- cross-posted to:
- enshittification@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- enshittification@lemmy.world
Among the most significant changes with this year’s Elements releases has little to do with new features but instead concerns the ways users purchase and own the software. While prior versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements have been lifetime licenses — the user buys the software and then owns it indefinitely — this year’s release has moved to a three-year license term.
A perpetual license doesn’t mean the company supports it forever; you know that, right? I have a copy of Quickbooks 2015 that I got the license key for from a closing company for about $25. I will never have to pay another dime for it, it’s a perpetual license and will run indefinitely. I just don’t get any updates at all, and I can’t run anything that requires updates or subscriptions like payroll or advanced features. But that’s absolutely fine for my purposes and works the same for many, many people. This is how things should be - if I’m fine with using an outdated version, there is zero reason I need a subscription license.
Not sure I trust Reckon to work indefinitely. I think it still has to phone home every five years or so, but not sure.
Once again if you bought a product ( like boxed software version ) yes ( with no support ). If you bought a service it’s impossible. People still believe that something may be free
A perpetual licence for a service isn’t possible, yes, but software is a product, and something you can absolutely buy once. You typically only get support for a limited time though.