ClarissKrays

f.lux is incredible and it's basically one developer, and hin and his wife research the effects of light exposure on sleep, and really try to encourage you to go to bed.  They haven't updated the Linux build in over ten years, but with flatpak, snaps, and app images, I hope they do, but there is redshift with since version 1.09 has correct color numbers.
 
The f.lux program has a "backwards alarm clock" as it is called, which tells you how many hours remain until your set wake-time, to encourage you to turn off your device and sleep.  I wish more people were aware of the origins of all the "blue lighr filters" and apple's iOS 9 night shift implementation.  There is zero mention of f.lux, and apple even called on the phone the developers and told them that they could not have their app in the app store.

Windows File Manager: https://github.com/microsoft/winfile
Windows File Manager is the original Windows 3.0 file manager with a few small changes. 
I have found it to make navigating directories faster than File Explorer. Or perhaps the speed comes from regularly using older systems.

All software below is free to use.
 
 
Drivers installation
I personally don't let windows update install any drivers and manage it with the following tools..
 
NVCleanInstall: https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-nvcleanstall/
The first step is to install your graphics drivers. If on an NVIDIA system, I always go with NVCleanInstall to install and update them.
Usually I go for minimum install with a few expert tweaks ticked but nothing that ever breaks my experience.
If on an AMD system, the default drivers are fine to use.
 
DriversCloud: https://www.driverscloud.com/en/my-drivers
Then, rather than using Driver Booster, or the very dated Snappy driver installer (origin or not), I always go for DriversCloud.
It installs a small agent on your system to quickly scan your hardware, then opens up a webpage with downloads to your missing/outdated drivers.
It's served me well and I highly recommend it!
 
 
Lightweight utilities
These are must have on my system and some of the first software I install, setup, and forget even are third-party utilities.
 
AltDrag: https://stefansundin.github.io/altdrag/
AltDrag gives you the ability to move and resize windows in a similar way to Linux systems.
By default, hold the Alt key and left click on a window anywhere to move it, and right click to resize it by the closest corner.
Highly configurable, can run in the background, be hidden from tray, etc.. and low resource usage!
Note: Hasn't been updated in quite some time but fully open-source and works perfectly fine in my experience.
 
SuperF4: https://stefansundin.github.io/superf4/
SuperF4 enables a new shortcut: ctrl+alt+f4.
It will kill the focused window as if you ended the task in task manager!
Very useful when a fullscreen app freezes, or when you're simply too lazy to bring up task manager, search the process, etc..
 
Eartrumpet: https://eartrumpet.app/
Eartrumpet is a volume control tray icon applet that makes it very easy to control application volumes in an elegant way, with a modern design!
 
 
File management software
I like to keep photos and images in folders but sometimes save duplicates, and use the following tools to deal with them. They can do a lot more though!
 
Czkawka: https://github.com/qarmin/czkawka
Czkawka packs a punch behind its interesting name. It's a very versatile tool that allows you to find various things on your system and deal with them.
Such as: duplicate files, empty folders, big files, empty files, temporary files, similar images/music/videos, and more!
I mainly use it to find duplicate images and keep the best quality ones out of the pairs and it works wonderfully well.
 
XnConvert: https://www.xnview.com/en/xnconvert/
XnConvert is a fast, powerful and free cross-platform batch image converter.
It can also apply actions during conversion like cropping, rotation, color adjustments, filters, etc...
 
Bulk Rename Utility: https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/
Bulk Rename Utility is a very powerful.. well.. bulk renaming utility.
Prepend/append, rename, convert case, add numbers, change file extensions, etc..
Allows filtering through a lot of parameters like EXIF data, file properties, regex expressions, etc..
 
