5 ms·

Unfortunately their landing page doesn’t give and real confidence. It looks like a MVP rather than something they’ve been working on for years.

ortusdux 7y ago
Definitely a soft launch. The FAQ is empty. The How it Works section of the TOS is pretty edifying.
choppaface 7y ago
Linus is a hardware person, not really a software person.
- minimaxir 7y ago
  That's why you hire software/design people.
- leshow 7y ago
  I mean, I wouldn't really call him a 'hardware person' either. If you consider a hardware person to be someone who does electrical or computer engineering, like designing PCBs or microcontrollers, etc. He comes across to me like a savvy consumer.
  - mendelmaleh 7y ago
    I don't remember him doing any of those things, I think Alex is their resident engineer... In my eyes Linus is just a nerd and a salesman.
- m_samuel_l 7y ago
  He's neither.
phendrenad2 7y ago
I don't think looking good is relevant to it's goals or success in any way.
- buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
  It might not be relevant to its goals, but it is definitely relevant to its success (which, I would assume, makes it relevant to its goals). For example, the person you're replying to seems less likely to use it because it looks unpolished. There are a lot of people that will initially be turned away like that. That hurts its chance of success. "Good looking" is far from the most important thing in a web site like this. But it is hard to argue it isn't relevant.
  - C1sc0cat 7y ago
    Doesn't seem to hurt twitch - The twitch UI looks like a toddler was given free rein with all the crayons.
    - sandov 7y ago
      Twitch doesn't look unpolished though. I don't like it, but its flaw isn't being unpolished.
    - imustbeevil 7y ago
      The first thing you see when you go to twitch.tv is a live stream and a list of other live streams. Once you view a stream the only things you see are the video player, details about the streamer, and chat. Not sure what you imagine could be better, but if you want to know what really bad UI looks like, check out Mixer.
    - Grue3 7y ago
      At least on twitch I'm able to watch somebody's video if I wanted to. Which seems like a very basic functionality you'd expect from a video website.
      - abdoufma 7y ago
        That's because it's not really a "video website", it's more like a patreon for video creators. Floatplane has made a very conscious decision not to influence the user's decisions on consuming content; there's no algorithm, recommended videos, or trending page. you just have access to the videos of people you want to support.
notatoad 7y ago
It doesn't look like Linus Tech Tips has even published any of their own content on this platform yet (at least not that i can find with a quick google search) so MVP is probably an accurate description. edit: or wait, maybe there is content on here but you need to sign in to view any of it? if that's the case it's not very clear.
- exwizzard 7y ago
  All of their content goes on floatplane first and then 1 week later gets reuploaded on youtube. It has been like that since they started working on floatplane.
- IlGrigiore 7y ago
  You need to pay to the creator to see the video content that is published on the platform. Since I was a subscriber to the site, I can tell you that the site does host videos from LTT.
  - dsl 7y ago
    Where do you even subscribe? I can't find anything targeted at viewers.
    - jeroenhd 7y ago
      If you log in you immediately get brought to the list of (6) available channels. The videos then become visible after subscribing to a channel.
    - notatoad 7y ago
      It seems like floatplane is going the same route as all these other "by creators for creators" video platforms - forgetting to worry about the viewer at all, and focus solely on the experience for the creator. As a viewer, i have no idea what i'm supposed to do on this site.
      - dwild 7y ago
correct_horse 7y ago
This product has been in the making for ~3 years. Luke from Linus Tech Tips used to be a video host, but has been in relatively few videos in the past 3 years because he was working on this. That's not to say those years were spent productively...

ortusdux 7y ago

Definitely a soft launch. The FAQ is empty. The How it Works section of the TOS is pretty edifying.

choppaface 7y ago

Linus is a hardware person, not really a software person.

minimaxir 7y ago
That's why you hire software/design people.
leshow 7y ago
I mean, I wouldn't really call him a 'hardware person' either. If you consider a hardware person to be someone who does electrical or computer engineering, like designing PCBs or microcontrollers, etc. He comes across to me like a savvy consumer.
- mendelmaleh 7y ago
  I don't remember him doing any of those things, I think Alex is their resident engineer... In my eyes Linus is just a nerd and a salesman.
m_samuel_l 7y ago
He's neither.

phendrenad2 7y ago

I don't think looking good is relevant to it's goals or success in any way.

buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
It might not be relevant to its goals, but it is definitely relevant to its success (which, I would assume, makes it relevant to its goals). For example, the person you're replying to seems less likely to use it because it looks unpolished. There are a lot of people that will initially be turned away like that. That hurts its chance of success. "Good looking" is far from the most important thing in a web site like this. But it is hard to argue it isn't relevant.
- C1sc0cat 7y ago
  Doesn't seem to hurt twitch - The twitch UI looks like a toddler was given free rein with all the crayons.
  - sandov 7y ago
    Twitch doesn't look unpolished though. I don't like it, but its flaw isn't being unpolished.
  - imustbeevil 7y ago
    The first thing you see when you go to twitch.tv is a live stream and a list of other live streams. Once you view a stream the only things you see are the video player, details about the streamer, and chat. Not sure what you imagine could be better, but if you want to know what really bad UI looks like, check out Mixer.
  - Grue3 7y ago
    At least on twitch I'm able to watch somebody's video if I wanted to. Which seems like a very basic functionality you'd expect from a video website.
    - abdoufma 7y ago
      That's because it's not really a "video website", it's more like a patreon for video creators. Floatplane has made a very conscious decision not to influence the user's decisions on consuming content; there's no algorithm, recommended videos, or trending page. you just have access to the videos of people you want to support.

notatoad 7y ago

It doesn't look like Linus Tech Tips has even published any of their own content on this platform yet (at least not that i can find with a quick google search) so MVP is probably an accurate description. edit: or wait, maybe there is content on here but you need to sign in to view any of it? if that's the case it's not very clear.

exwizzard 7y ago
All of their content goes on floatplane first and then 1 week later gets reuploaded on youtube. It has been like that since they started working on floatplane.
IlGrigiore 7y ago
You need to pay to the creator to see the video content that is published on the platform. Since I was a subscriber to the site, I can tell you that the site does host videos from LTT.
- dsl 7y ago
  Where do you even subscribe? I can't find anything targeted at viewers.
  - jeroenhd 7y ago
    If you log in you immediately get brought to the list of (6) available channels. The videos then become visible after subscribing to a channel.
  - notatoad 7y ago
    It seems like floatplane is going the same route as all these other "by creators for creators" video platforms - forgetting to worry about the viewer at all, and focus solely on the experience for the creator. As a viewer, i have no idea what i'm supposed to do on this site.
    - dwild 7y ago

correct_horse 7y ago

This product has been in the making for ~3 years. Luke from Linus Tech Tips used to be a video host, but has been in relatively few videos in the past 3 years because he was working on this. That's not to say those years were spent productively...