The End of the Good Guy Tech Company
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- Опубліковано 9 тра 2024
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It is quickly coming to the point where companies don't want you to really own or control any product.
Subscriptions, right to repair, always online, games as a service etc. Etc.
Once the realization of repeat revenue like that was unlocked, it was over.
@@dmarr4941to me it’s just crazy how many people accepted this.
You vill own notzing.
You vill not question who owns everyzing.
Und you vill be happy.
one of the ceo-type folks at Ubisoft (game developer) was caught saying that he does not want people to own any of their games - he wants everyone to be basically renting them with a monthly subscription.
I feel like iPad created a walled garden for subscription based apps to thrive 😅🙂↕️
It all changed when Google retired the Don't Be Evil promise and no one said anything
Well, for the record, some of us said plenty!
Very true
Don’t be Evil was never about altruism. It was a marketing shot because Microsoft was the biggest tech company and was embroiled in antitrust lawsuits.
@@LV4EVRNever stopped!
Not sure how you never noticed but Apple has never been the 'good guy'. They over charge, are incredibly controlling, keep everyone in a walled garden and are very focused on keeping them trapped there. Anti competition, tons of scandals about poor treatment of workers, major fines for user data harvesting.. The only things they have going for them is convenience, and pretty looking devices. I'll admit they're pretty good when it comes to graphical designing but that's a very small portion of their sales and you could get a system just as good for less if you go with non apple and have some knowledge
honestly one of the most honest (art) tech reviewers, my go-to when it comes to info on art tech
Subscriptions are the worst creation
Agreed. I remember the days of the paid update. Development costs money. I totally get that. If the added features were attractive enough to part with the money, then you paid. Otherwise you continue using the old version, because I'd purchased that. It was an incentive to add features. I used to get excited every year about the next version of Pages. (Each version was $50-75 if I recall, but that was from an age before we had meltdowns over an app that cost $5.) Now... when was the last time I cared about a new update to Pages? The problem with subscriptions is the company isn't incentivized to actually to development. They've got your money and if you stop paying the software breaks. All they have to do is find a way to make their software critical for use. Oh well.
What about a hybrid model?
Procreate specifically is suffering from this.
Smaller monthly, and new version updated every 3 years??
3 year software maintenance promises.
Like if you just bought v4, they promise maintenance for 3 years, especially if v5 comes out, by the time v6 comes out V4 is at the end of promised maintenance?
But you pay $5 a month for usage, incentivizing maintenance and offline project backup maybe??
They’d want to sell you the next version in 3 years for $40 so they’d be incentivized to innovate?
Retrieving 80gb of Procreate backup from IOS backups has nearly deleted 6 years worth of work twice… lots of client tattoo designs poofed almost.
I love Procreate but its brushes are limited, it’s only 95% professional.
And there isn’t incentive to do better when the last time I bought anything from them was 8 years ago for $10.
Honestly, paid plugins or something would be better
@@ronaldbell7429 isn’t pages free with any Apple product? The whole iLife thing is included in your device. I agree with your sentiment. A good point is that people expect too much for too little. I love procreate, but it’s too cheap for what it is, and it’s giving people false expectations on what you should get for $20
I prefer to buy apps and then have the option of buying a new version with functions that can improve my workflow than paying monthly forever for an app that gets buggier with each update, subscriptions are terrible
Companies do not deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore. The bigger they are, the less we should trust them. The only reason large companies make seemingly user beneficial decisions is to draw more people in before doing what they actually want to do and start pushing that revenue. Allowing a new company to receive the benefit of the doubt is akin to trusting a wolf you just met because it hasn't bitten you yet. It's only a matter of time and I for one am tired of giving every new company to any space the benefit of the doubt anymore. The same thing is happening in games and I'm just tired of it.
I was with you until that last line. I trust Fromsoft, Larian and Supergiant Games. They will never sell out. oh and the stardew guy even though i dont really play it.
💯
You really can’t trust any business or govt. entity because at the end of the day profit remains king. That includes the individuals working at these companies. They know if they don’t bring in the cash they’ll be out on their arse. That happens when personal profit is the motivating force behind your economic system, it trickles down to everything and everybody.
Blender has kept me at ease for a while now. We need more open source stuff out there, because there's ZERO chance it will ever be a money-making scheme. And people love it enough to keep adding to it.
Now we need that for illustration, we need more of it for phone OSs.
Krita is fantastic open source painting program
On reddit at least Procreate did get the benefit of a doubt. The consensus was that it’s probably a mistake because being a single purchase has been a huge part of their brand, including with Dreams recently, so people wanted to wait and see. And thankfully it did turn out to be a mistake. But overall, good points
I really hope so. Because nowadays profitable companies get greedy and try to get more profit instead if lowering the cost so they can serve more people and be profitable at the same time
Procreate really painted themselves in a corner here with that statement. I will drop them when they go subscription, but I would totally pay for major upgrades. I have no regrets buying dreams, even though I find it uncomfortable to use compared to Callipeg. I bought it mainly to thank for their years of support for their main app.