 
Honorable mentions I was too lazy to make a bit about
Audacity, Handbrake, Olive, Kdenlive, Krita, Paint.NET, VLC, Blender, WizTree, Bulk Crap Uninstaller, Faststone Image Viewer, Joplin, Syncthing, PowerToys

Summary
A Zenfone user in the UK filed a small claims court case against ASUS for failing to provide bootloader unlock tools as they had previously promised.
ASUS has settled case with the user, who received payment covering the phones original cost (£700) and the court filing fee (£70)
 
 
I'm glad somebody has finally called out phone manufacturers over broken promises and 'won'.
If any of you are in the UK and have a bootloader locked Zenfone then this is certainly an option
 
Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/asus-bootloader-unlock-settlement-3431818/

We’ve all seen ads for gaming PCs or hardware that just seem too wild to be real. “No Low ballers! I know what I got!” when all they’ve got is a pile of e-waste. We collected a bunch of ridiculous listings and watched our heroes slowly lose their minds…
 

NEWS SOURCES:
 
WINDOWS UPDATE
Microsoft attacking third-party Windows tools
Users that have third-party start menu-enhancing app StartAllBack installed aren’t able to update Win 11 https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-is-blocking-windows-11-build-upgrades-on-systems-with-startallback/ 
Windows reports a security/performance issues (EDITOR: click on the left-most picture of the tweet) https://twitter.com/endermanch/status/1775639423691964520/photo/1 
Apparently the RTM version of 24H2 update https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-begins-testing-potential-rtm-build-for-windows-11-version-24h2 
You can get around it by uninstalling StartAllBack, upgrading Win 11, then downloading and renaming StartAllBack’s exe file to not include its name https://twitter.com/MatthewH12/status/1775762568973606985 
Confirmed by app creator https://twitter.com/StartIsBack/status/1775660727719928173 
UPDATE: also blocks ExplorerPatcher https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-may-try-to-block-third-party-customization-apps-in-windows-11-24h2/ 
To be fair, there is a list of other apps that cause issues https://www.xda-developers.com/microsoft-wont-update-windows-11-these-apps/ 
The List: https://lmg.gg/hXj7s (XDA Developers)
Windows driver blocks software from changing default web browser
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/new-windows-driver-blocks-software-from-changing-default-web-browser/
First pointed out by Christoph Kolbicz when his programs SetUserFTA and SetDefaultBrowser stopped working https://twitter.com/_kolbicz/status/1761136487062474860 
“SetUserFTA is a command line program that lets Windows admins change file associations through login scripts and other methods. SetDefaultBrowser works similarly but is only for changing the default browser in Windows.” https://lmg.gg/n1eLO (Bleeping Computer)
after February update, programs don’t work due to ironically named “User Choice Protection Driver” blocking editing of registry keys
https://lmg.gg/GlmrS (Bleeping Computer)
Kolbicz thinks this change may be to comply with EU’s DMA; Microsoft announced default browser policies to force Windows to use user’ default browser https://lmg.gg/1EPwh (Bleeping Computer)
But the new driver also rolled out to US-based Win 10 and Win 11 devices https://lmg.gg/oM0ff (Bleeping Computer)
 
CORE ISSUE
Intel i9 CPUs being returned daily in Korea
https://wccftech.com/intel-13th-14th-gen-cpu-gaming-stability-investigated-chips-being-returned-in-korea/ 
Stability of Raptor Lake being investigated https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-13th-14th-core-raptor-lake-gaming-instability-is-now-being-investigated 
According to Korean outlets like ZDNET Korea https://lmg.gg/L0Pt1 
Earliest reports are from chip launch in 2022 https://lmg.gg/TqmbQ (WCCFTech)
More recently, reports from users report issues in shader compilation with “Out of video memory” errors https://steamcommunity.com/app/1928980/discussions/0/7221029098493967556/ 
Reviews and reports suggest 1-3 months of normality before problems arise https://twitter.com/Sebasti66855537/status/1776605992735674652 
According to sources like WCCFTech, the issue may be their crazy power draw and heat output https://lmg.gg/A15Hh (WCCFTech)
“In Korea, three companies are currently responsible for distributing and customer support for Intel processors for desktop PCs. A company official who requested anonymity explained, “The number of consumers visiting the customer center asking to change their 13th and 14th generation core processors has recently increased to more than ten per day.” (EDITOR: CTRL+F quote) (ZDNET Korea)
“In response to ZDNet Korea's inquiry about whether Intel was aware of the problem, Intel responded, "Intel is aware of problems that occur when executing certain tasks on 13th and 14th generation core processors for desktop PCs, and is analyzing them with major affiliates."” (EDITOR: CTRL+F quote) (ZDNET Korea) 
 
