Legacy Man Living In a Subscription World
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| A.I Generated |
My old computer was getting very long in the tooth. The root drive for installing programs had long since filled up and despite installing those I could on another partitioned drive, it still caused issues. The operating system had been upgraded from I think, Windows 7 which was a thing 15 years ago. All in all, it was time to upgrade before the thing just completely shot craps.
So I got a new one with features like Solid State Drives and a new operating system, Windows 11. Whenever I have upgraded in the past, I have always expected problems and this time was no different, but the nature of the problems has shocked me a bit.
Nearly every single program has gone to a subscription model. I don't like subscriptions. I'm not a heavy user so why do I want to pay for something I may only use a few times a year. I just want a no frills software that gets what I want done, which I can reliably use without updates or learning for the next decade.
Microsoft Office came up first and I wasn't allowed to install my legacy DVD copies that I have for the last few times. Fortunately after some searching, I found I could purchase 2021 Office products without a subscription plan that are supposedly legacy products, meaning I can transfer my subscription to a newer computer in the future.
Then came my more heavily used SketchUp software that I use to create woodworking designs to build. They no longer allow you to download a free Maker version with limited abilities. The only option is to but a subscription and even then, you aren't allowed to download your own designs to your own hard drive. They must be stored on the Cloud where you are forever at the whims of the software company as to if you will be able to access them 5 or 10 years down the road. After some searching, I found an open source free replacement (FreeCAD) but haven't really dabbled with it yet. Unknown is if I will be able to download some sort of free viewer that I can view all my old SketchUp designs that I have stored.
The last major software package I wanted to install was my Adobe Lightroom 6 software for editing photos. This is one that I use maybe 6 times a year but when I need to use it, it has become indispensable. I had the DVD along with the serial number proving I bought it and installed it however, whenever I went to use it, I was repeatedly asked to log in with the right credentials (which I have and entered) until it locked me out. So finally this morning I called support and was told that their "Legacy" product, is no longer supported anymore and despite assurances that I owned the product and would never have to pay another fee to use it back when I bought it, I now have to purchase a subscription version if I ever want to use it again. I have tried to run it using Windows back compatibility abilities but all have been unsuccessful. Now I am in a no man's land wondering what to do.
I don't want to pay a monthly subscription for something I may use 6 days a year. I can search around and I'm sure I might find something that has similar capabilities but who is to say even though I own it, they will not force me to buy a subscription there to in a few years. When will this madness end? Everyone and their brother are now using only subscriptions and all of them would add up to an eye watering amount per year if I signed up for them and then added them up to an annualized figure.
There is a pretty good platform out there called ON1. It will do what LR will do and other things too. While I use LR and PS now, I have used ON1 RAW in the past, and I am pretty sure that it would work well for you. Pretty sure it is still subscription, or at least one variation is.
ReplyDeleteI may look into that if needed. I have found that the Photo App that comes with Windows 11 will do about 99% of what I used Lightroom to do which is basic cropping, adjusting of brightness, contrast, etc. It even has a way to erase objects out of a picture such as wires. Best of all, it doesn't have the library, photo storage manipulation part of it that Lightroom had and which I never liked. Before finding that, I also found a program called Gimp which is an open sourced version of LR and is free. It looked quite complex when I opened it the first time and I haven't touched it since.
DeleteKnock on wood, I haven't had as many issues since I switched to a Mac, but still.... technology is a curse AND a blessing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe 75% of what I use a computer for come for free as default computer programs/apps. But that 25% is still necessary and is getting harder to find without shelling out money every month, regardless of how often I use it. I wouldn't mind if they sent me notification that they would no longer support or update a program but I could continue using it at my own risk since I bought it. But they are now purposely shutting off my ability to use a program I own to force me to buy their latest subscription model. It would be like Toyota determining my car is obsolete so sending some signal to permanently disable it and force me to buy another one!
DeleteMy older daughter and I were just talking about that! Everything has gone to subscription and it's horrible for those of us who rarely use those programs.
ReplyDeletePlus I think it is a bit unethical for those of us who purchased a previous "legacy" program that we fully intended to use as long as possible since "computer security" issues are even an issue, and to have it purposely disabled to force us to buy another product.
DeleteMy Macbook Air is perfect for me since I only do simple tasks. I have a really old mini Macbook that I only use for accounting work and even though the software is old, I can do what I need to and generate reports for my CPA.
ReplyDeleteThis internet stuff is moving along too fast for me. You are young and need to keep up. Good luck to you!
I feel as if I'm starting to fall behind. Especially when my kids point out things that I do not know already.
DeleteEd, I noted this weekend that Microsoft announced they are sunsetting Windows 10 next year. I have no intent to upgrade to Windows 11, even if that means have limited functionality.
ReplyDeleteTo your point, I despise subscriptions. I do not mind paying if it is something I use regularly - but I seldom use any program regularly except Word Processing and Spreadsheets. Fortunately LibreOffice is free and has all the functionality I would ever need for my minor needs - and it even allows you to save in Microsoft format.
I wasn't aware of LibreOffice. As long as I can still purchase stand alone copies of Word and Excel for me and Powerpoint for my wife and kids, I'm okay with the price.
DeleteYuk. What a headache for you, although I'm sure those who came up with the subscription model have certainly hit a jackpot. Makes me glad I switched from Windows to Ubuntu years ago.
ReplyDeleteActually, it's interesting to me that your post pairs so well with Sunday's post at the Of Two Minds" blog. His point is that, given that we can never own the software rights to any of our devices and smart gadget, we don't truly "own" the object. Not good for the end user, but guaranteed income for those who control it.
I'll have to check it out but it sounds right on the money. When someone else can brick our device or render it useless, it isn't truly ours.
DeleteI am in the same boat with Photoshop and Lightroom, purchased them but no longer any good for my Mac. So I rarely fix any of my photos but I miss the straighten feature the most! I won't pay for a subscription to them for 120.00 a year. I have Lightroom on a very old laptop if I need something done that is really important!
ReplyDeleteThe default windows app now has a straightening feature, something it was missing on my old computer. So perhaps whatever the Mac default app now has that feature.
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