Disney or Netflix

A while back, I dropped Netflix. I found I wasn't watching it, and decided to save my money.

Now, I did subscribe to the service since that decision. When Mystery Science Theater 3000 was picked up for two seasons by Netflix, I subscribed when the seasons dropped. I binged the shows, then canceled again, once each season.

Right now, I have no plans to subscribe to Netflix in the future. I may, but right now, I don't plan on spending any more money with them. I don't watch it, and I haven't seen anything I want to watch on it. Maybe I'm missing out on something, but I really don't think so. I have no trouble finding something I want to watch today.

Disney+ is pretty much the same way. I'll subscribe from time to time, but not often. I've mentioned before that I'll subscribe to a service for one month, binge their stuff, then cancel, subscribing to a different service the next month. I'll do that throughout the year and watch a lot of content for not a lot of money.

However, if I chose between the two, I'd probably choose Disney+. In fact, I plan to subscribe to Disney+ for at least a month before end of the year. No such plans for Netflix.

And, as it turns out, I may not be alone in that respect. A report last week indicated that Disney's streaming services of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ actually had more subscribers than Netflix.

Combined with Hulu and ESPN+, Disney said it had 221.1 million streaming subscribers at the end of the June quarter. Netflix said it had 220.7 million streaming subscribers.

"Disney is gaining market share when Netflix is struggling to add more subscribers," Investing.com analyst Haris Anwar said. "Disney has still more room to grow in international markets where it’s rolling out its service fast and adding new customers."

After years, Netflix has finally been dethroned by another streaming company.

Yes, Netflix still leads any one of those services, but Disney overall is the new streaming king. And, I'm

FOSS to the rescue

What began as a side project back in April -- I got the Linux bug again after setting up a Raspberry Pi device as a Plex server -- turned into a monster. And while I'm not sure how it will end up -- will Linux be my daily OS after this project concludes? -- there are some side effects of this that will likely stay with me.

One of the bad things about running Linux is that not all applications support Linux. However, that's also one of the good things, too. You see, Linux, being an open source operating system, depends on a lot of applications that are also open source. And that usually means the software is free.

Software can be open source but not free. That's usually not the case, but it can work that way. So, as a way of specifying things, the term "free open source software" is often used. And there's an abbreviation for that: FOSS. Free Open Source Software. Simple enough, right?

That brings up an aspect of FOSS that I hadn't previously considered. Remember I mentioned that many applications run on macOS or Windows, or both, but not as many run on Linux? Well, there's the other side of that coin. Not all free open source software runs on macOS or Windows. But some does.

On Windows, I used to use Macromedia Fireworks instead of Photoshop, because it worked well, and was a lot cheaper. However, Adobe bought Macromedia and Fireworks was eventually discontinued. Of course, I had switched to Mac and tried a few different things, eventually settling on Acorn. It's worked well for me.

Well, after running GNU/Linux for a bit, I've begun using GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) on Linux. And, I like it. Took a little getting used to, but I'm not used to it, and was happy to learn there are versions for macOS and Windows. So, I'm now using it on all three operating systems.

Microsoft Office has been a mainstay for years on my computers, both Windows and Mac. My personal computer days actually predate Microsoft Office, as I used WordPerfect and Lotus 123 rather than Word and Excel, mostly because WordPerfect and Lotus 123 worked great, but also because Word and Excel didn't exist.

Microsoft Office is not available for Linux. However, there are a few FOSS office suites available. Open Office has been around a while, as has LibreOffice, which I like better than Open Office. OnlyOffice is a newer entry, but it's a very good suite as well. Right now, I prefer OnlyOffice and LibreOffice, but am leaning toward OnlyOffice since there are official versions for Android and iOS, something LibreOffice doesn't have. These three office suites have versions for macOS and Windows, and they are my current office applications as well.

Web browsers are probably what I use most, though. And while I was using Google Chrome on both macOS and Windows, it's not available on Linux. There is the open source Chromium browser, on which Chrome is based, but I'm not a big fan of Chromium. I actually prefer Firefox. Yes, I know that Firefox had performance issues a while back, which prompted my switch to Chrome. However, after using GNU/Linux for a bit, I've come to realize how improved Firefox is. And it's available on macOS and Windows.

