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by Aurornis
534 days ago
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You’re not wrong, with a lot of Mac apps (this one included) you need the latest version to use it with the latest macOS release. When there’s a new mandatory paid upgrade every couple years then it’s not far from a subscription service. The situation seems worse on Mac where software has much shorter lifespans without new releases. On Windows I’m still using some engineering software I bought over a decade ago and it’s like nothing ever changed. |
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In that time, there have been 6 major versions of Little Snitch.
macOS has undergone pretty major architectural changes during that time, necessitating mandatory upgrades under some circumstances, but an OS update does not always force a LS upgrade.
> When there’s a new mandatory paid upgrade every couple years then it’s not far from a subscription service.
I disagree and don’t think people should mentally model subscriptions this way.
Subscriptions almost universally cost more on average than standalone purchases did, and there are still situations where it’s possible to remain on old versions in perpetuity, e.g. and old Mac that is kept around for a specific purpose but no longer receives major OS updates.
I think both models fall under a larger overarching umbrella of “software maintenance costs”, but those costs have always existed and standalone purchases vs. subscriptions are two fairly different ways of covering those costs.
Agree that this all feels worse on macOS due to the regular updates, but unlike Windows, I actually feel better over time about privacy/security and this naturally forces more app updates across the board. Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility is both convenient and increasingly a liability.