Personally, I prefer subscribing. I'd rent my socks if it were feasible.
I'm not even sure I can name all my periodic fees I pay that I'd rather not have to pay as a single, lump sum. Some are small, like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, VPN service, and Adobe's Creative Cloud; while others are more substantial, like my health insurance (not including monthly to quarterly costs for medications), my gym, yoga, and climbing memberships, biannual car insurance payment (the only one I pay in full every 6 months because the earning as invested cash is too minimal to worry about), and previously Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program; and some are relatively large, like my monthly automobile loan and mortgage/rent, and all my utilities, including cable internet and cellular access. Then there are many others that I pay on an annual basis, like SiriusXM and my automobile registration. Hell, I even subscribed to AAA even though my car has its own roadside assistance.
I could certainly survive without any of these—save for medication—but I really don't want to live in that world and is it really better with being tickled-and-dimed with annual fees to work properly with the most current version of macOS, like with Parallels?
I'm probably old fashioned, but I don't subscribe to rent software from Adobe, love paying the small amount of money to Affinity to purchase their World Class Software, and haven't upgraded to Microsoft's software rental. Still using my last purchased version and when that starts to fail will move to Apple's software. Apparently, I must be the only one to do this because Adobe and Microsoft are so "successful" with their software rental.
racerhomie3 said: If you do not find the value , don’t get it. I also have a certain budget for software, and only use them on months I know I will be using them a lot.
Never fails that someone comes along with a retort like the above comment. At least MS still lets its customers buy a standalone version for a fixed price. Adobe doesn't. And while some people will say, "Just use the Affinity apps instead" (and I myself do just that), some people would still like the OPTION to buy a standalone package. Adobe does not give that freedom to its customers, hence most of the hate of subscriptions. No one wants a subscription forced upon them, and even if one argues, "it isn't forced because you have other options," sometimes you may not like those options and therefore you really do not have options in the absence of a standalone version of the software.
So this article makes the case for how great subscriptions can be, but that isn't necessarily great for the consumer in the long run. Some of these hotshots who love subscriptions now that "their in the money" may be hung out to dry when they face financial hard times yet still need the software. That's the crux of the matter about subscriptions.
I don't really see MacOS as a subscription in that it is hidden in the hardware cost. To me, that is NOT a subscription because I can choose to buy an iMac and then NOT upgrade that hardware for the next 10 years or longer if I like. That alone proves MacOS is NOT a "subscription" model. But hey, if moving MacOS back to a $50 or $100 per copy model could knock off 30% the price of a new Mac, I'd be for it! :-)
”Subscription software is effectively the best way to pay for software”
Subscription software is the best way to SELL software because it forces customers to pay for things they don’t necessarily need.
Fixed it for you.
Example: Office 20xx vs. Office 365
For 99% of home users of Office their previous versions are sufficient. That’s not good if you’re Microsoft... Move everything to subscriptions and discontinue support for old versions. In a few years problem solved...
That’s not to say Office 365 isn’t a good product, but it’s a lot more useful for business customers.
It’s also fantastically profitable for Microsoft...
You've already lost your argument if you bring up Office 365, probably the best deal going anywhere.
I pay $139 (CDN) a year for 5 users of Office 365. I get 5TB of OneDrive storage included. I doubt you can even get 5TB of cloud storage for $139 a year, let alone getting the FULL version of Office thrown in. It might be profitable to Microsoft, but it's a downright bargain to me. Win-win I say.
That’s the most well thought out reasoning I have encountered about the elimination of Airport routers, Apple Printers, and Apple Displays. They offer no exclusive benefits to the ecosystem.
The other advantage with Apple products is that they work extremely well and integrate properly. Anything bought on one device is immediately picked up by the others. The hardware also comes with a massive suite of software, some obvious and some not so buying a Mac, for example, is not much more expensive than buying a Microsoft based machine and, say, Office. Apple software is also much more intuitive than MS software and the whole package goes wrong far less often and requires less frequent upgrades. I think if you do the maths, Apple products will cost less over time and give you far less stress and downtime in the meantime.
The entire topic of subscription software, music etc. is one that needs better nuanced view than this AI provided. I love Apple Music: low price and if you like music, offers the world. In contrast, subscription software like Adobe’s CC is a ripoff. Despite the everything’s great reports from Adobe, graphic pros are looking for alternatives to this pricey, arrogant cash grab.
