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So let me get this straight.... (software)

D

DieBeachballDie

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 29, 2015
132
6
My last new computer was bought in 2006. The last games and software i got wasn't much after that. Things have changed...


So if i want to buy a game, or software (say, writing software, or photoshop, etc.) i have to buy it online, and pay for something that i cannot actually hold in my hand?

My last two games (Simcity4, Civ3) came in boxes, with discs, and books. Just like the music CD's i buy. I would NEVER pay for a song on iTunes... for something that exists in the ether... it just doesn't seem right. Call me old-school.

I'm not a gamer, but i'm looking at a couple games for pissing around when the wifi goes out (or when i get research burn-out as it typically happens). I'm also looking at getting writing software, and i'm sure there will be other things. Now, this stuff it seems is ALL like iTunes... and i'm spending $40 on something i cannot physically hold.

Am i the only one that has a problem with this?
 
In iTunes you own the right to Listen and its a personal right (you cannot give away).

I'm not saying this is right, but personally;

- I love the ability to have the right to listen "only" to that single song on the album I like. Costs me less than the album and it is available on all my devices automatically.

- Most games are free so why ask for a box and have to pay for them. Most propose in-app buy-in, not a problem, I only buy-in on those games I find to like after testing them for free.

Definitely things have changed, but for the better.

A last aspect of bad news, if your previous mac was from 2006 then its probably a PowerPC. That means the old games you have (and can hold the box) are not usable anymore.

But there is good news, you cn hold onto the computer, the keyboard and the mouse

:p
 
aicul said:
In iTunes you own the right to Listen and its a personal right (you cannot give away).

I'm not saying this is right, but personally;

- I love the ability to have the right to listen "only" to that single song on the album I like. Costs me less than the album and it is available on all my devices automatically.
Click to expand...

I can do that for free, i'd wager most people do.

Sure, when i just download something from whatever torrent, i cant 'hold' that either... but then, i never paid for it. No risk.

- Most games are free so why ask for a box and have to pay for them. Most propose in-app buy-in, not a problem, I only buy-in on those games I find to like after testing them for free.
Click to expand...

Most games are free? Am i missing something? I see prices on everything.

Definitely things have changed, but for the better.

A last aspect of bad news, if your previous mac was from 2006 then its probably a PowerPC. That means the old games you have (and can hold the box) are not usable anymore.

But there is good news, you cn hold onto the computer, the keyboard and the mouse

:p
Click to expand...

Haha... nope and nope. Mine was the very first Intel and the monitor is toast. And both my keyboard and mouse are pretty much done.

I was basically just looking to (eventually) pick up the latest versions of those same two games, and maybe Scrivener for writing.
 
DieBeachballDie said:
ISure, when i just download something from whatever torrent, i cant 'hold' that either... but then, i never paid for it. No risk.
Click to expand...

In some cases (not all) that is called theft.

----------

And SimCity is free for iOS (except for in-APP purchases). If you play it over a long time, you actually do not need te in-APP purchases.

But never checked if SimCity is free on OSX.
 
I used to feel like this, too. I bought CDs rather than online music. DVDs and Blu-rays rather than digital movies. Boxed software rather than downloads. Books rather than ebooks.

But I've discovered that everything is moving to a digital model, and quite honestly, it's WAY more convenient.

I've since sold nearly 500 DVDs/Blu-rays, stopped using iTunes, download apps instead of buying boxed software, and digitized all my books into my iPad.

I now use Vudu and Amazon for movies, Spotify for music and Kindle for books. I spend about the same on movies, but now have access to them everywhere I have an Internet connection. I spend WAY less on music and have access to just about any album I'd ever want. Generally downloadable software costs less than its physical counterpart--even XBox games cost less when digitally on sale. I read 25x as much as I used to and spend much less on books.

Plus, now when I enter a store, DVDs, CDs and books never cause me to impulse purchase anymore. I just don't buy them.
 
DieBeachballDie said:
.. and i'm spending $40 on something i cannot physically hold.
Am i the only one that has a problem with this?
Click to expand...

You were never actually "holding" the software. Its all 1's and 0's. Its intangible. You were merely holding the package or container for the software/game. Do you need a box for something that is intangible? What for? All it does is drive up the cost of the product.
 
JuryDuty said:
I used to feel like this, too. I bought CDs rather than online music. DVDs and Blu-rays rather than digital movies. Boxed software rather than downloads. Books rather than ebooks.

But I've discovered that everything is moving to a digital model, and quite honestly, it's WAY more convenient.

I've since sold nearly 500 DVDs/Blu-rays, stopped using iTunes, download apps instead of buying boxed software, and digitized all my books into my iPad.

I now use Vudu and Amazon for movies, Spotify for music and Kindle for books. I spend about the same on movies, but now have access to them everywhere I have an Internet connection. I spend WAY less on music and have access to just about any album I'd ever want. Generally downloadable software costs less than its physical counterpart--even XBox games cost less when digitally on sale. I read 25x as much as I used to and spend much less on books.

Plus, now when I enter a store, DVDs, CDs and books never cause me to impulse purchase anymore. I just don't buy them.
Click to expand...

You know, thats fair, and it seems most people are heading this way, but not me. I dont need convenient. The iPod is convenient for music, i'll give you that, but beyond that i'm more than happy doing things the old way. I refuse to watch anything on a tiny screen (or anywhere but my house), i like real books... the very concept of ebooks is a head-shaker for me... and frankly, i like buying CD's. It pisses me off to no end that all the stores have gone, and i have to drive 60 miles to buy them... but i still do and will.


Heh... so i guess it IS just me...

----------
dangerfish said:
You were never actually "holding" the software. Its all 1's and 0's. Its intangible. You were merely holding the package or container for the software/game. Do you need a box for something that is intangible? What for? All it does is drive up the cost of the product.
Click to expand...