 
 
 
QUICK BITS
 
THE TROUBLE WITH GROUP PROJECTS
Google’s Find My Device Network finally launches a year after initial target
https://blog.google/products/android/android-find-my-device/ 
Was supposed to launch last summer https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/androids-bluetooth-trackers-are-finally-shipping-in-late-may/
Been waiting on Apple; Google and Apple announced joint standard for “unknown tracker” alerts, to prevent someone using one network’s devices to stalk a user of the other (even though their network’s aren’t interoperable) https://lmg.gg/wTzVK (Ars Technica)
Took a year for Apple to finally implement the protections in for iOS users, so Google can finally ship their partnered products and launch the network https://lmg.gg/OoN30 (Ars Technica)
You’ll be able to locate offline devices and even find Pixel 8 and 8 Pro phones with dead batteries thanks to “specialized Pixel hardware” https://lmg.gg/oWm40 (Google)
 
TOOK THEM LONG ENOUGH
Google tests “Lookup” button for unknown callers
https://www.phonearena.com/news/pixel-users-will-soon-be-able-to-easily-lookup-unknown-numbers-from-their-call-log_id157027 
Apparently original source https://twitter.com/AssembleDebug/status/1776120747762884614 
https://piunikaweb.com/2024/04/05/google-pixel-phone-app-lookup-feature/ 
 
START SAVING A YEAR AGO
RTX 50 series launch date rumors 
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/97384/nvidia-to-unveil-top-end-geforce-rtx-5090-and-high-5080-at-first-later-this-year/index.html  
https://www.pcgamesn.com/nvidia/geforce-rtx-5090-5080-release-window 
According to Taiwanese outlet Money UDN https://lmg.gg/yh92W
https://overclock3d.net/news/gpu-displays/nvidia-partners-expect-their-rtx-5090-and-rtx-5080-to-launch-this-year/ 
 
MAC ATTACK
Microsoft says Snapdragon X Elite PCs will have “faster app emulation than Rosetta 2”
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/8/24116587/microsoft-macbook-air-surface-arm-qualcomm-snapdragon-x-elite 
https://9to5google.com/2024/04/08/report-snapdragon-x-elite-macbook-comparison/ 
AI PCs will have “AI Explorer” feature that can search for anything you’ve ever done on your PC
https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/surface/exclusive-microsoft-will-unveil-oled-surface-pro-10-and-arm-surface-laptop-6-this-month-ahead-of-major-windows-11-ai-update 
https://lmg.gg/b3WT0 (Windows Central)
 
MUSIC TO USE GEN AI TO
Spotify’s AI playlist tool lets you create a playlist with a text prompt 
https://newsroom.spotify.com/2024-04-07/spotify-premium-users-can-now-turn-any-idea-into-a-personalized-playlist-with-ai-playlist-in-beta/ 
https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/07/spotify-launches-personalized-ai-playlists-you-can-build-using-prompts/ 
Variety collected Spotify’s examples https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/spotify-ai-generated-playlists-beta-test-1235964013/
Here: https://lmg.gg/8SZ7L (Variety)  
 

Anthony comes out as Transgender.
 
So let's all welcome Emily, I hope she doesn't get too camera shy, we'd still love to see you.
 
(AND WE STILL WANT EMILY LINUX CHANNEL)
 

that doesn't mean yours was sold and shipped by amazon, just the one you are looking at currently. you would need to check your order history to see for sure or not.
edit: also, just noticed in your picture there is an lpn sticker, meaning it is indeed an amazon warehouse product.
 

Hey Team, 
 
First time writing on this forum but i've been a subscriber ever since the Linus team was working out of a bedroom in his house. I wanted to express a few things about the Temu video and how much in it contradicts your environmental and ethics values.

Temu has now popped up across most of my favourite tech reviewers with some already calling them out to have ties to forced labour industries in China. The fact that there is an Investigation already underway with the US Congress prior to the release of this video, why would you then go promot it on your channel? 

ontop of this, it comes down to e-waste! You openly criticise many large companies for having plastics in the unboxing but then go publish a site where you know the products are garbage and most of it will be thrown out into the bin. Even if you have an in-house system that the products are passed down to people or given away the company itself is being promoted through your channel for consumers to buy complete garbage that will break or be thrown away quickly. 
 
pretty disappointing when you Linus Tech Tips want to be the authority in good products and honest reviews and calling companies out....
 
