The Monthly - June 2023
What we published in May, Hot Takes on Elon Musk and why Social Media starting to look like Email. Plus Review Follow-ups, Deal Alerts and Recommendations.
A Note from Josh
Thanks for reading the second edition of The Monthly! This month you’ll find two new sections: Review Follow-ups and Deal Alerts. Sometimes I have updates on products I've reviewed that don’t require a new video. I'll post those updates exclusively in our newsletters.
Same thing for when I notice a product I’ve reviewed is on a significant sale. I’ll alert you to those in the Deal Alerts section.
Also, when you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll now be signed up to receive both The Monthly and 6 Months Plus (which posts more frequently but no more than once per week). You can learn how to adjust your email notifications on our About page.
Thanks again for your support,
Josh
Videos We Published - May 2023
Why I switched from Google News to RSS
Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) Review - 6 Months Later
Hot Takes:
Hot Takes are posted in the 6 Months Plus feed. This feed posts more regularly than The Monthly (no more than once a week). You can control which email newsletter feeds you receive in your Substack email notification settings.
What broke my relationship with Elon Musk
When I was in high school, I was enamored with Steve Jobs. I'll never forget the first time I held an iPhone. It felt magical. In the same way many parts of religion feel mystical, technology, for better or worse, gave off a similar vibe.
Steve Jobs was the central prophet of this tech religion. I watched every Apple event and devoured any Jobs-related content I could find. He seemed so prophetic and wise. At Apple, he wasn’t just making computers, digital media players, and phones; it felt like he was changing the world through technology.
His death in 2011 felt like such a loss. Tech, for a short time, felt void. Tim Cook took over for Jobs, but his persona didn’t have the same allure. As time went on, a new tech entrepreneur came into the spotlight who I thought could fill the void Jobs had left. His name was Elon.
The future of social media looks a lot like email
If you’ve been hearing about the new social media app BlueSky, you’re not alone. Everyone on Twitter has been clamoring to get a BlueSky invite, aside from the Musk diehards. Even President Biden hasn’t been able to get an invite. (BlueSky has made a rule that no heads of state are allowed on the platform while it is still in Beta.)
I’ve already explained why Twitter users might be inclined to leave Musk’s Tweetdom in my post about Elon.
But what’s more fascinating about this situation are the platforms people are flocking to: federated social media sites based on open source protocols.
The two biggest of these platforms are Mastodon and BlueSky. If they succeed in their mission and enough people switch to these platforms, it could change the way we use social media platforms forever.
Quick Takes:
Sonos Era 300 meets Ed Sheeran’s Subtract
This month Ed Sheeran dropped his latest album, Subtract, a well-reviewed, raw and emotional album that explores grief and anxiety of loss. This album is also a perfect example of what a great Dolby Atmos Mix can sound like with a speaker like the Sonos Era 300. Here’s a quick short I did to explain how the speaker works:
Toilet washlets are worth it
I bought a Toto Washlet during the Great Toilet Paper crisis of 2020. I thought about doing a review of it but was warned against it. I get it, people don’t want to think about (or perhaps watch) toilet-related stuff.
The toilet paper supply chain crisis of 2020 certainly changed that for many in the US. You could not find any toilet paper. Instead of spending my time fighting against the hoards of Americans driving around to every store in search of their coveted rolled paper, I rethought the whole experience altogether. Why did we wash our hands with water but just use paper for…toilet stuff? How did that make sense? It didn’t, at least to me.
I ended up buying a Toto Washlet with a heated seat in the spring of 2020. I find the experience more sanitary than using just toilet paper, and you end up using much less paper, which was especially great during 2020. The heated seat, which some may find gross, is actually GREAT! Once you have a heated toilet seat, you’ll be kicking yourself for not getting one sooner. Three years later, I still recommend getting a washlet for your toilet. Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to do a proper review on one…
The new Max streaming app sucks on the Apple TV.
It’s seriously insane how many corporate owners seem to screw up watching HBO content on the Apple TV, but here we are again. If you were just fine with the HBO Max app on the Apple TV, you’re in for a rude awakening with the Max app. It doesn’t support the Apple TV standard player, so features like reduced volume aren’t available. Neither is tapping to get an estimated time when the show will finish. Siri features are also missing, like asking Siri what someone said and having the assistant briefly turn on closed captions.
The HBO Max app had similar issues on Apple TV when it first launched. Months later, the company did an about-face and finally supported the Apple TV 4K’s native features. You would think this new larger company would have headed that lesson. They did not.
