#27: Whatever Happened to Actually Owning Software?
*Don’t mind the bad English in the image — AI isn’t perfect… yet.
Remember the good old days when you'd buy a game or program, install it on your computer, and that was that? You owned it. No strings attached, no recurring charges, no constant upsells. Those days are long gone, and I'm not happy about it.
Take gaming, for instance. Back in the day, I'd pick up a copy of Red Alert, pop in the CD, and lose myself for hours in epic battles. One purchase, endless enjoyment. Now? It's all about "games as a service." Want to play the hot new shooter? That'll be $60 for the base game, plus a $10 monthly subscription, oh and don't forget the $15 battle pass if you want any decent rewards. And those cool skins? Break out your wallet again.
But the real villain in this story? Adobe. They took the software we relied on – Photoshop, Illustrator, the whole Creative Suite – and decided we didn't deserve to own it anymore. Now it's all "Creative Cloud" this and subscription that. Want to edit a photo? That'll be $20 a month, forever. Thanks, Adobe, for paving the way for every other software company to nickel and dime us into oblivion.
It's not just Adobe and gaming, either. Microsoft Office? Subscription. Autodesk? Subscription. Even small utilities are going the "Software as a Service" route. It's like the entire industry decided that regular, predictable income was more important than customer satisfaction.
So why did this transition happen? It's a perfect storm of corporate greed, technological advancement, and misguided consumer behavior.
Steady Revenue Streams: Wall Street loves predictable income. Subscriptions provide that steady cash flow that makes investors drool.
Cloud Computing: The rise of always-on internet and cloud storage made it easier for companies to justify the "service" model.
Piracy Prevention: Companies claim subscriptions help combat piracy. In reality, it's just another way to control how we use software.
Feature Bloat: Constant updates allow companies to add features nobody asked for, justifying the ongoing costs.
Data Collection: SaaS models give companies unprecedented access to user data, which they can monetize.
The examples are endless. Spotify replaced owning music. Netflix killed the DVD collection. Even car manufacturers are trying to turn features into subscriptions. BMW wanted to charge for heated seats – in a car you already bought!
But there are alternatives. Open-source software is thriving. GIMP offers a free alternative to Photoshop. LibreOffice can replace Microsoft Office for most users. For gamers, GOG.com still sells DRM-free games you can actually own.
Some companies are pushing back too. Affinity Photo and Designer offer powerful Adobe alternatives with one-time purchase options. Indie game developers often release complete games without microtransactions.
We, as consumers, need to vote with our wallets. Support companies that still believe in software ownership. Embrace open-source alternatives. And when a company tries to force a subscription model on us, let them know it's not acceptable.
I get it, companies need to make money. But there's got to be a better way than turning everything into a perpetual rental agreement. Give us back the option to buy software outright. Let us own our tools again. Because right now, it feels less like we're customers and more like we're just wallets to be emptied month after month.
The future of software doesn't have to be an endless series of subscriptions. We can demand better. We can support alternatives. And maybe, just maybe, we can reclaim our right to actually own the software we use.
