• @phario
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    8 months ago

    There was a prophetic podcast episode from the series Plain English a while back that I constantly think about.

    In that episode the author describes how the internet is going through a revolution.

    Basically 20 years ago, the internet was all about gaining numbers. Companies could operate at a loss if they got people signed up. Facebook, Google, YouTube, Uber, Deliveroo, etc. they were all about getting you in their mailing list or consumer list and who cares what happens then.

    Now there’s an issue because that model is not profitable. In order to continue, all the internet is moving towards subscription.

    In a sense, I don’t think of that as intrinsically bad. Patreon is a good example. The internet is now filled up with so much shit that people are willing to pay to filter it. So with Patreon, you pay a fee to support an artist to produce the content you want. That itself isn’t a bad idea.

    Now that being said, a lot of “bad things” do emerge. The fact that you can no longer buy software like Adobe and it’s all subscription based. That’s shit. But that also inspired software alternatives like Affinity Designer.

    • PP_BOY_
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      178 months ago

      The fact that you can no longer buy software like Adobe and it’s all subscription based

      100% the biggest factor in me deciding to buy Magix Vegas (formerly Sony Vegas) video editing software was because they still sold lifetime codes. Have I gotten $400 worth of value out of it? Fuck no. But I can use it whenever I want for as long as I want without worrying about whether or not I can afford it for the month.

      • @[email protected]
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        78 months ago

        The you have companies like Filmora who tried to turn lifetime licenses into subscription ones…

        • PP_BOY_
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          48 months ago

          Ironically enough the only reason I bought Vegas in the first place was because of the changes to Wondershare