As Expected AI Is Making Everything More Expensive - Envato Elements Example

  Envato has revealed the new pricing for Elements with AI included. Until feb 25 AI generation was unlimited and included in all plans. Not anymore. Now we have 3 tiers: Core, Plus, Ultimate.

 Core has 10 AI gen/mo, which is severely limited. I guess it's basically the old plan without AI. Plus has 100 AI gen/mo. The Ultimate plan has unlimited AI gen.

 Core is now $198/year. Plus jumps to $468/year, and Ultimate will rob you of $1308/year. Students save 30%.

 Unlike Adobe offering, you cannot buy additional credits. For now at least. Unlike Adobe, no old model unlimited gen available. Credits, like Adobe, reset each month, which sucks in both cases.

Adobe CC Pro Plan gives you 4000 gen AI credits included for $69.99/mo. Although Adobe doesn't counts credits like Envato does: some Adobe AI gen cost 10, 20, 40, 50, 100 or even more credits. With Envato, all AI gen are equal: one gen costs one credit. At least for now.

 Interestingly, looking at the Plus plan, Envato prices AI gen at $270 ($468-$198) for 90 generations. Or $3 each. Which seems high. Basically ou spend $3 each time you click on "Generate" when on the Core or Plus plans. To me this Plus plan is not very attractive.

 For the reasons we all know at this point, you cannot foresee the number of generations you will need. De-coupling the cost from the number of gen AI (as in unlimited) makes a lot of sense. So the Ultimate plan seems like a good deal if you think you'll be using a lot of gen AI.

 Compared to ChatGPT Pro at $200/mo, or $2400/year, which gives access to most of OpenAI gen AI including Sora "unlimited", Envato Ultimate is more affordable. Although as of now Envato video gen it is still in Beta and limited in models, duration and resolution.

 Envato is currently powered by OpenAI, Luma, Google's Veo and Nano Banana, Seedream, KingAI, EleveLabs, Flux and Minimax.

 Envato picks the models depending on the task. According to their FAQS:

 "We use a mix of state of the art models such as Nano Banana, Google Veo, Kling, Runway, ElevenLabs, and more to match the right models with specific use cases and styles under the hood. We constantly partner with leading providers as new models launch and update our integrations as existing models improve and add capabilities. To keep things fast and flexible here, model-specific availability is always evolving and subject to change at Envato’s discretion without notice."

 In other words, the user doesn't have control of the models, and tools available today might not be tomorrow. We'll see if Envato allows users to select specific models for specific tasks in the future.

 If you compare to Adobe's cost of AI page, you'll notice that Adobe offers more models, and you also quickly see that the most recent models and higher resolutions cost way more credits than their lower res peers, from 10 credits to 450 credits. That will quickly depletes your Adobe credits if you use a lot of the high end stuff.

 Envato locks you in with the yearly plans, which are more affordable than their monthly plans. Core is $198 yearly vs. $468 for 12 months if subscribing monthly. Plus is $468 yearly vs. $708 for 12 months if subscribing monthly. Ultimate is $1308 yearly vs. $2028 for 12 months if subscribing monthly.

 I suppose one could have a Core plan for everyday stock and occasional AI gen, and possibly a second monthly sub to Ultimate for gen AI heavy projects. When the project is completed, cancel/suspend the monthly sub to Ultimate.

 The cost for a yearly Core + 1 month of Ultimate would be $198 + $169 = $367. Core + 2 months of Ultimate $198 + $338 = $536. Core + 3 months Ultimate $198 + $507 = $705, etc. Core + 6 month of Ultimate $198 + $1014 = $1212. So one would need to use gen AI more than 6 months in the year to justify the yearly Ultimate sub.

As Expected AI Is Making Everything More Expensive - Adobe Example

  AI has been shoved down our throats, offered as "unlimited" to lure us in, and now companies are pulling the carpet and are trying to lock us in higher fees. Unlimited gen on Adobe Creative Cloud is coming to an end on March 16.

 One thing for sure, AI is expensive!

 Currently Adobe gives you 4000 Premium Features credits per month on the regular Creative Cloud Pro plan ($69.99/month, currently on sale for $34.99 for the first 3 months.) CC Pro plan was $10 cheaper before the introduction of AI features.

 Most standard features cost 1 credit or more without a CC plan. They are still unlimited when you have a CC plan, which is good to have I guess. The Premium models cost credits. What's Premium or standard is likely subject to change in the future.

 According to Adobe, with 4000 credits you can generate up to 40 5 seconds videos, translate up to 13 minutes of audio, generate up to 400 sound effects. Not a lot of gen for an AI midweigth project in my opinion.

  If you want more credits, they are available in Firefly sub as follow: 2000 credits for $9.99; 7000 credits for $29.99; 50,000 credits for $199.99.

 Credits used for generations vary depending on the task, models, and many other variables, among them how close to what you have in mind the generation looks and feel... And we all know that it can be far from the envisioned result. Leading to multiple generation, trials and errors.

