I think the not owning the software subjective sentiment is made worse by the subscription model. Personally paying for Photoshop for example was more acceptable when it was "physically" an App in my Mac. I still have very old versions I can launch on vintage Macs or Emulators. As a kid I definitely remember owning and organizing my apps with their nice icons (the spatial file manager helped), thinking it was "real" things.
I think we're a middle generation that grew up before the internet that this makes sense for. The CDs are probably going at the next move, but I expect to keep my MP3 collection forever.
Re:Omni Group Layoffs
by ubermonkey on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @03:13PM
(#22752494)
Note that the CD is your 'license' to the music. You shouldn't sell them or give them away unless you also erase the music.
Re:Omni Group Layoffs
by starsinspace on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @05:23AM
(#22746988)
Maybe it was a mistake for the software industry to give up on the nice big colorful cardboard box with software inside it. Bought at a physical retail store, with CD-ROMs in it an a thick printed manual. Certainly gave more or a feeling of actually having bought something, different from just clicking a "buy" button in an appstore.
Perhaps we should move from "buy the software" to "sponsor the developer" idea, such as what GitHub is doing with the "Sponsor" button.
Re:Omni Group Layoffs
by lonelappde on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @11:19AM
(#22749550)
To first order, no one donates.
We used to call that shareware.
Re:Omni Group Layoffs
by chrisseaton on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @12:23PM
(#22750429)
Seems super wasteful packaging though?
And I don't know about you but the first thing I do when I get a paper manual is go online to try to find a PDF version. Seems more like a downside than a value-add?
Re:Omni Group Layoffs
by macjohnmcc on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @10:19AM
(#22748713)
I don't think that professionals are likely to loan their tools to friends nor do I think they consider that option when they decide if they will buy a tool. It's tools that make their jobs easier or possible.
I don't want to justify the "cheapness" of the software users, which is certainly excessive, but the feeling of ownership of a physical object is still very different from software.
For example, you can easily lend your toolbox to a friend, your hammer won't ever stop functioning through no fault of your own, you can re-sell or gift a chainsaw if you want to get a new one.
Since software is immaterial, we've ended up in a situation where these basic things don't work, people do not feel like they actually _own_ software, and thus feel less motivated to buy it.