Scams as far as the eye can see

As more and more people enter the world of cord cutting and streaming, more and more scams pop up. It's how things are.

Wherever there are people, there are other people trying to separate them from their money. There are tales of pickpockets roaming the crowds at public hangings, where the people being hanged were convicted thieves. Even with the threat of death over them, thieves will be thieves, and will target wherever the people are.

So, with more people adding streaming, or moving to streaming, more thieves are moving there as well.

Recently, Cord Cutters News had an article outlining "The Most Common Cord Cutting Scams to Watch Out For":

Bill Pay Scams

Increasingly scammers are sending out emails that appear to be from Netflix, for example, asking you to update your billing info. Scammers are trying to get you to hand over your credit card info.

How to avoid this scam. Never click links in an email. Always look closely, not at the name used in the email but at the actual email address to make sure it is not from a random website. If in doubt, go to the website of the service to check your billing information.

They also cover problems involving:

• Illegal Streaming Services
• Stealing Your Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, etc Accounts

It's a good read, and something to consider if you're new to streaming, or even if you've been streaming a while. If you can keep others from taking your money, you'll enjoy your Streaming Life so much more.

Hulu layoffs?

A report last week said that Hulu may be laying off a lot of people.

It's never good when people lose their jobs.

Parent company Disney is laying off a lot of people, and Hulu is expected to get hit with a higher proportion of cuts than other divisions of the House of Mouse.

Hulu is not alone in the job cuts as Disney is reportedly planning to make cuts at ABC Signature and 20th Television also but Hulu's may be more significant. Deadline reports that Hulu's layoffs could start as soon as next week but may be done in waves and not all at once.

This all comes as Disney has a decision to make as time is running out to decide if Disney wants to sell off Hulu or complete its deal with Comcast to buy all of Hulu.

During Disney's last earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked if Disney would be open to selling off. In response, he said everything was on the table.

I've been a fan of Hulu for some time. It doesn't matter to me if Hulu is owned by Disney or not. It was originally owned by NBC, ABC, and Fox when they were all separate entities. Those three major networks had an interest in making Hulu work. Now, that's not so much the case.

I would hate to see Hulu go away. I have enjoyed the service for years, and hope to continue that. But things change, even my Streaming Life.

Is your VPN stealing your information?

 If you're a streamer (and of course you are), you've found that some content is restricted in your area.

That can be from Major League Baseball (I can't watch the Braves live on MLB TV, for example) to football (Georgia Tech is often blacked out here) to movies (some content isn't available in the USA) to practically anything.

You'll hear some advocating to use a VPN to get around geolocation restrictions. I don't do that, for two reasons.

First, if content is restricted here, it's restricted here. I'll just deal with it.

Second, is I don't trust most VPNs.

Here's a recent video from Naomi Brockwell about how risky it is to use some VPNs.

[YouTube]

How big of a deal is this? I think it's a pretty big deal. I run my own VPN that allows me to connect to my home network. That's free, but takes some setup. I will look at some other VPNs that I can use, in case my home network is down and I need a VPN connection.

Why would I need a VPN? Well, if I get on an unsecure or untrusted network (because my cellular signal is not sufficient) I want to be able to secure my data, and a VPN to my home network does that.

If you are a streamer, and want to use a VPN in your Streaming Life, be careful. Be very very careful.

Netflix and reasons to drop it

I don't watch Netflix.

The reason is simple: they don't carry enough content for me to watch to justify the cost.

Sure, Netflix starts at $7/month for the ad-supported plan (with content restrictions), and $10/month for the ad-free plan (without content restrictions). It's not that much.

However, it doesn't take many of those "not that much" subscriptions to end up paying almost as much as cable.

That's why I subscribe to a single service at a time. I'll subscribe to one service ($10-15) this month, then a different service next month, and a different the following month. And so on and so on. Over a year, I've watch a lot of content for not as much money.

Netflix sometimes is in the rotation, but I have gone years without subscribing once. That's because of the content. And the frustrating menu system that auto-launches content.

To be fair, Netflix finally stopped playing stuff automatically. Or at least, they allowed me more options to stop stuff from playing before I hit Play. So good for them for paying attention to what customers want.

However, none of that makes up for the limited amount of content that interests me. And, it seems there's another reason that some don't like Netflix. It has to do with their suggestions:

When I canceled Netflix, I mostly kicked it away because of a lack of pressing new programming. But earlier this week, I heard podcaster Merlin Mann (opens in new tab) declare that that Netflix "wants [him] to be somebody different than who" he is.

The second I heard that, I realized a significant reason why I canceled Netflix this year that I had never even thought of. Netflix, as you may find when you use it, really cares about promoting shows that you may have have zero interest in. I'm trying to see things with an open mind these days (heck, I started Yellowstone, which I thought I'd never do), but Netflix often seems to swing and miss.

Netflix has long pushed stuff I didn't like or care about. Did that enter into my decision to drop them? Actually, no. But it didn't help. And I did notice what they were doing.

I dropped Netflix because the value just wasn't there. But I understand about why others are frustrated with Netflix pushing content that is out of line with their viewing history.

I will add that the last time I looked at Netflix and their suggestions, they did a better job of not pushing uninteresting content. When I did subscribe, I took the time to give Likes and Dislikes to many of the things they pushed, and to their credit, they have done better. But they have a ways to go.

If you are frustrated with the way Netflix is promoting content that you don't have an interest, I understand. And if you drop them from your Streaming Life, maybe they'll understand as well.

New, cheaper Fire TV televisions

It looks like Amazon has introduced a new line of Fire TV televisions.

According to Amazon's official Fire TV blog, a 32-inch Fire TV device from Amazon is available for $200. That's not the only thing introduced by Amazon in their new lineup, but it is the thing I noticed.

Fire TV televisions have always been good TVs. I don't like the Fire TV interface as much as I like the Roku interface, but the quality of the devices have always been good.

Now that Amazon is making their own televisions, they seem to have kept up the quality, which would explain why a $200 television is a big deal, when you can get a Roku TV from Walmart for half that.

According to Amazon, there is a lot to crow about with the new TV updates:

Amazon is expanding the Amazon-built TV lineup with three new sizes of the Fire TV Omni QLED Series -- 43", 50", and 55" -- and introducing the affordable Fire TV 2-Series, starting at just $199.99. Amazon is also launching its Amazon-built TVs in more countries, bringing the Fire TV Omni QLED Series, Fire TV 4-Series, and the new Fire TV 2-Series to the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico for the first time.

"We knew we could build a better experience for the living room," says Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. "Televisions are the fastest growing segment in the Fire TV business. When customers love something, we double down."

Is the device better than the Onn Roku TV from Walmart? Probably. However, the 32-inch Fire TV television only supports 720p, same as the cheap Roku TV.

Is it worth the extra money? Possibly. If I was in the market for a TV (I'm not) I would consider it. Whether or not I'd pull the trigger is another matter. But it's worth looking at if you want a new TV, particularly a Fire TV platform set, in your Streaming Life.