Windows 8

[Mr.WorldWide]

I see subscription based software it's self only falling into obsolescence. As long as you are conning users for a monthly or yearly fee, what incentive is there to actually improve your product? You(PS, Office) have the best suite on the market and probably remain that way for at least the next few years, what incentive is there to improve it until the competition starts overtaking it (IE6).

With a one time cost licensed product release, the developers are encouraged to improve their product in order to convince users to upgrade to their newer and better product.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What bothers me about subscriptions, besides the cost, is that that you're sort of dependent on the other side not to screw things up and lock you out or whatever.

 

[Zelig]

I see subscription based software it's self only falling into obsolescence. As long as you are conning users for a monthly or yearly fee, what incentive is there to actually improve your product? You(PS, Office) have the best suite on the market and probably remain that way for at least the next few years, what incentive is there to improve it until the competition starts overtaking it (IE6).

With a one time cost licensed product release, the developers are encouraged to improve their product in order to convince users to upgrade to their newer and better product.

I've covered this already, users who aren't being conned by one-time purchases can simply cancel a subscription at any time for any competing product.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Unless youre locked into a term.

 

[Zelig]

Yes, don't do that, or keep it to relatively short terms for companies you trust.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Sometimes they don't give you an option.

 

[Zelig]

Such as?

 

[cardgame]

Adobe

 

[Zelig]

Creative Cloud has a monthly option.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

I've covered this already, users who aren't being conned by one-time purchases can simply cancel a subscription at any time for any competing product.

That would be like canceling your 365 subscription for Google Docs. I have already explained that these suites are already quite a bit ahead of the competition, there could be a span of around 3-4 years before Google or Libreoffice even start to provide competition and in the meantime MS wouldn't have to make one improvement on 365 except maybe patch some security holes.

When you hold the aces and users are paying a monthly/yearly subscription fee to 'borrow' your software, there is not much incentive to find new or innovative approaches to improve your suite because you will be paid regardless.

 

[Zelig]

That would be like canceling your 365 subscription for Google Docs.

Yes, if you can't afford a non-free product, you should cancel the subscription in favour of a free one.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

I see, I misread the post of yours that I quoted.

I've covered this already, users who aren't being conned by one-time purchases can simply cancel a subscription at any time for any competing product.

If you aren't being conned by the service, then why would you want to cancel it? Your post doesn't make any sense...

 

[Zelig]

If you aren't being conned by the service, then why would you want to cancel it? Your post doesn't make any sense...

It was in response to your post where you implied people purchasing subscriptions are being conned.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

My point being subscription based services could, and probably would ,con users. Especially when they hold a monopoly on that product.

 

[Zelig]

I don't see how paying for a subscription service is being conned.

You know exactly what you're getting, and can cancel at any time.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

It isn't in itself a con but leaves the door open for powerful monopolies to exploit such potential.

Again, I have to ask the question. If your product is several years ahead of the competition and subscriptions keep money flowing into your coffers, what incentive is there to improve that software?

 

[dutchfire]

The long term? Considering the rate at which technology advances, even a company that seems to be way ahead of its competition can be overtaken quickly (hi, Blackberry!)

 

[Zelig]

Exploit the potential how?

The only example scenario you've provided of people hurt by subscriptions are people who use old versions of class-leading software to save money. At the very worst, subscriptions are just a price hike for these people.

And I really don't care about these people. If you don't want to use new versions of commercial software, use free software. If free software isn't good enough, make it better, it's open source! Or if you're not smart enough to make it better, donate the money you would have spent on the old version of the better software to the open source project - with enough donations, they should be able to pay developers enough to make it no worse than the old version of the better software.

 

[Mr.WorldWide]

@ dutchfire
That's a good point!

@ Zelig
How would they exploit the potential?

Simply by charging monthly/yearly for a subscription to a product which is far superior to the competition thereby not needing to actively develop that product anymore until the competition closes the gap between the two.

 

[Iranon]

Problem with Open Source software is often not quality that could be improved with donations, but underlying design ethos (to emulate: fire design and marketing weenies, replace with mildly autistic engineers).

"From the point of software design, industry conventions and expectations are idiotic. If you want idiotic software, buy it from someone else. If you need to do something idiotic and want to use our software, we exposed enough of its guts that it's easy to make the needed adjustments. If you can't do that, learn."

Plenty of people have neither the budget for a commercial flagship nor the time/inclination to make things work the FLOSS way.
It seems regrettable that they gravitate to substandard software (lesser commercial offerings, outdated commercial flagships, questionable free/nag/whateverware).
Outdated commercial flagships at least allow for an easy transition to something better, and may be made with some degree of competence.

*

If a vendor is far ahead of the competition, or perceived to be, they can sit on their thumbs regardless of distribution model.