 
References:
 
https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-forced-labor-china-de7b5398c76fda58404abc6ec5684972
https://www.uscc.gov/research/shein-temu-and-chinese-e-commerce-data-risks-sourcing-violations-and-trade-loopholes
https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/press-releases/select-committee-releases-interim-findings-shein-temu-forced-labor 

I have a complaint about Soylent as a sponsor. They're a flavored drinks company marketed as a healthy meal replacement, meal replacements themselves are already a controversial topic in advertising but the company has had repeated issues from its Tech Bro leadership style shrugging off the government agencies.
It had scandals in the past 8 years about Lead and Cadium content, their products repeatedly causing gastrointestinal issues, and called reports about the Cadium content "alarmist". 
"Meal replacements" talking points is enough to draw doubts, but the repeated incidents are red flags in their standing as company you would trust with your health.

Can you please consider dropping Eight Sleep as a sponsor. I absolutely de-test companies that add unnecessary subscriptions to things just to access features that are built in. The mattress covers requires a subscription for the first 12 months of use in order to use the product. I hate BMW for starting the trend of locking features that are already built into the product behind a subscription paywall. It’s already a $2200 mattress cover after the LTT discount.

I created this super long list for blocking YouTube spam bots for my channel many years ago. It took my videos from a few scammers every video to absolutely none. Haven't had a spam/scam comment in well over a year and I generally post a few times a week. About 2 months ago, I gave access to a few friends with channels that are 15k+ subs that generally get a dozen spam comments every video. They went from a dozen per video to none with this list.

This list has thousands of URL blocks, as well as nearly every domain a spam/scammer could use. This list is over 5300 individually blocked items for your YT Comments section.
 
How to apply this list:
1.) Go to your YT Channel Dashboard on a relatively good PC
2.) Click Settings on bottom left above send feedback
3.) go to Community in the window that pops up
4.) scroll down to your Blocked Words list
5.) Open my raw pastebin link: https://pastebin.com/raw/sUigSZpb
6.) Control+A/Cmd+A and then Control+C/Cmd+C the entire thing
7.) Paste it in your blocked words box. Your browser may freeze up. Wait until it is responding to stuff again and click Save
From there, you should be safe from spam bots.

Video tutorial: (at the time of posting, HD is still processing)
 

Usually I wouldn't put deals from microcenter on hot deals but honestly this deal is so good that I feel like it would be sad if people who live near a microcenter missed it. Here is a link to the deal https://www.microcenter.com/category/4294834666/computer-parts-combos
There are also other combo deals as well but personally I think the one I am referring to is the best. Also keep in mind you get Starfield as well with AMDs current promo. So for 550 you get a 250 to 300 dollars motherboard plus 64gb of 6000mhz ddr5 ram and a r9 7900x not to mention you also get starfield as well. Honestly not sure how they even make money on this combo but I certainly won't complain. 

My two cents even though no one asked for it:
 
I think LTT should work with Billet Labs to come to nicer resolution. I think a video on this topic could be interesting, especially if you do change the way you do things at LTT as a result of this situation.

At the current pace, I literally can not consume all the content on all of your channels, even though I'm interested in everything. I would support LTT slowing down 100%.

I was excited for Labs because I'd like to see LTT reviews get more technical. Accurate information is important to me. Give me the nerdy details. What are your processes? I'd love to hear it.
 
As long as Linus' relationship with Framework is disclosed as it has been. I'm cool with it.

I thought this was going to be far less reasonable than it was. The comments on the video and here on the forums are less so.
 
I will say I dont think Linus's reply will go over well due to its tone. Also was rather surprised GN had no comment from LMG on it at all. Usually they would ask other companies and mention it even if no response based on previous coverage.
 
For me the Billet Labs thing is a complete f-up. I feel like inventory and tracking has not been a strong suit for them since they moved everything. My solution would be get it back if at all possible, compensate both parties for their losses and time, the double the donation as a gesture.
 
