HI version is available. Content is displayed in original English for accuracy.
Advertisement
Advertisement
⚡ Community Insights
Discussion Sentiment
54% Positive
Analyzed from 2367 words in the discussion.
Trending Topics
#microsoft#monitors#windows#monitor#dell#drivers#driver#years#update#display
Discussion (81 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
- Display drivers don't need access to the network
- Display drivers don't need to write to the window manager
- Display drivers just need to display the data that needs displayed
- If you sign a driver, you take responsibility for it. Else just leave people run any driver they see fit
When you have a carpenter visiting you don't announce they can go into your kids' rooms (for reasons unrelated to the job is) and what not -- the [default] contract is they're there to do a job and their privileges go only as far as the job requires, they normally also ask you first time where your toilet is, although we all agree they can use it. It's a contract, formally and less so, and things work when the contract is abided by. The carpenter also can't say they had the right to the cookie jar on your kitchen counter just because they were working there.
By not implementing such a contract with code, Microsoft has shown negligence. And they have had _decades_, so it's likely a "business decision".
Microsoft does police IHVs -> Geeks: "MS is an evil monopolist!"
Distributing malware is negligent or malicious, yes. Not stopping users from seeking out their own malware is neither. Nothing stops you from running malware on Linux. The curated repos are simply good enough that there's not much reason to go looking elsewhere.
The fault here is definitely LG's, though.
What a dirty, scummy move. Never buying an LG product again.
(Also a Linux user, so this doesn't affect me, but this is gross.)
I have an LG TV that I've never allowed to connect to a network, and I'm definitely keeping it that way.
I'm starting to think that is what I need to do with my computers.
Meh, give a company something they can feasibly abuse for money, and they'll probably do that. I'm not sure that this is practically feasible on Mac or Linux; Macs enable fairly constrained but powerful userspace drivers that generally need approval, and I've never seen a piece of hardware automatically download anything that can run in the background, but that could be an anecdotal experience. Maybe printers would be the exception.
The tradeoff is that even software like Zoom doesn't completely work by default
I'm disappointed with Microsoft, I'm incensed at LG.
A display, of all things, shouldn't require installing anything to make it "just work." It just needs speak standardized protocols over standardized cables. That should require no more than generic drivers shipped with the operating system.
If anything, as shitty as LG's behaviour is, Microsoft gave them the tools to eke out a little more money at the expense of the consumer, and a company like LG is not likely to leave that money on the table out of the goodness of their hearts. As the scorpion told the frog - "It's my character".
Meanwhile, junk food, tobacco, alcohol and gambling corporations are always willing to fight tooth and nail to block attempts at advertising restriction and bans. Advertising in the long haul will always work, especially if it manages to stand out in noisy but bland environments.
As for the ones that we deem to be the most useless ads, perhaps they still serve an Overton Window purpose in maintaining a level of chaos and confusion along with keeping a marketing manager occupied with busywork (or ad fraud) until they have a real campaign to impress their boss with.
The fact that I still semi-regularly encounter "tech literate" people who refuse or are slow to learn to use uBlock Origin (or similar) says a lot about how accepting many people actually are when it comes to noise.
It was super annoying because their support was useless.
It put me off LG but as they do make panels for others they are hard to avoid.
Sheesh it's bad luck.
I've got an ultra-wide 38" LG monitor since 2017. Nearly 10 years and that thing is used daily and still running strong.
In fact, what I really want is just a display. They can keep their “smart” stuff; I'm not interested.
Each auto-update is by definition remote code execution.
All the fiascos lately about Microsoft completely bricking and destroying systems with terrible updates just reinforce my original decision.
Note that I'm not at all hostile to updates in general. I'll update my Mac as soon as one's available, even to unstable betas, because it automatically reopens my apps and doesn't lose a bunch of state like Windows does. I'll also update my iPhone and iPad. It's really just Microsoft that I don't trust and never have.
When I got a new PC desktop, I decided to give Windows 11 a chance, and it's not bad. I hated for a while that the UI feels like just a ripoff of ChromeOS, but eventually I got used to it. I only update the minimum amount necessary when anti-cheats decide my old files are no longer trusted (looking at you, ARC Raiders).
* https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-monitors/
There are cheap dongles that spoof the EDID for a fixed 4K or HD monitor with fixed settings. Not sure what they do about DCC/CI, might just disconnect it.
But LG already did that 10 years ago. If you didn't care then, why do you care now?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6778397
If I buy a TV and it doesn't work without connecting to the internet, I'm simply going to return it. Changing this after the fact should mean a class action lawsuit. It's ridiculous, and MS should absolutely restrict this kind of crap... They (Microsoft) auto-load the software for Logitec mice and cameras as well, but at least they (Logitech) aren't injecting ad/spyware.
That's what makes the LG controversy uncomfortable to me: the McAfee ads were pushed out years after some owners purchased their monitors.
Ghastly.
LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48956688
Update: Microsoft responds to LG monitors installing McAfee ads on Windows
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/07/microsoft-responds-t... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49028024)
The display driver board has various inputs like HDMI, Thunderbolt, USB-C etc so it ends up acting like any other external monitor. It has a remote you control the brightness/contrast etc settings.
I've got my Mac and PS5 hooked up to it. Love it!
LG monitors are not behaving idiotically on Linux. Just saying.
Remember "smart" has a double meaning. It also refers to pain as in "smarting".