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> On the other hand my friends who are into electrical, woodworking or automotive take a deep pride in the tools they own. I don't want to justify the "cheapne

> On the other hand my friends who are into electrical, woodworking or automotive take a deep pride in the tools they own. I don't want to justify the "cheapness" of the software users, which is certainly excessive, but the feeling of ownership of a physical object is still very different from software. For example, you can easily lend your toolbox to a friend, your hammer won't ever stop functioning through no fault of your own, you can re-sell or gift a chainsaw if you want to get a new one. Since software is immaterial, we've ended up in a situation where these basic things don't work, people do not feel like they actually _own_ software, and thus feel less motivated to buy it.

starsinspace 7y ago
Maybe it was a mistake for the software industry to give up on the nice big colorful cardboard box with software inside it. Bought at a physical retail store, with CD-ROMs in it an a thick printed manual. Certainly gave more or a feeling of actually having bought something, different from just clicking a "buy" button in an appstore.
- mehdix 7y ago
  Perhaps we should move from "buy the software" to "sponsor the developer" idea, such as what GitHub is doing with the "Sponsor" button.
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    To first order, no one donates.
  - Ma8ee 7y ago
    We used to call that shareware.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  Seems super wasteful packaging though? And I don't know about you but the first thing I do when I get a paper manual is go online to try to find a PDF version. Seems more like a downside than a value-add?
tarsinge 7y ago
I think the not owning the software subjective sentiment is made worse by the subscription model. Personally paying for Photoshop for example was more acceptable when it was "physically" an App in my Mac. I still have very old versions I can launch on vintage Macs or Emulators. As a kid I definitely remember owning and organizing my apps with their nice icons (the spatial file manager helped), thinking it was "real" things.
- rvense 7y ago
  I think we're a middle generation that grew up before the internet that this makes sense for. The CDs are probably going at the next move, but I expect to keep my MP3 collection forever.
  - ubermonkey 7y ago
    Note that the CD is your 'license' to the music. You shouldn't sell them or give them away unless you also erase the music.
macjohnmcc 7y ago
I don't think that professionals are likely to loan their tools to friends nor do I think they consider that option when they decide if they will buy a tool. It's tools that make their jobs easier or possible.

starsinspace 7y ago

Maybe it was a mistake for the software industry to give up on the nice big colorful cardboard box with software inside it. Bought at a physical retail store, with CD-ROMs in it an a thick printed manual. Certainly gave more or a feeling of actually having bought something, different from just clicking a "buy" button in an appstore.

mehdix 7y ago
Perhaps we should move from "buy the software" to "sponsor the developer" idea, such as what GitHub is doing with the "Sponsor" button.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  To first order, no one donates.
- Ma8ee 7y ago
  We used to call that shareware.
chrisseaton 7y ago
Seems super wasteful packaging though? And I don't know about you but the first thing I do when I get a paper manual is go online to try to find a PDF version. Seems more like a downside than a value-add?

tarsinge 7y ago

I think the not owning the software subjective sentiment is made worse by the subscription model. Personally paying for Photoshop for example was more acceptable when it was "physically" an App in my Mac. I still have very old versions I can launch on vintage Macs or Emulators. As a kid I definitely remember owning and organizing my apps with their nice icons (the spatial file manager helped), thinking it was "real" things.

rvense 7y ago
I think we're a middle generation that grew up before the internet that this makes sense for. The CDs are probably going at the next move, but I expect to keep my MP3 collection forever.
- ubermonkey 7y ago
  Note that the CD is your 'license' to the music. You shouldn't sell them or give them away unless you also erase the music.

macjohnmcc 7y ago

I don't think that professionals are likely to loan their tools to friends nor do I think they consider that option when they decide if they will buy a tool. It's tools that make their jobs easier or possible.