I'm probably old fashioned, but I don't subscribe to rent software from Adobe, love paying the small amount of money to Affinity to purchase their World Class Software, and haven't upgraded to Microsoft's software rental. Still using my last purchased version and when that starts to fail will move to Apple's software. Apparently, I must be the only one to do this because Adobe and Microsoft are so "successful" with their software rental.
I haven’t touched Adobe software ever since they went “rental”. Happy with Affinity Photo and Designer.
I'm probably old fashioned, but I don't subscribe to rent software from Adobe, love paying the small amount of money to Affinity to purchase their World Class Software, and haven't upgraded to Microsoft's software rental. Still using my last purchased version and when that starts to fail will move to Apple's software. Apparently, I must be the only one to do this because Adobe and Microsoft are so "successful" with their software rental.
You're not the only one doing this. I'm pretty resistant to subscriptions since I don't upgrade my hardware or software (except for security patches, of course) as much as I used to. Honestly, a lot of software already features pretty much everything I need, thus I don't see enough value in going the subscription route for a lot of products. Take Office: The 2011 version still does everything I need it to do, but I've gone over to Apple's Pages and Numbers since my personal use scenario is taken care of by them.
1Password is another example: I tried version 7 on a trial basis, but I guess I don't really push the software to its extreme limit because version 6 does everything I need. I even considered buying the standalone version, but the friction that exists because the company really wants to go the subscription route dissuaded me from finalising the transaction. I am starting to migrate over to Apple's password security system, even if I ultimately prefer a stand-alone product, because I just don't see the value in getting myself into a never-ending payment scenario where I'm doling out almost $6 CDN every month.
I can see the pros of subscriptions (for both developers and users) and do pay some, but overall I'm not really that interested in paying $25 or $30 a month to use a bunch of software that already exists in forms that meet my needs. The trick to interpreting the state of things, I guess, is realising that it's all about individual needs and expectations.
"Rather than Adobe trying to hype up the Healing Brush as the reason to pay for an all-new Photoshop"…
Except Adobe's now doing something worse, with little recourse for subscribers: pushing out half-baked, buggy software, with new "features" that few are asking for while very often ignoring the bugs each new release adds to the list. Back in the days when I could buy Photoshop (and Illustrator and Indesign), I could wait out a buggy release or ignore one whole "upgrade" entirely. Now, if a colleague or customer automatically updates their version(s) of Adobe CC, I have to as well or I won't be able to open their files (Photoshop is more forgiving than AI or ID in this regard).
In general, the "features" are getting less and less useful (Photoshop reversing SHIFT to constrain proportions is one egregious example) as well but I imagine Adobe needs to offer a bullet point list of "new!" every now and then to justify the expensive subscription. I guess they have little to lose as they have a monopoly on industry essential design software for the foreseeable future.
So, after years of paying Adobe for a subscription, the moment I decide not to pay anymore, I can no longer open a single file I created in their software. How is this fair? Why are you cheering?
I thought this was a fair synopsis of many of the things wrong with Adobe's subscription model and by inference a lot of other subscription models too. I refused to purchase Adobe CC subscription because it would lock me into paying forever to continue to be able to open files I'd created when I did have said subscription. Adobe used to have to actually improve their software so that people would upgrade at least every now and again, and I didn't mind that. If I didn't want shiny new feature X and hadn't bought a new camera, I could just use stick with the version I had until I did. Now if you want Adobe you have to subscribe (apart from Photoshop Elements which can still be bought) and their incentive for improving the software is diminished.
.......I am what you call a MacAddict (used to have a magazine named after us) and I am NOT an Apple FanBoy.......I cut the cable a very long time ago & survive on cracking software (screw Adobe subscriptions) ......and as for Apple services - thats where torrenting & OTHER BETTER Services like Amazon Prime & Netflix kick in.......no I will NOT be bothering with anything Apple has to sell me.......the iOS ecosystem really is disgusting.......and the hardware is getting to be ridiculous now.....feel to be suckers .....i will have more money in the banks saved up than a good portion of you.......
I'm probably old fashioned, but I don't subscribe to rent software from Adobe, love paying the small amount of money to Affinity to purchase their World Class Software, and haven't upgraded to Microsoft's software rental. Still using my last purchased version and when that starts to fail will move to Apple's software. Apparently, I must be the only one to do this because Adobe and Microsoft are so "successful" with their software rental.
My dad was a professional mechanic for something approaching 60 years. He owned his tools. I am a writer and artist. I want to own my tools too.
Rental software is a terrible deal for users. If you stop paying, or miss a payment, suddenly all of your old work is inaccessible. That isn't a business plan, that's a protection racket. There is NO incentive for the developers to keep improving their software. Why should they? You HAVE to keep subscribing or you lose everything. "Sure would be a shame if something were to happen to 'dis here novel youse is writing".
