5 ms·

It's a function of the straw that broke the camel's back. What non-life-critical apps or services am I paying for every month? Quite a lot already. Cell service

It's a function of the straw that broke the camel's back. What non-life-critical apps or services am I paying for every month? Quite a lot already. Cell service and cable TV & internet are already $350/mo for me. Then you have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sam's Club (Premium!), Google Play, some stupid app my daughter needs for $8/mo, Wolfram Alpha to help her with homework, LastPass, Apple iCloud storage, SpiderOak backup, Google apps for business... and I'm probably forgetting several others. I understand everyone wants a subscriber, not a customer, but my budget is dying a death from a thousand cuts here. I just can't keep paying for all these things, even when they're only a "few" dollars, every month. It all adds up. This is why people are saying they only pay for a subscription if it REALLY matters to them. The slots are full. If your model requires a monthly payment for something, it must literally change my life, at this point. Thirty years ago, I had a $20/mo land line, and a TV antenna, and that was it! Think about that! I'm not at all clear that my quality of life is $500/mo better than it was back then.

fhood 9y ago
For a late high-school, early college student, wolfram is not non-critical.
- tortasaur 9y ago
  What? Of course it's not critical, especially not the paid subscription. You can get by just fine without it with a good textbook.
  - sitkack 9y ago
    Have you seen text book prices? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0495559725 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0495559725 Across the board they are like this.
    - jsilence 9y ago
      Your university does not have a library?
georgespencer 9y ago
I wonder if in the future there will be a subscription service which consolidates subscription services and pays our fractions of the subscription fee to each provider a la music streaming.
- newscracker 9y ago
  That'll take a few years to come by. Right now (and in the last few years), many content providers/producers have actually been focusing on having their own streaming services to get more control on their assets and earn a bigger piece of the pie. The users end up paying a lot more separately to each one, and so this cannot be sustained for long. I see some sort of reverse consolidation happening in the next few years. Netflix, Amazon, Google, Apple and probably Facebook would lead this aggregation, as they have been doing (or trying/planning to do, as the case may be).
- mendelk 9y ago
  https://setapp.com https://setapp.com At least one of the apps on OPs list (2do) is included.
  - georgespencer 9y ago
    Thanks! Interesting.
LordKano 9y ago
Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who has this perspective. I'm a couple of TV shows away from going to an "online streaming only" mode of TV watching. I'm becoming increasingly annoyed by the "only" in the sales pitches.

fhood 9y ago

For a late high-school, early college student, wolfram is not non-critical.

tortasaur 9y ago
What? Of course it's not critical, especially not the paid subscription. You can get by just fine without it with a good textbook.
- sitkack 9y ago
  Have you seen text book prices? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0495559725 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0495559725 Across the board they are like this.
  - jsilence 9y ago
    Your university does not have a library?

georgespencer 9y ago

I wonder if in the future there will be a subscription service which consolidates subscription services and pays our fractions of the subscription fee to each provider a la music streaming.

newscracker 9y ago
That'll take a few years to come by. Right now (and in the last few years), many content providers/producers have actually been focusing on having their own streaming services to get more control on their assets and earn a bigger piece of the pie. The users end up paying a lot more separately to each one, and so this cannot be sustained for long. I see some sort of reverse consolidation happening in the next few years. Netflix, Amazon, Google, Apple and probably Facebook would lead this aggregation, as they have been doing (or trying/planning to do, as the case may be).
mendelk 9y ago
https://setapp.com https://setapp.com At least one of the apps on OPs list (2do) is included.
- georgespencer 9y ago
  Thanks! Interesting.

LordKano 9y ago

Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who has this perspective. I'm a couple of TV shows away from going to an "online streaming only" mode of TV watching. I'm becoming increasingly annoyed by the "only" in the sales pitches.