Gamers Nexus alleges LMG has insufficient ethics and integrity

[McCarthy]

5 minutes ago, mikaelus said:

 The effect is yet to be seen but we already know it's going to cost them high six figures if not seven figures. They lost 12% of their subscribers to Floatplane, costing them ca. $300k per year. Reduction in pace of video production will cost them at least half a million dollars if they reduce by just one video per week on LTT's main channel.

 

Sponsors might be less eager to advertise with them, or at lower rates, and we are yet to see the impact on viewership when they restart publishing.

 

So, it means we should somehow admire a hypocritical egomaniac, who claims he's dedicated to accuracy and fighting big, bad corporations, while becoming a toxic CEO himself? 

 

As I said, I loathe tribalism.

 

Of course Linus built something impressive. But why should that give him a free pass from criticism exactly? Because some anonymous nobody worships him as a hero? Get a life.

 

Its not tribalism, it is (your) perfectionism, that can't be reached, let alone on a corporate level.

 

Do yourself a favor and learn when to let things go, before it becomes compulsive. Choose your battles wisely.

 

BTDT

 

Talking about it, I'm out. It was nice exchanging opinions with you.

 

 

[mikaelus]

12 minutes ago, Cooldoe said:

The issue is the same with any card is that the cost vs benefit would not be significant enough to justify the price.

That is the point that Linus tried to make albeit poorly

And who the fuck are you to decide that? This is what I hate about whining losers, when they start talking about prices. Screw your lowlife opinions, I decide what I do with my own money. Not you, not Linus and not any other nitwit who is not the target market for a product. It's about as relevant as if I asked my retired mother whether she would spend a grand on a GPU. 

 

In this case the appeal of the product is not only in its performance, which is better than EK's top solutions, although not ground-breakingly so, but because of the unique build that allows it to fit into smaller spaces with far less tubing required. That's the whole fckin point of a monoblock - to not have two different blocks in a tight space.

 

Just because that $800 is a lot for you because you're flipping burgers to make ends meet doesn't mean other people don't fancy a custom, unique, one of a kind solution. Just like some people pay hundreds of thousands in a premium on a limited edition car, just because it comes with a few more bells and whistles.

 

This is one of the things I find infuriating about Linus, who keeps yapping about this or that being expensive, and then keeps hawking $30 water bottles, $70 screwdriver and $250 backpack, while thrashing companies that produce real technological innovation that clearly his mind cannot even begin to comprehend, despite all the years in the IT industry.

 

If something is not for you, it's not for you. It may be for someone else. That's all. Not everybody is a frustrated nobody.

[Loopers]

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

they told Linus he could keep it

Yup, they did

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

but then he completely butchered the review

LTT nor does Steve accept products in exchange for a positive review. Is giving a bad review a valid excuse or reason to demand it back? No

 

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

used it on a wrong card

Yes, they did and despite everyone telling him to retest he ignored everyone and embarrassed himself. Deservingly.

 

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

steamrolled the product and the entire company, and was at no point apologetic about it

Like Steve, are you stating Linus isn't entitled to an opinion? Your incendiary language is used on a subjective opinion. Steve steamrolled NZXT for their stupid design on a case IIRC. These aren't sponsored videos.

 

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

and then doubled down saying nothing would have changed his opinion.

Yup, that's how an opinion works. It's not the only product someone online has received and called stupid and served little purpose and it's not the first product this year LTT called pointless that was sent to them for review. Again, not sponsored; it was sent for review. You better hope your product price to performance is good enough to send to a larger outlet.

 

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

So they said - well, can we have it back. And LTT said - sure, we'll send it back. And again, and again, and again... and nothing.

They owned it when they requested it. Requesting it back and agreeing to send it back was on LMG's terms on a best effort basis. Should it be delayed, that sucks for getting it back and the breakdown in communication was evident and problematic, but quit acting like Billet is blameless here. An email was sent 2 days before Steve did his piece and had Steve reached out, he'd have known that. 

