[MadManE]

Subscriptions in general leave a bad taste in my mouth. What happened to just buying the software, and when you felt like upgrading (either because of compatibility issues, or needed functionality) then you can upgrade? Subscriptions definitely are a win for a business by ensuring income streams, but as a consumer I want to pay the company when I feel like buying something and not when they feel like they need money.

[vparikh]

In my opinion, subscriptions are a net win for everyone. For the following reasons:

1. They allow easy access to upgrades, and make it far easier to make sure everyone is on the latest and greatest (you aren't paying for every upgrade, so there is little incentive to hold out.)

2. The consumer pays far less up front -- for example, Adobe Creative Suite costs $600+ and that is money you have to pay upfront. Or I can pay $30 a month to use all of the software in that suite. In my example, I would never buy Photoshop as I can't justify $600+ in price for my uses. $30 a month I can justify. Basically, as a consumer I get access to software/functionality that I never would have had access to before.

3. I only pay for as long as I need it. If after a 6 monhts, I no longer have a need for the software, I cancel my subscription. As simple as that. I have not wasted a lot of money.

4. Which leads to making the software publishers work harder to put in features that help a larger base of users, not just corporate users. And to provide theses features on a more regular basis to keep me paying the monthly fee.

Sure, you can look at it the way you are suggesting but overall I think it is a win/win scenario.

[MadManE]

How is it a win/win if I lose my data when I quit paying the subscription? Having proprietary data formats means that if I want to keep using what I've created, I'm kept hostage by my subscription.

It's a lot better with things like Office, where other programs have been able to extract the data, but it still seems too much like extortion for my liking.

[k-mcgrady]

I think companies have been forced to turn to subscriptions. People aren't willing to pay $150 for office anymore. They probably wouldn't be willing to pay $40 on iPad. Software prices have been forced so low that subscriptions are the only way out.