From my (small) friends circle, I haven't heard any of them talk about getting one. However, it's worth noting that these friends of mine are also not the ones who would buy new smartphones every year. They typically hold onto their phones for a few years and only switch when it seems like the phone isn't performing as expected (e.g. battery draining too quickly; slowness in software actions; to name a few).

One question I do have is, what happens if you clean install an AOSP like GrapheneOS onto these newer Pixels phones? Does that remove the AI features completely?

Does Michael Jackson's Thriller MV count as a zombie moment?

That's alright!

Yeah, I think there's another comment on this post that mentioned the same thing.

I'm not looking to self-host.

Linux Mint

Ah, I see. In that case, then yes, I would agree that the perception you just described would indeed raise the question of the Premium price, especially when compared to Disney and Amazon.

Perhaps not, but I am not certain if "amateur" is the right word in describing the creator contents on YouTube. Certainly, we're not talking Disney-level video quality, but most of the creators I follow appear to have some skill in AV recording and video editing. Plus, they do present some things that are of interest to a wide variety of audiences. Therefore, I don't necessarily see such content as "amateur-created". Now, that's not to say there are no amateur-level content on YouTube. I'm sure there are plenty of contents that really are of poor quality and not worth your time and money.

Please be aware that I am not trying to convince you to jump onboard YouTube Premium. That's your decision.

Hmmm...well, their fight against the adblockers is quite concerning, especially if the ads are so intrusive that they disrupt the user experience in viewing content, thus pushing more users to get Premium or go to another platform. It's not uncommon these days to find people migrating away from Big Tech platforms and going to other platforms that have more reasonable and sustainable services that benefit both the client and the vendor. The challenge is the content, which may not be as numerous as what you would find on YouTube, and along with that, there's the challenge of convincing creators to go onto those other platforms.

But, I am doubtful that Alphabet will be financially impacted. They might see a loss around YouTube, but that loss could be offset by profits from other products in their portfolio. Furthermore, because they have a paid option, it wouldn't be surprising to see people going for that option, especially if the cost is reasonable, and they are getting premium services not just for themselves but also their friends and family.

Do you anticipate your instance eventually growing to the point where you would have to outsource your hosting and start taking donations to cover the cost? And do you believe donations would be enough to pay off the costs, given the voluntary and variable nature of donations? What is your opinion of using ads to cover the cost of hosting?

Thanks!

I would certainly be up for Ideas 3 and 5.

Seeing that they released all the Season 1 episodes of Castlevania: Nocturne, I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to cancel my subscription and rejoin when Season 2 comes out. Maybe Crunchyroll would be more suitable for my anime binge-watching.