 

Both parties including Steve have some blame. Doersn't matter if Steve didn't need to contact LMG. If he wasn't being lazy, he would have seen that it was in the process of being handled 2 days before the video went live. Steve still should have done his video as I agreed with most of it, but the language should have changed in regards to "theft" 

 

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

And then they auctioned it off.

 

Because as per their inventory system, it was theirs and that email and breakdown of communication continued to unfold during the busiest time (LTX) It took nearly 3 weeks to get a response from CSR about something due to LTX for myself.

 

Don't give things away and your opinions on what they did such as auctioning it off despite the breakdown leaves billet sharing some of that blame. Just because you don't like what he had to say didn't give them the right to ask for it back and act as if they were financially hit by it. They made a calculated mistake sending it to someone who has a history if inaccuracies and dropping shit. Do your damn homework before sending your product to someone.

2 hours ago, mikaelus said:

In fact, Billet even sent them the right card - 3090Ti - and they are still waiting to get that back.

This is where my opinion aligns with you and communication or not I cannot figure out for the life of me why that was separated from the unit and lost until Linus found it in some random place as he said in some video. Makes no sense why you wouldn't test it with the hardware they sent and IMO they should have bought billet a brand new 3090ti unless the 3090 was also "gifted" but we don't know that part of the story.

[mikaelus]

2 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

Its not tribalism, it is (your) perfectionism, that can't be reached, let alone on a corporate level.

 

It is tribalism, since you're here defending someone's indefensible behaviour out of little else than personal feelings for them. Which is particularly comical as it's about a Youtuber, lol.

 

For the record, I like neither Linus nor Steve. Nor, in fact, ANY tech reviewer on Youtube. I think they're just blokes with webcams who managed to hit it big by talking about stuff they largely have no better comprehension of than any decent personal PC builder. Kudos to them for making it work online, but that doesn't mean I'm going to worship them or ignore their egomaniacal tendencies once the subscriber count went to their heads.

 

They aren't innovators, engineers, visionaries - they're just regular folks riding the wave of social media. 

 

For all I care they could all crash in a plane tomorrow and the world would not be affected. I have far more admiration for people who build businesses making stuff that we put in our PCs. THEY matter. Not Linus, not Steve, not Jay, Marques or whoever else. And least of all their opinions on how innovators should run their companies.

[mikaelus]

2 minutes ago, Loopers said:

Like Steve, are you stating Linus isn't entitled to an opinion? Your incendiary language is used on a subjective opinion. Steve steamrolled NZXT for their stupid design on a case IIRC. These aren't sponsored videos.

 

Not when it's a fucking "review" of something, when he keeps touting Labs as the next big thing in testing and can't even commit to a modicum of scrutiny.

 

Quote

Because as per their inventory system, it was theirs and that email and breakdown of communication continued to unfold during the busiest time (LTX) It took nearly 3 weeks to get a response from CSR about something due to LTX for myself.

lol, I don't have time for lame excuses

[MercuryRain]

Just now, mikaelus said:

It is tribalism, since you're here defending someone's indefensible behaviour out of little else than personal feelings for them. Which is particularly comical as it's about a Youtuber, lol.

 

For the record, I like neither Linus nor Steve. Nor, in fact, ANY tech reviewer on Youtube. I think they're just blokes with webcams who managed to hit it big by talking about stuff they largely have no better comprehension of than any decent personal PC builder. Kudos to them for making it work online, but that doesn't mean I'm going to worship them or ignore their egomaniacal tendencies once the subscriber count went to their heads.

 

They aren't innovators, engineers, visionaries - they're just regular folks riding the wave of social media. 

 

For all I care they could all crash in a plane tomorrow and the world would not be affected. I have far more admiration for people who build businesses making stuff that we put in our PCs. THEY matter. Not Linus, not Steve, not Jay, Marques or whoever else. And least of all their opinions on how innovators should run their companies.

The only thing here that is indefensible to me is not wanting to spend $500 in labor to do things properly.  Linus is rightly getting shit on for not doing that very thing, but you can also make the argument that things got screwed to hell long before Linus was involved in that video.  It was a trainwreck of a situation.

