4 ms·

Yeah I decided a long time ago that I'm not playing that game, adding subscriptions for all kinds of things. The only recurring charge I pay for is Amazon Prim

Yeah I decided a long time ago that I'm not playing that game, adding subscriptions for all kinds of things. The only recurring charge I pay for is Amazon Prime, because I don't want to think about shipping costs and I like Prime Video (replaces Netflix) and Fresh (free grocery delivery, no need for Instacart) Other than that, anything that requires a subscription, I can do without. I've bought one mobile app in my life: Backcountry Navigator. It lets me download detailed maps for hiking and then use them where there's no cellphone towers. The free version was good enough, but it was so useful that it felt better to pay the developer his $7 for lifetime usage (no recurring charge)

pedalpete 6y ago
I hadn't heard of Backcountry Navigator before. Just looked at their website which states "some maps require an additional subscription." you maybe you got in on the app before they moved to subscription?
- chihuahua 6y ago
  It's true that I bought it about 5 years ago and things may have changed since then. But I think the sentence you're quoting is referring to the following: BC Navigator allows you to download maps for offline use from a variety of sources. Most of these sources are free (e.g. Open Cycle Map [related to OpenStreetMap], US Forest Service, etc) and some require a paid account with the map provider (e.g. CalTopo). So if you want to use the CalTopo maps, you need to pay CalTopo. But it's perfectly fine with the free maps. The UI used to be pretty difficult to figure out. After a year I got used to it and it's fine. But they released a new version for iPhone which is supposedly quite different from the early Android version, and they claim they put more effort into making it easier to use. Another thing that's very useful about BC Navigator is that you can easily import GPX tracks (e.g. planned routes) and overlay them on the map in different colors. So you can have your main route for the day, and maybe some alternate routes for a section where you're not sure if the original route is going to work out. You can keep an entire library of routes in the app, and select which ones you want to show that day. It's just a perfect app for what I love to do - mountain biking in places where few people go.
  - matkoniecz 6y ago
    > Open Cycle Map [related to OpenStreetMap] To be more specific https://www.opencyclemap.org/ https://www.opencyclemap.org/ is generated from OpenStreetMap data and some terrain data, likely SRTM.
cudgy 6y ago
Why should app developers even care about the opinions of non-paying customers like yourself that never buy apps? It’s obviously not sustainable.
- chihuahua 5y ago
  That is correct, they should not care about my opinion on this subject. I'm happy that I can get by without paying for monthly subscriptions. I am also happy if there are lots of other people who find enough value in these services to make it worth paying for.

pedalpete 6y ago

I hadn't heard of Backcountry Navigator before. Just looked at their website which states "some maps require an additional subscription." you maybe you got in on the app before they moved to subscription?

chihuahua 6y ago
It's true that I bought it about 5 years ago and things may have changed since then. But I think the sentence you're quoting is referring to the following: BC Navigator allows you to download maps for offline use from a variety of sources. Most of these sources are free (e.g. Open Cycle Map [related to OpenStreetMap], US Forest Service, etc) and some require a paid account with the map provider (e.g. CalTopo). So if you want to use the CalTopo maps, you need to pay CalTopo. But it's perfectly fine with the free maps. The UI used to be pretty difficult to figure out. After a year I got used to it and it's fine. But they released a new version for iPhone which is supposedly quite different from the early Android version, and they claim they put more effort into making it easier to use. Another thing that's very useful about BC Navigator is that you can easily import GPX tracks (e.g. planned routes) and overlay them on the map in different colors. So you can have your main route for the day, and maybe some alternate routes for a section where you're not sure if the original route is going to work out. You can keep an entire library of routes in the app, and select which ones you want to show that day. It's just a perfect app for what I love to do - mountain biking in places where few people go.
- matkoniecz 6y ago
  > Open Cycle Map [related to OpenStreetMap] To be more specific https://www.opencyclemap.org/ https://www.opencyclemap.org/ is generated from OpenStreetMap data and some terrain data, likely SRTM.

cudgy 6y ago

Why should app developers even care about the opinions of non-paying customers like yourself that never buy apps? It’s obviously not sustainable.

chihuahua 5y ago
That is correct, they should not care about my opinion on this subject. I'm happy that I can get by without paying for monthly subscriptions. I am also happy if there are lots of other people who find enough value in these services to make it worth paying for.