Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021) • Hacker News Board

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#411

Post by leaflets2 » Sun, Jul 31, 2022, 5:15 PM UTC

leaflets2 wrote: post #399

b112 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Due to all the frameworks, n0de junk, comp0se blather, I've seen devs write 200 lines of code, for what would have taken 20k lines in 2005. Devs have it do easy now, that many are so abstracted away from DB, OS, network stack, persistence, that they literally have no idea how anything really works. This is desired of course, devs today are in short supply, just like the bow vs the crossbow, years of practise turns in…

What's "auus"? I think systems nowadays are larger and more integrated, more complex. Deployments sometimes are simpler, whilst other things instead are harder. Software will always be pushing the limits.

Aha auus is AWS, I didn't read that part of your comment properly.

Maybe you don't want the comment to be found by search engines

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#412

Post by ilrwbwrkhv » Sun, Jul 31, 2022, 6:32 PM UTC

shafyy wrote: post #407

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vercel is going down this path now.

Yeah I think Netlify and Shopify, too. A shame.

Shopify is a public company. I think their pressures are different, brought upon by a whole new senior management team who are very poor at their jobs.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#413

Post by Enginerrrd » Sun, Jul 31, 2022, 8:16 PM UTC

wizofaus wrote: post #400

Enginerrrd wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but in some products that's really a non-issue. Like, take photoshop for an example. If you're a photographer that only ever edits your own photos, the odds of a needing a security update for photoshop are really minimal. If you regularly edit photos from clients, maybe it's worth considering.

I'd say definitely: https://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/exploit_w32_jpg_vulnerabili...

Eh, it still depends.

Is it riskier than keeping an updated copy? Sure. Is the expected return period of a hack given your circumstances above a threshold that is acceptable to you? Maybe, maybe not.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#414

Post by fairity » Sun, Jul 31, 2022, 10:58 PM UTC

This article is a very long rant that ultimately doesn’t make any useful claims.

Of course subscription models aren’t for every business. Of course customers would prefer to not have to subscribe. What’s your point?

If you’re saying that subscription is a bad decision for the products referenced in your article, I’m afraid that you’re almost definitely wrong. These big businesses have tested their pricing models and know that subscription maximizes LTV per prospective customer, which is ultimately what matters to them.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#415

Post by ekianjo » Sun, Jul 31, 2022, 11:50 PM UTC

cinntaile wrote: post #394

ekianjo wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something called Minecraft seems to disagree with your conclusion.

The general trend is clearly towards not providing server binaries. You'll find some exceptions here and there, but that doesn't mean it's coming back.

> You'll find some exceptions here and there

The exception is the most played multiplayer game in the world.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#416

Post by Kinrany » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:16 AM UTC

nradov wrote: post #382

Kinrany wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proprietary software should come with a warranty that covers security vulnerabilities for N years.

Nothing is stopping you from requesting such a warranty from your vendors, and refusing to buy from those who fail to offer such a warranty.

Coordination problems do.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#417

Post by Kinrany » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:22 AM UTC

EugeneOZ wrote: post #389

Kinrany wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proprietary software should come with a warranty that covers security vulnerabilities for N years.

Imagine a developer who has to spend 50-90 hours per month just to provide the promised security patches for each of the 5 products they have created and sold at least once.

No one is in a better position than that developer to make this maintenance burden lighter, so they're the one who should be incentivised to do that.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32286651

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#418

Post by cinntaile » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 5:44 AM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #415

cinntaile wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The general trend is clearly towards not providing server binaries. You'll find some exceptions here and there, but that doesn't mean it's coming back.

> You'll find some exceptions here and there The exception is the most played multiplayer game in the world.

This is not correct and even if it was it wouldn't affect my point. You used to run your own multiplayer servers, now this is the exception to the rule.

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#419

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 11:15 AM UTC

Kinrany wrote: post #417

EugeneOZ wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine a developer who has to spend 50-90 hours per month just to provide the promised security patches for each of the 5 products they have created and sold at least once.

No one is in a better position than that developer to make this maintenance burden lighter, so they're the one who should be incentivised to do that. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32286651

[deleted]

Re: Dear startups: I hate subscription services (2021)

#420

Post by dangus » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

charcircuit wrote: post #380

dangus wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same reaction. I went as far as calculating it. If you’re a leasee, the heated seat subscription saves you money over your 3 years of ownership. BMW being a luxury brand, a large chunk of owners are going to lease. Plus, BMW had an option to opt-out and buy lifetime.

When calculating it did you count hot months? I imagine in the majority of months having seat warmers is useless.

I did count the hot months, which would make the breakeven basically the length of your lease (well, I think for the lease I just compared the 3 year subscription which is slightly discounted) – but yes, if you figure that the person will unsubscribe outside of the 3 coldest winter months it's like a 10 year breakeven IIRC.

I don't know many BMW owners that keep their cars for 10 years.

To their mild credit BMW is at least charging what amounts to a discount for the subscription for their typical buyer, as long as they stay on top of whether they're subscribed or not.

I guess you could say it's annoying to have to subscribe and unsubscribe, and it would make a lot more sense if the subscription guaranteed that the hardware was repaired for free. Still, heated seats rarely break in modern cars from my experience.