 

Billet Labs is a scam.  I see no other way to describe their business model.  We as a people have driven other companies out of business for far less egregious bullshit than these guys are pulling.

 

Literally everything else is a lack of communication within LMG as a company, and that is an understandable issue that Fortune 500 companies struggle with.  I can't fault LMG for not being perfect.  They're working to fix it.  

 

Is it good that LMG is getting raked over the coals? Probably.  It leads to better accountability and content going forward.

 

I am saying that Steve, over at GN, also fucked up in that he didn't follow basic journalistic courtesy when he ran his video.  I am a goddamn ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN and I know that much about journalistic courtesy.  He's actually a video journalist.  He should know these things. 

[mikaelus]

4 minutes ago, CerberusLabrat said:

Billet Labs is a scam.  I see no other way to describe their business model.  We as a people have driven other companies out of business for far less egregious bullshit than these guys are pulling.

What's a scam about them exactly? And who the fuck are you to be the judge? I really hope someone mows your professional life down the same way one day so you can speak from experience. Some people just need to feel the pain themselves. Like Linus, who came back squealing only after he faced the full extent of public outrage - following not Steve's video but his own reply on this forum.

[Cooldoe]

7 minutes ago, mikaelus said:

And who the fuck are you to decide that? This is what I hate about whining losers, when they start talking about prices. Screw your lowlife opinions, I decide what I do with my own money. Not you, not Linus and not any other nitwit who is not the target market for a product. It's about as relevant as if I asked my retired mother whether she would spend a grand on a GPU. 

 

In this case the appeal of the product is not only in its performance, which is better than EK's top solutions, although not ground-breakingly so, but because of the unique build that allows it to fit into smaller spaces with far less tubing required. That's the whole fckin point of a monoblock - to not have two different blocks in a tight space.

 

That $800 is a lot for you because you're flipping burgers to make ends meet doesn't mean other people don't fancy a custom, unique, one of a kind solution. Just like some people pay hundreds of thousands in a premium on a limited edition car, just because it comes with a few more bells and whistles.

 

This is one of the things I find infuriating about Linus, who keeps yapping about this or that being expensive, and then keeps hawking $30 water bottles, $70 screwdriver and $250 backpack, while thrashing companies that produce real technological innovation that clearly his mind cannot even begin to comprehend, despite all the years in the IT industry.

 

If something is not for you, it's not for you. It may be for someone else. That's all. Not everybody is a frustrated nobody.

Wow the personal attack just astounding.

It is a valid comment on the product performance vs cost.

Well just wait jay2c review on it if it ever come to be. If I am billet labs I will take my time to give anyone review sample and keep taking pre order while the issue is hot.

If you have so much money and love the product then please buy it and review it and post it.

 

Fyi if you make so much money you know that $250 for a high quality backpack is not expensive compared to the branded high quality one

[MercuryRain]

1 minute ago, mikaelus said:

What's a scam about them exactly? And who the fuck are you to be the judge? I really hope someone mows your professional life down the same way one day so you can speak from experience. Some people just need to feel the pain themselves. Like Linus, who came back squealing only after he faced the extent of public outrage - following not Steve's video but his own reply on this forum.

If I do this kind of equivalent selling bullshit to people, please do come mow my life down.

 

I am an Electromagnetic Compliance Engineering Technician in the Avionics sector.  I know that's a bit of a mouthful, so let me break it down for you;

Those computers in aircraft that pilots rely on so they don't crash the airplane with people on it?  Yeah, I'm responsible for certifying those to sell to customers.

 

If I pull this shit at my daily job, things like the Boeing 737 Max happens and people die.

 

If I ever try to bullshit the FAA into allowing people to buy my company's products, PLEASE make sure I get fired.

[Loopers]

6 minutes ago, mikaelus said:

lame excuses context

I corrected your post. 

[mikaelus]

17 minutes ago, Cooldoe said:

Wow the personal attack just astounding.

