WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.839 As tech enthusiasts and gamers, are we not all sick and tired of being punching 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:12.960 bags? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean, not only does it feel like 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:17.520 truly innovative new gadgets are few and far between these days, but the prices 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:23.199 for them have gone from expensive to ridiculous faster than a cod lobby turns 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:28.080 racist. And the worst part, the worst part is the reason for it. These chips 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:32.880 that are supposed to be affordable aren't because they're being hoarded by 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:38.480 a bunch of jackasses for the sole purpose of creating the giant slob 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:41.200 creature that's trying to take our jobs. 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:46.640 Is there any good news? [sighs] Yes, there is a lot of bad stuff 00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:50.960 happening right now, but a part of the problem is the way that rage bait 00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:55.360 generates more clicks, incentivizing negative news to spread. And so I think 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:00.640 it's more important than ever [music] to take a step back and appreciate some of 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.920 the positive things happening in tech because there's actually a lot more 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:07.920 happening than most of us probably realize. For starters, some really smart 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:13.600 creators have demonstrated how unsustainable the current AI bubble is, 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:18.720 which gives me real hope that while AI and some form is clearly here to stay, 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:24.320 this dystopian tech bro infinite money glitch dumpster fire isn't. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:28.400 And there are even upsides to some of the things that get us down. No one 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:34.079 likes waiting longer for a new console or a GPU, but everyone likes it when 00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:38.720 developers optimize their new games for those older systems, especially when the 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:43.520 broader economy is suffering. And while Microsoft seems determined to make 00:01:40.479 --> 00:01:45.040 Windows 11 as crappy as possible, in the 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:50.000 background, the year of the Linux desktop is quickly turning from a meme 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:55.336 into a reality. Just like I'm turning this Segue into our sponsor. 00:01:53.316 --> 00:02:01.040 [laughter] Do you hear that? 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:06.416 That's the sound of all the people that had to help me set up my new Rove Lab M1 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:08.436 sofa. [laughter] 00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:16.080 Yes. [laughter] Oh, you know, it's easy to get lost in 00:02:13.760 --> 00:02:20.480 the recent headlines and overlook just how much cheaper consumer technology has 00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:24.560 actually become compared to just about any other time in my life. I mean, it's 00:02:22.720 --> 00:02:28.160 tempting for us to think, well, of course there'll be a new chip next year 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.959 that's better in every way and also less expensive. But my recent factory tours 00:02:30.720 --> 00:02:38.000 over in Asia really opened my eyes to the incredible talent. Not to mention 00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:44.319 the R&D expense that goes into making everything from tiny SSDs to giant TVs 00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:48.480 as affordable as possible for us. I mean, look at this glue robot for 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:54.720 instance. They built this for the express purpose of saving just a few 00:02:51.200 --> 00:02:57.599 pennies per TV. That doesn't sound like 00:02:54.720 --> 00:03:02.400 much, but it's this kind of obsessive optimization that has enabled flat 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:05.280 screen TVs to completely defy inflation 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:11.040 for decades now in spite of ever rising materials and labor costs. So, when 00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:15.519 people ask me, how do you keep your joy and enthusiasm for tech? That's the 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:20.159 first thing I think of. Even more broadly, as the price of food, fuel, and 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.760 housing has skyrocketed relative to earnings, consumer tech items like VR 00:03:23.040 --> 00:03:31.280 headsets, cell phones, game consoles, cameras, and gaming PCs have continually 00:03:28.959 --> 00:03:35.200 leveled up in their capabilities while staying within [music] or at least 00:03:32.959 --> 00:03:40.640 pretty close to their traditional price bands. And that's even after the insane 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:44.799 pricing surges that we've seen in GPUs and more recently the RAM apocalypse. 00:03:43.519 --> 00:03:49.840 Look, I'm not going to tell you everything is as affordable as I'd like 00:03:46.720 --> 00:03:51.599 it to be or as it should be. I literally 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:57.439 just wrote a video about how awful the RAM situation is. But I do think part of 00:03:55.200 --> 00:04:04.080 the path to greener mental pastures is reminding ourselves that a dollar buys a 00:04:00.239 --> 00:04:06.959 lot more tech today than it ever has. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:13.519 Today, you can build an $800 gaming PC with a 12 GB GPU that will handle 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:16.239 high-end 1080p and even 1440p gaming. 