Meh... i'll pay it. I'm holding the CD/disc. I dont need internet access (which is sometimes spotty) to read an owners manual. If something goes wrong, if someone steals my computer, if i move on, i still have physical copies to start again. Perhaps i'm just not fully understanding how this all works...
 
I will jokingly assume you work in something supply or inventory control related...I get this fight yearly on my wall to wall inventories and they wonder where that 50K+ of server applications on their list is at.

My expensive applications on esx hosted servers ,well, this just blows their mind. I explain that its a multi node load balanced esx cluster nd unless using console I can't say for sure which physical node has the expensive software on it at the moment if they press the issue and want to see a location for it at least. I then explain if I shut down node it may be on...it shifts to another one.

No physical software and no dedicated physical location either...supply loves my inventories.


If you really like your physical software OP avoid istore when possible and buy from the vendor and download from them. Burn disk after download or put on storage drives you may have. I do this myself. But in my case its more to avoid patching delays as when vendors have a patch it has to clear apple's submission process. Which can be days.... I buy from vendor (when an option) I get day 1 patch releases.
 
aicul said:
In some cases (not all) that is called theft.

----------

And SimCity is free for iOS (except for in-APP purchases). If you play it over a long time, you actually do not need te in-APP purchases.

But never checked if SimCity is free on OSX.
Click to expand...

Everywhere i look its $23 and up.
 
I can appreciate preferring the physical to the virtual. Consider those who prefer gold coins to paper currency, or :::shudder::: bank statements.

Music, computer programs, movies, patentable inventions... all are intellectual property; a body of law that exists to give value to the ephemeral. It's literally the thought that counts. To the creator/owner of IP, proof of ownership is far more important than possession of a physical object. The original manuscript can be lost in a fire, but the right to produce new copies persists. Please excuse them for thinking consumers will look at things the same way.

There's no denying that people often give the physical manifestation a talismanic value. That's why a publisher can charge far more for a hardcover, slip-cased "special edition" (vs. a mass-market paperback) than the difference in production costs alone would justify, and why consumers complain about the "high" price of an ebook that contains the exact same text.

Yet how much can you learn from a blank sheet of paper? What good is a vinyl record if it's too scratched to play, or an old CD-ROM of MS Office if it won't run on Yosemite? The intrinsic value lies in the contents, not the container.

You get email proof of purchase whenever you buy at the iTunes or App Stores. Create a folder in your mailbox for them. Backup the folder (well, the whole computer). If you're like my father, print off a copy and put it in a filing cabinet. If you doubt the reality of your purchases, thumb through the receipts.
 
Back up your digital purchases (and user info) to two different places (not including cloud storage). That way, if your HD goes bad, or one of your back ups goes bad, you still have access to your digital purchases.

I create a separate folder for each digital purchase. The folder includes anything needed to reinstall the software at any time. I also encrypt the folder using Disk Utility. Makes Mac life very easy.
 
DieBeachballDie said:
So if i want to buy....photoshop... i have to buy it online, and pay for something that i cannot actually hold in my hand?
Click to expand...
What til you realize you can't even buy photoshop anymore, and can only rent it. :p

No, you're not the only one okay with that, but that's how it is. On the bright side, since it's all tied to an account of some sort, you'll never lose it.
 
Okay... i'm getting it. But it still seems... nebulous. Makes sense now at least.

I'll still torrent music though. The music industry has been its own enemy for decades, i'm done playing that game. Like most people i know, and that i see here i think, i'll get my stuff online from whatever site, but unlike most (i know), if i like it, i'll ALWAYS buy the CD. I have a LOT of CD's... and i'll always appreciate the whole effort that goes into them from the artist. Unlike cassettes or vinyl, its still digital, and will likely be a valid platform for some time yet.

Funny though, i've never actually even used a torrent before. Last time i downloaded music was on bloody Limewire. I was probably one of the last on there. Squeezed a lot of blood from that stone. Just another thing i'll have to learn...

----------
thejadedmonkey said:
What til you realize you can't even buy photoshop anymore, and can only rent it. :p
Click to expand...

I just got off that photoshop thread. I had nooooooooooooo idea that program was so expensive...

Someone bought me Photoshop Elements a few years ago, but my 10.4 wouldn't support it so i never opened the box. Maybe that'll work on my new rig. It couldn't have been that expensive.
 
Since I'm retired and we travel a lot, keeping up with CDs, books, and DVDs would be a royal pain. I think I have bought 2 physical books in the past two years vs well over a hundred ebooks. I ripped all my CDs and DVDs to digital files. No problem watching them on my 67" TV at home via my Apple TV.

We buy most software via the App Store so we can use one purchase on all our devices. With 3 Macs, 2 iPads, and 2 iPhones, it saves a lot of money. A lot of boxed software can only be installed on one machine.

I am so over physical media. It's so 1980's.
 
DieBeachballDie said:
So... i guess if i want ANYTHING for this new iMac, i'm gonna need a credit card?
Click to expand...

No, you can set up an iTunes account without a credit card. Just buy iTunes cards with cash whenever you need money in your account. You can redeem them in the Mac App Store or iBooks or iTunes store. You don't even have to manually type in the code any more, just use the built-in camera of your Mac, iPad or iPhone to scan the code.
 
Hmmm... simple as going down to FutureShop, buying an iTunes card and using it on the mMac App Store then? I see 3-4 things there i wouldn't mind having...
 
MacDawg said:
I wanted to hold the book
I wanted to have the music CD
I wanted to have the software CD

I got over it
You will too
Eventually
Click to expand...

Yep. I hate optical discs (DVD/CD). Don't like hard copy manuals.

Give me a download and nothing more and I'm happy.
 
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