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Everything seems to be going towards "As a service". People who used to buy DVDs now use Netflix. Companies who used to buy serves use AWS.

raverbashing 7y ago
I think new technologies are lowering the cost of offering things "as a service" together with ownership becoming costlier. Owning some things do make sense though https://www.marketplace.org/2017/08/15/business/one-vintage-thing-that-doesnt-appeal-millennials-furniture/ https://www.marketplace.org/2017/08/15/business/one-vintage-...
TeMPOraL 7y ago
It's ironic that the "land of the free" is spearheading this change. While renting is justified in some cases, each thing you rent instead of owning means signing a contract to abide by, which severely limits what you can do with an item, and means you have yet another party you're beholden to that you have to keep track of. For people without a hired person to manage all these subscriptions, I wonder just how cognitively-taxing a rent/subscribe-everything lifestyle would be.
- rubinelli 7y ago
  Maintaining your property is often much more cognitively taxing. Consider a car, for example: you have to keep track of oil changes, water, tires, brakes, taxes, insurance, and the list goes on, each with its own schedule.
  - whenchamenia 7y ago
    Which is why I like my own car, I know it has been maintained to the higuest standard. Many ubers are downright frightening to anyone who knows anything about cars, and taxis seldom better.
  - cr0sh 7y ago
    > Consider a car, for example: you have to keep track of oil changes, water, tires, brakes, taxes, insurance, and the list goes on, each with its own schedule. Not sure where you're from, but for me and my two vehicles, it's not really that big of a deal. * Oil - look at sticker on windshield (when I change my own oil, I just erase the sticker and write it myself) * Water - look in the radiator every once in a while; low? Add some coolant (never plain water!) * Tires - look at them every now and again; need air? - add air, tread look too worn? - buy new ones, hear a clicking while driving? stop, and look for rock or nail * Brakes - look and feel, listen for squeaking; if it squeaks, probably hitting the indicator strip - change 'em out. If feeling spongy, flush and refill fluid; pull the tires off (during a rotation) and look at 'em. Rear drums if you have 'em - common on trucks - only need to be checked occasionally - they rarely need to be replaced often unless you haul loads regularly * Taxes - what taxes? I buy used, pay with cash - anything else, you're getting ripped off * Insurance - get the bill, pay the bill I do as much maintenance as I can myself, otherwise if I think it needs to go into the shop - into the shop it goes. Having two vehicles means I don't have to worry about if one is in the shop. Sometimes I've swapped - one car in the shop, get it back, swap the other one in (usually for things I can't handle - things that need a lift or are beyond my skill or tool level). About the only other thing I have to worry about is timing belts, but that's only on one vehicle now (my Jeep has a chain, I'll hear the noise once it wears beyond a certain point - the 4.0 I6 is near indestructible anyhow), and I got it changed when I purchased it, so it's good for 60k, at which point I'll probably need a complete engine overhaul anyhow (given the age of the vehicle - 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS). I love both of my vehicles, and I can't yet get anything in a hybrid or electric that compares (nor could I afford it, even if it did exist). I sincerely hope that battery tech gains to the point where a charge will get you 600-800 miles (because once you put that tech into a 4wd vehicle, with a lift and 30+ inch tires - that number will drop like a rock). But it ain't there yet, and even when it does happen, I won't be able to afford v1.0 - so I'm sticking with my current vehicles. Plus - I'm hoping my VehiCROSS becomes a collectible; it has all the categories of one, but for some reason, it hasn't quite happened yet. I love driving that beast, tho...
rbanffy 7y ago
Netflix is my DVD shelf as a service. I used to own lots of movies and series. Now they are all ripped and stored in hard drives, much like my music. I rarely buy new movies - I wait until they are on Netflix or Amazon and, if, for some reason (a 6 year old one, usually) I can't wait, I rent them from Apple.
jfengel 7y ago
People used to rent movies before Netflix (and before DVDs, for that matter). The big win with Netflix was that there was no due date to a Netflix rental, rather than having to rent by the day. (Plus, done by mail, and a bigger catalog than your neighborhood video store.)

raverbashing 7y ago

I think new technologies are lowering the cost of offering things "as a service" together with ownership becoming costlier. Owning some things do make sense though https://www.marketplace.org/2017/08/15/business/one-vintage-thing-that-doesnt-appeal-millennials-furniture/ https://www.marketplace.org/2017/08/15/business/one-vintage-...

