I am one of those suckers (:sigh) who paid for Youtube since it bundled Youtube Music with it. However, today I used the latter’s Revanced version and it was so much customizable. Right from removing menu items to the stupid cast button Google has forced on us; it seems a billion dollar company can’t compete with these folks who make their apps so much more serviceable.
I don’t wish to go too much into the official Youtube client which too is tacked with things like Remix button and what not.
I also can’t stand the official YouTube client, not necessarily because it’s so bad, but because ReVanced simply has so much more QoL features that I can’t live without now.
I used to be on Newpipe in the old days. I liked it’s simple no frills UI. Ironically, I can still choose my desired video quality(like 720p, since I am on mobile data) but on official Youtube app, I only have/had three options - Low, High and Auto. No way to set an exact video resolution system wide, it could only be done per video. These constraints make almost any third party client superior to the official thing Google is providing.
Newpipe is really superior in any way. I can honestly say I haven’t visited YouTube.com in years, and definitely not used their app.
ReVanced also has the ability to remove the current BS YouTube video quality selector and restore the old resolution selector.
I’ve known about NewPipe for a long time but I’ve never really wanted to use it because of the vast amount of missing features. It might be alright for people who don’t use YouTube very often or want to preserve their privacy at all costs but I can’t use it.
“Can’t compete” => won’t, ftfy :-P
Google got their money, so they are simply “done”, unlike software made by people who genuinely care about stuff, and donate their time for free to improve it.
Yes, you are right. Google could if they really wanted to. After all, they bought their Gemini thing(the merits and demerits of it might warrant a separate thread of it’s own) when they saw everyone was scrambling in that direction.
They are a company - their obligations to their customers begin and end with extraction of funds to disburse to their shareholders:-(.
Back in the early days when they were trying to ingratiate themselves to the public, they put on a good face - “don’t be evil” and all, but the mask is off now. Even now, they still really truly are more ethical (or at least might be, maybe?) than some others, e.g. https://lemmy.world/post/11951288? (but that is not saying very much at all, to compare an evil corporation like Google to a full-on fairly criminal-like corporation that steals artists & other people’s content against their will; and I only say “criminal-like” b/c the aging geriatrics in various governments around the world barely use computers much less understand its terminology such as “mobile device”, so the existing legal structures remain mired half a century behind what is going on in today’s actual world).
Also, I am weird - I will do things like pay for Netflix even though I haven’t watched it in months, preferring the high seas that has more content that is no longer there:-P, b/c I want to support continued development of new content (though TV & movies are becoming a dated art form nowadays). That said, YouTube is a VERY different situation, b/c while they do have server costs and what-not, they also are one of the lowest (not THE lowest, but among them… iirc?) contributors back to the artists who actually make the stuff. So a better way would be to find artists that you like, and send them money directly where they would get 100% of the revenue.
Anyway, I like your post that shows that there is more than one reason to support such apps - not just b/c of the content but also more than that too.
It is not weird paying for certain things. I also pay for certain things, in fact, over time, I have slowly made my mind to pay for things that are one off payments over recurring subscriptions. I am typing this from Boost client which I purchased because I appreciated dev’s work and it wasn’t subscription hell.
That’s exactly what stallman is advocating. That we should control our own software on our own machines. What if you want to add an extra button?
It’s really just a practical thing
I sail the seas because it’s far more convenient than paying for shitty services. No sign ups, no logins, no figuring out where this show or that one is stationed, no emails, no bullshit.
I’ve been paying for Prime Video and Netflix and watch them through a HTPC hooked up to my TV with a user agent switcher extension in Firefox to trick the sites into thinking I’m on ChromeOS, so I can get somewhat near 720 or 1080p… Just started sailing the seas, and seeing content in 4K, was jaw dropping. I’ve known the difference, but I just forgot because I will never be served 4K, much less 1080p as long as I’m on Linux.
Also I could see what the fuck was happening in dark scenes like horror movies because it didn’t have Netflix’s shitty data compression showing me large moving grey blocks as the background of a horror movie.
Similarly, I started using Grayjay after paying for YouTube for years. I’ll never go back due to the significant QoL changes that Grayjay offers.
