I was going through my Wal-Mart+ subscription plan that I got for free and I saw their offers. One of which was EMeals, that was a 60-day trial. I thought that this was like Blue Apron or other meal delivery services so I thought I’d take a crack at it and hope that it would get me on a path to eat better.
Turns out, it’s just a meal planner. And it’s absurd to me why and how would anyone pay for something when there are countless and countless recipes and meal planners readily available for free. Who’d the fuck would want to pay for a planner? That’s like paying for a calendar app.
Windows
Streaming. OS’s, disposable shavers/ head, prime. Very few subscriptions are a good deal and if they are a good deal thats just them cornering the market to eventually close in.
disposable shavers
I have them, but clean them with a squirt of alcohol and they last ages. I think the last time I bought a pack was 2020.
The cheapy ones like bics? I’m using an old school de razor and the blades are stupidly cheap, minimal waste and no single corp locking me in.
Oh those. I meant the Gillette Fusion razor heads. They are supposed to be disposable, and I do eventually get rid of them, but I extend the lifespan by a lot with a squeeze bottle of alcohol on them to clean them. A head that should last weeks will end up lasting me months with just a little care.
I was surprised to hear that a coworker suscribes to one of the streaming services to stream shows from PBS. First of all, it’s free OTA. Second, I think they have an app.
The app is paid. It’s absurd to me that one would need to pay for a pbs subscription since the you’re paying for the original funding in the first place.
Ad-free internet stuff.
Computer Operating Systems
A lot of Software actually
Social media.
Gray market license keys for software. The money you’re paying for these will never make it to the developer, so you might as well pirate.
On that same idea, camrips sold out of the back of a car. I knew someone who bragged about being able to get them and I always thought they looked like ass. They just liked acting like they had hood connections.
A lot of them don’t even lie about it as much if you read between the lines. GreenManGaming, HumbleBundle are the exceptions to that.
But places like CDKeys, G2A .etc yeah you can’t be assured that anything you buy from them is going back to the developer. If the developers so much even hears the existence of these kinds of sites, they’d be protesting to have them shut down.
It’s more convenient to have a license. I only buy those when the developer is being scummy
Then there’s people paying for pirated software in CDs/DVDs
Adobe. Someone said they pay $60 a month for it, and are locked in for the year, which they didn’t even know about! All for editing photos. Just editing photos.
It amazes me the amount of people that think theres no alternative to adobe, just for their casual use. I know that for professional it has some features that no other has.
I recently purchased Affinity photo, which did most of what I used to use Adobe for. No subscription, one time purchase, and I’ll likely never need to worry about that again.
I tried gimp a few times and found it frustrating to use.
Holdup. It’s $60 a month for the adobe suite, which give you access to like 30 aps, including a video editor, DreamWorks, illustrator and a whole bunch more. It’s only $20 a month for thw photo suite, which gives you lightroom, photoshop, and bridge. The $60, a month for the suite is absolutely worth it depending on what you are doing.
I do not get people who still pay for cable tv. My dad pays like 120 dollars a month for it and the programming is horrible, the ads are insane, all the best sports shit is on streaming services now, I do not understand it at all.
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Inertia?
Or is there some local channel that they like that doesn’t have a youtube presence?No. And they also have Netflix. So they understand streaming shit. It boggles my mind
How technical is your dad?
Also honestly. Sometimes it’s a lot nicer to just push a button and have something come on.
One of the main reasons I use Plex is their random feature. “Wanna watch a syndicated episodic show and don’t care which ep? Press random” vs other streaming services you have to actually choose an episode.
Not very at all
I’d like to see a clever implementation of one-button “channel surfing” in an app like Plex.
YouTube premium.
Just get uBlock or revanced.
I have lots of ad blockers. But my father watches YouTube on the LG TV app. I don’t live there anymore and hearing the ads from the other room became offensive to the family.
It was easier to just buy a premium family plan and call it a day.
I’m at a point in my life where I’ll pay for the media I’ll watch. If I’m not willing to pay for it, I won’t watch it. I also don’t want to watch ads.
"Ah, yes I see I see, and that’s very understandable. Thank you for paying us by the way.
Now, since you’ve been so loyal for all these years…what about [slides agreement across the table] you pay for it…AND you watch ads?"
– Basically every streaming service hopping on the bandwagon at this point
Streaming services are raising prices because prestige television was expensive and are using ads as a way to reduce the bill.