TeMPOraL 7y ago

It's ironic that the "land of the free" is spearheading this change. While renting is justified in some cases, each thing you rent instead of owning means signing a contract to abide by, which severely limits what you can do with an item, and means you have yet another party you're beholden to that you have to keep track of. For people without a hired person to manage all these subscriptions, I wonder just how cognitively-taxing a rent/subscribe-everything lifestyle would be.

rubinelli 7y ago
Maintaining your property is often much more cognitively taxing. Consider a car, for example: you have to keep track of oil changes, water, tires, brakes, taxes, insurance, and the list goes on, each with its own schedule.
- whenchamenia 7y ago
  Which is why I like my own car, I know it has been maintained to the higuest standard. Many ubers are downright frightening to anyone who knows anything about cars, and taxis seldom better.
- cr0sh 7y ago
  > Consider a car, for example: you have to keep track of oil changes, water, tires, brakes, taxes, insurance, and the list goes on, each with its own schedule. Not sure where you're from, but for me and my two vehicles, it's not really that big of a deal. * Oil - look at sticker on windshield (when I change my own oil, I just erase the sticker and write it myself) * Water - look in the radiator every once in a while; low? Add some coolant (never plain water!) * Tires - look at them every now and again; need air? - add air, tread look too worn? - buy new ones, hear a clicking while driving? stop, and look for rock or nail * Brakes - look and feel, listen for squeaking; if it squeaks, probably hitting the indicator strip - change 'em out. If feeling spongy, flush and refill fluid; pull the tires off (during a rotation) and look at 'em. Rear drums if you have 'em - common on trucks - only need to be checked occasionally - they rarely need to be replaced often unless you haul loads regularly * Taxes - what taxes? I buy used, pay with cash - anything else, you're getting ripped off * Insurance - get the bill, pay the bill I do as much maintenance as I can myself, otherwise if I think it needs to go into the shop - into the shop it goes. Having two vehicles means I don't have to worry about if one is in the shop. Sometimes I've swapped - one car in the shop, get it back, swap the other one in (usually for things I can't handle - things that need a lift or are beyond my skill or tool level). About the only other thing I have to worry about is timing belts, but that's only on one vehicle now (my Jeep has a chain, I'll hear the noise once it wears beyond a certain point - the 4.0 I6 is near indestructible anyhow), and I got it changed when I purchased it, so it's good for 60k, at which point I'll probably need a complete engine overhaul anyhow (given the age of the vehicle - 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS). I love both of my vehicles, and I can't yet get anything in a hybrid or electric that compares (nor could I afford it, even if it did exist). I sincerely hope that battery tech gains to the point where a charge will get you 600-800 miles (because once you put that tech into a 4wd vehicle, with a lift and 30+ inch tires - that number will drop like a rock). But it ain't there yet, and even when it does happen, I won't be able to afford v1.0 - so I'm sticking with my current vehicles. Plus - I'm hoping my VehiCROSS becomes a collectible; it has all the categories of one, but for some reason, it hasn't quite happened yet. I love driving that beast, tho...

rbanffy 7y ago

Netflix is my DVD shelf as a service. I used to own lots of movies and series. Now they are all ripped and stored in hard drives, much like my music. I rarely buy new movies - I wait until they are on Netflix or Amazon and, if, for some reason (a 6 year old one, usually) I can't wait, I rent them from Apple.

jfengel 7y ago

People used to rent movies before Netflix (and before DVDs, for that matter). The big win with Netflix was that there was no due date to a Netflix rental, rather than having to rent by the day. (Plus, done by mail, and a bigger catalog than your neighborhood video store.)