8 ms·

I wonder if he's going to LTT's labs venture? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk

by bonyt 5y ago

schnebbau 5y ago
Lots of people replying to this comment without actually watching the video or understanding what LTT Labs is. LTT Labs is their attempt at producing more investigative and informative content that is less rooted in entertainment like their main channels are.
thereddaikon 5y ago
That was my first thought. Linus has hinted heavily about industry veterans applying. I wonder if Ian is one of them.
ChuckNorris89 5y ago
That was my first thought too. LTT has gotten really big and Linus now has the money to pay for top editors and he's been bantering with Dr. Cutress for a long time. It's kinda sad to watch all the big name editorials I used to read as a teenager like Anandtech and Toms Hardware lost their spark and are withering away, and LTT is now becoming the tech review juggernaut.
- geerlingguy 5y ago
  The key question is the balance between advertising revenue and editorial independence. LTT seems to be walking that tightrope a lot more than some other outlets do, but IMO I'd rather see someone like GN take up the mantle from Anandtech... alas it seems like they often cater more towards gaming/enthusiast PCs in their work and aren't as broad as an LTT or Anandtech in their coverage. I hope there will always be a place for Anandtech's and Tom's Hardwares in this world, though. Text content with decent illustrations can't be adequately replaced by video.
  - wheybags 5y ago
    The problem is that GNs videos are often kinda long and boring. If i just want to know what's going on, I will watch an ltt video. I only watch GN videos when I'm making a purchasing decision.
    - FullyFunctional 5y ago
      I’ve said that repeatedly; the contents is good but it’s needlessly repeated throughout the videos. I feel most of Steves review could be presented in half the time without loosing much. And to be frank, most of the time there is just too much details.
      - newsclues 5y ago
        There is a reason for time stamps
  - xbmcuser 5y ago
    LTT just gets 1/3 of its revenue directly from sponsors because of the success of its merch store now so it is getting more editorial independence. Though you really can't alienate the tech companies if you want access to tech before news emargos etc.
    - Kranar 5y ago
      From the tweet linked below [1], which sparked a lot of controversy about the definition of piracy (which I entirely disagree with Linus on), about 65% of their revenue comes directly from sponsors and 32% comes from merchandise. [1] https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515
      - xbmcuser 5y ago
        Just 35% comes from direct sponsors ie in-video sponsor and sponsored projects. Apart from these 2 none of the other categories would effect editorial independence.
- ksec 5y ago
  Yes. That was something I wanted to write in the 15 years of HN thread but then decided to left it out. I was thinking if there are any site that I have been visiting for more than 15 years. And Anantech is the only one. I stopped reading The Register and Tomshardware a long time ago. I dont mind LTT, the problem is just it is way too dumbed down. It is part of the reason why Hardware discussions, even on HN is pretty average to say the least. May be people just dont like reading long and detail review but instead only want short form video.
- starky 5y ago
  In a recent WAN show he was hinting at a known name that applied but didn't say much more than that. Definitely wouldn't be surprised if this was that.
gigatexal 5y ago
Ugh I hope not. Linus is an annoying click bait uploader. Ian should go Indy.
- willis936 5y ago
  Ian makes regular yt uploads on his channel: TechTechPotato.
systemvoltage 5y ago
LTT is an entertainment channel. Completely different than Anandtech, by a long shot.
- reggegg 5y ago
  Their "LTT Labs" venture is supposed to be a mainly written research/testing articles
  - thereddaikon 5y ago
    Not just that but they want to do independent validation work. They have dipped into it a little on the main channel already with cable and display testing but it seems they intend to go much further.
    - gtm1260 5y ago
      Oh man I wonder how long till we get companies paying for 'LTT Labs approved' on their products.
  - systemvoltage 5y ago
    I wish Linus good luck, but I have a suspicion that it won't be like Anandtech. May be I am biased by the image of Linus and his crowd. I watched the Labs pitch, and it is very gamer oriented. I've been reading Anandtech for ~20 years. It has stayed virtually the same [1]. Linus has turned his venture into a giant media and entertainment house. I hope LTT labs is completely different but it is hard to imagine it given Linus' vision and business interests. [1] This aspect is basically unheard of these days. Hard to find anything that stayed the same ~20 years, they refined their vision instead of slowly destroying it.
