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This quote gets way too much play on here. I see it being referenced every day, and I don't read most comment sections on HN. This guy was predicting where thi

This quote gets way too much play on here. I see it being referenced every day, and I don't read most comment sections on HN. This guy was predicting where things were going based on the principles of capitalism; it's more profitable to charge people in perpetuity than to charge them only once. It is not a conspiracy beyond that. If you don't like it, then avoid products with continuous payments and favor ones that don't as much as you can. If businesses see there is more appetite for buying things permanently than renting them, then they will sell things. DVD beat DivX. If you want to own things cancel your streaming service subscriptions and buy movies and TV shows and books and music instead. Stop posting the same tired, worn out quote and do something.

peteradio 4y ago
Big difference between infinitely copyable digital goods and sharing physical objects like living space.
account42 4y ago
> If you don't like it, then avoid products with continuous payments and favor ones that don't as much as you can. The problem is the "as much as you can". Even for devices that you can still "buy" you are often not really the one in control of that device and the maker will continue to try to extract more money from you using that device. > DVD beat DivX. And streaming beat physical media. Movies and TV are a really bad example for your point as it is prohibitively expensive to "buy" these compared to a streaming subscription and that difference is only going to get bigger as less and less people make the effort to own things. This isn't something you can affect on your own.
bArray 4y ago
> This quote gets way too much play on here. I see it being referenced every day, and I don't read most comment sections on HN. It's getting referenced a lot because people can actively see the rug getting pulled beneath their feet. > This guy was predicting where things were going based on the principles of capitalism; it's more profitable to charge people in perpetuity than to charge them only once. It is not a conspiracy beyond that. I think it's actually being driven by a rise in cost of living, with an expected standard of living that is unchanging. You aren't for example going to downgrade your phone or car whilst working at the same company, and if they thing itself is getting more expensive, the only thing left is the type of ownership. It's already here in terms of loans, where you make lots of small payments (rent) to eventually own the item. In the UK there is a scheme "right to buy", where the rent is counted towards your eventual bid to buy a property. > If you don't like it, then avoid products with continuous payments and favor ones that don't as much as you can. That's not how it will happen. To work at X company and interact with Y service (which allows you to live), they require you have some minimum piece of equipment. You can either buy it outright (which your wage does not allow for) or loan the item (essentially rent it). You end up being forced into the system. An example could be a car to get to work, but you have to drive through a low emissions zone which is dictated by car manufacturing year. Another example could be an app on a phone where it requires a minimum OS version, only supported my the latest and greatest model. > If you want to own things cancel your streaming service subscriptions and buy movies and TV shows and books and music instead. You're preaching to the wrong person - but these things are only a matter of time. Music for example is becoming less and less of a choice, many artists have nothing but digital versions, and those are purposefully setup to prevent distribution, locking you into some hellish platform.

peteradio 4y ago

Big difference between infinitely copyable digital goods and sharing physical objects like living space.

account42 4y ago

> If you don't like it, then avoid products with continuous payments and favor ones that don't as much as you can. The problem is the "as much as you can". Even for devices that you can still "buy" you are often not really the one in control of that device and the maker will continue to try to extract more money from you using that device. > DVD beat DivX. And streaming beat physical media. Movies and TV are a really bad example for your point as it is prohibitively expensive to "buy" these compared to a streaming subscription and that difference is only going to get bigger as less and less people make the effort to own things. This isn't something you can affect on your own.

bArray 4y ago

> This quote gets way too much play on here. I see it being referenced every day, and I don't read most comment sections on HN. It's getting referenced a lot because people can actively see the rug getting pulled beneath their feet. > This guy was predicting where things were going based on the principles of capitalism; it's more profitable to charge people in perpetuity than to charge them only once. It is not a conspiracy beyond that. I think it's actually being driven by a rise in cost of living, with an expected standard of living that is unchanging. You aren't for example going to downgrade your phone or car whilst working at the same company, and if they thing itself is getting more expensive, the only thing left is the type of ownership. It's already here in terms of loans, where you make lots of small payments (rent) to eventually own the item. In the UK there is a scheme "right to buy", where the rent is counted towards your eventual bid to buy a property. > If you don't like it, then avoid products with continuous payments and favor ones that don't as much as you can. That's not how it will happen. To work at X company and interact with Y service (which allows you to live), they require you have some minimum piece of equipment. You can either buy it outright (which your wage does not allow for) or loan the item (essentially rent it). You end up being forced into the system. An example could be a car to get to work, but you have to drive through a low emissions zone which is dictated by car manufacturing year. Another example could be an app on a phone where it requires a minimum OS version, only supported my the latest and greatest model. > If you want to own things cancel your streaming service subscriptions and buy movies and TV shows and books and music instead. You're preaching to the wrong person - but these things are only a matter of time. Music for example is becoming less and less of a choice, many artists have nothing but digital versions, and those are purposefully setup to prevent distribution, locking you into some hellish platform.