Im more irked about when they know there is an error and correct it in video, like reshoot that or dub it. If you know its bad dont put it out. Those just shouldnt be there, lop them out! Its almost as if the video is edited them someone watches it and adds the notes/corrections.
 
As for the issues on the graphs. I dont know if anyone but another tech reviewer would have noticed, especially en-masse. I have definitely run CrystalDisk in the wrong mode and only found out when I'm done editing or even published the video/review. Realistically at that point im not retesting everything. I'll either cut that item/graph/result or mention its borked.
 
Until Labs is up and they have actively updated data replacing/updating it isnt reasonable. Just because they have the ability to replace a video, doesnt mean it's a feature that should be used regularly.
 
Though, for context I generally dont look at LTT/LMG or anyone else for that matter as the end-all for testing. Realistically, how do I make recommendations? Based on hands-on experience! I know not everyone can do that. How do I know how a 3060 Ti preforms? Because, ive played games im familiar with on it. I'd also argue that those of you min-maxing every bit of your build is the wrong way to go about it but thats a different discussion.
 
Now should people who are paid to get it right, get it right,yes. I have made plenty of errors like that. Gone entirely wrong directions at work based on bad data. Timeline gets pushed or im staying late or in on the weekend. However if its a process flaw sometimes you just run with it since its all you have time to do and correct it the next time around. Gotta make sure you do that though. In some cases its take 1yr+ to develop and implement processes that I'm in charge of to a point where I'm happy. That never stops though and there is always something you can improve and do better.
 

I'm a minute into the video and something strikes me as off. I watched the WAN show that's quoted by Gamers Nexus (GN) and it feels like a massive disservice to cut the clip off so quickly. It makes me think they're either bad at interpreting what people say, or are being somewhat malicious. Let me explain.
 
Here is the relevant clip from the WAN show.
 
"I don't think it's particularly umm... journalistic to ignore facts, to ignore personal relationships that you have every opportunity to take advantage of to get more information. I don't actually agree with that, I think that's objectively not correct. especially where there is a large conflict of interest. However the point is not to dwell on that, good lord that was.. how long ago was that? we've made mistakes too. we've made lots of mistakes. everybody makes mistakes. I never even drew attention to any of that . Intentionally because it doesn't matter. I don't want to stir up drama"
 
Linus is saying that if you have a relationship with someone who you can use to get more facts to report on, then you should do that. 
 
Here's the clip from the Gamers Nexus video
 
"[WAN SHOW] I don't think it's particularly umm... journalistic to ignore facts, to ignore personal relationships
[GN] It is my job to ignore personal relationships, yeah. If LMG is going to make false accusations and wants to try and use personal relationships to gain favor so that we don't cover something we think is not okay it's not going to work with us we don't play that game"
 
Here Gamers Nexus seems to be entirely missing the point. The implication here is that Linus was suggesting that you should use personal relationships to stop someone from covering or criticising something. This is implying a malicious motivation to Linus suggesting people who know him should reach out to him for comment. In the first minute or so the video fails to provide proper context for the clip it's using. 
 
Most associations of journalists have something akin to a "Right of Reply". That is if you're making a story of a person or organisation, you put forward your questions for comment. I haven't seen anything in chapters on the YT video and going by Linus' post at the top of the thread, there was no attempt to get a comment from LMG. This is either because Gamers Nexus didn't journalism (it's a verb now) properly here, or because the video wouldn't be as spicy to include something similar to Linus' posts here.
 

My two cents even though no one asked for it:
 
I think LTT should work with Billet Labs to come to nicer resolution. I think a video on this topic could be interesting, especially if you do change the way you do things at LTT as a result of this situation.

At the current pace, I literally can not consume all the content on all of your channels, even though I'm interested in everything. I would support LTT slowing down 100%.

I was excited for Labs because I'd like to see LTT reviews get more technical. Accurate information is important to me. Give me the nerdy details. What are your processes? I'd love to hear it.
 
As long as Linus' relationship with Framework is disclosed as it has been. I'm cool with it.

My two cents even though no one asked for it:
 
I think LTT should work with Billet Labs to come to nicer resolution. I think a video on this topic could be interesting, especially if you do change the way you do things at LTT as a result of this situation.

