Tech Giants: Nickel and Diming Us or Giving Back?
Tech giants flexed their might this week by locking basic features behind paywalls and shoving more ads in front of our eyes. Also, they’re allowing more ways for us to game and are making previously paid features free? Let’s jump into it!
The Big Story
New Users to Pay for Posting on X
X is going to start charging new accounts who want to post on the platform. According to Musk, the fee is to “curb an onslaught of bots on the platform”. As with most Musk announcements, there aren't many details, like how much it will cost nor when this change will roll out to users globally. He did mention that if new users are willing to wait 3 months, they would be able to post on the platform without needing to pay for it.
Read More about it here.
Quick Bytes
Ads in Windows 11 Start Menu - Microsoft is testing out ads in the Windows 11 Start Menu in the form of app recommendations from the Microsoft Store. It’s currently limited to Windows Insiders in the U.S. and it can be turned off. While nothing is concrete yet, it’s a tad worrying for the future of Windows.
Read more about it here.
Google’s AI Photo Editing for All - AI photo editing tools previously unique to Pixel devices and Google One subscribers will soon be available to all Google Photos users - for free. While you will be limited to 10 edits a month as a free user, you’ll now be able to unblur and magically erase people from your images on any device!
Read more about it here.
YouTube hunting 3rd party apps with ad-blocking - After last year’s crackdown on ad blockers, YouTube is now targeting 3rd party apps with built in ad blocking. Expect this cat and mouse game between YouTube and ad blockers to continue for a long time, especially as Premium prices continue to go up.
Read more about it here.
Retro Game Emulators on iPhones - If you’re an iPhone user who’s dreamt of emulating old retro games on your phone, rejoice! Apple recently allowed emulators on the App Store for the first time (officially at least). It’s still early and some of them have been removed for breaking rules, so it’ll be a while before we get a healthy ecosystem going.
Read more about it here.
You Should Check Out
5 Years Later by The Ink Tank
If you’re my age, you grew up watching Ben 10 or Danny Phantom. Both started strong but ended in a less-than-satisfactory way with so many unrealized plots and potential.
A small group of dedicated fans and content creators known as The Ink Tank started 5 Years Later - a fan project that continues both stories in a crossover event 5 years later in-universe. It’s amazing to see what can be accomplished by a fanbase that truly understands the lore of each universe and is dedicated enough to write compelling stories to further the plot without having to worry about studio meddling and toy sales dictating their direction.
It’s still ongoing and releases take a while due to the limited budget and time they have but I’m always in awe at how much love and effort has been poured into it. Check it out on YouTube, you’ll likely enjoy it!