There are many more instances of free open source software that runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and when I run across one I like, I'll switch to it and stop using the proprietary (and often, paid) software. I like the price of free software, and when it's good software, I'll use it. And if it's on the three platforms (Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux) then I'll use it on all three.

This little side project has ended up saving me some money. I like saving money. I like that a lot.

Pi Hole testing

Let me first say that I don't have a problem with ads. There are ads on this Website, for instance. And, I subscribe to ad-supported Hulu. I also watch content from many free ad-supported television (FAST) services. I'm fine with ads.

If I don't want ads, I'll pay to remove them. For instance, I've subscribed to YouTube Premium to eliminate ads on that service. I will visit Websites that have ads -- my own had ads, so I'm okay with ad-supported Websites -- and if I think the ads are too obtrusive, I will simply stop visiting the Website.

You won't find me leading the charge for ad blockers or network filters. However, I am currently testing Pi Hole. And that may need some explanation.

First, if you aren't familiar with Pi Hole, it's an application that can run on Linux devices that blocks ads and trackers. So why am I, who claims to be fine with ads, running an ad blocker? Well, it's not the ad blocker I'm interested in. It's the tracker blocker feature.

I'm actually planning to test a few different processes to block trackers. I'm not really interested in blocking ads. Well, with one exception, which I'll come back to in a bit.

Blocking trackers is actually functionality that is built in to many Web browsers. However, I'm looking for a network wide solution to blocking trackers. That's where Pi Hole comes in.

It's a multiple stage process I'm going through. First, I want to see how easy it is to set up and run in general.

Next, I am researching how to block trackers on the network without impacting ad services (well, most; I said there's an exception, and the details are still to come).

Then, I want to confirm how well the process works on the network.

I've just set up Pi Hole this weekend, so I'm still doing the first step. It is blocking trackers, but it's also blocking ads. As I'm still in the setup phase, the blocked ads are collateral damage, and I'll work to reduce that. I don't mind ads, after all, and I think those that put forth a product for free deserve the compensation of the display of ads, if that's the cost of using the service.

I've begun the research into how to use tracker blocking without blocking ads, as much as that is possible. Heck, I may find it's not possible, and if that's the case, I'll then make the best decision on how to proceed if it comes to that. But, my goal is to block trackers, not ads.

I'm running Pi Hole on a Raspberry Pi, though it will run on many Debian and Fedora based systems (Raspberry Pi OS is Debian based). I actually had a problem setting up the system, as I found one of my Raspberry Pi devices was damaged by a recent storm (lots of stuff was damaged by that storm). But, I set up another one and it actually went well.

I've configured it to run over the entire network for this initial testing. I don't know if I'll keep it that way or not; I'll see how it goes. And, so far, it's going well. I just need to figure out how to limit the blocking to trackers and let legit ads through.

And that's the other point I teased. I found a type of ad that I do want to block. There was a Website that I heard had been hacked, but when I went to it on my laptop, didn't have a problem. Then I went to it on a mobile device, and sure enough, the redirect to a malware site happened. Turns out there is code on the Website that redirects mobile devices to a software installation page. That's not good.

So, after doing some testing, I found that two domains that are included in ad-based code on the Website can cause the redirection. I blocked those two, and the redirection stopped.

That tells me that Pi Hole's default scripts aren't perfect, as they weren't blocking two domains that contained ad content, and that those ad servers had been compromised. So, if I keep using Pi Hole after this testing is done, I'll use it to block domains that are compromised. They may be considered legitimate ad servers, but if they can't keep them safe, then I don't consider them legit and will block them.

I'm okay with ads in my online and Streaming Life. I'm not okay with my usage being tracked, and I'm not okay with malware. I'll find a way to stop it, if I can.

Getting my Sci-Fi fix

I've been a fan of science fiction movies and TV for about as long as I can remember. Watching first run episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, as well as the original Star Trek, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and so many other TV shows was something I really enjoyed. I have watched them all many times, having purchased those shows and more.

Science fiction movies such The Thing (the 1950s, as well as the fantastic 1980s film), When Worlds Collide, War of the Worlds, Them, Forbidden Planet, The Angry Red Planet, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Amazing Colossal Man, The Time Machine, The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and so many other films, good and bad, were movies I could watch over and over again. And have watched each of those multiple times, having purchased each of them.