I mean, so did Clip paint studio and here we are today
The notable one for me was Unity. It was like they took off the mask and I realized every company is wearing a mask with greedy little evil faces underneath.
Gimp/Inkscape/Krita and Blender communities like: Welcome guys!!!
Agree with every word you said. Your attitude is what keeps me coming back. Subscribed a long time ago, but without the monthly bill. Thank you!
This shift in perspective isn't about casting moral judgments on which companies are good or bad. It's more about recognizing the inherent contradictions of a system that requires all companies to constantly strive for eternal growth. It's becoming more and more apparent to people how unsustainable and frustrating that path is and I can't really say I disagree with them, even when their reactions seem overblown.
i dont disagree but try getting people to understand that the idea of retirement is unsustainable. it wont go over well. its so ingrained in fact that its illegal in some places to make decisions that put the consumer over the shareholders. even if you wanted to be good you legally couldnt.
@@TaverickMama "Shareholder value" is a common myth. There are plenty of books and online resources that cover this, some from universities.
This
This is the correct take.
Yeah, it's weird. Why _does_ a company need to grow necessarily? As long as all the staff and investors are getting paid. And they have a reasonable amount of cash reserves to spend on new projects, that's perfectly sustainable. What's so vital about expanding?
Graphic designers need an open source creative suite. Vector, raster and layout software all working together under one foundation, funded by designers.
Agreed. I like to dip my hands onto graphic design, but can’t seem to find a software that has half of the tools that illustrator has that is open source. :/
The error we used to make was to like and even defend the company because we liked the products. In the end, great as Illustrator, Kindle or the iPad can be, Adobe, Amazon, Apple and the others are still faceless multinationals that have greedy shareholders and are there to make money. They lured us all into thinking they are the products we love, but they're ultimately not.
Yes I do have a bright spot! Open Source platforms like Blender and places that these software are developed have laws protecting consumers. Blender would be GUTTED if they ever try to go super corporate because of how open source laws work from what I've researched. So what we need to do prioritize models that have a muuuchhh harder time flipping their model without legal backlash.
I am a cynic and I believe good people thrive when laws are in place as they aren't reliant on harming others to get ahead- like the Blender Foundation as they rely on good community based updates to stay relevant and I believe the people behind it are well intentioned and certain laws make it hard for non well-intentioned folks to stick their grubby hands in
The internet was founded on wanting freedom of access for people, so when you can- support some online efforts to make stuff accessible :) a lot of them take donations for their work
For creatives, I think this stems from the fact that it feels like tech companies are actively working to replace us. To me, crushing all of those tools felt like an implicit threat. More “we’re coming for you” than “look at all the cool things our new doodad can do”
Do you also think the Winzip icon means it's gonna shrink your furniture?
@@nmlss This is funny. But no, a better comparison would be the AVP feeling like it would make people less social.
After years of using Adobe products, and mainly Photoshop at that point, I made the hard decision to switch to Clip Studio Paint Pro when Adobe switched to their subscription model, I spent quite a while relearning new software as they were a buy once and own the software company, and for a while I loved Clip Studio Paint Pro, only for them to suddenly decide to switch to a subscription model too! I can't afford to keep switching software and have to re learn every few years. I'm a freelance illustrator and these software subscriptions cost too much.
You can buy a perpetual license for version 3 if you're okay with no incremental updates
I've been using CSP for about 6 years now. When the switch to subscription happened, I didn't have to pay anything. The software didn't change, and the fact that I had a lifetime license didn't change. If you like how CSP was when you used it, you don't have a reason to switch - unless you just really REALLY need those updates centered around AI gimmicks
@@surrcram He doesn't have to pay for anything if he got the license before they started doing subscriptions. It honestly felt like a scare tactic when i saw it on twitter,. But in reality nothing changed. If keeping your license is exclusive to EX buyers though then shame on me for the misinfo
@@theinktician perpetual licenses exists for both versions
I stayed on CS6. I don't need constant upgrades to my softwares, if they work I will use a 20 year old software. I am never doing those subscriptions.
I'm not mad at you Brad, this trend has been going on with tech companies and their mad dash for profit over whatever "good" they were founded on. It's in tech, the gaming world with massive layoffs nearly every week, to brick-and-mortar companies like Walmart and Target. Hell, look at Disney and their shenanigans. Consumers are simply learning and reacting to these companies are in it for their shareholders, regardless of what their PR offices say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Target? Why target?
