Work bought me an iPad. It was my first foray into iOS.
I’m not sure what the app store was like before, but I couldn’t find a single app that didn’t have a subscription plan. Even a simple SSH client built using open source libraries wants $6.00/mo.
I totally understand why people groan and do a face palm any time they see yet another app wanting to charge them monthly, hoping that once there you’ll forget that you’ve subscribed.
The only reason that I paid for Sync is that I’ve seen the dev interactions and their dedication to the project. I would never ever pay for a software subscription from any of the big players. For a single person setup, I’m more than happy to do it. I donate to my favorite podcasts and my favorite designers from Thingiverse.
Late stage capitalism and the rent-seeking economy sucks. But becoming accustomed to individuals paying other individuals is one of the things we’re going to have to do to make it suck less.