And you don’t have to pay for streaming if you don’t find it too be worth it. I’ve cancelled subscriptions because the increased price wasn’t worth it.
Maybe the television being produced ought to stop being garbage that nobody wants.
Sidenote: Lol I’m getting downvotes for mocking streaming giants and ads on Lemmy. That’s different 🤔.
Honestly, I hear you. Media isn’t easy to make and takes a ton of talented people a lot of hours to accomplish. I also drop off of subscribing to stuff if it was really nice but “enshittified” into forcing ads into every interaction.
Something needs to change fundamentally though, because we’re once again on the cable-TV slope of “20 minutes of entertainment extended to 45 minutes by interrupting it with the exact same ad of a mega corporation pretending to be an underdog influencer.”
My personal take is that if your average person were paid fairly, they’d have the money to spend on entertainment where ad-pollution wouldn’t be necessary, and if the entertainment distributors/platforms/whatevs asked the fair amount required to pay everyone involved fairly, everyone would be happy.
Lol a guy can dream.
And I wish that kind of world existed where people could fund that kind of media landscape.
I’ve just been aware that, for over a decade, streaming prices weren’t sustainable because they were subsidized by cable and broadcast.
Okay, to preface I really hate giving Google money, but I hate ads more, and paying for Premium also removes ads on YouTube apps across platforms. It also in some minuscule way rewards the creators I watch, but real support comes from Patreon.
It also gives a “free” music service, and while it’s not excellent by any means, that keeps me from spending MORE money on another music service.
I just like that I can log in on my AppleTV and it works immediately with no ads or bullshit.
Yeah I’m with you. I know there’s some way to block ads on any device if you are really dedicated but I don’t want to get a PHD in ad blocking just to not have ads on YT on my phone
Install Revanced, it’s literally better than the vanilla youtube app because you can customize basically everything
I can’t find it on iOS
*you can’t find it in the app store / apple safe space. If you’re in Europe, you can sideload apps. Otherwise, you might need an upgrade
No
YouTube charges too much. It costs more than Netflix! They need like a $6/mo plan or something.
In Australia they offer premium lite for $9 AUD a month that removes ads on normal YouTube but still has it on shorts and music.
I mean, it depends on how much you use it, no? I use YouTube more than Netflix and the like (most of the time anyway). Not that I have YouTube premium but still.
Doesn’t work if you’re using a smart TV or console to view it.
Just solved this problem actually. Smart tube app. Download on your tv with a browser and sideload the apk. Dunno about console but I’m sure there’s some solution.
Seconded on Smart Tube TV. Frankly, it works better than ublock on Firefox most days as YT doesn’t go out of its way to slow it down.
Also, I feel like it’s more lightweight too. The regular YT app was lagging a lot, Smart Tube TV was running great.
Yeah, not watching it on console. /s
YouTube + HDMI Cable from PC to TV + UBlock/Firefox = win.
The maintainance and unreliability is annoying
There is literally a discord, with a link here on Lemmy, with links in said discord to download sources. Plus there are help and troubleshooting threads.
And happen to need exactly none of that, thank you very much. I pay the fee and forget about it
Books.
Most librarians are knowledgeable and love helping you find something, or getting it in from another library.
Every book I try to check out has a 3 month to 3 year wait-list. Not exactly a convenient way to read.
Where are you? My wait here (mid size city in Florida) is usually 0-3weeks, unless they don’t have it at all, then I request and it can be 6 weeks to infinity. But they will send hard copy books around between libraries not even in our county, and the electronic collection is huge too.
I’ve been trying e-books, usually when I find something I want to read it will say something like you are 38th in line. Minnesota.
Here when there is a big line like that, usually they will temporarily rent more licenses. So it will say 38th in like for one of 8 copies, not just 38th. If it’s a popular new book they do that. I read mostly sci fi and fantasy, occasionally smut, it’s been solid for those categories. Have found many enjoyable reads and those sorts of books are great to read on the device. Stories. Informational/resource books less so, for me it is easier to go back & forth with a paper book.
ETA I don’t know why someone would down vote you for sharing your experience, that’s silly.
Not everyone has access to libraries. However anyone with internet access and a device capable of reading ebooks can read for free with libgen, zlib, and sci hub.