Hey Brad, just want you to know that you are appreciated. You do an amazing job of sharing info on technology, in a positive and fun way. Part of why I got a Galaxy Tab S8+ was because of your reviews, and I constantly return to your channel because you give such a fun take on the different devices and softwares coming out. Looking forward to your review of the new iPads. Thank you for being so awesome. I hope you and anyone who reads this are doing well and have a wonderful day. 💙
Honestly, I wasn't really enraged when I first watched the "Crush" ad, just cringing a bit as I saw everything get destroyed, since, unlike most people, I did see the message that Apple was TRYING to convey with it. It wasn't until afterwards, when I noticed the massive negative response, and I remembered we're in the middle of this whole generative AI frenzy, that I realized how problematic the ad really was. I'm glad that Apple has at least apologized for it, but time will tell how sincere they really are about it.
At the same time, I agree that Apple's sudden constant use of the term "AI", after avoiding it for so long, makes it apparent that it's finally, unfortunately, caving to the AI-obsessed shareholders and their Welchian line-go-up demands. That said, I'm NOT looking forward to WWDC. 😬
("Welchian" refers to Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric during the 80's and 90's, who ran that company into the ground with his philosophy of catering solely to shareholders and screwing over everyone else)
"Catering to shareholders" is exactly the issue. Stock traders should never be considered "investors" because they aren't invested. They can and will pump and dump you in a heartbeat, and they have no skin in the proverbial game when it comes to long-term stability or customer loyalty.
Super appreciate your thoughtful take on this, it’s needed. Our responsibility sometimes goes beyond just accurately covering news/tech.
This is the exact scenario libre aka free open source software has been predicting and working to protect everyone from for decades. Everyone should take half the price that is requested by proprietary applications, and invest that money into the development of software like Krita, Inkscape, Blender and so on. Then watch how a team 100 times smaller produces 10 times more features with the same funding amount, and never screws you over because they are structured in a way that prevents predation rather than ensures it.
I never thought that the "Crush" advertisement was meant to provoke something AI related. I received it as like crushing those tools and compressing them down into an ipad. The message was the ipad is so versatile that you don't need too much bulky equipment now unlike digital art equipments back in the early days. No need for separate machines like PCs and pen displays. As for AI, Apple didn't really dive into AI just like Adobe did with all the generative stuff. Apple's AI models were all about efficiency in workflow. To help save time and money, not to help generate mostly artificial stuff that's coming from the backs of other artists. I don't hold Apple to such a high standard when it comes to ethics though but I'm still pretty optimistic that they will respect the creatives unlike adobe.
This is exactly how I feel, I got no idea how people see it as a way of attacking them.
The crushing videos with a machine have been so popular and they just wanted to use it as a way of also crushing it into an ipad.
The fact that people get so angry about this just blows my mind.
Do I dislike apple? Hell yeah, they make so many things hard in their own ecosystem for no other reason than just an F U to the consumer.
But this? People are absolutely cynical
You are absolutely right, that's because that's EXACTLY what that commercial was getting at, people just really read too much into it and found issues where there are none.
Same here. I saw the keynote live and all I thought is "all that can fit in an iPad that's thinner than ever". People really wanna get mad at everything for no reason.
The thing that annoyed me about that commercial is that it could’ve been the commercial for any iPad since the m1. It’s all running the same software
Yes! And many of the people complaining the loudest are the artists who would be the first to scream in outrage if someone dare even hint their artwork is “abusive” and “cruel”.
I guess Open Source is the way now..
I strongly and fully believe in open source software like Blender or Penpot. I consider software and companies like Affinity or Procreate to be more or less cut from this cloth by going against the grain of subscription and AI. So those would be my bright spots that come to mind immediately.
People need to learn what the phrase “malicious intent” means. Also “AI” or “machine learning” have been a core of Apple’s technology since like 2015, maybe even when Siri was introduced. People just see Those two letters and go feral, and I completely understand the fear of AI and the recent AI trends and practices, job security, and the future, however, this just seems so misguided and I think this is a situation where people are so high strung what think is an attack is in no way an attack at all. The iPad in that keynote (if anyone bothered to watch it) was made for creatives through and through. It’s not a MacBook and it’s not a phone, it’s a device they want people to use, creatives to use, to make art/videos/music.
So yes hard agree with you Brad, I appreciate your level headedness with this situation.
i agree with you.. the ad was ok. ai is a tool. leverage. people will find things to complain about.
Greed, scamming, screwing over, the brands that adapted these practices were almost all. But people thought "Why not scamming back?". And this was the beginning of great pirate age.
“Changed to Cynicism”? Haha no, it changed straight up to GRIFT. Any company would use a chance to screw you over for a quick profit. Cynicism is such a polite word for what’s currently going on with corporations. Grifting has became a new norm, because there is no downside to this, only profit. Users are no longer regarded as clients, they are a product. Increase pricing, add ridiculous paywalls, make login and subscribtion mandatory, make them pay for cancelling subscription or make it impossible to cancel quickly, and sell their data. Why bother, people will pay up anyway.
Their real clients are their own wallets and investors, as long as money keep flowing and nobody is raising an alarm, nothing will ever change. And that’s just depressing.