It is a valid comment on the product performance vs cost.

Well just wait jay2c review on it if it ever come to be. If I am billet labs I will take my time to give anyone review sample and keep taking pre order while the issue is hot.

If you have so much money and love the product then please buy it and review it and post it.

 

Fyi if you make so much money you know that $250 for a high quality backpack is not expensive compared to the branded high quality one

Jay is another dimwit, like all of them, bitching about GPU prices without comprehending the extent of global economic consequences the past 2 years have had on business. Every single time each of these Youtube morons publishes another tech video I can't decide whether they're doing it because they are really that stupid or they are cynically catering to millions of losers following them. That's why I loathe tech "reviewers" in general. I watch LTT for the entertainment factor + some unique hardware they get their hands on occasionally, which is fun.

 

The comment on performance vs. cost is only valid in context - context that these webcam gurus have clearly do not have the intellectual capacity to process, because if they did they would have said many different things on other topics. Unless, as I said, they are just so cynical they know that to milk millions of losers watching Youtube with AdBlock is pure populism, borrowed from politics where the masses are pitted against some narrow elite which allegedly owes them something.

 

The USP of the block is not some ground-shattering cooling performance - but achieving this in a very small form factor, even if complicated to mount. It's a niche, enthusiast product, which carries a premium price for its uniqueness.

 

Quote

Fyi if you make so much money you know that $250 for a high quality backpack is not expensive compared to the branded high quality one

What defines high quality exactly? It's a tech backpack, marketed to people that five seconds earlier are told by Linus that a GPU is $50 or $100 too expensive for some reason he clearly can't grasp. As far as I remember gross margins on LTT's merch - as reported by them themselves - are about as high as Apple's are on its products (over 40% or so).

 

If you don't buy the backpack you could instantly afford a higher tier GPU.

 

Is LMG really in a position to moan about the prices of cutting edge innovation, when Nvidia's net margins were cut in half in recent years, dropping below 20% in 2023, while AMD posted a loss last quarter?

 

If they were serious about data they wouldn't say half the shit they do.

[MercuryRain]

7 minutes ago, mikaelus said:

 

 

What defines high quality exactly? It's a tech backpack, marketed to people that five seconds earlier are told by Linus that a GPU is $50 or $100 too expensive for some reason he clearly can't grasp. As far as I remember gross margins on LTT's merch - as reported by them themselves - are about as high as Apple's are on its products (over 40% or so).

 

Is LMG really in a position to moan about the prices of cutting edge innovation, when Nvidia's net margins were cut in half in recent years, dropping below 20% in 2023, while AMD posted a loss last quarter?

 

If they were serious about data they wouldn't say half the shit they do.

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35 is $200.  The Aer Travel Pack 3 is $250.  The Pakt Travel Backpack is $300. 

All of these are equivalent to the LTT Backpack in both capacity and quality.

 

Is there a premium on Linus' Backpack? Probably.

 

It's not nearly to the level you're portraying it as.  Same for the LTT Screwdriver.  is $70 a lot for a Screwdriver? Yeah.

 

Mechanics everywhere buy Snap-On. For the quality.  Their ratcheting screwdriver retails for **$185**

 

EDIT: Also, to be clear, clothing is a very high margin industry, as are cables.  That is why every single creator on youtube has clothing as their merchandise.  Because it makes them money.  Tech is not a high margin environment.  Microcenter loses money on every single CPU and Motherboard combo that they sell (source: worked at Microcenter.).  They bank on making that money back through cables. 

[mikaelus]

1 minute ago, CerberusLabrat said:

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35 is $200.  The Aer Travel Pack 3 is $250.  The Pakt Travel Backpack is $300. 

All of these are equivalent to the LTT Backpack in both capacity and quality.

 

Is there a premium on Linus' Backpack? Probably.

 

It's not nearly to the level you're portraying it as.  Same for the LTT Screwdriver.  is $70 a lot for a Screwdriver? Yeah.

