The thing is, most software nowadays is expected to integrate well with the outside world. A simple calculator or a full-fledged photo editor can and probably s

The thing is, most software nowadays is expected to integrate well with the outside world. A simple calculator or a full-fledged photo editor can and probably should run in its own bubble isolated from the world, so a single full-value price makes sense; but a lot of progress and innovation (and creation of new needs, aka. new software) is happening at a level where systems need to talk with each other. It does make sense to pay recurring money if the tool needs to be constantly updated to keep up with 3rd-party services. I agree that a text processor does not make sense, though; albeit they are probably justifying themselves due to the online features it provides (whatever they are; I haven't used MS Office in 10 years)