I really have enjoyed my sci-fi, and continue to watch the shows and movies. But, I don't limit myself to movies I own. I still watch newer movies, or old movies I haven't seen previously, or even have but for one reason or another don't own.

Streaming has been a great way to watch many sci-fi movies and TV shows. And some of the streaming apps and services I use are free.

Sure, there's Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, and many other pay streaming services, but there are also many free ad-supported television (FAST) services that offer good, and bad but enjoyable, sci-fi.

Comet TV, which you may be able to watch locally over the air, has a free streaming app that allows you to watch a stream of the TV network. If you don't have a Comet station locally, you can still enjoy Comet TV with the app.

Pluto TV has channels dedicated to science fiction. One of my favorites is the Mystery Science Theater 3000 channel, but there are other sci-fi channels where you don't hear a janitor and two robots making fun of the films. Doctor Who is also a favorite, as I'm a big fan of the classic show.

Tubi, Sling TV Free, Plex, and Xumo also have science fiction channels available. Roku Channel, available on Roku and Fire TV, also has channels with sci-fi content.

For more on-demand content, FilmRise Sci-Fi has lots of sci-fi movies available for viewing.

Fawesome is a rarely talked about app, but you can find plenty of sci-fi on the Science Fiction Movies & TV app by Fawesome.

There are many ways to watch science fiction movies and TV for free on your streaming device. If you want free sci-fi in your Streaming Life, you have many many options.

Still finding storm damage

Earlier in the week, I mentioned about damage to some of my electronics from a storm this past weekend. I had found three items that were damaged, and had replaced two, with a third ordered.

Well, the third arrived and now things are back to normal. Almost.

Turns out there was a fourth item that was damaged. I mentioned that the primary switch on my network had gone out and I had replaced it. Well, in another room, there's a switch that had been damaged as well. It was a five port switch, and I use it in conjunction with my KVM switch. The KVM switch allows me to use a single keyboard, video monitor, and mouse on up to four computers. It doesn't also switch network connectivity. The five-port switch handles that. I have a single feed to the switch, and could run up to four devices on the network. That was damaged as well in the storm.

Turns out that two of the ports were bad, and three were good. My main Linux computer was running, as was my Windows device. However, some test project devices, particularly a Raspberry Pi, lost connectivity. I hadn't tested them, as the KVM switch made it difficult. However, the bad switch needed replacing, so I replaced it. I put in another 8-port switch, meaning I can connect the devices for the KVM switch, plus run the network printer on it, rather than have a direct feed for it. It keeps the number of cables running from one room to another down to just one now.

I'm still not sure if there is any more damage. I may find some, and will deal with it as I run across it.

If there is any more damage, it's not on devices I use regularly, so it hasn't been a big deal, at least not yet. I'm hoping that's the extent of the damage, and that my online and Streaming Life isn't interrupted any more than it already has been.

Streaming NFL pre-season games

The three week pre-season of the NFL starts tonight. There are two games on the schedule this evening, with five tomorrow, eight Saturday, and one Sunday. Of course, there was a game last weekend, when the Raider and Jaguars played in the Hall of Fame game. Both those teams are in action this weekend, the first official week of pre-season play.

If you're a streamer -- and of course you are -- you may wonder how you'll watch the games. It won't be hard at all, though it won't be free.

Several games are going to be carried nationally on NFL Network, which is available on some cable services, but is also available on several streaming services.

• Sling TV (Blue, $35/month; Orange+Blue, $50/month). If you are an Orange plan subscriber, you're out of luck. NFL Network is only on the Blue plan. But, if you're Orange plan, you can add Blue plan, upgrading to Orange+Blue, for an additional $15/month.
• Vidgo (Plus, $60/month). The cheapest Vidgo plan gets you NFL Network. You don't have to spring for the higher Premium package.
• YouTube TV ($65/month). Google's top notch streaming service include NFL Network in its standard package.
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month). The live TV offering from Hulu also includes Disney+ and ESPN+, in addition to the live TV and the standard Hulu service.
• Fubo TV ($70/month). The cheapest Fubo TV plan includes NFL Network.