 As a result it's IMPOSSIBLE to budget in advance. And unfortunately the business model actually makes more money the more it fails at its tasks... Forcing you to consume more credits. We live in crazy times.

 At least Adobe flags the premium features in their apps, and users can select which they want to use. Here for example gen fill in Photoshop clearly shows what models are Premium (basically all partners models) and thus cost credits. Again, standard features are included in CC plan, and currently unlimited.

 For memo here is the current Adobe pricing table. 🤯

 The mentioned partners models table in the above linked page is in turn excruciating. 😥

At least Adobe is trying to be upfront with this mess. Good luck with the headache inducing information.

Tp-link Archer AX55 No Internet Connection Issue

 For some reason Tp-link Archer AX55 Wifi Router refuses to connect to the internet. All the cables are fine, the Modem is working fine, computers connected to the switch and then to the Modem are able to connect to the internet via Ethernet, no problem!

 Tp-link Archer AX55 is not happy and the internet led stays orange. In the Tp-link settings it says no internet connection. Not only, but I kept getting disconnections and now way to try any other config.

Simple solution in this forum:

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/545762

As it happens, I have a cable Modem, and for convenience I had connected the Modem to the unmanaged switch, then from the switch to the Tp-link router. The switch also received my three other computers. So the Modem was seeing many different MAC addresses not just the Tp-link one.

As @paulrob mentionned in his post:

Not sure if applicable, but in the UK (I am on Virgin Media) and the ISP modem needs to also be rebooted after the router is replaced.

The ISP fibre modem looks at the Mac address of the device connected to it when first booted, if the router is changed (and the modem not rebooted) then it will refuse to authorise the device.

 

Try turning off your ISP modem and the AX55.

Turn on the Modem, wait for it to boot properly, then turn on the AX55.

 Ah! Exactly, so I guess on reboot the Modem locked onto one of the other computers instead of the Tp-link, and after that, no way to make it work.

 So I unplugged everything and only connected the Modem to the Tp-link WAN, rebooted the Modem. Rebooted the Tp-link, and... IT WORKED!

 I have reconnected everything, now going from the Tp-link to the switch via the 1st LAN, and then connected every other device to the switch. This way next time there is a power outage, the entire network should reconfigure itself automatically. 👍

DaVinci Resolve Version 20.3.2 Update!

 The People at BMD are relentless and that's a good thing! There is still a long way to go for Resolve, but it's making progress with each update. Keep up the good work!

From BMD:

What's new in DaVinci Resolve 20.3.2

The following features have been added or updated.

• Preferences option to enable dynamic trim for trim editor in edit.
• More consistent kerning for subtitles.
• Magic mask cache is now retained when pasting node attributes.
• Improved render speeds for side-by-side stereoscopic 3D renders.
• Up to 2.5x faster SuperScale Enhanced with Apple Neural Engine.
• Progressive renders for interlaced timelines with same frame rate.
• Addressed issue with lens correction of vertical clips.
• Addressed incorrect ILPD used with disabled clip on higher tracks.
• Addressed incorrect aivu when rendering marked timeline ranges.
• Addressed incorrect ImmersivePatcher behavior with proxy media.
• Addressed timecode issue for proxies from stereoscopic 3D EXRs.
• Addressed issue localizing media pool column headers.
• Addressed slow media management start up for larger projects.
• Addressed ProRes RAW decode issue when using ACES.
• Addressed issue with editing effects on a locked node stack layer.
• Analog Damage disabling CRT scan no longer disables restless foot.
• Addressed potential flicker in face refinement eyebag removal.
• Addressed retention of MaxCLL from XML when exporting IMF.
• Addressed issues with Dolby Atmos external renderers.
• Addressed ADC reverb delay compensation issue in some projects.
• Addressed incorrect pass through behavior for Sony XAVC renders.
• Addressed issue decoding some Sony ARW clips.
• Addressed incorrect render size estimates for some MXF clips.
• Support for Fujifilm F-Gamut C colorspace and F-Log2 C gamma.
• Support for Dolby headphone personalization of binaural monitoring.
• General performance and stability improvements.

Cannot delete or rename Documents folder on iCloud - Solution

 I am not syncing my Desktop & Documents Folders on iCloud, nevertheless Apple thinks the Documents folder should live forever on my iCloud Drive. I could not rename it, I could not delete it.

 Until some clever user pointed out the solution on Apple forum: If you are not able to delete the Documents folder on iCloud, try to drag it first to the desktop, and then delete it from there.

 It works! Thank you!

Use Blender To Import .FBX And Export .USDZ

 Use Blender to import .FBX 3D files, and export them to .usdz to use in Apple Motion.

 Many 3D models are available in the .FBX Autodesk's format. Unfortunately Apple Motion only accepts .usdz files.

 It's easy to use Blender as a converter:

• In Blender, File, Import, FBX (.fbx)
• The model will load in Blender with its Materials/Textures.
• Then File, Export, Universal Scene Description (.usd*)
• In the filename export, use ".usdz" extension. In the export settings, under Materials, Select "512" in the USDZ Texture Downsampling.
• Export USD.