At the current pace, I literally can not consume all the content on all of your channels, even though I'm interested in everything. I would support LTT slowing down 100%.

I was excited for Labs because I'd like to see LTT reviews get more technical. Accurate information is important to me. Give me the nerdy details. What are your processes? I'd love to hear it.
 
As long as Linus' relationship with Framework is disclosed as it has been. I'm cool with it.

It's obvious that LTT has some severe growing pains to overcome. Walking the line between entertainment and testing is a difficult one. The channel started with a focus on fly by the seat of your pants "authentic" reviews from a single guy. Being "authentic" on YouTube back then was more important than high production values, tight scripts, and flawless execution of those scripts. As YouTube has grown, it has become a "legit" media outlet, and LTT has grown along with it. Linus has a specific persona that his viewers want to see on a video. It's part of the charm of the channel. It might be the persona needs to be dialed back therefore reducing the looseness of the presentation. But if you do that aren't you killing the entertainment part of the channel? Like I said - it's a hard line to walk.
 
Now that LTT is moving into serious testing, investing in a high tech lab, and growing to a size that I would only assume is unmanageable without the existence of strict procedures, they're going to have to focus more on up-front preparedness instead of trying to fix things in the edit. Software Testers call this "moving left", or focusing more at the beginning of the project than at the end. The scripts need to be checked for accuracy, the slides need to match the scripts, the performers need to execute those scripts correctly, and the editors need to assemble everything efficiently. (The editors will have their workload lessened if they don't have to put a lot of asterrisk corrections in the edit. Yay for "moving left"!)
 
LTT's situtation is unique for a media company as well. They already have a 15 million person audience, and a product they've been putting out for years. You don't watch a show on a TV network for example grow and change over time. It's born being what it's going to be. It's going to be "X" and you hire the people, and set it up to do "X". LTT is a big ship making a huge turn very slowly in front of our eyes. Their mistakes are shown to us day by day. That's a unique and difficult position for them to be in. They can't just stop doing what they do, revamp for a year, and then start making content again. That's just not how a YouTube channel works. A TV News Show possibly, but not a YouTube channel. It's easy for Gamers Nexus to make claims that "5 minutes could have been taken to fix an edit" when their staff and company is MUCH smaller and much more agile than a 100+ employee company. Time management difficultly doesn't scale linearly per employee. It's geometric. Managing the time of multiple sets, channels, camera men, etc isn't a trivial thing.
 
In the end, I truly do believe these issues to be growing pains. They aren't malicious. They're mistakes, and they're working on the processes to catch, fix, and report those mistakes.

None of that is going to matter until Linus has a change in attitude and pulls the reigns back a little but as you said they can't realistically do that with the financial obligations. That is no one's fault but their own and as GN/Steve said a self-inflicted problem. Even still, Linus refuses to acknowledge some of the problems like the Billet Labs waterblock video he doubled down on WAN and triple downed on in this thread. You have to admit to mistakes before you can fix them and blame shifting or saying, 'but we're people!' isn't admitting to problems. Its burying yourself deeper into the hole you dug yourself. 
 
If LTT Labs is giving them bad data right off the bat then that data needs to kept out of their videos until they're ready and not one second before. I get that Labs is a money sink and Linus needs to recuperate the cost as fast as possible but you're shooting yourself in the foot and growing too fast if the excuse for bad data is urgency in pumping content out. A lot of this space relies on accountability and trust. All that money sunk into labs is going to become a liability they can't recoup if people's first impressions of their product is one of questionable data and taking a dig at HUB/GN. Like it or not LTT has been taking shots at GN for a while now that attitude comes from the top down to where random employees that are in tour videos feel comfortable taking shots at other YT creators. 

My two cents even though no one asked for it:
 
I think LTT should work with Billet Labs to come to nicer resolution. I think a video on this topic could be interesting, especially if you do change the way you do things at LTT as a result of this situation.

At the current pace, I literally can not consume all the content on all of your channels, even though I'm interested in everything. I would support LTT slowing down 100%.

I was excited for Labs because I'd like to see LTT reviews get more technical. Accurate information is important to me. Give me the nerdy details. What are your processes? I'd love to hear it.
 
As long as Linus' relationship with Framework is disclosed as it has been. I'm cool with it.

