Better Offline

The State of the Games Industry with Nathan Grayson

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Nathan Grayson of worker-owned games site Aftermath to talk about building an independent media outlet and the state of the game industry writ large. Nathan Grayson:  https://aftermath.site/author/nathan-grayson [https://aftermath.site/author/nathan-grayson] https://bsky.app/profile/nathangrayson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/nathangrayson.bsky.social] Celebrate Aftermath’s anniversary by subscribing - just $1 for your first month! https://aftermath.site/11-06-2025-01-12-00-2ndbirthdayoffer  [https://aftermath.site/11-06-2025-01-12-00-2ndbirthdayoffer] Buy Aftermath’s “Destroy AI” Hoodie: https://aftermath.site/destroy-ai-aftermath-kim-hu-hoodie-shirt/ [https://aftermath.site/destroy-ai-aftermath-kim-hu-hoodie-shirt/] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Monologue: AI Isn't Getting A Bailout

In this week's Better Offline monologue, Ed Zitron breaks down how economically irrelevant AI is, and how no bailout is coming to save the Large Language Model era. Want to support me? Get $10 off a year’s subscription to my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/w08jbm4jwg [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/w08jbm4jwg] It would mean a lot! YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Is Valve Taking On Microsoft? with Steve Burke

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Steve Burke of GamersNexus to talk about Valve’s new console-like Steam Machine and Vision Pro-like Steam Frame, and what this means for the future of gaming. GamersNexus:   Valve Steam Machine, Desktop SteamOS, Steam Frame VR, & Controller | ft. Engineering Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUxObt1efQ  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUxObt1efQ] Valve Steam Frame Engineering Deep-Dive: Water Cooling, Thermals, Power, Acoustics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NSjvJDe6Ic [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NSjvJDe6Ic] Support GamersNexus’ AI Surveillance Dystopia Series: https://store.gamersnexus.net/ai-dystopia  https://www.youtube.com/gamersnexus [https://www.youtube.com/gamersnexus] https://gamersnexus.net/ [https://gamersnexus.net/] https://bsky.app/profile/gamersnexus.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/gamersnexus.bsky.social] https://x.com/GamersNexus [https://x.com/GamersNexus] Steam Machine: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steammachine [https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steammachine] Steam Frame: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe [https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamframe] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

A Thanksgiving Monologue

In this week's monologue, Ed Zitron thanks you for being such wonderful listeners. If you ever have a tip, reach out on ezitron.76. Want to support me? Get $10 off a year’s subscription to my premium newsletter: https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/w08jbm4jwg [https://edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo-subscription/w08jbm4jwg] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

CZM Rewind: The Truth About Software Development with Carl Brown

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Carl Brown, a veteran software developer and host of The Internet of Bugs, to talk about the realities of software development, what coding LLMs can actually do, and how the media gets it wrong about software engineering at large. Original Air Date: 6.4.25 https://www.youtube.com/@InternetOfBugs [https://www.youtube.com/@InternetOfBugs] New GitHub Copilot Research Finds 'Downward Pressure on Code Quality' - https://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2024/01/25/copilot-research.aspx [https://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2024/01/25/copilot-research.aspx] Report: AI coding assistants aren’t a panacea - https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/21/report-ai-coding-assistants-arent-a-panacea/ [https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/21/report-ai-coding-assistants-arent-a-panacea/] Internet of Bugs Videos to watch: Debunking Devin: "First AI Software Engineer" Upwork lie exposed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmgmwEtoWE&t=3s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmgmwEtoWE&t=3s] AI Has Us Between a Rock and a Hard Place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJGNqnq-aCA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJGNqnq-aCA] Software Engineers REAL problem with "AI" and Jobs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQmN6xSorus&list=PLv0sYKRNTN6QhoxJdyTZTV6NauoZlDp99 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQmN6xSorus&list=PLv0sYKRNTN6QhoxJdyTZTV6NauoZlDp99] AGILE & Scrum Failures stuck us with "AI" hype like Devin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1Rxa9DMfI&t=1s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1Rxa9DMfI&t=1s] YOU CAN NOW BUY BETTER OFFLINE MERCH! Go to https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline [https://cottonbureau.com/people/better-offline] and use code FREE99 for free shipping on orders of $99 or more. --- LINKS: https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks [https://www.tinyurl.com/betterofflinelinks] Newsletter: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ [https://www.wheresyoured.at/] Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/]  Discord: chat.wheresyoured.at [https://discord.com/invite/QUUQUP9szv] Ed's Socials: https://twitter.com/edzitron [https://twitter.com/edzitron] https://www.instagram.com/edzitron [https://www.instagram.com/edzitron] https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com [https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com] https://www.threads.net/@edzitron [https://www.threads.net/@edzitron] Email Me: ez@betteroffline.com [ez@betteroffline.com] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.