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Comment by ars | Hacker News Reader

This TV is going to get hacked in 5 minutes. Or just tape a piece of paper over the advertising screen.

I'm thinking of getting one just for the novelty, and not attaching it to the internet.

You can't do that. From the terms:

  If we discover that You are not abiding by the requirements above or have disconnected the Product from an internet connection or WiFi for more than short periods each month, You will no longer be able to use the Service and You must return any Products in your possession to Telly. Failure to return Products to Telly will result in Telly charging the credit card on file. If you do abide by the Terms of Service, your credit card will not be charged.

Gotta load up on verification cans

> If we discover

Well, then the obvious thing to do is make sure they don't discover it.

They'd have a heck of a problem at my house because my internet is regularly out for days at a time.

Time to use one of those dynamically loaded digital credit cards then set to max $1 charge amount hehe

They could still go after you in court.

Than they send bailiffs to your home....

In addition to advertising, they could make money by producing a reality show about trying to repo the TVs.

That’s always the best with these things. It’s a giant cue cat!

Also I wonder how many verification cans it comes with.

> It’s a giant cue cat!

I still have a couple of them in a drawer somewhere...........

Oh that's a good idea. Should I sign up for one of these and just wait until they go bankrupt? What are the odds that they'll want to recover individual units from each user? How much will I have to pretend to use it while I await that implosion?

Maybe the business model isn’t advertising, but instead doing checks on all the customers and sending a fine to anyone with an active GitHub.

I bet you that second screen will be hacked by just removing like two wires :D

"We've determined that over the past six months, you have been provided 47 opportunities to enjoy Hunt's Catsup®. Our consumer data partners indicate to us that you continue to purchase Heinz brand when shopping for your family or loved ones. Unfortunately, this often indicates tampering with the Second Smart Screen. Please confirm your adherence to the Terms and Conditions by taking advantage of the wonderful offers we provide."

The magic bullet theory is back, almost 100 years later!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model

Removing two wires can easily be detected, and then you have to pay $2k.

Covering the bottom screen with some nice vinyl wrap, however...

That sounds pretty easy to detect as well. If it's custom made hardware they gotta have a plan for that.

IMO the start is the small advertising screen. Soon they'll start interjecting ads over the ads on the screen or inserting ads where there weren't any before.

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