00:04:13.519 --> 00:04:22.800 And that includes a free copy of Battlefielding 6. In 1993, that would 00:04:20.320 --> 00:04:27.440 have gotten you, let's see, not even this PC that was so mind-bogglingly 00:04:25.280 --> 00:04:31.280 affordable that the LA Times wrote an article about it. Obviously, I 00:04:29.440 --> 00:04:35.040 understand that that is not an apples to apples comparison. Back then, an entire 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:38.960 family would have shared that one computer. But the modern world demands 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:44.400 everyone have access to their own device to function now. But hey, if you're only 00:04:42.080 --> 00:04:50.080 after basic functionality, the price floor goes even lower. Chromebooks, they 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:54.560 might not be the sexiest thing, but they are regularly available at prices that 00:04:52.080 --> 00:05:01.759 would allow a family of five to each have their own device for what is still 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:03.440 less than that 1993 PC. And that's even 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:07.919 ignoring inflation. >> Of course, not everyone wants a 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:15.039 Chromebook. So, what about the enthusiast here? Same thing. Here's an 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:18.479 ultimate 4K gaming build that we did 11 00:05:15.039 --> 00:05:21.680 years ago. By basically every single 00:05:18.479 --> 00:05:24.000 measure, modern buyers have it better. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:29.120 here. Without putting any work or research into this, I can just click on 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:30.880 magnificent AMD gaming/streaming PC on 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:35.919 the front page of PC part picker [music] and get a machine that's over $1,000 00:05:33.520 --> 00:05:40.240 less and is better in every conceivable way. Sometimes I think we get a little 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:45.039 lost in the sauce when it comes to performance expectations. There are 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:50.000 absolutely poorly optimized titles. Looking at you, City Skylines 2. But in 00:05:48.080 --> 00:05:55.840 general, I think we have to come to accept that 8 million pixels is a lot. 00:05:53.520 --> 00:06:00.240 It was hard to drive then and it's hard to drive now, especially as gamers 00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:05.199 expectations for lighting and visual fidelity continue to grow. The PC gaming 00:06:02.880 --> 00:06:08.160 industry has smacked us around a little, but [music] it's by and large been 00:06:07.039 --> 00:06:13.600 pretty good to us. >> And we're not just talking about the hardware. I picked up a copy of an older 00:06:11.919 --> 00:06:19.440 AA game the other day so that my daughter and I could play it together. 00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:21.280 It was under $5. Truly, glory be to Gay 00:06:19.440 --> 00:06:25.840 Ben, who hath blessed us with his winter sale bounty. And okay, yeah, not 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:31.120 everyone wants to play a 17-year-old strategy game. But how about this? I 00:06:28.479 --> 00:06:36.560 also just picked up Expedition 33, the literal game of the year for just over 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:39.440 $40. I mean, when I was a kid, I paid 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:43.840 $50 for Pilot Wings, which would barely even qualify as a Mario Party miniame 00:06:41.440 --> 00:06:49.759 these days. And I get that this might come across a little bit back in my day, 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:55.280 but I [music] do generally stand behind my belief that gaming is pound-for-pound 00:06:52.960 --> 00:06:59.280 the best value entertainment that you can buy. Five out of six of the game of 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:04.240 the year nominees this year can be had for less than $50. And each of them will 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:08.720 last you many hours. And that's something we should take a moment to 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:12.240 appreciate. Do it. Drop a little note to your favorite indie game developer. I'm 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:17.599 sure it's going to brighten their day. I picked Radical Fish. 00:07:14.479 --> 00:07:19.759 So, mathematically then, there's a 00:07:17.599 --> 00:07:23.440 pretty easy case that we shouldn't be mad at the talented people who create 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:31.280 the products and experiences that we love so much. And yet, we are mad. We're 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:33.360 super mad. So, why is that? 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:38.319 Well, that's going to be a deep one to unpack because it is both kind of hard 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:43.759 to justify as we've demonstrated already and yet still also completely 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:47.520 understandable. Let's talk about that. I don't know about you, but my housing 00:07:45.520 --> 00:07:54.160 costs have gone from less than 20% of my monthly expenses to above 40%. So, sure, 00:07:51.599 --> 00:07:59.199 yeah, my Xbox controller might cost the same as it did 18 years ago, but the 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:04.080 share of my disposable income that I can allocate to it is being chipped away on 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:07.599 all sides. And I recognize that I am one of the lucky ones. I didn't go into 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:11.120 major debt for school. My parents gave me a deal on my first car, and I stayed 00:08:09.599 --> 00:08:16.240 healthy enough that I've never missed more than a couple days of work for a hockey injury, you know, here or there. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:22.800 When you feel like things have gotten harder, it's not your imagination and it 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:26.800 sure as hell isn't your avocado toast. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:29.360 You are right to be tired of hearing um 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:35.440 actually it's not more expensive if you account for inflation. Yes, inflation is 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:40.399 part of the equation, but it doesn't tell the whole story. And it can also be 00:08:37.839 --> 00:08:45.600 a way to justify the rising cost of everything and normalize 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:51.360 corporate greed that directly affects wages. A better measure of affordability 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:53.600 over time is consumer buying power, 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:58.959 which has fallen behind inflation for decades. Couple that with corporate 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:04.480 consolidation and the new threat of AI, it's no wonder people are at their 00:09:00.959 --> 00:09:06.720 breaking points. But I do want to make 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:11.200 sure that we're not muddling our passion for technology and our anger about the 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:14.959 state of the world. Let's look at the affordability of tech a different 00:09:12.826 --> 00:09:19.839 [music] way by tracking it relative to wage growth, which is broadly considered 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:26.640 a more representative measure than just raw inflation. According to Fred, from 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:30.080 1995 to 2024, there was just over a 40% 00:09:26.640 --> 00:09:32.640 increase in real median personal income. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:38.320 That means that if we compare the $300 launch price of the PS1 to the current 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:44.880 price of the PS5, we're actually tracking pretty damn close. Not with 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.760 inflation, but with realworld wage 00:09:44.880 --> 00:09:50.000 increases. [music] Yes, I know that the base PS5 doesn't 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:56.240 come with a Blu-ray drive, free cloud saves, or even online play, but neither 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:58.080 did the PS1. And it's not hard to find 00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:03.920 similar examples where the tech industry has come through for us, delivering more 00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:05.680 value over time rather than less. It's 00:10:03.920 --> 00:10:10.640 also not that hard to find areas where we've been let down. Though hard gotcha 00:10:09.040 --> 00:10:13.519 mechanics and in-game gambling have created financial incentives for 00:10:12.160 --> 00:10:19.440 developers to prey on people with addictive personalities, which is something I fell victim to. I actually 00:10:16.880 --> 00:10:25.360 opened up about it on WAN Show. It really sucks. With that said, I might 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:31.200 just be the biggest PS1 fanboy this side of Pluto. And even I will literally slap 00:10:29.040 --> 00:10:34.959 anyone who says that it provides a better overall experience for most 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:40.079 people than a PS5. [music] It was incredible. It was influential. 00:10:37.920 --> 00:10:45.120 It was my personal favorite. But let's be honest, the PS5 library has way more 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:50.560 games that people want to play today. And while few of them are PS5 titles in 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:56.000 the traditional exclusive sense, that's great. Better access to games is what we 00:10:53.200 --> 00:11:00.320 were fighting for, right? I mean, not everything's going our way, but hey, 00:10:58.160 --> 00:11:05.200 it's good to celebrate wins, right? And crossplatform compatibility was a huge 00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:10.000 one for both consumer choice and for affordability. Same goes for things like 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:16.000 removable media. Do you remember when saving your game meant buying a 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:19.920 proprietary 128 kilobyte memory card for 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:22.079 almost $20? Now I can just pull the SD 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:26.320 card out of my Switch and throw it into my laptop. And this move towards 00:11:24.640 --> 00:11:33.040 industry standards affects more than just gaming. The introduction of USBC 00:11:30.160 --> 00:11:38.320 LT cables coming soon by the way was a watershed moment. I mean, many of you 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:40.320 will remember that not that long ago, 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:44.640 every single device you owned had a proprietary charger and a proprietary 00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:49.839 cable so that the manufacturer could milk you for accessory profit. [music] 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:54.000 These days, you can pack a single power brick into your LT backpack and that'll 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.560 work with your ASUS laptop, your Valve Team Deck, your Apple iPhone, your 00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:05.519 Nintendo Switch, your UG Green Power Bank, your Sennheiser headphones, and your Sony camera. Wow, that all fits in 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:09.760 there, huh? Nice. ltstore.com. