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> also servers etc for any online features the software needs This is usually a deliberate choice made by software companies. They take their software that cou
by ryandrake 2y ago
> also servers etc for any online features the software needs
This is usually a deliberate choice made by software companies. They take their software that could be (or used to be) run on the user's local PC and then unnecessarily move it to a server. Then, they conveniently have a "Well I have to run a server" excuse for changing to a subscription model. You wouldn't have the costs of running a server if you didn't decide to shoehorn that server into the software in the first place!
- sophacles 2y agoEven if you only sell shrinkwrap software there are ongoing costs for your business in the form of sales, accounting/payroll, office rent, customer support and so on. If you want to have bugfixes available for customers you have to pay developers to do that, and infrastructure for releasing them - this is an ongoing cost. The problem is orthogonal to where software runs: there are subscription models for fully downloadable software that doesn't have to interact with a server (jetbrains for example, and some games).
- johnea 2y agoAll of the logic in this entire sub-thread is based on the idea that thet s/w has to be ssold by a vendor. Large orginazations, representing classes of users (architects, engineers, people who type documents and calculate numbers) could produce s/w for their own use, not to sell, and make this s/w available under a free software GPL license. They would save the money they would have spent buying this s/w, and spread those savings to everyone else who used the s/w. I don't want to retype or paste the entry I made below, but please read it and respond to this alternative. Thanks for the discussion!