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Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#211

Post by dontknowwhyihn »

solardev wrote: post #126
thot_experiment wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the heck subscription models are you using? In my experience the software gets broken over time and you can't do anything about it, including RUN THE OLD VERSION WHICH WORKED. There's no longer as much incentive for companies to improve because they'll get paid anyway instead of payment being contingent on actually delivering something useful. Yes subscription models are good for developers, no this doesn't make…

Not the OP, but I have to disagree too. Creative Cloud, IntelliJ, Figma, Google Workspace, Postman, Spotify, Vercel, Adguard, Google storage space, Alltrails, 1password.. They're all subscriptions and getting better all the time. Meanwhile it's the old purchased software like Windows and Office that get worse with every version.

We’ll see how well Figma holds up under Adobe, but at this point, I am not optimistic.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#212

Post by krater23 »

TingPing wrote: post #194
jonwest wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel as though Windows as a SaaS would be better? At least as a consumer I have a choice to say “I’d rather not upgrade to Windows 11 and get the worse experience” and not just login and see that those changes that I wouldn’t have upgraded for have just been pushed down as it happens with a SaaS. Windows, as an example, is an interesting one in that you’re paying once for a license and it’s good more or less i…

You don't have a choice not to upgrade Windows, not practically, it will go out of support and you can't do anything about it other than hope Windows Next will be more to your liking.

Hello from the past. I'm typing this on a Windows 7, without the most of the updates. Most works fine, just can't install the newest Office or Games. But who wants that?

p.s.: Nope, no viruses or things like that. Windows 7 is so old that it's not supported by botnets anymore.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#213

Post by thewebcount »

itake wrote: post #102
ravenstine wrote: post #96

Yes, and the only practical answer is to consider how many of these subscriptions you actually need. For instance, I see no reason why a password manager should be a SaaS. I don't care how long these companies have been around thusfar; in my opinion, using a password manager as-a-service is asking for trouble and is a waste of money. The closer you approach "perfect" security, the more of your personal security you e…

> why a password manager should be a SaaS While I fully agree with you, how do you sync passwords across my 3 laptops and 3 phones without a SaaS offering? While I don't use this feature, but it is common for ppl to share an account. How can I securely share credentials with family members?

> how do you sync passwords across my 3 laptops and 3 phones without a SaaS offering?

With 1Password 7 I did this with their built-in local syncing feature. I don’t want my passwords in the cloud. I’m happy to manually sync them once a month (or probably less these days). But they removed it in version 8 and forced users into a subscription so I’m not upgrading. Eventually I’ll move to something else, but it’s still working for now.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#214

Post by opan »

Absolutely. I hate subscriptions and tend to avoid them. No Netflix or Spotify or any of that popular stuff. I've only done them for things like toothpaste and shampoo where I really do need more periodically anyway, and if I cancel they just won't send the next batch of physical goods, so not really the same as SaaS stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#215

Post by 1ncorrect »

I’m sick of every product now requiring I establish, and maintain, a personal relationship with the manufacturer.

Notable examples for myself are Wahoo Fitness[1], Water Rower[2] and Roche’s Accu-Chek[3], which all now require logins and agreements to leak health data to be hosted on external services in order to continue using the products I purchased from them.

In Roche’s case, they gave barely 5 weeks notice that their apps will cease to function at the end of the year, locking all data and functionality on January 1, and punting all responsibility to their subsidiary, mySugr[4].

[1] wahoofitness.com [2] waterrower.com [3] accu-chek.com [4] mysugr.com

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#217

Post by vinyl7 »

oytis wrote: post #205
crazygringo wrote: post #40

Not really, because I saw too many software companies go out of business because not enough people wound up upgrading to the next major version -- the ownership model of software can be awfully feast-or-famine for developers' income, it's a very tough/risky business model. Generally speaking, I'm happy to pay a subscription because this way I get a steady stream of all the updates, and it's much more likely the compa…

> the idea of "owning" software feels positively archaic to me, as strange as "owning" a music album. Is it still alright to own a book?

Don't give them any ideas. Could you imagine having to have separate subscriptions for O'Reilly, Shuster, and Penguin, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?

#218

Post by phrom »

TingPing wrote: post #194
jonwest wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel as though Windows as a SaaS would be better? At least as a consumer I have a choice to say “I’d rather not upgrade to Windows 11 and get the worse experience” and not just login and see that those changes that I wouldn’t have upgraded for have just been pushed down as it happens with a SaaS. Windows, as an example, is an interesting one in that you’re paying once for a license and it’s good more or less i…

You don't have a choice not to upgrade Windows, not practically, it will go out of support and you can't do anything about it other than hope Windows Next will be more to your liking.

True, because of how necessary OS updates / security fixes are, sooner or later you're forced to upgrade, even on a "buy once" model. But in that model, at least there was still a chance of an effective user boycott.

When Windows Vista and Windows 8 released, people got mad, and enough of them stuck to Windows XP and Windows 7 that Microsoft had to address it, for example by going back on the Windows 8 start menu. Now that they're switching to this permanent license, free upgrade, model, that is going away. Thankfully Windows 11 is very boring, but if they pulled off another 8 start menu, there'll be no real way for people to avoid it or have their voice heard now.

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