I feel like the only bright spot in the future is open source - softwares like blender in the 3d graphic world or godot in game dev. I recently watched video on chanel "brackeys" (the video is about game dev but also about open source as a future of software) and then i watched some other videos and I saw how quickly blender went from really bad program (not as bad for the time idk) to a frickin awesome and lets say it, probably in the future industry standard xd. and it really opened my eyes and informed me of how important it is to support free and open source programs from the start and I know that in the world of graphic design we don't have "the" software yet but future might not be as dark as it seems xd
It wasn’t quick. Blender has been approachable for about 5, maybe 7 years now; its UI was publicly derided as awful for almost 15. Godot is great, in the same way that Inkscape or Krita is great-a usable repository of commodity functionality, but always behind the cutting edge.
Open source will not save you.
Blender taking over from Maya as an industry standard? Highly doubtful….
@@midnightfuture Open source has already saved you.
Ask Affinity what library they use to do color conversions (it's open source littleCMS2)
Ask Adobe what library they use for text layout (it's open source HarfBuzz)
The only difference between that and Inkscape, Blender and Krita, is that you get to have the benefits directly (and also the responsibilities) instead of some corporation who gets to use free software, but never seems to let you have any.
Ultimately demand driven software development requires users to be more engaged with the makers of their tools.
Love your friendly, entertaining and informative videos. So refreshing to have an optimistic attitude.
My bright spot is open source programs, inkscape is the future, krita is the future, gimp is the future.
I'm coming from the 3d world, where the biggest companies scape their users over the coals, and the companies that did have great products and good business models (zbrush, substance) sold out and changed to the usual subscription model. The only product I trust at all is opensource stuff.
Heeello Blender and MMD
@@repeekyraidceroMMD is source available the og dev abandoned it years ago
Your positivity, and overall happy natured reviews made you who you are in the youtube space. 844k subscribers and fans across the world are here because you are who you are. Dont let the world dictate your content, your optimism is a light in a world where negativity, hate, and greed have built a cloud over the good. Just keep being you my man dont change!
Well said!
Totally agree. There's a reason why you're my go-to guy to review graphic tablets I know I have no need for (since I already have mine) but I keep coming coz your reviews are entertaining and you're a cool guy !
Apple has lost the goodwill of people. From being the underdog innovator to the flattrack bully
I went from a _huge fan_ to _never again_ due to hardware that's difficult or impossible to upgrade. Years later, I have to admit that I actually _prefer_ Windows. (However, if Affinity every comes to Linux... 🤔)
I’m thinking I’m going PC 16” Samsung 2 in 1.
I think it’s time for me to grow up…
iPad isn’t the FULLY professional illustration tool I need if I want to be more serious about illustration instead of tattooing.
Nah they earned their place- the other options besides Apple have ALWAYS been dogshit- I've tried android devices many times and all are just bad
@@pb5335 android devices range from 100 dollars to over 1000 dollars. You prolly used the cheap ones.
Yeah, Apple became a shitty company but not yet as shitty as Samsung or Microsoft so I’m stuck with them, I hated that commercial more than anybody but the iPad still is my favorite gadget, even more than any phone
Great video as always, man. Really love how you always communicate your ideas directly and honestly. It shows.
Thanks for being “that” guy. I appreciate your positive outlook. So much of the tech industry feels cynical, it’s nice to see a optimistic but realistic viewpoint. I believe that there are still people in the industry that are trying to make mutually beneficial business decisions. At the end of the day, we are all just people and tech is a tool.
Your optimism over the years is why I subscribed. I like when people try to be objective.
Developers can pledge anything, but the thing is that they are not in control over their software and business model. Next year Canva will say that Affinity should be subscription only, and what do they do? Revolt? Protest? Canva will fire them and find new team for developing incremental updates for Affinity software in no time.
I really wish Procreate came to desktop, even if at a higher price point, as long it isn't subscription based.
It’s supposed to, no news of it’s Mac only yet though
@@christianr.5868 actually the creator confirmed on twitter/x that procreate on desktop is in works but it will be Mac exclusive no pc
Why would you want that? Procreate is amazing for the iPad because it was built from scratch as a pencil first interface, for mac you have other even better options but drawing on Mac even on a wacom doesn’t feel as natural
@@aoterou maybe he doesn’t want an ipad
@@christianr.5868what artist doesn’t want an iPad?
Brad, I'd rather people be wary of every step big tech companies make than to let them be taken advantage of. If we just accept and remain bright-eyed at every decision these big wigs make then we would find ourselves be in a position to be milked for all we got. I get you want to be positive for your channel but these companies aren't our friend, they are service providers. And they will go where the most profit is.
Well done Brad! You hit the nail on the head. This is trying times for creatives with regards to software and devices and subscriptions and AI.
Is there a bright spot in all of this? Well, you are certainly one of them. Keep up the good work and let’s hope that when I get my new Tandem OLED iPad Pro it doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night and crush my trumpet!