Review Follow-ups:
Kindle Paperwhite
It’s been almost a year since my review of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite came out.
Since my review, the Kindle Paperwhite’s battery life has continued to be excellent, and overall, I highly recommend getting one.
E-ink devices are the best devices to read on. Amazon makes it easy to send articles (and newsletters!) to the Kindle. Though it’s not always perfect, which is why I often use Push to Kindle, a paid third-party app on iOS and paid service on Android that often works when the Kindle app’s “Send to Kindle” feature doesn’t.
A year later, I still think the reading experience on a Kindle is better than a traditional book with its integrated dictionary, auto-adjusting warm light, ergonomic design, and ability to store thousands of books and articles. Unlike a hardcover book, a Kindle Paperwhite is very easy to hold in one hand, and you can easily use it while lying on your side.
If you need a Father’s Day idea, I don’t think you could go wrong with a Kindle Paperwhite.
Apple AirPods Max
With Apple about to kick off WWDC next week and finally unveil the rumored Reality Pro headset, I thought it would be interesting to look back at my favorite Apple product in recent years: The AirPods Max.
The AirPods Max were a bit misunderstood when they were first launched at $549 (yikes, I know). Today you can thankfully find them for a bit less.
Depending on the color, you can find them on Amazon between $479 and $489.
You can also find a renewed model of the Space Gray model for $455
The biggest annoyance I’ve had with the AirPods Max is battery life. Apple's own battery specs only rate them for 20 hours of playback with noise cancellation on. This is significantly lower than newer competing headphones like the Sony XM5s, which have 30 hours of playback.
I've had the AirPods Max for over two years, and it feels like they're draining a lot faster than they used to. This may be because I use them more often than other headphones I've reviewed. They're my favorite set of headphones I've ever owned, mainly because of their sound, noise cancellation, and transparency mode.
The sound quality is stunning, and I'm still impressed with it two years later. I don’t have issues pairing them to my Apple devices. And I love the magnetic, easy-to-remove ear cups, the metal construction, the breathable mesh canopy used for the headband and the overall look of the headphones.
Yes, the case is weird, but I’m fine with it. It's designed without a zipper, which makes it easy to get the headphones in and out of the case. However, if you're looking for more protection or would like to leave your headphones out on your desk, the case may not meet your needs.
Barring rumors of an imminent release of the rumored AirPods Max 2, I absolutely recommend picking up a pair of the AirPods Max if you’re an Apple user.
🚨Deal Alert!!🚨
Sometimes I see products that I recommend go on sale. When that happens, I’ll bring them to your attention here.
Sony WF-1000XM4s (29% off)
The Sony WF-1000XM4s remain my favorite pair of earbuds. Although they’re more uncomfortable than the LinkBuds S and the Bose QC IIs, for this price, you can’t get a better-sounding pair of buds, unless you want to wait for the Sony WF-1000XM5s which are rumored to come out in a month or two.
Sony LinkBuds S (26% off)
These are a great set of noise-canceling buds and one of the most comfortable sets I’ve ever tested. While they don’t sound nearly as good as the XM4s, they still hold their own in the price range they compete.
Sony LinkBuds (26% off)
I originally panned the LinkBuds. I could never quite figure out exactly who they were for. Well, earlier in the year, I got an e-bike to test out, and I immediately realized how wrong I was about them. For any activity where you want background music but will encounter a lot of wind noise, noise-canceling earbuds typically suck. They give you a lot of clipping and other artifacts with the noise cancellation struggling to cancel out wind noise. With the LinkBuds, because of their open design and lack of noise cancellation, they don’t have any of that annoyance. They allow you to hear the world around you, exactly what you want when riding a bike.
To view all of the products we recommend, visit our Amazon storefront
Recommendations
Article Recommendations
HP has found an exciting new way to DRM your printer! by Sean Hollister - The Verge
Jack Doresy’s Bluesky Is Trying to Save the Internet. It Wants Your Feedback, Please. by Thomas Germain - Gizmodo
The real story behind the demise of America’s once-might streetcars by Joseph Stromberg - Vox
Google’s new Pixel Tablet might be the end of the smart display by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy - The Verge
Podcast Recommendations
Flipping the Bird: Elon vs. Twitter - from Wondery
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on AI copilots, disagreeing with OpenAI, and Sydney making a comeback - Decoder with Nilay Patel
The Teen Mental Health Crisis, Part 1 - The Ezra Klein Show
(this episode is surprisingly very tech focused)