Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2021-05-24, 05:53:

or at least use lobbyists to write the law.

That's why I'm happy that EU laws are quite sane and progressive in that regard.
For example the Microsoft EULA states that a Windows licence can only be used with one specific computer. If I stick a COA on my computer and change basic hardware elements then I have to buy a new licence. EU lawmakers said "screw that!" and in the EU people can use a Microsoft licence on any computer they want and activate it without any restrictions. People can even sell their refurbished COA stickers (licenses). As a result the majority of people have legal copies of Microsoft products everywhere without spending a fortune. A refurbished Office 2019 costs ~$10. Awesome.

I had PowerDVD on my computer to watch Blu-Rays on.
I was watching the Star Wars Clone Wars Blu Ray and decided to watch the BBC Sherlock Blu Ray.
The software said it needed an update so I let it look.
I did.... something... but the Sherlock Blu Ray would not play.
So I put the Clone Wars one back in and it wouldn't work either!
The only way to get it to work was resinstall PowerDVD.

I wrote to them explaining I think it is fair that they refuse to not support newer releases of Blu Ray but an update killing something that worked before was NOT ok..
They told me I had to upgrade which was around 40-60€€ at the time.
It would be cheaper to buy a Blu Ray Player and hook it up to the monitor....

In general Cloud-based software world bugs me .... we use it at work and every friggin' week something changes that worked fine before that causes me to have to relearn. Yes, from time to time something new comes along that is better but I feel like there is always a "3 steps forward 1 step back" situation.

Miphee wrote on 2021-05-24, 10:03:

386SX wrote on 2021-05-23, 07:47:

And about power used by devices I think about how much does it cost for example.. even with low power light bulb, even not opening hot water or using a lot home devices at the end here the costs/bill is something like 1/4 of the cost of what's consumed and the other 3/4 like services, taxes, transportation of the gas/electricity or whatever.. so at the end you consume much less of the past (let's think to example much light bulbs with 100W each compared to the modern one that consume 10/15W each) but pay the same if not more. It's not that easy to understand myself where things got better for the consumer wallet.

That's also a good thing if you think about it. Consumerism means more job opportunities for people that decreases unemployment and increases economic growth. The more people have disposable income the more they spend. The more they spend the more the economy grows. It's a very basic presentation of a complicated process but the point stands. If I design an item that lasts 30 years then people won't need a new one for a very long time. So why would companies put money into R&D when people only buy an item every 30 years? Instead they started designing them to last 5-10 years and put the excess profit into developing new models every few years. Some of those models are bad but some are excellent and groundbreaking. New models require more parts, more suppliers, more workers. Everybody gets a slice and that puts food on the table.
Not to mention the advantages of a huge selection of items in every price range. You don't have to spend a fortune to get the latest tech anymore.

It might be ok until people begins to buy things they might not seriously need before of things they do instead usually considered essentials. I understand the basic logics of this economy but what it's easy to "feel" how many things are bought to "simplify" tasks that were not difficult to do before with the past tech or even without tech at all. I understand that if anyone buy what they really need first and "maybe" if there's the space for it then also other things, most might benefit from that model. But I'm not sure about the related amount of real jobs oriented to the masses and where would these jobs be created considering the real production lines are not everywhere.
Nowdays it's easy to hear things like "people have to reinvent themself"... when people got 40, 50 or more what they can reinvent.. anyone should become sw developers from zero or maybe hw engineers when even older IT tech people are out of the job offers target considering the amount of modern requisites most ask for even basic jobs.
About the huge selection in price range, lately I was thinking to buy a middle-low end vga a bit modern just to boost an old 775 latest config and the prices are becoming ridicolous even more than SIMM ram has been in the early 90's.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2021-05-24, 05:53:

Miphee wrote on 2021-05-19, 15:16:

Similar to my situation. My 8 years old fridge needed new gaskets. Nobody made them anymore, not even the manufacturer. Without […]
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Similar to my situation. My 8 years old fridge needed new gaskets. Nobody made them anymore, not even the manufacturer. Without it the fridge was useless and had to be replaced. So I bought an universal set of gaskets instead and made it fit my fridge. It works now.
That's what you need to do with your broken software: find another way to make it work.
I'm pretty sure the EULA mentions customer support somewhere and the fact that they only need to provide it until X date.
The big question is: can the customer be condemned for using illegal means of method for activating his legally purchased product?

