So they didn’t introduce anything yet.
37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
101–110 of 219 posts
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#102My favourite licensing models for self-hosted software are perpetual fallback licenses. Jetbrains does this well and their description of it is: A perpetual fallback license is a license that allows you to use a specific version of software without an active subscription for it. The license also includes all bugfix updates, more specifically in X.Y.Z version all Z releases are included.
This is great until a company starts making file formats completely incompatible with back versions, making it impossible to use with friends or anyone else. Oh or when they just change the plan to subscription only anyways. I'm looking at you, Sketch.
Is Sketch subscription only? I had it on my list to purchase because I thought they offered a perpetual license.
But you're right, now that I'm reading the FAQ on their pricing page, I'm finding it really confusing:
"""
Q: Is Sketch only available as a subscription?
A: No. You can still get a Mac-only license for $120 yearly [sic] if you don’t need the web app and only want to use the Mac app to design. (...)
"""
Their answer seems rather contradictory. Does anybody know whether they offer perpetual licenses or not? Or know of a competitor who does?
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#103My favourite licensing models for self-hosted software are perpetual fallback licenses. Jetbrains does this well and their description of it is: A perpetual fallback license is a license that allows you to use a specific version of software without an active subscription for it. The license also includes all bugfix updates, more specifically in X.Y.Z version all Z releases are included.
I would rather have them offer a full purchase option, with, say, 10 years of upgrades included. I could pay 750 EUR for it once, and be set for the rest of my career, basically, instead of having to deal with purchases every year.
I paid JetBrains for a subscription that will last 3 years, so that I won’t have to renew it again in a good while.
I bought that subscription in September 2022, after having paid monthly for a long while.
Now I won’t have to think about renewing the subscription again until September 2025.
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#104> Add up your SaaS subscriptions last year. You should own that shit by now. I know a lot of companies are adopting a more irreverent marketing approach, using words that 20 years ago would have been bleeped out. The swear word itself does not offend me. But to me its use here suggests a lack of restraint, and that makes me form a negative opinion about how the business is managed, especially when the words are comin…
> But to me its use here suggests a lack of restraint, and that makes me form a negative opinion about how the business is managed…
If you dig a bit more, the use of the word "shit" may fall lower on your list of things that give you a negative opinion about how the business is managed.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/3/22418208/basecamp-all-hand...
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#105Man, talk about a ship that has sailed. I was 100% anti-subscription pricing for a very long time. Eventually I realized, it's better for the software vendor and the customer. Final Cut Pro used to cost $999 upfront, now a teenager can use Final Cut on their iPad for $7/month, and subscribe only when they need it.
Sure, as long as Adobe doesn't arbitrarily decide to permanently ban your account and no longer accept your money. Also, speaking of ships that have sailed, you could just as easily check out Final Cut Pro or Adobe subscriptions from some libraries for no additional fee.
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#106Sounds good, but I mean, it's just pros and cons with the SaaS model, or with the pay-once... Before SaaS there used to be a massive pool of native apps, doing all kinds of different things... You indeed paid your license and lived with the product until the next major version, but there was little chance to just use something for a month or two, so the prices were higher. With SaaS you do end up renting stuff all ov…
This doesn’t address a major gripe with the subscription model - taking away the option to purchase software outright. Were both to exist, we would not be having this discussion. In reality, corporations are driven by greed and greed pushed the subscription model. For some situations, subscriptions work well - music is one. For others, it is terrible. CAD software is a great example especially at larger orgs. Why sho…
> CAD software is a great example especially at larger orgs. Why should software be a recurring cost in the name of development and support?
But it always has been. Every larger org has always wound up purchasing upgrades. Not only for new features, but because professional tools often include all sorts of interoperability plugins and you need the upgraded ones to interact with other newer third-party products.
Maybe an individual hobbyist can get away with not upgrading, but upgrades have always been just a recurring cost for larger orgs.
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#107Nobody should expect this announcement to be met with enthusiasm on HN. Many kids have been put through college on the back of SaaS dollars.
In the words of Dave Chapelle (who was quoting someone else) "Young man, don't ever come between a man and his meal."
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with the majority of what you wrote, but I'm utterly confused by this statement > For some situations, subscriptions work well - music is one. I've only ever purchased albums. Why in the world would I pay a monthly fee for something I presumably want to listen for for the rest of my life? 10-15$ for a one time purchase is far preferable to a monthly fee of nearly the same. I'm also weary of the idea of the se…
Spotify is, let’s say, $120 a year. After 10 years, let’s say $1200. If an album has 5 songs, and an album costs $12.00 (dunno, middle of your range plus easy math), you can buy 100 albums in that time. 500 songs. After 500 songs for 10 years, your model costs more and offers no value (in fact, it’s less convenient for a dozen reasons) I don’t know about you, but I listen to way more than 500 songs… a year. Let alone…
Not OP but I agree with his sentiment. Maybe I'm not as "into music" as some people, but I do like finding new artists and songs, though probably only to the tune of 1-5 new artists a year and I buy on average about 5 new albums a year.
It's cheaper and better for me to own the stuff I want to listen to than sign up for a subscription in perpetuity.
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#109Man, talk about a ship that has sailed. I was 100% anti-subscription pricing for a very long time. Eventually I realized, it's better for the software vendor and the customer. Final Cut Pro used to cost $999 upfront, now a teenager can use Final Cut on their iPad for $7/month, and subscribe only when they need it.
That pricing sounds fair. Unfortunately, I feel that's the exception. Adobe Dreamweaver CS6 was $400 [1]. Now Dreamweawer Creative Cloud is $250 per year [2]. So after 1.75 years, you've already taken a loss. [1] https://prodesigntools.com/products/adobe-cs6-pricing-list.h... [2] https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html
I think Adobe's pricing is ridiculous, but this is uncharitable:
1. CS6 came out in 2012. According to the BLS calculator, $400 in 2012 is $532 today: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=400.00&year1=2...
2. You're cherry picking the worst one, do the math for CS6 After Effects at $999 (~$1.3k today) vs $21/month and you only break even after >5 years.
Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time
#110I am sorta surprised that the support of SaaS is so high. It seems that saas in consumer products is the cause of so many consumer issues. Few pieces of software really need that many updates, and being able to view the code is key for future support.
Yes this announcement seems to be focused on businesses, but the option to buy software is important for the price of renting software to be cheaper than just supporting it yourself.