I find it annoying we live in times of extremes. In software terms, things are mostly open source or subscription. If it’s not there yet, the software you are using is going that direction. I don’t even thing Adobe is the most evil in this. When they switched it was a super expensive software package and if you didn’t update frequently enough your software ended up incompatible with files made in newer versions. Their subscription is actually cheaper than constantly updating. If you have a $800 app going $20 a month is an easier pill to swallow than what Clip studio is doing. The happy medium is just charging for updates and not have your old app switch off if you don’t pay it. Artists revenue stream is all over the place and having a regular monthly bill isn’t ideal.
The bright spot is probably happening in the games business. Looks like indie one off purchase games aren’t experiencing the pain triple A games are. And those predatory experiences might be slowly coming to an end. Hope this trickles down to art apps.
Thank you for the well-rounded approach
You're doing fine, Brad. Keep up the good work. And thanks for what you've done so far.
Great video- Apple has enough cash to literally do anything they want. And the only thing they seem to want to do is take 30% of sales. Innovation has made way to investor demands. Clearly they have lost their crazy ones.
Not a "bright spot" necessarily, but maybe something positive we can work towards to make things better...
👏Support open source! 👏
👏Support open source! 👏
👏Support open source! 👏
Try something new, like Krita! Even if it's not your cup of tea, or doesn't work for your process, drop the project team of your choice a few dollars if you can anyway, and give the team feedback on what will make it work for you! The only things that keeps projects like Krita back are lack of funding and resources.The enthusiasm is there! And who knows, you might find a new program you like :)
That's so interesting Brad. I've considered Apple the Tech Bad Guys for decades now. I think Apple lost their way a very long time ago.
Agreed. I stopped buying iPhone, and being an Apple fanboy, back when the iPhone 5 came out and the apple marketing machine tried to convince me to buy it because of the "Chamfered edge".
It was a "hang on a minute" moment. From that point on, everything Apple said felt patronising and manipulative.
I bought the first iPad Pro solely because of Procreate.
I feel like way too many people overreacted at the crush ad. But in regards to privacy, Apple should not be trusted. Their privacy policy almost identical to Google's including the fact that they both don't sell your data, but can use your data to target ads towards you. Its just that Google is more more transparent about it.
I'm a professional digital colorist for DC and Marvel for the last decade or so and have been using Photoshop for as long as I can remember. When Adobe decided that it's subscription time, I went along with it because it's only a fraction of my page rate. If I keep working on at least one book each month, surely I can pay the subscription easily. But not all artists can, and understandably a lot of them abandoned PS once Procreate proofed to be a worthy replacement. If only Procreate is accessible on PC, can handle multiple open files, and able to convert RGB to CMYK for printing, I might also cross to the other side of the fence. But right now, I'm truly dependent on Photoshop and Adobe's subscription system. And for the most part, I'm fine with it because I can afford it.
And then Adobe introduced AI integration in their creative suit. Of course I don't want to give money to a company that might as well kill their own customers after stealing their artwork, but what options do I have? Sure this AI thing has not yet affected my income as a comic colorist, but for how long? What if in the next two years they created an algorithm that can easily color a black and white art into a good enough fully rendered page for professional use? What do I do then? IDK man, I truly don't know.
Keep at it man! You are doing great work 😊👍👊
We learnt this as kids, in the form of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Moral of the story there and here IRL? Don’t muck around with trust.
IMO this situation is at least in part we have willingly traded trust for seeming gains. Everyone’s poisoning the well and trying to get away with it, after getting theirs. Just we do with our actual rivers and oceans. We dump it all in and let it be someone else’s problem.
It’s just not smart to mess around with trust. We might think we’re clever for a moment for hoodwinking, abusing, taking advantage of the trust that’s there but it’s really not that clever at all. Just as it is to kick into mutual nuclear annihilation - nobody wins, everyone loses.
As artists, creatives, IMO we have a position in this. Choices we can make. No clickbaits, no posturing, no stealing, no hidden sponsorships; making art that speaks to the truth of things. Let the scrupulous business folks dismiss us, we’ll go about our work quietly, relentlessly. We may not change everything all on our own but we do have the opportunity nonetheless to make a change.
It’s like a never-ending fight of good and evil. The evil is constantly trying to get you. You want to follow the path of the good? You can’t just sit and expect that nothing will change. You always need to be on the move. You must be willing to let go what becomes spoiled.
We love you Brad!❤
This is why I continually look for linux based apps, and install linux if possible. At least there is still GIMP. With a recent mac os upgrade, my Huion drawing monitor stopped working, and whoops, it is just out of warranty. so now it is just a monitor.
In 2024 ALL my old colleagues who worked as illustrators for decades have changed jobs (with lots of sadness and difficulties involved) and deleted all their work from the internet. I think that says a lot. The distrust on tech-companies in widely spread and I think a lot of people nowadays only feel safe working with open-source software with no links at all to AI.
Something that most of us agree upon is that nobody feels safe publishing their work online anymore or investing money on software/hardware. And companies like Affinity are also to blame. If Procreate ends up switching to a subscription model, which I guess will happen very soon (I don't believe for a second that was typo), that might be the last drop for illustrators.
