear on channel 540. We are getting, at this point, one college football game a week. Let's hope there is more coming.
1931 Replies · 298845 views
long_time_Dish
148-04 says the NASCAR race on at noon on Sunday. Be interesting to see if it is.
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Bobby
MLB, Brewers at Dodgers, Thursday 10-15, 6PM PDT, Channel 148-02.
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Foxbat
MLB, Brewers at Dodgers, Thursday 10-15, 6PM PDT, Channel 148-02.
CFB, Notre Dame at BYU, Saturday 10-27, 4:30PM PDT, Channel 148-03.
CFB, Ohio State at Indiana, Saturday 10-17, 9AM PDT, Channel 148-01.
CFB, Arizona State at Texas Tech, Saturday 10-17, 12:30PM PDT, Channel 148-01.
Hmmm, I'm not seeing anything like those events in our Hopper 3 guide for tonight or Saturday.🙁

I went into the Tools menu and requested a Guide Update. I'll try looking at it after the update completes.

edit — I now have the 148-01 4KFox events for Saturday, but not anything for 148-02 or 148-03 which don't even show as available channels. I do have 148-04 4KUSA.
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Bobby
Hmmm, I'm not seeing anything like those events in our Hopper 3 guide for tonight or Saturday.🙁

I went into the Tools menu and requested a Guide Update. I'll try looking at it after the update completes.

edit — I now have the 148-01 4KFox events for Saturday, but not anything for 148-02 or 148-03 which don't even show as available channels. I do have 148-04 4KUSA.
As I recall you have the Flex package. Do you sub to multisport? -02 is FS1 and -03 is ESPN. -01 is Fox so you would get that if you sub to locals.
Bobby
As I recall you have the Flex package. Do you sub to multisport? -02 is FS1 and -03 is ESPN. -01 is Fox so you would get that if you sub to locals.
As an edit, you need to sub to the National Action Pack at $12 a month to receive those channels.
Foxbat
Which is what is interesting, I see the 4KFox channel on 148-01 but we're not subscribed to our Locals. So why it's coming in is puzzling. I thought that maybe it was a perk for Dish subscribers for the MLB Postseason.

I set a Timer for the Indiana - Ohio State game on Saturday. I'll take advantage of it while I can.
ppappas
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
On Tuesday, I recorded the first episodes of the new season's NCIS shows on CBS (Dish provided, not OTA). The new New York series and Origins will both do Auto Skip, but the original, now season 24 does not. What's stranger, when I do a search for NCIS, Origins and New York show the current recording and the next episode it will record, but the original show only shows the current recording and some other channel showing the very first episode of season one. It makes no sense. When I set up the timers, I was able to use search for Origins and New York, but for the original, I had to scroll ahead in the guide until last Tuesday when the show was airing. Then set the timer from there. You can see its timer type is DVR where the other two are Seek. What am I missing?
Thanks!
20 Replies · 387 views
Nebugeater
It is obviose some people do not know the diffornece between auto skip and FF
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Jimbo
It is obviose some people do not know the diffornece between auto skip and FF
IF you were referring to my post ...
Thats why I do all my Streaming Commercial FREE.
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Bobby
It is obviose some people do not know the diffornece between auto skip and FF
And there is a difference between fast forward and skip forwad....
tanman
With both CBS and Fox autohop (as we know) is not enabled for a week..But after 24 hours if you mash the FF button until the red kangaroo shows up in the bottom right you wont overshoot the program. No need to try to figure how long the break is.
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Cold Irons
With both CBS and Fox autohop (as we know) is not enabled for a week..But after 24 hours if you mash the FF button until the red kangaroo shows up in the bottom right you wont overshoot the program. No need to try to figure how long the break is.
Yep. We do this all the time, but we use the 30-sec skip forward button until the red kangaroo shows up. Love this feature.
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Jim5506
I'm a bit confused about the recording methods.
Do you havePrime Time Anytime enabled, by doing that you don't have to set recordings for Prime time programs on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox stations, it's done daily, 7 days a week.
And only 2 weeks recordings are saved, no deletions either.
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"MysteryMan"
Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
I created this thread on the original Edgecutter Cutting Edge Forums site. It's simply a place for those to review the latest software available for those using Windows 10 and Windows 11. To date it has received 112,559 views. I have been asked by staff to continue this thread here.
520 Replies · 47173 views
EarDemon
If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.
WhiteBeard
If it wasn't for what I want, I wouldn't need any of this.

