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37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

once.com

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Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#71

Post by wan23 »

registeredcorn wrote: post #42
eldaisfish wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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…

When you have a subscription to music, it's not about your collection as much as it is about discovery. You hear about a new artist and you want to sample their stuff. You don't have to hunt it down - you know where to find and listen to their entire discography in exactly two clicks (not counting having to type in the name of the band). If you decide you like it, nothing is stopping you from buying an album for your collection if that's your thing. Also, instead of your budget of one $10-$15 purchase per month, you can do this process multiple times a day.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#72

Post by jawns »

> 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 coming straight from the CEO.

Purchasing the domain Once.com alone was likely a large investment, and so I would expect this announcement to be more polished. Yet this copy reads more like a blogger's grumpy manifesto.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#73

Post by 0xbeefcab »

stanmancan wrote: post #2

My 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 what Binary Ninja (Reverse Eng. tool) does, and why its a community favorite. https://binary.ninja/faq/#subscription. However it seems they don't keep download links public, but my old license/dl link from my email still seems to work.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#74

Post by drew-y »

Will this software come with perpetual maintenance updates? For how long? Do I get any new features for free? If not, is it really pay "once"?

Software is never "done". Developers need to be actively involved throughout the lifecycle of a software product. Which, to me, makes this sort of model unsustainable. I'd rather know that software I rely on won't be abandoned once the base of new customers drys up. And I don't mind paying for that.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#75

Post by mgkimsal »

registeredcorn wrote: post #42
eldaisfish wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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…

I used to own a lot of albums and CDs. Worked in a music store, and would get new albums often. Even after that, music was... a big part of life. As I got older, I got fewer albums, as other things took precedence.

I subscribed to Spotify about 7 years ago, and... I'm spending about what I might otherwise spend on 'albums' now (maybe one per month) and I get a lot more - back catalogs, for one. But discovery and sampling are the biggest 'wins' for me. Might switch to apple music at some point, but probably 95% of what I want is now streaming, and the utility/affordability balance is fine for me.

Was cleaning out a room last night and found a couple boxes of old CDs and tapes. In that box of 50+cds, there were 3 I know aren't on any streaming service, as they were special 'bonus' things in specific box sets from the 90s. And I still have them, just nothing outside my car to listen to them on. And given that I haven't opened that box in 15 years... my life has been OK without using those specific CDs.

I really enjoy being able to find other versions of the same song, exploring some new genres that I would never have bothered to spend $12-$15 on otherwise, and finding some new artists (found Real Estate, which then led to all the 'related' artists, and they're all now part of my music life). Family or friends recommend some new band, I can take a listen in a few seconds, add it to a list if I want, and usually find something I like about many artists.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#77

Post by gkedzierski »

tough wrote: post #18
cpach wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OTOH, the founders probably have enough cash now that they can comfortably launch side-projects that doesn’t require subscriptions.

Right? That they pinoeered the current meta should be more indicative that they are ready to move from it than stay on it forever. Good for them I guess, I do hope we see more custom artisan software out there and less VC SaaS milkcows

How much of that is just "contrarian as a marketing tactic"?

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#78

Post by tetek »

gizmo wrote: post #33

> We give you the software, you get to host it. People can't host their own software. The handful of people who can host software won't install security updates or deal with backups. It's a drag. It makes no sense for millions of people to individually manage servers and server updates when it can be done centrally for a fraction of the cost. That's why SaaS won, ultimately. I don't believe for a second 37signals is…

sounds like perfect place for a middle man, who will buy, host and charge subscription to the end user :)

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#79

Post by sosodev »

pb7 wrote: post #51
eldaisfish wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Funny that you talk about greed when one of the reasons everything went the way of subscriptions is because of piracy. Even here and today, people defend pirating movies when you can rent one for a few bucks in 4K HDR with Dolby. Nothing but greed by people making top 1%-10%ile incomes.

I get pretty annoyed paying $4 to rent a movie that was released 40 years ago. It used to be that I could pay $4 to own a copy of that movie I picked up out of the bargain bin.

I still pay it though because I prefer to support companies that at least make their media available.

Re: 37signals Introduces "Once" - Buy software one time

#80

Post by crazygringo »

turnsout wrote: post #28

Man, 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.

Exactly.

If you used to need to use software for a weeklong project, you'd have to pirate it because there was no way to justify the cost.

Now you just sign up for a month and then cancel.

It's a huge improvement in flexibility and paying for what you use. Not to mention the software is always updated, so you don't need to worry about whether your image editor you purchased 7 years ago supports the RAW format of the camera that came out 2 years ago.

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