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Comment on Ask HN: Are subscriptions the doom of the tech sector?parent

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We used to buy software that ran on our machines. We expected a certain amount of support. Eventually you would have to go purchase version x+1 of the software.

The support is priced in, its not like they are giving it away for free. And then you still had purchase the next version which sounds like an informal subscription with a longer period?

I suppose you could treat it like a kind of subscription. But in a real subscription, you have to take upgrades, like it or not. When you're purchasing the software, you don't.

Also, and this is the huge problem with subscriptions, it's rather common that I need to work with old data that can only be dealt with by older versions of software. Subscriptions lead to a kind of rot, because you can't save the old versions of the software for future needs.

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