David Pierce

And I think it is just unassailably true that being a user of tech products is worse now than it used to be. And there is this constant feeling like I am being milked for every second of my time and dollar that I have. And like, I can absolutely imagine a world in which Steve Jobs just rolled up one day and was like, push notifications are bad for the world. Turn them all off.

Like, do I think he would have done that? Probably not. Money is really fun, and when you have a lot of money, it's really hard to have less money. But I do think there was a sense with Steve Jobs, at least, that there was, like, one person whose taste was the only thing that ultimately mattered, right? Like, all you had to do at Apple was make the thing that Steve Jobs wanted, and...

Like, do I think he would have done that? Probably not. Money is really fun, and when you have a lot of money, it's really hard to have less money. But I do think there was a sense with Steve Jobs, at least, that there was, like, one person whose taste was the only thing that ultimately mattered, right? Like, all you had to do at Apple was make the thing that Steve Jobs wanted, and...

Like, do I think he would have done that? Probably not. Money is really fun, and when you have a lot of money, it's really hard to have less money. But I do think there was a sense with Steve Jobs, at least, that there was, like, one person whose taste was the only thing that ultimately mattered, right? Like, all you had to do at Apple was make the thing that Steve Jobs wanted, and...

By and large, those were good things. The world has changed a lot since the last thing Steve Jobs made, but like he was right more than just about anybody. And so part of me is like I also hold on to this hope that like if Steve were still here, this would all be better. But I wonder that too.

By and large, those were good things. The world has changed a lot since the last thing Steve Jobs made, but like he was right more than just about anybody. And so part of me is like I also hold on to this hope that like if Steve were still here, this would all be better. But I wonder that too.

By and large, those were good things. The world has changed a lot since the last thing Steve Jobs made, but like he was right more than just about anybody. And so part of me is like I also hold on to this hope that like if Steve were still here, this would all be better. But I wonder that too.

So Brick was created by these two friends who were college friends at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Their names are TJ and Zach. They have... grown up in the iPhone world in a way that, like, I'm 36, and I think I'm about the last person who remembers the world before smartphones. For them, like, if you're in your 20s now, everyone has had it the whole time. And

So Brick was created by these two friends who were college friends at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Their names are TJ and Zach. They have... grown up in the iPhone world in a way that, like, I'm 36, and I think I'm about the last person who remembers the world before smartphones. For them, like, if you're in your 20s now, everyone has had it the whole time. And

So Brick was created by these two friends who were college friends at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Their names are TJ and Zach. They have... grown up in the iPhone world in a way that, like, I'm 36, and I think I'm about the last person who remembers the world before smartphones. For them, like, if you're in your 20s now, everyone has had it the whole time. And

They had essentially the same problem that I did with the screen time limits, which is that they're too easy to get past and you can just ignore them. So they pretty quickly came to this idea that what they needed was some kind of separate physical blocker. And there are things out there. Have you ever seen the Yonder case? This is the thing you get at like concerts.

They had essentially the same problem that I did with the screen time limits, which is that they're too easy to get past and you can just ignore them. So they pretty quickly came to this idea that what they needed was some kind of separate physical blocker. And there are things out there. Have you ever seen the Yonder case? This is the thing you get at like concerts.

They had essentially the same problem that I did with the screen time limits, which is that they're too easy to get past and you can just ignore them. So they pretty quickly came to this idea that what they needed was some kind of separate physical blocker. And there are things out there. Have you ever seen the Yonder case? This is the thing you get at like concerts.

Yeah, that's right. So the Yonder case is one of the things out there, but that's mostly, like you said, used at events and stuff. They wanted something that you can just have in your house. The brick is not some hugely complicated piece of technology. It's this two-inch by two-inch cube. It's gray, it's super boring, and then it's a magnet underneath. And it is...

Yeah, that's right. So the Yonder case is one of the things out there, but that's mostly, like you said, used at events and stuff. They wanted something that you can just have in your house. The brick is not some hugely complicated piece of technology. It's this two-inch by two-inch cube. It's gray, it's super boring, and then it's a magnet underneath. And it is...

Yeah, that's right. So the Yonder case is one of the things out there, but that's mostly, like you said, used at events and stuff. They wanted something that you can just have in your house. The brick is not some hugely complicated piece of technology. It's this two-inch by two-inch cube. It's gray, it's super boring, and then it's a magnet underneath. And it is...

basically designed to be stuck somewhere, like on the side of your fridge or, you know, on your desk or something like that. And you tap it and it quote unquote bricks your phone.

basically designed to be stuck somewhere, like on the side of your fridge or, you know, on your desk or something like that. And you tap it and it quote unquote bricks your phone.

basically designed to be stuck somewhere, like on the side of your fridge or, you know, on your desk or something like that. And you tap it and it quote unquote bricks your phone.

There's just enough friction there. And it also makes it a thing I have to stand up and go do. Like now, if I'm sitting here and looking at my phone and I want to use Instagram, I have to go upstairs, tap my phone on the thing, and then come back downstairs and look at Instagram. And there's something really powerful in just that moment of, I have to have said out loud that I want to do this.