Note that DirecTV Stream does not carry NFL Network. That surprised me, but that's why you have to check to see who carries what.

If NFL pre-season games are something you want in your Streaming Life, you have lots of options.

Discovery+ on Sling TV

There was an announcement this week about a new feature coming to Sling TV. Discovery+ will be available for Sling TV as a $5/month add-on.

That's the same price as the standalone service with the Discovery+ app, but for Sling TV users, it will have the convenience of already being in the Sling TV app. At least, I suppose that's a convenience.

As one who got into streaming in the early days, I'm used to using separate apps, and not just staying in a single app all the time. I'll hop apps in a heartbeat. In fact, to me, it's easier to switch apps rather than find a channel within an app such as Sling TV. But, that's me. I'm not the typical user, I suppose.

So, for those that like the idea of a single app for everything, the Sling TV app addition of Discovery+ is a big deal.

Oh, and you don't have to subscribe to Sling TV to use the Discovery+ app. You do have to subscribe to Discovery+ through Sling TV, but the $35/month plan for Sling Blue or Sling Orange is not a requirement.

All SLING users, including users of SLING Free or any SLING subscription, may customize their viewing experience by adding discovery+ as a premium a la carte streaming service.

"Providing our customers with the best entertainment experience has always been our number one priority at DISH and SLING," said Gary Schanman, group president, SLING TV. "The addition of discovery+ on our platforms offers iconic and acclaimed content for the a la carte experience our customers love. We offer more than 50 premium a la carte services to enable our users to customize their viewing experience, all with a single account login so they can easily manage their services in one place."

Since Sling TV free tier is a pretty darn good deal, with the availability of Discovery+ as an add-on, as well as other recent additions to the free channel lineup, which now totals over 200 free live and on-demand channels.

Sling TV, the first live streaming service, continues to be a worthy consideration for including in your Streaming Life.

Sling TV Free adds Pluto TV content

One free ad-supported television (FAST) service that doesn't seem to get a lot of talk -- at least, I don't see a lot about it -- is Sling TV.

Now, you may be saying, "But Sling TV is $35/month, which is most certainly not free." And that's true. But, Sling TV offers a free tier. And it's actually a pretty good free service. And it just got even better.

Sling TV Free (I don't really know what else to call it) is, like the name I'm calling it, free. And it's comparable to Pluto TV, Xumo, and Tubi insofar as a free ad-supported television service. In fact, it even picked up some Pluto TV channels recently.

An article in Cord Cutters News brought it to my attention.

These are the Pluto TV channels now streaming for free on Sling:

• BET Pluto TV
• CMT Pluto TV
• Comedy Central Pluto TV
• MTV Biggest Pop
• MTV Pluto TV
• MTV Spankin’ New
• VH1 I Love Reality

I had not noticed the new apps, but sure enough, they're available. And that brings the number of live channels offered by Sling TV Free to 164. The service also has 38 on-demand channels, meaning over 200 channels of content is available.

That's pretty good. And that's why I keep Sling TV on my devices, even though I don't subscribe to the Orange service year round.

In case you forgot, Sling TV offers a $35/month Orange service as well as a $35/month Blue service. Blue has more channels, and focuses on NBC and Fox sports, while Orange, though with fewer channels, offers ABC/Disney/ESPN content and sports. The Orange+Blue combination package is $50/month.

But, if like me, you only need the live sports channels during part of the year, keeping the app and watching the free tier the rest of the year may be a good addition to your Streaming Life. It certainly helps me enjoy mine.

Stormy Weather

I love Stormy Weather. The version by Lena Horne is a favorite, although it's hard to beat the earlier recording by Ethel Waters.

Having said that, I'm not all that big a fan of stormy weather. You know, the actual weather where it storms. The song is wonderful. The weather phenomenon, not so much.

I bring this up because yesterday, there was some stormy weather, and it wreaked havoc at the house.

There was damage to electronics, but nothing more than that. No limbs through the roof. No trees uprooted. Just a close by lightning strike that cause the lights to briefly go out, a large pop from where the Internet connection comes in, and then my network not coming back up.

So far, I found three things that the lightning took out. My network router didn't exactly die, but it stopped working. Lights came on, and the wireless network allowed connections, but it would not connect to the Internet.