 

Mechanics everywhere by Snap-On. For the quality.  Their ratcheting screwdriver retails for **$185**

And Amazon Basics goes for $15 as far as I remember, and was rated only marginally below LTT's in some reviews that I watched for comparison.

 

I have no problem with people selling merch at any price they want to. I have a problem with hypocrites bitching about prices of products of other companies while hawking their overpriced stock a second later.

[avg123]

Is WAN Show happening?

[mikaelus]

Just now, avg123 said:

Is WAN Show happening?

Nope.

[DestructiveLlama]

18 minutes ago, CerberusLabrat said:

If I do this kind of equivalent selling bullshit to people, please do come mow my life down.

 

I am an Electromagnetic Compliance Engineering Technician in the Avionics sector.  I know that's a bit of a mouthful, so let me break it down for you;

Those computers in aircraft that pilots rely on so they don't crash the airplane with people on it?  Yeah, I'm responsible for certifying those to sell to customers.

 

If I pull this shit at my daily job, things like the Boeing 737 Max happens and people die.

 

If I ever try to bullshit the FAA into allowing people to buy my company's products, PLEASE make sure I get fired.

I agree with what your saying about the viability of Billet Lab's heatsink and clearly Linus felt that way too. The problem is that he let his opinion show throughout the video and his testing methodology like he was testing Ali Express gadgets.

 

I don't think it was the right way to handle a review of a product someone sent you.

[mikaelus]

18 minutes ago, CerberusLabrat said:

If I do this kind of equivalent selling bullshit to people, please do come mow my life down.

 

I am an Electromagnetic Compliance Engineering Technician in the Avionics sector.  I know that's a bit of a mouthful, so let me break it down for you;

Those computers in aircraft that pilots rely on so they don't crash the airplane with people on it?  Yeah, I'm responsible for certifying those to sell to customers.

 

If I pull this shit at my daily job, things like the Boeing 737 Max happens and people die.

 

If I ever try to bullshit the FAA into allowing people to buy my company's products, PLEASE make sure I get fired.

What exactly has Billet ever BSed about? Or who was that? Oh, it was Linus!

 

Yeah, I want your life to be mowed down when you do a great job but some callous asshole dismisses it in a second and throws it in the garbage with you in it.

 

Then come back here.

[MercuryRain]

1 minute ago, mikaelus said:

And Amazon Basics goes for $15 as far as I remember, and was rated only marginally below LTT's in some reviews that I watched for comparison.

 

I have no problem with people selling merch at any price they want to. I have a problem with hypocrites bitching about prices of products of other companies while hawking their overpriced stock a second later.

https://a.co/d/6TVvmG3

This amazon basics backpack?

First, it's $25. On sale down from $40. Second, it's 15 Liters.  Linus' is 35.  Third, the LTT backpack is MUCH higher quality and will last much longer than that piece of shit will.

[mikaelus]

6 minutes ago, CerberusLabrat said:

EDIT: Also, to be clear, clothing is a very high margin industry, as are cables.  That is why every single creator on youtube has clothing as their merchandise.  Because it makes them money.  Tech is not a high margin environment.  Microcenter loses money on every single CPU and Motherboard combo that they sell (source: worked at Microcenter.).  They bank on making that money back through cables. 

Good, now tell this to Linus.

[MercuryRain]

Just now, mikaelus said:

What exactly has Billet ever BSed about? Or who was that? Oh, it was Linus!

 

Yeah, I want your life to be mowed down when you do a great job but some callous asshole dismisses it in a second and throws it in the garbage with you in it.

 

Then come back here.

They are literally selling something they do not have and apparently can not reliably reproduce.  For $800.

 

That is a bullshit business model.  If you ever do that, you should quite simply not have a business.

[Cooldoe]

4 minutes ago, mikaelus said:

Jay is another dimwit, like all of them, bitching about GPU prices without comprehending the extent of global economic consequences the past 2 years have had on business. Every single time each of these Youtube morons publishes another tech video I can't decide whether they're doing it because they are really that stupid or they are cynically catering to millions of losers following them. That's why I loathe tech "reviewers" in general. I watch LTT for the entertainment factor + some unique hardware they get on their hands occasionally, which is fun to watch.