 The resulting .usdz file imports fine into Motion with its Materials/Textures attached.

 Thanks to this Lightcraft documentation for the tip.

Apple iCloud Drive, What Works, What Doesn't

 Apple iCloud is a defacto candidate for Cloud service if you own a Mac or other Apple devices. After signing up on your Mac with your Apple ID you get 1GB of space. After 2 steps verification on a second device you get 5GB of space.

 iCloud is shown as a destination in the Finder sidebar. If it's not showing up, go to Finder, Settings, and check the iCloud Drive and Shared options under iCloud items.

 When iCloud shows up, it is available like another folder onto your Mac. You can create new subfolders, rename, re-organize, add items by dragging or copy/pasting just like you would in any other folder on your Mac.

 If you go to iCloud on the web and log-in with the same AppleID, you will see whatever you do on your Mac iCloud folder being synced up and mirrored on the web, and vice versa.

 All is nice and dandy. Now for the details.

SETTINGS:

• As it's been the case lately, the Apple iCloud settings are arcane, difficult to navigate, and even more difficult to understand. When you click on "Save to iCloud / See All", you get served with a long list of apps and are able to toggle saving on/off. These apps include iCloud Drive, which is the main thing of interest here if you want to have manual control over what goes to your iCloud. For my part I only turn ON iCloud Drive, Passwords and Keychain, and Find My Mac. Everything else is OFF. I will see if I turn any other app on at some point but for now that'll do.
• That's not all... If you go to "Manage..." You will see again "iCloud Drive", and also "Siri", and "Backups". I did turn iCloud Siri OFF, but there is no indication that it stays off... No checkbox that's on or off, which is very bad UI feedback. As for Backups, even more arcane, there is nothing to  turn on or off. 
• But that's not all... If you go to "iCloud Drive", you get "Sync this Mac on/off", that's OK, "Desktop and Documents Folders" on or off, "Optimize Mac Storage" on or off, and "Apps syncing to iCloud Drive"... AGAIN, but with a DIFFERENT LIST OF APPS. Seriously whomever green lit this mess should be publicly shamed.
• "iCloud Drive sync this Mac" obviously needs to be turned on. Then your iCloud Drive location becomes live. Why call it Sync this Mac though? Another bad choice by Apple.
• "Desktop & Documents Folders" I keep tuned OFF because I do not want my device desktop and Documents folders to be iCloud only, which is what happens if you do turn this on. The actual Desktop and Documents Folders that use to live under your user account are migrated to the cloud, no go for me.
• "Optimize Mac Storage" is even more incomprehensible. "The full content of iCloud Drive will be stored on this Mac if you have enough space. Older documents will be stored only in iCloud when space is needed." I cannot comprehend this sentence, even less what kind of functionality it gets me, so for me it's OFF.
• Finally "Apps syncing to iCloud Drive", click on it and another list of apps show up, shorter than the list under previously discussed Saved to iCloud / See All settings. God gracious.

FUNCTIONALITIES ON DEVICE:

• If you move an item by clicking and dragging it from your Mac internal drive to iCloud, it disappears from your internal drive and now lives in the Cloud only.
• If you copy and paste an item on the other end, you now have two different files, one on your internal drive and another in iCloud. The original file that's not in iCloud will not be synced.

FUNCTIONALITIES WEB:

• There is no search function!? What is this Apple?
• Does not display files extensions, but instead has a column for files "Kind" which is meh.
• The columns on iCloud web are: "Name", "Kind", "Size", "Date" (of upload) and "Shared". You cannot resize columns and you cannot customize them unlike what is possible in the Finder. That is if you are in List view, the other option is Grid view, unfortunately the size is not adjustable.
• Not all file types have a preview. WAV audio files, RTF files have none. PDFs or Numbers do. MOV weirdly do not, and even using spacebar doesn't playback the file. On the other end, double clicking on a MOV file will open it in an additional browser window, if the codec is compatible. The playback quality is good, compared to the abysmal video playback quality of OneDrive. Microsoft you should be ashamed.

TALKING SHOP:

 You won't get far with the free 5GB of space. Apple as of Dec 2025 has the following pricing space tiers (that you can share with up to 5 family members.) Prices are for the USA, per month, auto renew:

• 50 GB: $0.99
• 200 GB: $2.99
• 2 TB: $9.99
• 6 TB: $29.99
• 12 TB: $59.99

 Not exactly cheap, not too expensive either. One will very quickly overgrow the 50GB plan (laughable this one), and the 200GB plan. 2TB seems like a good plan, but 6TB and 12TB should be discounted. One sure thing is that you probably do not want to sync everything from your device(s) to iCloud because at least as far as I am concerned, it won't fit. Hence why you should fully understand and manually able to select what goes to iCloud and what doesn't. It's obvious that Apple is willfully confusing the user with over complexity, bad UI, and god awful settings design. By default, too much crap is being uploaded to iCloud and will saturate whatever plan you're on.