I subscribe to services because there is ongoing content. I do NOT subscribe to software because I'll be damned if I'm going to keep paying over and over for the same tool.
So this article makes the case for how great subscriptions can be, but that isn't necessarily great for the consumer in the long run. Some of these hotshots who love subscriptions now that "their in the money" may be hung out to dry when they face financial hard times yet still need the software. That's the crux of the matter about subscriptions.
that's my whole thing. I've been out of work before. it sux. But you can still get stuff done with the s#!t you've bought. And you can listen to the music you own while you're doing it! Subscriptions are not very small business (and I don't mean the IRS version of "small" business) and startup friendly. That being said, what Autodesk did with Fusion360 was pretty legendary - allowing startups, students, hobbyists, and actual small businesses to use the (mostly) full-featured app for free and only charging businesses who could actually afford it. Saved my ass anyway.
Comments
I'm not even sure I can name all my periodic fees I pay that I'd rather not have to pay as a single, lump sum. Some are small, like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, VPN service, and Adobe's Creative Cloud; while others are more substantial, like my health insurance (not including monthly to quarterly costs for medications), my gym, yoga, and climbing memberships, biannual car insurance payment (the only one I pay in full every 6 months because the earning as invested cash is too minimal to worry about), and previously Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program; and some are relatively large, like my monthly automobile loan and mortgage/rent, and all my utilities, including cable internet and cellular access. Then there are many others that I pay on an annual basis, like SiriusXM and my automobile registration. Hell, I even subscribed to AAA even though my car has its own roadside assistance.
I could certainly survive without any of these—save for medication—but I really don't want to live in that world and is it really better with being tickled-and-dimed with annual fees to work properly with the most current version of macOS, like with Parallels?
So this article makes the case for how great subscriptions can be, but that isn't necessarily great for the consumer in the long run. Some of these hotshots who love subscriptions now that "their in the money" may be hung out to dry when they face financial hard times yet still need the software. That's the crux of the matter about subscriptions.
I don't really see MacOS as a subscription in that it is hidden in the hardware cost. To me, that is NOT a subscription because I can choose to buy an iMac and then NOT upgrade that hardware for the next 10 years or longer if I like. That alone proves MacOS is NOT a "subscription" model. But hey, if moving MacOS back to a $50 or $100 per copy model could knock off 30% the price of a new Mac, I'd be for it! :-)
You've already lost your argument if you bring up Office 365, probably the best deal going anywhere.
I pay $139 (CDN) a year for 5 users of Office 365. I get 5TB of OneDrive storage included. I doubt you can even get 5TB of cloud storage for $139 a year, let alone getting the FULL version of Office thrown in. It might be profitable to Microsoft, but it's a downright bargain to me. Win-win I say.
1Password is another example: I tried version 7 on a trial basis, but I guess I don't really push the software to its extreme limit because version 6 does everything I need. I even considered buying the standalone version, but the friction that exists because the company really wants to go the subscription route dissuaded me from finalising the transaction. I am starting to migrate over to Apple's password security system, even if I ultimately prefer a stand-alone product, because I just don't see the value in getting myself into a never-ending payment scenario where I'm doling out almost $6 CDN every month.
I can see the pros of subscriptions (for both developers and users) and do pay some, but overall I'm not really that interested in paying $25 or $30 a month to use a bunch of software that already exists in forms that meet my needs. The trick to interpreting the state of things, I guess, is realising that it's all about individual needs and expectations.
I am a writer and artist. I want to own my tools too.
Rental software is a terrible deal for users. If you stop paying, or miss a payment, suddenly all of your old work is inaccessible. That isn't a business plan, that's a protection racket. There is NO incentive for the developers to keep improving their software. Why should they? You HAVE to keep subscribing or you lose everything. "Sure would be a shame if something were to happen to 'dis here novel youse is writing".
I subscribe to services because there is ongoing content.
I do NOT subscribe to software because I'll be damned if I'm going to keep paying over and over for the same tool.
that's my whole thing. I've been out of work before. it sux. But you can still get stuff done with the s#!t you've bought. And you can listen to the music you own while you're doing it! Subscriptions are not very small business (and I don't mean the IRS version of "small" business) and startup friendly. That being said, what Autodesk did with Fusion360 was pretty legendary - allowing startups, students, hobbyists, and actual small businesses to use the (mostly) full-featured app for free and only charging businesses who could actually afford it. Saved my ass anyway.