Do I need a collection of handheld radios, scanners and speed enforcement countermeasures? Nope, but I want them. Very little, if any of the software used to interface with these devices is available on Linux.
To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything. ☹️
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EarDemon
To each there own but I've found that Windows can't do much more than Linux can. Can't have everything. ☹️
For niche use cases, yes I agree. Kali for ethical hacking and security testing, and running a Cacti server for network monitoring are the two things I have experience in. Plus thousands and thousands of other things, but for every day use I just can't see it. The owner of the GMRS repeater that I pay to access is changing the Tx DPL tones tomorrow, while Chirp is available on Linux, the software to program my MXT500 is not.

I run Fedora and Ubuntu in VMWare, honestly I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows. The cartoonish dock at the bottom of the screen reminds me of Apple products.
EarDemon
I have no OEM bloat, on CTO devices where I can access the drive, I order it with the smallest allowed drive and crack the device open throw the factory drive in the garbage and put in my own WD Black and install Windows from bootable media. For Windows bloat, I install Windows using the English - World option which limits preinstalled MS bloat.

Windows and Office features I wish to block, like CoPilot and Cortana, macro enabled Office files and others are blocked with GPOs.

Between keeping all software up to date, doing firmware updates, putting IoT devices on a separate VLAN, running Symantec Endpoint (say what you want about it, it's been good to me) and practicing safe hex, I'm vigilant but not paranoid about security.

With NVMe SSDs, my cold boot up time on all devices is under 30 secs as well. Fast boot disabled, BitLocker drive encryption enabled.

I have nothing against Linux, been paying with it on and off since 2004ish, it's just not the right solution for me.
HipKat
it's just not the right solution for me.
As I said above, and, FWIW, I run Win11 Pro and Arch on separate 250 GB NVME drives, using F8 to select which I boot to, with a 1TB SSD for storage, accessible to both OSs and a third formatted Nvme I want to use to learn Kali. It was much faster to setup Arch than it was to strip down Windows. Windows still takes much longer to boot.

1792104425403.webp
harshness
I don't care much for the UI of either of them and I don't feel like spending days/weeks to customize the UI to make it look Windows-like when I could just use Windows.
What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI? By many accounts, it has been going downhill since Windows 7.

There are Linux desktops that offer Windows or Mac UIs, yet you don't hear much chatter about them outside of questions about when the creators might get sued.
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EarDemon
What is so fantabulous about the Windows UI?
Because it's what I prefer. I know I've said this a few times, I use Open Shell to give me the cascading start menu a la WIN 95 and NT4.0. The only reason I went from Windows Vista to 7 back in the day was because of Classic Shell. I cannot stand anything other than the OG start menu from 30+ years ago. I'm using ExplorerPatcher to give me Windows 10 UI elements of the taskbar and right click context menus.

If you could take a look at how I set up Windows 95, you'd find many similarities to how I use 11.
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EarDemon
I could probably use that as a starting point, but I don't like the full size icons. If you have to click on each folder that's also a no-go for me, it has to be cascading.

I used to have Peppermint Linux in a VM, that was about as close as I could get to recreating a Windows NT4.0 style of menu structure, but I could never get it to scale properly in VMWare on a 4K display and eventually gave up.

Whatever the boot up time it's fine with me. The longest part of my bootup is the HP SureStart BIOS integrity check. Once that is done, it's only a few more seconds. I haven't done this reg tweak yet since the reformat, but I switched the bootup animation to the Windows 10 style spinning circle of dots, and it's two and a half rotations. I can live with that.