We need more unbundling, and smaller markets
On separation of clients and services
People stream movies and TV in many ways. (And few do it in only one way.) You can do it through your phone, tablet or laptop, of course – but I think we’ll find the greatest variety when it comes to other forms: Many people have a TV set in addition to these other devices. But the size of your living area and wallet (or simply prioritisation) influences where you are on the scale of “Small and/or cheap TV that does the job” and “High-end OLED beast with Hi-Fi attached”.
But it’s not only about “More money = Better” – people value different things! For some, a VR headset would be a fantastic upgrade — while if you mainly watch TV as a social activity, it’ll defeat the purpose. And some would never swap their 43" Frame TV for a 77" black rectangle on their wall — no matter how much better the picture is. (Or what about a briefcase TV?)
Both through “privilege” and “prioritisation”, we have widely differing budgets — and also different needs and tastes. That’s why it’s so great, that we don’t have to use Netflix through only stuff that they have made!
Imagine if we could only use their service on Netflix TVs, or while sitting on Netflix couches. While there is a connection, making “a service”, and “the ways to interact with the service”, are two different things – that often require different skillsets. Now, you could say the difference here is hardware/software, and that you do have to watch Netflix through their app… I’m not saying either the situation or the analogy is perfect! However, while your brand of TV might also make great speakers, it’s still nice that you can choose your sound experience separately from your visual one. And I also think it would be better if you could also watch Netflix through other apps as well.
Non-Reversible USB-C
What???
I’m a big proponent of the USB-C Lifestyle™️. All my chargers are USB-C, and so are my electric razor, dremel and screwdrivers. So I, of course, sneer at savages with their USB-A ports, where they have to guess which way is the correct one (and always choose the wrong one first, of course). But this summer, while helping some young family members with their pedalboards, I encountered something that shocked me to the core:
A USB-C usage where you had to put it in the right way for it to work. 🤯
Second Sunrise: a World-Class Clothing Store in Stockholm
Truly High-Quality Garments
My wife and I recently had a couple of days in Stockholm.1 And as someone who loves well-made stuff (especially clothes), I searched for good stores for that. I didn’t find many, but the only one I found beforehand, was well worth it.
Other recommendations:
L'usine Bleue was a really cool little store, with only French workwear.
6/5/4 was also pretty cool.
World-Class
To put it into perspective, I went looking for stores at this level in Now York a couple of years ago — and that city only had two stores on this level: Self Edge and Blue in Green.2 Other stores I know about, are Standard & Strange, Göteborg Manufaktur, Blue Caviar (DK), Brund (DK), Redcast Heritage and Tate & Yoko. But they are really rare — so if you’re close to one, and get to try stuff in-store, you should really go for it.
What’s so special about stores like Second Sunrise?
Have We Been Evaluating Music Streaming Payments The Wrong Way?
One question that ofter comes up when discussing music streaming services, is: “How much are they paying artists per stream?" And there are many blog posts, like this one, that have tried to figure it out. It quotes some numbers, that I’ve seen several places, for Average Payout per 1000 Streams:
- Tidal: €11.64
- Apple Music: €7.25
- Spotify: €2.88
And this was the number that made me change from Spotify to Tidal last year — even though I don’t care about the increased audio quality, and I like Spotify’s app better. Comment sections are also often filled with things like “Spotify don’t pay artists”, etc.
But we might be thinking about it all wrong because here’s the thing: No1 streaming services actually pay per stream. Instead, all the major ones pile up the revenue, and then divide it to artists2 based on the percentage of total streams. So, even if I only listen to Blur, that doesn’t mean my payments only go to that artist.3
An interesting side effect of this is that, if every user streamed the same artists next month, but doubled their streaming amount, the payouts would be the same. But the blog posts above would have to halve the estimate for Payout per Stream.
So while it’s not totally irrelevant, I simply think payout per stream is the wrong number to look at. The more relevant number, is:
The percentage of revenue that goes to artists.
Allow me to explain:
✉️ Learn from my mistakes: Buy Larger Shoes
I love getting email etc. from readers (hint, hint), and recently, I got an email regarding an older blog post about a great pair of sneakers from Crown Northampton.
In the original blog post, I said I first bought them too small — but it took me a year to realise it. I bit the bullet, and bought another pair (of the quite expensive shoes), and I hope that’s a testament to how much I like them.
Here’s the email I got:
Hello there!
I just got these babies. I do have a question for you. I know you’ve said that it took you a year to admit they were too small. I think, I’m having the same problem. They’re a bit tight on the toe box.
I just tried to go for a walk (first wear since I received them), and I already have blisters on my ankles.
Should I re-send them to get the wider option? I just don’t feel like paying $160 to send them back and wait another 4 weeks.
My dilemma is whether I should be patient and try breaking them in a little more instead of getting the wider option. What would be your advice? I’m disappointed that a shoe this expensive is not as comfortable out of the box.
I look forward to your reply!
Best,
Luis 1
And here’s my first reply:
🌱 Coffee: Max Good, Min Effort
My Coffee Setup
My wife and I love coffee — and we drink a lot of it. So we want it to be good, while still not being too much of a hassle to make every day. And this post is me highlighting the equipment we use, and the process.
If you only want one-ish cup (and why I don’t like capsule machines)
When I say that we drink a lot of coffee, I mean that we drink coffee made of 0.75-1 litres of water/45-60 grams of beans. So it’s pretty obvious why something like a Nespresso capsule machine isn’t a viable option.
But other reasons I don’t like it, is that the coffee tastes much, much worse than alternatives, it can get expensive, and how much waste it creates. (For some info on environmental impact, check this video and this video.) In my book, capsules are Min Good, Min Effort.
I think capsule machines can be a viable option if you personally don’t drink coffee, but you want to have something to serve guests now and then (and you have room in your kitchen). But if you only want about one or two great cups of coffee for yourself, I’d either go for the quite quick AeroPress, or a more ritualistic pour-over, like a V60.
We sometimes make a pour-over — but most of the time, we use a (pretty) regular coffee-maker. 1 But they’re not all created equal.
What you need to make great coffee
0) Good water
I almost forgot this because in Norway, we are very lucky to have great water on tap. But depending on where you live, this might be an issue.