The Terminal Demise of Consumer Electronics Through Subscription Services
1 min read
Summary
The devices we buy from big tech companies are increasingly dependent on those companies’ online services to function.
This has unpleasant side effects, like your device no longer working when you evade paying a subscription or if the company folds.
These companies could prevent this from happening, but choosing to lock their customers into subscriptions brings in more money in the short term.
Hardware is no longer something you own and control, it is a gateway for the vendor to your wallet.
People need to use more second hand and open source devices that don’t trap them in a subscription model.
The only alternative to this is for people to collectively refuse to be held hostage by these companies and either vote with their wallets or build a new alternative ecosystem.
This has happened before in the open source and hobbyist computing scene and it is the only way to ensure that we actually own the devices we purchase.