 

The comment on performance vs. cost is only valid in context - context that these webcam gurus have clearly do not have the intellectual capacity to process, because if they did they would have said many different things on other topics. Unless, as I said, they are just so cynical they know that to milk millions of losers watching Youtube with AdBlock is pure populism, borrowed from politics where the masses are pitted against some narrow elite which allegedly owes them something.

 

The USP of the block is not some ground-shattering cooling performance - but achieving this in a very small form factor, even if complicated to mount. It's a niche, enthusiast product, which carries a premium price for its uniqueness.

 

What defines high quality exactly? It's a tech backpack, marketed to people that five seconds earlier are told by Linus that a GPU is $50 or $100 too expensive for some reason he clearly can't grasp. As far as I remember gross margins on LTT's merch - as reported by them themselves - are about as high as Apple's are on its products (over 40% or so).

 

If you don't buy the backpack you could instantly afford a higher tier GPU.

 

Is LMG really in a position to moan about the prices of cutting edge innovation, when Nvidia's net margins were cut in half in recent years, dropping below 20% in 2023, while AMD posted a loss last quarter?

 

If they were serious about data they wouldn't say half the shit they do.

Then if you are some rich and smart make the video with proper metrix showing that Linus are wrong. Dont just spouting BS and attacking other people work.

Or you just someone who know to spout BS without any capability to do what you say.

 

Your statement that the product is a niche product that most user would not buy it actually the point that Linus make. The conclusion was the product is cool but does not make sense as the price to performance ratio just does not make any sense.

[mikaelus]

Just now, CerberusLabrat said:

https://a.co/d/6TVvmG3

This amazon basics backpack?

First, it's $25. On sale down from $40. Second, it's 15 Liters.  Linus' is 35.  Third, the LTT backpack is MUCH higher quality and will last much longer than that piece of shit will.

Not backpack, screwdriver. With a $250 backpack budget the choice would be very broad. But it's great you found something that is 1/10th the price. Means I could buy one of these new every year for a decade.

[MercuryRain]

1 minute ago, mikaelus said:

Good, now tell this to Linus.

Why would I? He clearly knows.  Why do you think he sells...clothing?

[MercuryRain]

Just now, mikaelus said:

Not backpack, screwdriver. With a $250 backpack budget the choice would be very broad. But it's great you found something that is 1/10th the price. Means I could buy one of these new every year for a decade.

Alright, you'll have 1/3rd the backpack?  And you will need to buy a new one every year to hold up to a quality backpack in that same amount of time.  I don't get it.

 

For the screwdriver? I mean, if you have no care for the quality of the tool you are using, then clearly you are not using that tool enough for it to matter, so sure, buy the Amazon Basics one.  You clearly don't need the quality one.

 

I need the quality one.  So I'm going to buy the quality one.  Here's the thing - my company bought the Snap-On for me.  They could have bought 2 of Linus' for the same price.

[mikaelus]

Just now, Cooldoe said:

Then if you are some rich and smart make the video with proper metrix showing that Linus are wrong. Dont just spouting BS and attacking other people work.

Or you just someone who know to spout BS without any capability to do what you say.

I don't have to, others have done it already and Linus himself admitted the review was complete trash. But then he had the temerity to keep being rogue and saying no matter what he wouldn't say anything else - which means he's a complete dumbass who doesn't know what he's talking about and shouldn't touch a review of any other product in existence.

  

Just now, Cooldoe said:

Your statement that the product is a niche product that most user would not buy it actually the point that Linus make. The conclusion was the product is cool but does not make sense as the price to performance ratio just does not make any sense.

Which is not something anybody should say about any product, unless it's in a fairly commodified industry.

 

It's like saying that a custom cupboard done by a carpenter is not worth its price because you can buy one from IKEA for 1/10th of the price. Get it?