I'm glad you still try to see the optimistic side of things, even in a time where all companys just want to take advantage of creators. Even though I didn't like that part of the ipad ad where they crushed the instruments and art supplies, I felt like they were crushing the artists and I can see most people felt that way too, I still think the iPad is a great tool and wanna upgrade to the big iPad Air, but everything happening in the art industry has been so depressing lately...
The one bright spot I can see in the Affinity acquisition is that Canva isn't a publicly traded company. It doesn't have to maximize profits for shareholders at the expense of their users. Maybe that means Affinity's pricing model can be maintained.
People seem to forget about this fact
Please continue to be you Brad. It’s refreshing. People just have bad attitudes or want to be upset about things. Unfortunately that’s just how things are now. A lot of people have the “everyone/everything is out to get me” going on. Keep it up. I’ve always enjoyed your videos.
I edited this to also say, it’s crazy that this is happening to creators in other spaces as well. One of my favorite channels “BigFry” continues to run into the same issue with his audience. It’s nuts. He just made a video about it a few weeks ago.
you can buy a refurbished iPad Pro (12.9") base model (last gen - M2 Processor) for the same price as the new 13" iPad Air. The new base Pro is now $2000 (Canadian) plus the cost of the new Pro Pencil (if you want it), because from what i can tell, the 2nd Gen Pencil doesn't work with it. We're at the point where so many things are now out of the reach of most people (cost-wise) unless you go into debt for them. I'm so disappointed with the state of digital art that I've gone back to doing more actually-analogue (like pencil, paint, canvas) things and less digital. Another example of late stage capitalism. Even McDonalds has basically done everything they can to increase their appeal to more people, and they're at the point where the only thing they can do now to make more money is to charge more. It feels like that everywhere. It's disheartening. Personally, I appreciate your optimism, Brad - there's not a lot out there right now.
You were obviously not purchasing any computer hardware in 1999 when 128MB of memory cost $270. Talk about being out of reach cost-wise. Today’s prices are ridiculously cheap comparatively.
Never been a fan of Apple. Their bad pricing, their closed ecosystem, their pathetic attempts at supporting right to repair, and marketing features others have created as new.
That said, the commercial is still a nothingburger to me. It is reflective of people's increasing distrust for corporations for sure, but people were acting like the commercial represented destruction when it was just a hyperbolic way to show distillation of all those kinds of creation devices into a tiny square. Same hyperbole they use approach with all their products in whatever grandiose fashion they wanna present them, but the iPad is the only exciting thing they produce IMO. It's their restrictive operating system on them that is the biggest roadblock.
I just wanna plug my iPad into a Windows laptop, have it act as a second display with pressure sensitivity so I can sculpt in Blender and texture in Substance Painter at this point.
It's important to understand the subtext that the ad presents, intentional or not.
It all boils down to the compression of value into a device, but it's presented so poorly that it reads as the destruction of value instead.
Don't agree with the point about Apple not being as bad when it comes to enshitification. Insane prices for extra RAM and storage which can not be upgraded later and costly repairs where you basically only have the option to get it done by them because of parts pairing. They do it, they just don't it on a subscription basis
Thank you for sharing. Have a good time.
To me frameWork laptops have been a bright spot, I have loved the 13 inch and they seem committed to keep pushing reparability and ownership back to the consumer.
Thanks Brad. Please stay optimistic
I am a very big tech forward guy, always believing in advancements to make people's life easier and enable them to do whatever they want. In recent years even I am kind of taken aback with certain tech trends to the point where honestly I feel like just becoming totally disconnected from it all.
I think the tech space is being ruined by insane greed cause by like "hyper-capitalistic" mindsets. Nobody's satisfied with any amount of money they have EVEN IF they're multi billionaires and money practically means nothing to them at that level. Being rewarded for your work and efforts are one thing but continuously driving the nails in the coffin of your customers has gotten to insane levels
I’m a software engineer, and let me tell you we have no say on what the marketing teams do or what upper management does. See what happened with Unity or what Elon is doing with Tesla. Sadly, we are in a neo-feudalism economy now, very few companies are free of investments coming from the same sources.
Right on point. Even open-source software is being bought up and enshittified (to milk users or ditch private use for commercial clients). The last bastion it seems is community driven free and open-source software. There are alternatives to most software we use. Support them before the last maintainer is gone
Brad, keep up the great work!
It’s not a subscription model. It’s a protection racket model.
As I'm watching this, nodding, a bit of my brain keeps rummaging around in the debris in there, shouting 'ok but how can we make things better then? is it us, as artists and users who do something, or do we keep looking for someone else to?'
I wish I had answers, but I'm gonna let that bit keep searching until we do.