If fridge manufacturers follows the "wisdom" of software industry, then you could go to prison for using universal gasket. Instead, you should buy subscription license for a new fridge. If you forget to pay your monthly subscription, the fridge will stop functioning and all your food will perish.

It's already happening.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/93yyyd/this-m … -miss-a-payment

Now there was some argument here that you could just pay for the fully functional, non-subscription tier. I think that's besides the point though. It's pretty unlikely the vest cost even the minimum subscription amount. Knowing how these businesses market their things, I know customers do not like to pay full price, so they probably have some perks for the subscription model. The point being though, is that the company is trying to achieve certain price point profit level on a reoccurring basis. And they will get it long term over subscription, or up front. The subscription model is being pushed in all sectors lately, so you know which one is winning out from a profit sense. This is why, things like old software breaks or support is pulled. They want you to buy the next product. Or if you keep paying them, they'd gladly send you the new version every so often.

Miphee wrote on 2021-05-24, 10:03:

That's also a good thing if you think about it. Consumerism means more job opportunities for people that decreases unemployment and increases economic growth. The more people have disposable income the more they spend. The more they spend the more the economy grows. It's a very basic presentation of a complicated process but the point stands. If I design an item that lasts 30 years then people won't need a new one for a very long time. So why would companies put money into R&D when people only buy an item every 30 years? Instead they started designing them to last 5-10 years and put the excess profit into developing new models every few years. Some of those models are bad but some are excellent and groundbreaking. New models require more parts, more suppliers, more workers. Everybody gets a slice and that puts food on the table.
Not to mention the advantages of a huge selection of items in every price range. You don't have to spend a fortune to get the latest tech anymore.

Having been in the doors at pretty much every tech company, yes they believe this, even among the famous ones that publicly decry consumerism. It's just their model is better, just trust them what they say, right?

All I can say, is consumerism seems great in the short term. But eventually your consumers will catch on that they are being gamed and look for an alternative (one alternative is to stop buying together) and the bubble breaks. It will happen. Wouldn't you rather have your economy be based on honesty, so that so many people won't get hurt by the facade breaking down?

I guess for one final point, I am seeing people lately point out tools built 80-100 years ago, built better and still work today, but are not made anymore. The things built today do not work as well or last as long. Eventually the old tools will be impossible to find for the everyday person. Why haven't we made replacement tools built to the same quality? People are looking for them right now. In some ways, you can say the same thing about software. There is value in pointing out old software that is great and our attempts at preservation will be good for future generations to study. Adobe and others should be ashamed. Profit and making jobs that don't last should not really be all we care about.

Yarr harr fiddle dee dee....

Fuck these multi-million dollar companies. My adobe never calls home to report my usage, or to give them my personal info. It hasn't broken down for an "update".

Literally the only thing I have it around for, is to make pdf files out of things i scan in.

the3dfxdude wrote on 2021-05-25, 17:28:

Why haven't we made replacement tools built to the same quality? People are looking for them right now. In some ways, you can say the same thing about software.

That's what I was talking about earlier. Manufacturers (especially tool manufacturers) have 2 (3) lines of products. One for home use and one for professional use.
Professional tools are just as good as the older ones but the average user doesn't want to pay for those. He wants cheap but usable tools. Understandable.
If I want quality power tools I'll buy Dewalt, Milwaukee or Makita's industrial line but that's offtopic here. Expecting high durability from standard power tools is just pointless and that goes for everything. People get what they pay for.
On the topic of the software that can't be activated, this should happen:
They should release a patch that automatically activates the product. It should be downloadable on the company's website. That simple.