Is subscription software a good thing or not?

Posted by Jeffery Smith
Jun 10, 2016 at 10:09 PM

It hasn’t been a good thing for me. My Microsoft 365 subscription has a very bad habit of locking my out, refusing my password, and then waiting 3-4 weeks to get to my problem. As I result, I moved over completely to LibreOffice. My Adobe subscription is a bit pricey since I primarily use Adobe Audition rather than most of the other apps. I do use Photoshop about 5 times a year. After paying for a lifetime subscription to Novamind, there have been virtually no updates other than tweaking a bug, something that a user should not have to pay for. And paying a hefty annual subscription to Eastgate Tinderbox hasn’t been cost effective because the software has such a steep learning curve, I never get to the point that I use one of the new improvements. Waves audio plugins drain me of several hundred dollars a year in subscription costs.

If there is a personality flaw that I have above all others, it is trying to make my life easier with software I like. I spent over $1,000 just to get an alternative to Adobe Audition but haven’t found a better alternative. I had much of my world placed in Circus Ponies Notebook files. I’m steadily getting it converted over to OPML and then to Noteshare and OmniOutliner 4. I’m moving my free-form database to DevonThink format. I’m probably going to move Adobe Audition to TwistedWave.

By the end of this year, I hope to have MS products, Adobe products, and and my defunct programs like Circus Ponies Notebook completely out of my life.