It’s up to us. No one will care about our problems as much as we do. Big or small, I’m sure we can each think of a way to not go along with the nonsense. A small example- fast food is getting more expensive and is just meh in flavor. So I bought frozen patties from Costco. The same amount of time it takes to drive, order, and go home I could use cooking it and then enjoy a hot meal (I can’t eat in the car due to dental trays) that tastes better and costs less. For art - I will happily learn gimp or Inkscape. I used to use ms paint back in the day , so I’m not afraid of losing bells and whistles. You should see what can be done with just a pencil. We do not have to lay down and take the nonsense. Sorry for the essay. I’ll get off my soapbox now. 😊
@@asimmons6936 not at all, friend. I do things like this already, but as someone who designs, and codes for a living, I keep trying to think of a way to create something that won’t fall into the corporation trap. Is that even possible, isn’t that how Affinity started too? Is everything just doomed to repeat the same cycle, and up to us to just keep creating the little things that get bought out by the larger fish? I want to make the software and design the creations that artists *use*, and I know it’s in my head somewhere. I keep feeling like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t seem to spit it out.
I’ll let you know if I do though lol
Love your honesty, Brad. Depressing video but much appreciated it.
From my perspective I think some of the cynicism really hit hard from 2020 and many losing their jobs. For some these were stable and safe jobs but their employers threw them under the bus. The good guy company met its end there because some (not all) showed how little they cared for their employees.
This has trickled down into customers such as myself where I think “you are not happy unless you’ve got a stable income coming out of me.”
As an artist I feel like the technology being developed at the moment is trying to replace me or as I and others have seen with subscriptions being paywalled.
We need more open source alternatives like what Penpot is to Figma. We can't and shouldnt trust companies with investors.
Anybody else think of that early 2000's Sony Vaio commercial where the guy puts like 100 things on the airport x-ray conveyer belt and a Vaio laptop comes out the other side? I feel like that's what the Apple AD was supposed to be read... but it certainly wasn't...
There are so many ways to convey the concept that the iPad is thin and contains multitude of creative tools and capabilities. The option they chose - destruction porn - was the worst they could have gone with.
Keep up your optimism! Plenty of other places to get cynicism. Have been watching you since your early Surface Pro days
I recently got ceushed by .Microsoft/Xbox going full corporate after the acquisition of Activision/Blizzard
For a whole year, half of the internet was raging that Microsoft were going to bend gamers over with this acquisition.
The other half, my half, scoffed at this paranoia. Microsoft, as Xbox, have been the good guys of gaming for maybe 8 years now
Oh, the egg on our collective faces right now
Thanks Brad. BTW, I appreciate your positive attitude. God bless you sir:-)
I think I've been impartial to the whole situation with the iPad advertising because I've pretty much ignored all the AI stuff as well as Mac and iPad products. Then again, I'm just a novice Blender user so I don't think I have a say in any of this. It could be the fact that I haven't looked closely at anything like the "Subscription required" text that I don't feel emotional or anything after watching the commercial of crushing all the objects.
The state of the world and people's reaction to it is definitely something that would hurt the optimist in anyone.
The bright spot I would offer is that our awareness of this is a sign that people continue to look out for each other (so that not everyone has to look over their shoulder all the time) and hope for something better. It's kind of a sign of society's immune system to societal abuses and we can be relieved that it's good and healthy.
Collectively, we can't keep these companies honest on our behalf by pretending, after all the evidence that comes out over and over, that there aren't actual people planing and doing bad things to make things better for themselves and worse for everyone else.
And we can't build a better world by forgiving every act of a messed up society and genuine greed as "oh, it's just the system. everyone does it" until there's nothing left of the world for us to pass on to the people after us.
Some people swim in cynicism so such that it genuinely destroys them. But just because some people OD in it doesn't mean, at some point, their point of view wasn't an important part of a productive truth that we should have worked towards together.
I like that they filmed in a climbing gym. Movement in San Francisco. Great gym. So, uh, that part was nice.
The cynicism is everywhere, I’ve seen it in ttrpgs, wargames, knitting, local politics.
There’s a crazy amount of negative psychic energy everywhere, and I’m the optimist in my groups and friends try to blackpill me. But I refuse to be swallowed by “the misery” I just need to be aware of it. Keep the faith Brad, these things ebb and flow
I finally settled with my crippling depression and I’ve become an optimist, but it doesn’t mean I’m being delusional of the negative aspects of things. Ignore everyone that says optimism doesn’t bring an actual change. Also, one thing I’ve noticed is that most people avoid genuine discussion, and that’s sad.
I appreciate your good-faith approach and your constant positivity. It’s a wink of light in a dark landscape of cynicism. Keep it up!
I'm glad attitudes are shifting this way, it's long overdue. Corporations have too much power over us and we need to start fighting back instead of bootlicking.
It carries over to gaming and streaming services. Even activism, or "rainbow capitalism." People are so done, and I'm here for it. Tear it all down.