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
Linus Tech Tips is all-in on the clickbait-centric style of YouTube production that is the polar opposite of quality tech journalism. They emphasize exaggerated reactions and silly accidents over the thoughtful and well-prepared content that Ian’s writing is about. Some people love it (obvious from their numbers) but I always feel like it’s a waste of time to watch his videos because it’s 90% entertainment and maybe 10% useful info. Entirely different audiences. So I hope he’s not joining them. It would be great if he formed his own venture instead.
- tomc1985 5y ago
  You just described everything that is wrong and also most profitable about Youtube culture
- BoysenberryPi 5y ago
  I agree you about LTT to a certain point but I think you are dragging them too much. LTT has done some very good tech journalism in the past and brought some very important stories to light. While I do not prefer them for my hardware information for reasons you stated, I would not call them the polar opposite of quality.
  - willis936 5y ago
    This is what annoys me most about LTT: they have nuggets of value in most videos, but they're buried under a mountain of optimized dirt. It's cool to see them try a different format and hope they succeed in bringing proper empirical-mindedness to the top of the presentation.
  - PragmaticPulp 5y ago
    That's the 10% good info that I referred to. If I drop into a random page of a random Ian Cutress article, there's a high probability it will be interesting and well thought-out content. If I drop into a random LTT video and scroll to a random timestamp, it's most likely going to be some minimal content arbitrarily stretched past the 10 minute threshold for YouTube monetization. I can usually find the answer to the clickbait headline with enough seeking around, but many of his videos contain so little actual content that it could probably be summarized in a couple of Tweets. His specialty is expanding it into 10+ minutes of overly enthusiastic, slow-paced talking about it. The information density is at polar opposites of the spectrum, and that's by design. YouTube favors quantity and clickbait, and it's no secret that Linus is playing that game as aggressively as he can.
awiesenhofer 5y ago
If he does I hope they also start a website for long form articles. Just watching short highlight clips of whats happening in the world of chips instead of reading his detailed, in-depth articles and interviews about these complex topics would be hell. Heck, even if they where hours long, some stuff is just better suited to be read than watched.
- apocalyptic0n3 5y ago
  That is the plan. They're launching "LTT Labs" which will focus on thoroughly testing products (I think they're aiming to do what Steve at GamersNexus does) and moving toward launching a written review and news site (I don't think he's mentioned that name yet). Given the level of respect he's shown Cuttress in the past and the timing, combined with how excited he's been on WAN Show about the person he was finalizing a deal to hire to lead these efforts, there's probably a decent chance Cuttress is the hire. That's all speculation at this point, though.
  - sharken 5y ago
    Only just hearing about LTT Labs now, but it sounds like a great idea. And i see no problem with LTT and their approach to hardware, it is entertaining but make no mistake, that they know what they are talking about. But let's see what LTT is up to.
tristor 5y ago
Echoing others, I don't really respect LTT. They are more entertainment than information or any real attempt at tech journalism. On the other hand, Ian would be a great addition to a group like Gamer's Nexus, which is more focused on objectively testing technology products and diving into how they are engineered and what trade-offs are being made and why.
Macha 5y ago
He's been testing the waters with going independent for the last couple of years with his tech tech potato channel, and has collabed a lot with Wendell of Level1Techs which is a similarly sized channel, so I'd see it as more likely he's going to try go full time independent. Though it is always possible his experiences have convinced him the other way and he tries to join up with someone now.
sixothree 5y ago
Luke said this was happening on tonight's WAN Show.
- dawnerd 5y ago
  It sure felt like a confirmation.