Would be funny if someone uses that prototype and come out with
MSI GOD Block
ASUS Strix Block
Gigabyte Aorus Masters Block
 
$999, LCD version $1599.

I haven't watched any LTT videos for hardware reviews in years (and this is my first post on the forum in quite some time too, hello!) so I'm probably not the main audience being catered to here. I have long considered Linus to be the head of an entertainment and 'first tech contact' company, not a genuine reviewing entity. I remember coming across the solid copper cooler video (I'm a sucker for custom loops so these get recommended a lot), but then watching the video and being extremely confused as to why they expected anything other than horrible performance on a card that the prototype wasn't designed for. In a world where an extra 0.5mm on thermal pad thickness can totally wreck temperatures on a block designed for the actual product you are using, I can't see any level of professionalism or experience that allows this to happen. If the excuse is to not waste a few hundred dollars, it feels like the appropriate action would have been to decline accepting a prototype for a product you don't have on hand before agreeing to script and shoot a video (with now using time afterwards cleaning up the mess). And then to find out that, somehow, after multiple rounds of emails asking for it back the prototype was still auctioned away is incredibly disappointing. Even if monetary restitution has been done, that amount of lost time and resources for a small company sucks.
 
Slow down. Do better.

So I'm a relative newbie to LTT/LMG/whatever; I only discovered the channel a few months ago.
 
I want to address three topics.
 
LS' investment in Framework. 
 
This is only of importance if you consider LTT et al to be "editorially independent" of the owners.  It's totally clear it's not.  There are videos essentially celebrating LS' investment in Framework.  Some of the content on LTT is only because of this.  If you are watching LMG content (or, indeed, any youtube content) where recommendations and evaluations are made then you must be aware of the producers biases.  "Don't trust one single source".  We learned this from traditional media (ugh, thanks Rupert Murdoch!).  The same is true in the "new world".  Whether I'm watching LMG or Techmoan or Technology Connections or...  doesn't matter.
 
LMG content is not editorially independent of the owners.  LMG content is just one input into the evaluation of products.
 
Errors in videos
 
Back in the mid 90s I worked for a traditional paper publisher in the UK; I was in the "web" arm of the company as they tried to extend from magazines (we did weekly "closed circulation" industry mags, and monthly consumer mags).  One month, to a lot of fanfare, they produced a new monthly consumer mag for the internet age.  It was going to be a leader in the industry.  The day of release they had a massive pile of the mags by the exit so staff could take one.  I read it on the train home and got to the last page and "oh shit oh shit oh shit"; the editor had put an email address to be contacted ("I hope you enjoyed this new publication; email me at xxxx to let me know what you'd like to see" type stuff).  Now I ran the email system; I registered the domains.  I knew that wasn't valid (unless they bypassed me and went to a third party).  So as soon as I got home I dialed into work (yeah yeah modems), verified the domain wasn't registered (phew!), registered it, set up mail forwarding, told the editor what a bloody idiot he was.
 
Errors happen, even in flagship launches.
 
Now I see the "*" overlays on LMG videos as a good thing; it means the content errors have been detected in review and fixed.  Unlike print publications where it's easy to edit something before it goes to press, it's a **** tonne harder to reshoot a video just because someone says "256" instead of "128".
 
I'm happy to see these on-screen corrections.  it means the process works.  I now work in cyber security; we call this a "compensating control".  Shit happens, it's detected and fixed.
 
Is every error caught?  Probably not!  See "Don't trust one single source".
 
At the end of the day if LMG content gets too much wrong then they'll lose subscribers (or people will just watch it for the jokes, meaning the $$$$ lab will be a waste of money).
 
I can see a correction in the production cycle occurring pretty soon.
 
Water block auction
 
Yeah... that's a fuck up.  They shouldn't have done that.  One thing I learned from working at that publisher is that manufacturers may want their shit back; not always (I scored some good swag back then), but the assumption was "it's on loan".  At one point we had an AS400 in for testing; and Sun Java Stations (I bet most people here never heard of them!).  Funnily we got to keep the Java station...
 
Hopefully LMG will learn from this; unless told otherwise they are merely _custodians_ of the equipment, not the owner.
 
Anyway... that's my old-man view on this!