I have a separate modem, and was worried that had gone out, but connecting a computer directly to that showed that the modem was not the issue. It was the wireless router.

I also have a separate network switch to which I had several devices connected via Ethernet to the network. That switch went out as well.

And, my expensive fancy KVM switch that I used to connect multiple computers to a mouse, keyboard, and monitor also went out.

Correcting the wireless was easy enough. I bought a new wireless router. Two nodes, actually, as I replaced the mesh network with another mesh network. I could have purchased a replacement for the single device that was fried, but that was not available locally, and I could replace the entire network (two access points) for around the price of the single bad device. So, the wireless network was replaced, and configured with the same SSID and password.

Correcting the switch was easy enough as well. I bought a new switch. It was a simple 8-port switch that I use to connect devices, and an exact replacement was available locally. So, the switch was replaced and the Ethernet connected devices began working again.

The KVM switch is more of a problem. Part of it works -- the video monitor, the V part, works -- and part doesn't. So, I connected a mouse and keyboard directly to each of the main computers I use -- the Windows device runs Plex, and the Linux device is what I'm using for day to day use -- and I'm back running. I've ordered another KVM switch, and will replace it when it arrives in a couple of days.

I really hate when nature conspires against me. And I really didn't like that three pieces of the network went out, but I should be thankful that only three pieces were damaged. It could have been a lot worse, I suppose.

The storm ended shortly after putting my network down, and I was able to then order the two parts from Walmart and have them delivered. Yes, I waited until after the storm passed.

I was down a few hours, but after Walmart delivered the parts to get me back up and running, I once again resumed my online, and Streaming, Life.

Privacy phone, part 5

I've mentioned before that I'm looking into using a phone that provides more privacy than most standard phones. And, of course, since nothing is simple, I've run into all kinds of issues along the way.

The options, as previously laid out, boiled down to:

1. Using a modified Android version on an existing phone.
2. Getting a phone with a version of Android installed.
3. Getting a phone with a mobile version of Linux installed.

So, which way did I go? All three.

I'm currently weighing usage of three different setups.

I have a Google Pixel 4a running Lineage OS.

I have a Teracube 2e running /e/OS, a modified version of Lineage OS.

I have a Pine64 phone running a mobile version of Manjaro Linux.

This past week is when I finally got all three setups running, and I have some initial thoughts, though these may change over time.

First, the Linux phone isn't working all that great. I don't know if it's the phone or if it's the mobile version of Manjaro Linux that is the problem, but it's a problem. It reminds me of when BlackBerry tried to launch a touch-screen interface. You may not remember that, but it was a very bad experience.

I loved my regular BlackBerry at the time, and when I they launched a touch interface, I considered moving from Android back to BlackBerry. However, I had the opportunity to try it out ahead of time, and it was a terrible experience. It was buggy, it was sluggish, and it was not going to get my business.

I never knew if it was the hardware wasn't good enough, or if the software wasn't good enough, but the overall package wasn't good enough. That's how I feel about this Pine64 phone setup. Maybe the phone hardware is inferior. Maybe the software isn't where it needs to be in regards to a touch interface. Whatever the issue is, I'm not liking the Pine64/Manjaro setup. But, I'll keep using it and seeing how it does.

The Teracube 2e running /e/OS is running well. I've had this setup the longest, and the only problem has been finding a carrier that works. There have been no issues with the usage of the phone and interface, though. Right now, though, the current carrier is working, so that's a good sign. It's light years ahead of the Pine64/Manjaro setup.

The most recent setup is the Google Pixel 4a running Lineage OS. I had some issues setting it up, but finally found a solution to the issue I had. And, it's going okay so far. I've had no trouble with a carrier supporting the phone, and so far the OS is working well.

So, for the next month, I'll be using all three phones and making a determination on which is the best. Then, I'll have to weigh it against my current phone setup, and decide if I want to actually make the switch or not.

I really like the idea of a phone that doesn't send all of my data back to some source that sells my data to others. Or even keeping it for themselves. It just doesn't sit well with me. But, that's a decision I'll make later. Right now, I'm going to be comparing these three phones and their setups and deciding which works best for me.