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It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

calpaterson.com

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Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#11

Post by tempest_ »

askvictor wrote: post #7
eric4smith wrote: post #3

Hehe - disposable razors (with the removable head) are also a kind of subscription. Good piece. So many things are hidden subscriptions these days, even when they don’t have a need to be. It’s so obviously a money grab.

Even the older double-edged safety razors were designed around such a model, but at least there is a 'standard' for those, with plenty of different companies producing interoperable consumables. Would it be fair to say that any product with consumables that are proprietary to the vendor, is a subscription?

I actually shifted to using a double edged safety razor when the cost of the disposable blades felt like too much.

It isnt quite as easy, and I still cut myself from time to time but I also am still using the variety pack of 100 blades that I bought two years ago for like 10$.

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#12

Post by infogulch »

paxys wrote: post #10

Great article. One minor point of disagreement I have: > For Adobe's subscribers, the lock-in is considerable as access to their existing bank of files and documents is contingent on continued payment. Losing access to uploaded files isn't really a relevant factor in paying for an Adobe subscription. Their cloud storage is an afterthought, and they can all anyways be trivially exported. The lock-in comes from the sof…

That's not really a disagreement, I think that's what the author meant.

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#13

Post by BLKNSLVR »

reilly3000 wrote: post #4
Waterluvian wrote: post #2

A lot of good thoughts in here. The one I personally want everyone to take away is that most plastics are not recycled. Unless it’s glass, fibre, or aluminum, you are lying to yourself if it’s going into the blue bin. Glass-contained milk delivery seems great. Someone needs to start a company. Sure it won’t be sexy or use AI but it’s useful. I have a local co-op that delivers local produce. It’s amazing to see a pile…

Staples-as-a-Service. I would totally buy that service vs overpriced meal boxes or on-demand grocery delivery. An app could be used to coordinate your order/inventory levels, and a reusable cooler could sit on your porch or lobby for exchange and temp storage. Pop a cheap tracker and lock in it if piracy is an issue. There are major efficiencies associated with route delivery vs on-demand ordering- pick&pack in batch…

Nit: Theft may be a more accurate term than piracy.

Arrrr, through my spyglass I did sight a hearty meal on thy dock, and being as I am a ravenous, immoral beast I bent my sails against the wind to secure it as my prize.

But thwarted I were by a hidden RFID and three days hence arrested by a regiment of dirty british redcoats. But, upon mine hanging, my belly were full and thine empty.

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#14

Post by MikeUt »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

A lot of good thoughts in here. The one I personally want everyone to take away is that most plastics are not recycled. Unless it’s glass, fibre, or aluminum, you are lying to yourself if it’s going into the blue bin. Glass-contained milk delivery seems great. Someone needs to start a company. Sure it won’t be sexy or use AI but it’s useful. I have a local co-op that delivers local produce. It’s amazing to see a pile…

> Unless it’s glass, fibre, or aluminum, you are lying to yourself if it’s going into the blue bin.

You mean you are being lied to, by well organized groups: https://www.startribune.com/lobbying-group-fights-insurgence...

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#15

Post by legohead »

paxys wrote: post #10

Great article. One minor point of disagreement I have: > For Adobe's subscribers, the lock-in is considerable as access to their existing bank of files and documents is contingent on continued payment. Losing access to uploaded files isn't really a relevant factor in paying for an Adobe subscription. Their cloud storage is an afterthought, and they can all anyways be trivially exported. The lock-in comes from the sof…

also, once you realize you hardly use photoshop and cancel your subscription, you get a fat cancellation fee. so do you pay the cancel fee, or "maybe I'll need photoshop, who knows?"

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#16

Post by dsr_ »

Printers. Yeah.

Herewith, my standard advice.

Buy a Brother monochrome laser with duplex, an ethernet port, and BRScript/3 (their PostScript clone). Even if you're sure you will never need one or more of those features, get them all. Wifi and Bluetooth and NFC are strictly optional, and probably not worthwhile.

If you need color printing, send it to a printing company. There might even be a local one. It will be done at a higher quality, with better ink and good paper, than you can do at your office or house -- unless you are big enough to utilize a whole flock of printers, or you are a professional. If you are a pro, you don't need this advice.

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#17

Post by X-Istence »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

A lot of good thoughts in here. The one I personally want everyone to take away is that most plastics are not recycled. Unless it’s glass, fibre, or aluminum, you are lying to yourself if it’s going into the blue bin. Glass-contained milk delivery seems great. Someone needs to start a company. Sure it won’t be sexy or use AI but it’s useful. I have a local co-op that delivers local produce. It’s amazing to see a pile…

> Glass-contained milk delivery seems great.

Not sure where in the world you are, but Sprouts in the US sells milk in glass bottles. You pay a fee, and you get that back when you return the glass bottle the next time you come in to buy more milk.

It's not delivery, but it's a whole lot better for the world than more plastic.

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#18

Post by ludocode »

Waterluvian wrote: post #2

A lot of good thoughts in here. The one I personally want everyone to take away is that most plastics are not recycled. Unless it’s glass, fibre, or aluminum, you are lying to yourself if it’s going into the blue bin. Glass-contained milk delivery seems great. Someone needs to start a company. Sure it won’t be sexy or use AI but it’s useful. I have a local co-op that delivers local produce. It’s amazing to see a pile…

We subscribe to a local CSA as well [1]. We chose to pick it up about a ten minute drive away rather than have it delivered. But we collect it in re-usable cloth bags so there's nothing disposable or recyclable. It's just food, and the trimmings all go in the compost.

I highly recommend it to everyone. I get incredibly excited when I pick it up; I feel pretty ridiculous to be honest. But the food is so much fresher and more flavorful than what's in the grocery store, it's relatively cheap, and it's environmentally friendly. It's nice to know our groceries are coming from a farm just outside the city, not from a barge that crossed the ocean. The only problem is that living in Canada, it only runs for 17 weeks since the ground is frozen the rest of the year :(

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agricultur...

Re: It looks like a product but is secretly a subscription

#19

Post by claviska »

tempest_ wrote: post #11
askvictor wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the older double-edged safety razors were designed around such a model, but at least there is a 'standard' for those, with plenty of different companies producing interoperable consumables. Would it be fair to say that any product with consumables that are proprietary to the vendor, is a subscription?

I actually shifted to using a double edged safety razor when the cost of the disposable blades felt like too much. It isnt quite as easy, and I still cut myself from time to time but I also am still using the variety pack of 100 blades that I bought two years ago for like 10$.

Same. I’ve found the key to not cutting myself is to make sure the blade is reasonably sharp (never more than 2-3 shaves with the same one) and apply very little pressure.

It’s a bit more of an art than my ol’ Mach 3, but I’ve grown to really enjoy it. Also, invest in some fancy shaving cream and aftershave for a close-to-barbershop feel.

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