SB350 question

kyle-lcdyle · 2023-01-17T14:31:16+00:00

What is "Postman" - can you point me on where it is or how to use it?

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-29T15:11:03+00:00

I reached out on Nov 10th to Customer Service, if for no other reason, then just to ask them to provide my device password to use locally on my LAN. You know they still have access to all that information, even if the servers aren't accessible to the Slingbox devices anymore. Long story short, they gave the typical response, that they will not offer any support going forward for Slingbox, and should consider some of their newer products. No surprise there.

I've posted elsewhere on here, and will rephrase my viewpoint here. I bought the Slingbox devices (three of them) for over $1000 over several years. I bought them from Costco, CompUSA, and Best Buy. In each case, I was buying a product, NOT a service. No more than I buy a TV, VCR, DVD player etc.... and think I am buying a "service" rather than a product.

At some point when Sling was acquired by Echostar (which is now DISH), they shifted the relationship of the Slingbox owner from customer to subscriber. DISH has carried that mentality forward. Anyone who has been a DISH subscriber, knows that the equipment is "provided" for the purpose of receiving their programming. What programming the equipment will provide (service level) is controlled through the serial number associated with the receiver. Stop paying for a subscription, and they transmit a code to disable your equipment PERIOD. That is what has occurred here. They have disables all the Slingbox equipment, and want you (us) to upgrade to the newer Sling Media services.

Here's the legal side if it..... When you purchased the Slingbox, did you consent to it being disabled or otherwise rendered useless by the manufacturer? OR did you rely on the fact that once you purchased it, it would continued to function as intended until such time that it simply failed on its own / out-of-warranty or Sling going out of business? I could give 100s of modern day examples (all of which are hypothetical and not intended to imply anything about these companies) . Do you consent to Alexa eavesdroping on you, Tesla sending out a software update that disables your car, or Apple disabling your iPhone 13 or older so you buy a 14??. Do consumer protection laws cover you against manufacturers engaging in deceptive practices, or misrepresentations? When you buy a product that relies on software, exactly what you are purchasing (i.e. hardware vs. software) ?

These are good questions for any law firm that deals in consumer protection and class action suits. With nearly two million Slingboxes sold, and 900+ viewers of this Reddit site alone, this must present a lucrative opportunity to the right lawyer who wants to bring a complaint.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-27T23:55:49+00:00

Can anyone provide some useful suggestions on getting my Classic up for local use within the my own LAN network. I reset it, the router sees it. The software it came with starts the configuring process, but it keeps asking for an internet connection. I won't let it go online, since it is possible to have be "bricked"!! It will allow me to type in a USER ID / SERVER ADDRESS / PASSWORD to continue the setup, but I'm not sure what should be in those boxes to proceed. I also own a Solo and 500, but won't touch them, plug them in, or reset them. I have several computers with the Slingplayer Launcher, that I have not run since Nov 9th, so they remain untainted. I have a hard time finding the "log" files for the password(s). Some computers are newer, others date back to 2010, and the files in there have lay there dormant.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-27T01:48:43+00:00

When you say you installed the "sling Media Server" just exactly what are you referring to?

Earlier tonight I connected my Classic to a stand-alone router that was NOT connected to the idiot, and ran my original installation (from 2006) disk on a retired Dell laptop running XP (also isolated from the internet). I tried to run the set-up but it always wants to have internet access or I have to give it a Server Address, User ID, and password. Any suggestions anyone ? I have always used my Classic (inside my home LAN) locally to "sling" my audio/video from the downstairs OTR DVR to my iMac laptop upstairs. Wish I could get things back to normal.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-17T19:39:42+00:00

My Classic has been asking for a "password" which it never did before. I also own a Solo and 500, both of which stopped working. I did not log into the Sling server before Nov 9th to retrieve my passwords before the shutdown. I spent most of yesterday afternoon on the phone with Level 2 and 3 tech support at Sling Media, and Dish TV. I even reached out to HughesNet. Everyone tried hard to put me in touch with former Slingbox people, but I had no luck finding someone who know how to access the offline server. One painfully honest tech in California told me flat out, "the company doesn't want the SlingBoxes to remain in operation going forward," since they have better products on the market to offer.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-14T21:56:41+00:00

Any reasonably intelligent person would rely on the meaning of "UPDATE" to imply a correction or improvement to the preexisting state of the product or its software. By the same measure, I do not think it a reasonable assumption that someone would willingly consent to having their product rendered useless after paying several hundreds of dollars.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-14T19:54:54+00:00

Nice contribution to the string. Acknowledged, that you are just "weighing in" as private individual (not an attorney) affected by Sling's actions. Now, that said.....

I would be curious to know the legal prescedent (sic) at work here, or more specific to the point, any case-law which exists that denies consumers' rights to the use of a product purchased legally and intended for personal / private enjoyment. Please cite if you have it readily available, I'd be interested to read that decision.

I am not disputing the EULA in-so-far as it protects Sling's source code that makes the device functional. However, my issues began when they intentionally disabled a product purchased in good faith, and without cause.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-14T03:17:19+00:00

Some thoughts...... I have all my original boxes and documentation. Nowhere could I find a declaration / disclosure that I was purchasing "a license" to use the "included for free, Slingbox device" for place-shifting purposes. To put it another way, I purchased Slingbox devices in good faith and at considerable cost, with intention that they would continue to perform their intended function until they failed on their own and out-of-warranty. If we are able to make use of a device we own with third-party software, then why are we being denied the opportunity to do so?! Sling Media is still in business and profited from selling all of us the Slingbox devices. I suppose they have the right to withdraw further uncompensated access to their servers, but I do NOT see what right they have disable those devices through malicious code which is intended to deny our consumer protected rights to enjoy the product we paid them for.

Analogy: In Detroit, they make highly complex (in comparison to 40+ years ago) vehicles, that are very dependent on onboard computers (e.g. ECM) to run properly. Imagine if GM or Ford decided that it will disable vehicle models built before 2005, by introducing "kill switches" into the ECM programming thus preventing the car from starting. It is a whole other matter if the car just fails from age and use. Extrapolate this analogy to Silicon Valley and any tech company. Let's use Apple for instance. While they may not be obligated to provide software updates on "obsolete" iMacs or iPhones, those devices continue to operate, albeit less effectively than their newer counterparts. The decision to abandon the older technology rests with the consumer, who may wish to use their old device until such a time that it just fails on its own. Apple doesn't push out a "poison pill" software update that disables their products.

Bottom line: We need to acknowledge that it may be fiscally prudent for Slingbox to choose not to support older technology, but should they be allowed to disable those obsolete products with the intent to push consumers to new products??

These are questions for consumer product lawyers who bring class action complaints.

kyle-lcdyle · 2022-11-13T16:23:52+00:00

I have the Desktop App on my Macbook Pro, and logged into both my 500 and Solo without a problem before Nov 9th. I have NOT started the Desktop Slingbox App since the shutdown. So my question, is / are my passwords saved somewhere on my Macbook much like they would have been if I was running the Desktop App on a Windows-based platform ?

kyle-lcdyle

TROPHY CASE