Quality software deserves your hard‑earned cash • Hacker News Board

Re: Quality software deserves your hard‑earned cash

#31

Post by musicale » Sun, May 19, 2024, 12:55 AM UTC

tonetegeatinst wrote: post #4

As a college student: bold of you to assume I have any money at all. Also while I do like the software VMware and proxmox has, and I would donate to developers if I had spare money, I don't so I just keep a list for future me, and try to convey my thanks in the meantime. On the other hand: broadcom can gargle my balls, I will not be paying them a single cent unless its my last option. They killed a good product, and…

Thanks for pointing me toward OpenLane. I'm familiar with many of its individual components, but I wasn't aware of the overall project to combine them.

Things are looking better and better in terms of open source digital design workflows.

Presumably you would need software for course assignments as well.

Re: Quality software deserves your hard‑earned cash

#32

Post by eviks » Sun, May 19, 2024, 5:22 AM UTC

kepano wrote: post #27

eviks wrote: post #21

> I’m not sure why, but we seem more willing to spend money on good fruit jam than on good software. I notice that I spend less on personal software than I do on groceries and many basic things. Because you can die without groceries and suffer a lot without other basics unlike with personal software? > Consider its cost per use Just pick a better metric (like mortal cost per non-use) and it will make sense.

I don't think you will die if you buy cheap jam — at least not quickly. The choice people make to buy higher quality jam isn't a function of life or death. It seem related to a perception of value, which good software doesn't seem to evoke for the vast majority of people.

Do you think you will die if you don't buy "groceries and many basic things."? Is it an issue that all "personal software" doesn't evoke enough of a perceived value compared to those two categories?

Re: Quality software deserves your hard‑earned cash

#33

Post by kebsup » Sun, May 19, 2024, 12:00 PM UTC

Joker_vD wrote: post #6

It absolutely does, but that doesn't change the fact that the "fair price" of an additional copy of that software is still its marginal cost of production, which is zero. Which is why funding the R&D part of any product of such nature has always been so annoying. Today it seems we've settled on Patreon and the like for the individual-scale projects.

A new app on Google play or AppStore needs ads to have any downloads at all (unless you already have an audience), so each download costs the developer 0.5 - 3 USD.

Re: Quality software deserves your hard‑earned cash

#34

Post by kepano » Sun, May 19, 2024, 7:41 PM UTC

eviks wrote: post #32

kepano wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you will die if you buy cheap jam — at least not quickly. The choice people make to buy higher quality jam isn't a function of life or death. It seem related to a perception of value, which good software doesn't seem to evoke for the vast majority of people.

Do you think you will die if you don't buy "groceries and many basic things."? Is it an issue that all "personal software" doesn't evoke enough of a perceived value compared to those two categories?

Yes, it seems uncontroversial to say you will eventually die if you don't eat food... And it seems uncontroversial to say that eating higher quality food will help you live longer. Quality food deserves your hard-earned cash too.

The relationship between health and software is less tenuous than it may seem. We spend so much of our time using software — it can have a significant effect on our health. See studies that explore social media use and its relation to depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc.

Big food and big software are similar in that they are cheaper to mass produce, more effective to advertise at scale. As such many people are trapped into assuming there are no alternatives. You may never develop an understanding of what it is you're being fed.