how is it seamless, I want a independent device to watch videos on, not a device that have to connect with my phone, tablet or pc then "cast" video to it.
I want a self contained video streaming device with its own physical remote, processor and OS that does not need anything else but a internet connection
Roku and FireTV are different classes of Devices than a ChromeCast
The cool thing about chromecast is that you can drag and drop a video file into chrome and it will play on your tv. I don't want to see ads on youtube, so instead of using the built in chromecast support i just stream the window to my tv with ublock origin installed -- no ads.
That's actually all i want, a wireless hdmi cable. But I'm in a tiny minority.
you're in like .01% of the population that wants that. the menu's and remote with the roku are horrendous, everything about a roku is terrible. You have log into an account within the 'roku os'. you also have to have the remote on you. I almost always have my phone on me. I'm already signed into all the apps that i want, with a much easier to use keyboard for searching. i tap a button on my screen and it's playing on my tv. The entire experience is 'seamless' just because you like to have 47 extra steps to watch a video doesn't mean that anyone else would like that. Roku is for people who don't know better or are technologically challenged. I mean, if you compared it to the appletv Roku is probably good?
> you're in like .01% of the population that wants [a self contained video streaming device with its own physical remote, processor and OS that does not need anything else but a internet connection]
Then why is Roku the most popular brand of streaming device?[1]
> You have log into an account within the 'roku os'
...and with Chromecast you have to log into an account within the Google Home mobile app. In both cases you only have to log in that first time.
> you also have to have the remote on you
No, you don't. You can use the Roku app on any iOS or Android device.
Most people who buy a device like this are trying to watch Netflix or Hulu; not trying to cast video files from a local storage medium. Note that the marketing copy on Roku.com[2] focuses on everything _except_ casting. And it's the same for Amazon[3].
And even though it's not a focus, Roku still has a perfectly usable Miracast/WiFi Display implementation that works with any Miracast source. I've used it successfully from both my android phone and win10 laptop.
No expierance with the Roku, I have several FireTV's
I also have my phone on me, I still have no desire to use it to control the FireTV when I can just use the arrow keys on the remote, select the video and press play.
if I want to search i will use an actual computer and create a playlist or use the 'watch later" flag on youtube and play from that list on the firetv...
it is not "47 steps" I find using the phone to be cumbersome and battery draining
ohh and I doubt I am in the .01% of normal consumers that want that. I maybe in the .01% of Silicon Valley type Tech people that want that. But your every day consumer, every day moms, dads, grandpa's etc want exactly what I describe, which is why the FireTV is so successful
I'm pretty technically savvy, and I almost never want to use my phone as a remote control. Yes, it's almost always with me, but it has to do a lot of stuff. A Roku remote has a big "Netflix" button on it. I press that button. If my phone had a big Netflix button on it, it would be in the way of dealing with Email, texts from my wife, my work calendar, getting the weather, showing me traffic, etc.
I always have my car keys handy too, but if I had to tap out morse code on my key fob to watch a Seinfeld rerun, I'd kill a hobo just to feel something again. A dedicated device is sometimes far preferable than a general one.
If only there was an email service that let you create multiple email addresses for free! Or better yet one that let you create an email address that only exists for 10 minutes. A 10 minute mail service if you will.
The uber comparison is more fair than your comparisons. Ok, yes the bike. But the bike isn't something that you can take with you everywhere, it's not nearly as easy to bring it on the train or grab a bus or if someone is picking you up somewhere you'd need them to be able to pick up your bike. An uber solves all above mentioned issues, however it's exepensive. A skateboard does solve as well, but using a skateboard as a means to get from point a to point b is less than ideal and the lack of brakes and numerous other options make it a non-option for a lot of people and why skateboarding is a culture instead of any everyman type situation. Enter the boosted board now you have a relatively easy way to get around on a skateboard and people that were turned off by the inconvenience have now a much more convenient and even more convenient way of doing things that is extremely portable you can pick it up and carry it with you don't have to worry about finding a spot to lock it up. The original comparison is not exactly fair you are right, but your comparison relative that isn't even remotely fair or showing of an understanding of why there is a market for electric skateboards.
"We point out that it is possible, purely from a technical perspective, for us to see your emails, address book and calendar data, if you have not encrypted them." It would be illegal for them to view your email because of German Law but from a technical standpoint it is possible. This other device is a pre-configured mail server at your home that stores all your mail. The two things are quite different. And this one I think if the software is opensource would be more secure.
"border of a pizza" === "crust";
if you can watch american news broadcasts, those help, they are geared towards the average native speaker.
there are websites you can go to and find a speaking partner, you help someone who knows english and wants to learn german and they help you, via something like skype.
other than complete immersion it's difficult to learn and even within america things are said differently in the North east/new england than they are in the "South"
Seriously? Why would you bother with a dog turd. If you want to listen to music literally any other speaker is better.. if you want to use it for idk what even cause it's just a novelty. Waste of time and money.
I think it has the potential to be really useful for purchasing things, which is certainly what Amazon excels at.
The only obstacle they'll need to overcome when they introduce voice purchasing is that I don't want to listen to a list of prices and descriptions after asking it for toothpaste. I want it to figure out that, no I don't want a case of 24 toothpaste rolls, just one will be fine. It should be as simple as "Alexa, I need more Crest toothpaste." and it's on its way.
Haha wow, that's a pretty negative comment there. Personally, I'm trying to remove the internet from the room I sleep in except the bare necessities. This is one way of moving towards that goal - when I go to get dressed in the morning, what's the forecast for today? Having a device that answers that question without a screen and without having to hookup and Arduino or old android phone or something is pretty cool to me.
Uh.. What the actual #%&@ ?? no no suggestions you're not going to be happy with anything.
You need to ask yourself why you want this..
You have to realize you aren't going to ahve the same level of display. Switching to Ubuntu you are going to have to make a lot of consessions.
What is that you like about the Macbook Pro Retina? The display? the weight? the size? Go find a laptop with the specifics you like and install ubuntu on it.