I'm all in favour of mixed economies, which means I'm a bit of a regulated capitalism enjoyer, but we've been sleepwalking ourselves into corporatism. So much so, in fact, that corporate speak is taking over honest conversation between normal people. It has to stop.
Even if I don’t agree with your takes 100% of the time Brad, I always trust you’re coming from a good honest point of view and over the years I think you have more than demonstrated a willingness to learn and grow.
I think the positive I would take away from this is that collectively artists do have some power, we can force a company like Apple to apologise for some rubbish messaging. It is right to be disappointed by corporate consolidation and exploitation. But to give up hope is to give up the ability to wish for better, to push for better.
Very solid points, brother
the bright spot maybe that the consumer is waking up to the sales ploy and actually voting with their money. I'm still using photoshop 7.0 for some of my basic tasks and free software for the rest when I can. It may seem unproductive, but I don't need to be as productive without that massive subscription over head.
Using only free software is also a problem. Who is going to innovate if there is no incentive? Open source is not a long term solution. I think Blender is an amazing software, but I’m scared to be too reliant on it. It’s blind faith to think this is sustainable.
Why I like supporting apps like Affinity or paying the perpetual license if available like on Callipeg. Someone made something I use, and I pay for their time making it. Like I accept to be paid for my work.
Completely agreed. The negativity against Apple's crusher ad is the cumulative hate we all have for how poorly consumers are treated after they've helped build a company to an IPO. Twenty years ago, nobody would have reacted that way. The sci-fi writers of the the '60's, '70's and '80's were absolutely right about our dystopian journey where big business consumes society, the 1% thrives on the backs of everyone else, and its all perfectly legal.
💯agree with much of what you have said. It’s the times man; doing a number on people these days. You’re the man, man. Keep doing things your way. ✌️
Keep being that positive guy, people will even com up with médio stuff like “toxic positivity” to bring you down but don’t listen to them
Best model : first (stable) version free with inportant basic features
Access to extra resources or features or improvement ones which lessen the time taken to complete a work need to be purchased once
What is up with apple and releasing just tone deaf commercials for every other ipad pro refresh??? LIKE COME ON APPLE
What was the last one?
@@terribletimes902 iPad pro m1 I think. They had a child actor say "what's a computer?", a commercial in a universe where desktops/laptops do not exist
@@JeskidoYTdude that was like 8 years ago
@@ThomasJarvis117 6 years but even still. how do they not have a tone-optics PR team?
@@JeskidoYTI’d be fine if they actually committed and made the iPad a decent laptop replacement. But nope, all of the hardware, with not much software
Sorry people, but what are u expecting in late stage capitalism?
Not yet "last stage"
@@Moonluki Yeah maybe, but each and every company has to bow the dynamics sooner or later. We can romanticize some of em, but one day they all have to adapt.
I enjoy your content and your optimism and I hope it doesn’t change. But, I’ve always been waiting for Affinity to go to a subscription model simply because I didn’t understand how they could keep their company going with all the amazing software they produce but only charging such a small amount for it.
tech distopya is the new norm in syllicon valley, even the mindset of 'we are doing it for the good of you all my users'
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! ❤
my only issue is the destruction of the stuff. if it was real that is factually wasteful. unless they got stuff that was somehow deemed unfixable and designated for destruction like termite ridden or something. but even then alot of that still looked good and fixable. i only hope they least sent it off to a recycling center or something
Ha, took me a minute to get to this comments section Brad, as my fat fingers tried to navigate an "enshittified" UA-cam UI that thinks I should be looking at ads and sponsored content inatead. Having become frustrated with Clip Studio's arcane pricing model, and a mobile app that is tethered to an internet connection, I feel the only bright spot is open source. We have to find ways to help those ptojects become sustainable, through public and private finance.
“enshittified” should become an official word.
When you said Apple being a good guy tech company, I cringed man! Their stance on right to repair, their app store policies, and their general approach to hardware and software 'open-ness' is extremely anti-consumer.
Yea but let’s be honest no real consumer cares about that. They should but they don’t. Most are happy to drive to an Apple Store where they get a guaranteed good repair instead of the shady old looking computer shop around the corner that does all these “cheap” devices. (Perception does matter). Even if it is totally overpriced and they just give u a new phone instead of actually repairing.
The tech world on UA-cam isn’t the average consumer.
You're not overstating. Being positive and optimistic is great and is the type of qualities people gravitate towards to. Don't let negativity drag you down. Mysery likes mysery and creating more mysery. You aren't that and it's clear. (A netizen **wants** you to be more negative? lol that's dumb.) I don't usually comment on your videos but I do watch all of them, since you're my go to for new "art tech" news, features, etc. I like your positive attitude and how you cover all aspects about a tablet, a program, a new pen etc. So what if netizens or Apple are into cinicism? Cinicism doesn't last, it's doom and gloom, and doesn't create. It doesn't innovate. It doesn't fix. It doesn't solve. It doesn't move forward. You, (brad) my friend, move forward, and I like that about you. I'm sure I'm not the only one.