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.360 But while I meme on it obviously often, 00:12:09.760 --> 00:12:15.760 it's also important for me to point out that you don't need to buy this or 00:12:14.263 --> 00:12:21.600 [music] any of the stuff that goes in it. >> Yeah. Or any of the shiny gadgets that 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:26.240 we show off on this channel. This is going to rub some people the wrong way. 00:12:23.839 --> 00:12:30.880 But I think a big part of why we're so angry right now is the unrealistic 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:35.279 standards that social media creates. When Lionus grew up, there were cell 00:12:32.880 --> 00:12:39.040 phones that cost $2,000. It's just that his parents didn't have it. But it 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:43.120 didn't bother them because no one we knew had them. But now, when I go to a 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:47.440 creator convention, there are literally people who gave me funny looks because I 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:51.279 didn't have an iPhone at the time to tap and exchange information. I mean, even 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:55.440 on channels that aren't constantly telling us that we need the latest and 00:12:52.880 --> 00:12:59.440 greatest. Here are a few recent LTS about deal hunting and getting the most 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:05.279 out of what you already have. It can be hard to unsee the performance of a 5090 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:10.639 on a tandem OLED display, and I get why that can be frustrating. But does that 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:12.240 mean that we shouldn't cover them? LT 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:16.880 has always covered cutting edge technologies, knowing that it's a dream 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:21.040 for most people today, but thanks to the magic of rich people buying two of them, 00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:26.480 they're just going to become more accessible over time, either as the 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:30.320 technology matures or more directly on the secondhand market. I think another 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:35.839 issue is the way that some media frame this conversation. Telling you to be 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:38.880 angry that a video card exists, but it 00:13:35.839 --> 00:13:41.040 was never targeted at the 99%. I don't 00:13:38.880 --> 00:13:46.320 have a 5090. Should I feel bad about my PC? no. I'm running a B580 and 00:13:44.560 --> 00:13:50.480 yeah, maybe I can't run the latest games with all the bells and whistles at 4K, 00:13:48.560 --> 00:13:55.440 but I don't need that to enjoy myself, do I? And frankly, neither do you. Even 00:13:53.440 --> 00:14:01.120 if you're still running a second gen i5 and NVIDIA GTX 1030, there is a wild 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:06.240 world of older emulated games that can be enjoyed on even modest hardware, 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:10.160 often for free. We've said it before, but it's worth saying again. The point 00:14:07.839 --> 00:14:13.760 of this video, guys, is not to minimize the very real frustration that you and 00:14:12.180 --> 00:14:20.160 [music] your family and friends might be facing right now. It is valid to be mad, 00:14:17.404 --> 00:14:25.360 [music] maybe even cynical and jaded. But just because it's valid, does that 00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:29.920 necessarily mean it's helpful? Like, I could be pissed that Halo Infinite will 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:35.279 never get a split screen co-op mode, and I am a little, but I could also be 00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:40.160 excited for the coming surge of co-opcentric games that look freaking 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:44.240 awesome. I could be mad that the PlayStation 6 is likely going to be 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:50.480 delayed, not to mention more expensive because of the RAM apocalypse, and I am. 00:14:47.839 --> 00:14:53.920 But okay, bright side, I can also be happy that in these trying times, 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:58.399 Rockstar is going to be forced to optimize GTA 6 for the hardware that 00:14:56.160 --> 00:15:03.440 gamers already own. I could also be disappointed that the Steam Machine 00:14:59.760 --> 00:15:05.279 isn't a cuttingedge FPS monster. But 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:10.399 maybe it was time for someone with the influence of Valve to normalize just 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:15.040 enjoying PC games rather than hyperfixating on graphical fidelity 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:19.920 while also low-key ending the Windows gaming monopoly. The point is that tech 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:23.040 is supposed to help you. It's supposed to make your life better. It's not 00:15:21.680 --> 00:15:27.920 supposed to dictate [music] your mood. And if you're already working on an 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:31.519 angry comment about this video, I offer you this, 00:15:29.760 --> 00:15:36.399 a reminder that your mental health doesn't need to be shaped by tech bros 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:40.959 who don't give a about you. Staying mad doesn't mean that you're being 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:45.680 effective in the resistance. It just means that you are unhappy, which is a 00:15:42.880 --> 00:15:50.360 real downer. Like I don't even feel like doing the segue to our sponsor. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:07.959 Huh? Huh? 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.639 Oh. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:23.000 Huh? 00:16:23.821 --> 00:16:25.841 [laughter] 00:16:34.956 --> 00:16:36.976 >> [sighs] 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:48.079 >> Rove Lab is running a huge sale on the M1 sofa, but it won't last long. Head to 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:51.040 the website before it's gone. If you guys enjoyed this video, we'd 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:55.519 love to hear [music] a few things that you're excited for or grateful for in 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:59.600 the tech space or even in the world. We could all use a little positivity these 00:16:56.959 --> 00:17:03.120 days. And if you want more positivity, go hug a loved one, take a walk while 00:17:01.839 --> 00:17:06.559 listening to your favorite album of all time, or maybe go watch the video that I 00:17:05.280 --> 00:17:10.559 got to make with my son recently [music] about him choosing a Kindle.