I wonder if he's going to LTT's labs venture? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk

by bonyt 5y ago

I wonder if he's going to LTT's labs venture? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk

schnebbau 5y ago

Lots of people replying to this comment without actually watching the video or understanding what LTT Labs is. LTT Labs is their attempt at producing more investigative and informative content that is less rooted in entertainment like their main channels are.

thereddaikon 5y ago

That was my first thought. Linus has hinted heavily about industry veterans applying. I wonder if Ian is one of them.

ChuckNorris89 5y ago

That was my first thought too. LTT has gotten really big and Linus now has the money to pay for top editors and he's been bantering with Dr. Cutress for a long time. It's kinda sad to watch all the big name editorials I used to read as a teenager like Anandtech and Toms Hardware lost their spark and are withering away, and LTT is now becoming the tech review juggernaut.

geerlingguy 5y ago
The key question is the balance between advertising revenue and editorial independence. LTT seems to be walking that tightrope a lot more than some other outlets do, but IMO I'd rather see someone like GN take up the mantle from Anandtech... alas it seems like they often cater more towards gaming/enthusiast PCs in their work and aren't as broad as an LTT or Anandtech in their coverage. I hope there will always be a place for Anandtech's and Tom's Hardwares in this world, though. Text content with decent illustrations can't be adequately replaced by video.
- wheybags 5y ago
  The problem is that GNs videos are often kinda long and boring. If i just want to know what's going on, I will watch an ltt video. I only watch GN videos when I'm making a purchasing decision.
  - FullyFunctional 5y ago
    I’ve said that repeatedly; the contents is good but it’s needlessly repeated throughout the videos. I feel most of Steves review could be presented in half the time without loosing much. And to be frank, most of the time there is just too much details.
    - newsclues 5y ago
      There is a reason for time stamps
- xbmcuser 5y ago
  LTT just gets 1/3 of its revenue directly from sponsors because of the success of its merch store now so it is getting more editorial independence. Though you really can't alienate the tech companies if you want access to tech before news emargos etc.
  - Kranar 5y ago
    From the tweet linked below [1], which sparked a lot of controversy about the definition of piracy (which I entirely disagree with Linus on), about 65% of their revenue comes directly from sponsors and 32% comes from merchandise. [1] https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515 https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1486918784401088515
    - xbmcuser 5y ago
      Just 35% comes from direct sponsors ie in-video sponsor and sponsored projects. Apart from these 2 none of the other categories would effect editorial independence.
ksec 5y ago
Yes. That was something I wanted to write in the 15 years of HN thread but then decided to left it out. I was thinking if there are any site that I have been visiting for more than 15 years. And Anantech is the only one. I stopped reading The Register and Tomshardware a long time ago. I dont mind LTT, the problem is just it is way too dumbed down. It is part of the reason why Hardware discussions, even on HN is pretty average to say the least. May be people just dont like reading long and detail review but instead only want short form video.
starky 5y ago
In a recent WAN show he was hinting at a known name that applied but didn't say much more than that. Definitely wouldn't be surprised if this was that.

gigatexal 5y ago

Ugh I hope not. Linus is an annoying click bait uploader. Ian should go Indy.

willis936 5y ago
Ian makes regular yt uploads on his channel: TechTechPotato.

systemvoltage 5y ago

LTT is an entertainment channel. Completely different than Anandtech, by a long shot.

reggegg 5y ago
Their "LTT Labs" venture is supposed to be a mainly written research/testing articles
- thereddaikon 5y ago
  Not just that but they want to do independent validation work. They have dipped into it a little on the main channel already with cable and display testing but it seems they intend to go much further.
  - gtm1260 5y ago
    Oh man I wonder how long till we get companies paying for 'LTT Labs approved' on their products.
- systemvoltage 5y ago
  I wish Linus good luck, but I have a suspicion that it won't be like Anandtech. May be I am biased by the image of Linus and his crowd. I watched the Labs pitch, and it is very gamer oriented. I've been reading Anandtech for ~20 years. It has stayed virtually the same [1]. Linus has turned his venture into a giant media and entertainment house. I hope LTT labs is completely different but it is hard to imagine it given Linus' vision and business interests. [1] This aspect is basically unheard of these days. Hard to find anything that stayed the same ~20 years, they refined their vision instead of slowly destroying it.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

