> If the sublime folk offered a “bug fix only” monthly subscription, I’d buy that. My grandfather went through a half day’s paycheck of tooling a month on his own dime. I figure bug fixes are the software equivalent of sharpening chisels, buying new bits, surfacing a mill, etc.

Except bits don't rot?

New OS versions (especially from Apple) regularly create new bugs or completely break compatibility with old software. The cost of upkeep is not entirely predictable and easy to "price-in" to the upfront cost.

Can't speak for Apple I guess, but this isn't exactly the normal case on Windows.

Microsoft jumps through hoops for backwards compatibility, often to their own detriment. Apple - comparatively, not absolutely - almost ignores backwards compatibility...also often to their own detriment.

They don't rot but they get rusty.