I have no problem paying for recurring usage costs. For example I have a paid vps and paid email. But in my mind I'm paying precisely for the compute, storage, and network infrastructure behind them, not paying, e.g. to run linux. And I'm happy to pay for someone else to manage that infrastructure because the setup is nontrivial, I dont need to own the infra, etc.
Contrast this with Office 365, or even more niche pay per use or per month products, that are not better in any way that matters to me because they are hosted elsewhere. With these products I feel like someone wants me to pay a recurring fee just to run their code. Some of it is psychological, but I feel like I'm getting ripped off, that someone is trying to find a way to get me to keep paying for something (which they are).
Spotify and Netflix have found a good balance of offering a subscription, but providing such a large catalog that the value vs. actually owning all the content is clear. Most SaaS feels more like having to pay monthly just to own a single DVD.
But TLDR for me is I dont want to pay recurringly for the privilege of executing your code, I will pay recurringly for needed* infra, support, etc that goes along with it.
*not just tacked on to make it SaaS or to deploy it as SaaS
Yeah, I feel like paying a subscription to keep using software just feels like a rip off, even if it's actually a fair price, and am much less inclined to sign up for it.
Well, I agree, a lot about modern society contributes to the kind of mental health problems that can lead to substance abuse.
But for better or worse, overall health outcomes are better than at any time in history.
So if you're thinking that people being idle, bored, robbed of any agency, and unfulfilled is a root cause of drug abuse, I agree.
But that boils down to being at the top of the needs hierarchy, and moving down has a set of bigger problems with it.
So as long as we're here, treating opioid use as a disease or chronic condition, instead of as some kind of "criminal" hedonistic behavior we should be punished for, goes a long way to reduce any harm it causes.
You know in cop shows like "the wire" when the police commissioner says he wants to see "drugs on the table" showing off what they seized from the gangs, but the detectives know it's a hollow victory that just panders to public opinion but does nothing to address the root of the problem? This is like that.
The war on drugs is responsible for the opioid crisis.
Companies psychopathically seek out profits, and need to be kept in check, but that does not diminish the fact that US (and Canadian) drug policy bears direct responsibility for opioid deaths.
This kind of news story, while maybe satisfying, is a red herring. As long as addiction is criminalized, and legal drug supplies dont exist, it doesn't matter how many Purdues or McKinseys we punish, the problem does not go away.
Contrast this with Office 365, or even more niche pay per use or per month products, that are not better in any way that matters to me because they are hosted elsewhere. With these products I feel like someone wants me to pay a recurring fee just to run their code. Some of it is psychological, but I feel like I'm getting ripped off, that someone is trying to find a way to get me to keep paying for something (which they are).
Spotify and Netflix have found a good balance of offering a subscription, but providing such a large catalog that the value vs. actually owning all the content is clear. Most SaaS feels more like having to pay monthly just to own a single DVD.
But TLDR for me is I dont want to pay recurringly for the privilege of executing your code, I will pay recurringly for needed* infra, support, etc that goes along with it.
*not just tacked on to make it SaaS or to deploy it as SaaS