Linus Tech Tips is all-in on the clickbait-centric style of YouTube production that is the polar opposite of quality tech journalism. They emphasize exaggerated reactions and silly accidents over the thoughtful and well-prepared content that Ian’s writing is about. Some people love it (obvious from their numbers) but I always feel like it’s a waste of time to watch his videos because it’s 90% entertainment and maybe 10% useful info. Entirely different audiences. So I hope he’s not joining them. It would be great if he formed his own venture instead.

tomc1985 5y ago
You just described everything that is wrong and also most profitable about Youtube culture
BoysenberryPi 5y ago
I agree you about LTT to a certain point but I think you are dragging them too much. LTT has done some very good tech journalism in the past and brought some very important stories to light. While I do not prefer them for my hardware information for reasons you stated, I would not call them the polar opposite of quality.
- willis936 5y ago
  This is what annoys me most about LTT: they have nuggets of value in most videos, but they're buried under a mountain of optimized dirt. It's cool to see them try a different format and hope they succeed in bringing proper empirical-mindedness to the top of the presentation.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  That's the 10% good info that I referred to. If I drop into a random page of a random Ian Cutress article, there's a high probability it will be interesting and well thought-out content. If I drop into a random LTT video and scroll to a random timestamp, it's most likely going to be some minimal content arbitrarily stretched past the 10 minute threshold for YouTube monetization. I can usually find the answer to the clickbait headline with enough seeking around, but many of his videos contain so little actual content that it could probably be summarized in a couple of Tweets. His specialty is expanding it into 10+ minutes of overly enthusiastic, slow-paced talking about it. The information density is at polar opposites of the spectrum, and that's by design. YouTube favors quantity and clickbait, and it's no secret that Linus is playing that game as aggressively as he can.

awiesenhofer 5y ago

If he does I hope they also start a website for long form articles. Just watching short highlight clips of whats happening in the world of chips instead of reading his detailed, in-depth articles and interviews about these complex topics would be hell. Heck, even if they where hours long, some stuff is just better suited to be read than watched.

apocalyptic0n3 5y ago
That is the plan. They're launching "LTT Labs" which will focus on thoroughly testing products (I think they're aiming to do what Steve at GamersNexus does) and moving toward launching a written review and news site (I don't think he's mentioned that name yet). Given the level of respect he's shown Cuttress in the past and the timing, combined with how excited he's been on WAN Show about the person he was finalizing a deal to hire to lead these efforts, there's probably a decent chance Cuttress is the hire. That's all speculation at this point, though.
- sharken 5y ago
  Only just hearing about LTT Labs now, but it sounds like a great idea. And i see no problem with LTT and their approach to hardware, it is entertaining but make no mistake, that they know what they are talking about. But let's see what LTT is up to.

tristor 5y ago

Echoing others, I don't really respect LTT. They are more entertainment than information or any real attempt at tech journalism. On the other hand, Ian would be a great addition to a group like Gamer's Nexus, which is more focused on objectively testing technology products and diving into how they are engineered and what trade-offs are being made and why.

Macha 5y ago

He's been testing the waters with going independent for the last couple of years with his tech tech potato channel, and has collabed a lot with Wendell of Level1Techs which is a similarly sized channel, so I'd see it as more likely he's going to try go full time independent. Though it is always possible his experiences have convinced him the other way and he tries to join up with someone now.

sixothree 5y ago

Luke said this was happening on tonight's WAN Show.

dawnerd 5y ago
It sure felt like a confirmation.