If you have access to the internet you’ll be able to get access to library ebooks. There are some libraries that’ll give non residents access.
Any examples?
Which country are you in? In the US, Harris County Public Library in Texas gives free access to basically anyone with an email address.
US. I looked, only found a link for $40/12m… nothing free unless a TX citizen.
I like owning my own stuff.
By that proxy you could also just rent your home instead of owning a living space.That’s a crazy comparison. If I could rent a home for free from the library I would feel like I’d won the lottery. I absolutely would do that. Is renting from the library not free where you are?
Depends. My local library is but the major library in the neighbouring city has a fee associated with being a member lending something. Entry is free though.
As a library assistant, I second that message
Also quite a few great books in the public domain. Here is a website that curates, fixes up, and publishes free copies of classic public domain literature: https://standardebooks.org/
Porn
If you have specific interests it’s sometimes helpful.
If you want to be reasonably certain it’s ethically made, you kind of have to pay for porn.
Edit: also, if you want something specific that free sites don’t cater to. Like lesbian porn that isn’t obviously only meant to appeal to men.
Just because you’ve paid for it doesn’t mean it’s been ethically made.
It didn’t say that. I said the opposite: you can’t be sure it’s ethical when it’s free, because it’s much less transparent then.
ethically made
lesbian porn that isn’t obviously only meant to appeal to men
freeGirls Out West
Vr porn makes it worth it
My coworkers will walk into work with Dunkin or Starbucks lattes… we have not only free coffee at work, but access to an espresso machine with milk steamer.
If I worked at a restaurant I would take advantage of free espresso.
It’s not that odd that they have a preference, even if it costs them. My work provides tea bags and milk, but I bring my own because I like them more.
I think the problem is that some Starbucks fans are pretentious. There are better and cheaper coffee everywhere but some of them will just choose the more expensive one and flash their premium membership card to you.
Yeah, but Dunkin for coffee??
It’s like the yuengling of coffee. Nothing special but it’s cheap and inoffensive.
Really depends on the workplace. I will not drink coffee and I’m no longer drinking hot chocolate even from my work. Mainly because a lot of my co-workers are slobs and everything is unsanitized. I had just witnessed last night, someone from day maintenance, had their gloves still on (presumably from touch dirty trash bins, scrubbing toilets .etc) just go about touching some things before realizing he needed them off.
And I ended up vomiting last sunday because nobody checks expiration dates on what we have and I ended up drinking hot chocolate that might’ve been expired. So, it depends on the workplace.
So at my work the coffee is shit because it’s a fully automatic coffee machine and it is also not properly cleaned. I usually make my own at home and bring a thermos.
Yes, but I work at a restaurant.
Operating systems and porn.
Free porn tends to be full of abuse towards its actors. Not that paid porn is automatically ethical but there are definitely indie options where no one is being coerced into performing sexual acts they’re not comfortable with. Also if you have a niche fetish sometimes the only options are paywalled.
I’m currently on Emporium. But I have paid for more porn than I’ve stolen. And porn is cheap.
How is it surprising people pay for operating systems? The vast majority of computers sold are bundled with an operating system license, and most people just use what came with the computer.
Uhhhh you answered your own question. Why pay for an OS when it should either be included, or free Linux.
Therefore it’s surprising when people pay for an OS.
I use windows. I haven’t paid for a windows key since windows 7 iirc. Windows has been free for years. (I know you pay with your data etc. Good luck convincing average Joe who uses all social media services that this even matters)
Exactly. Which is why it’s surprising to pay for windows OS.
Where are these surprising purchases then? People either use it for free, in which case they haven’t paid for it, or they bought it in a bundle with their PC, which is again very common.
Who is actually buying Windows standalone?
Who is actually buying Windows standalone?
People who build their own PC and want to use an OS that they are familiar with. Especially when you want to game, windows is just easier than any free os and you can get a legit key for 20-30 bucks, while pirating windows has become a lot more complicated since XP.
Every time I saw someone I know built a PC, they reused the license key from their previous one. And the first one was a free key from their university.
It definitely happens though!
Exactly. You can buy windows OS standalone without it coming in a package with a pc. It’s rare. That’s why it’s surprising.
Fair enough. To me the fact people don’t do it and that it’s rare is perfectly expected. In other words, I would be surprised if people commonly did that, but they don’t, so I don’t see anything surprising. But I can see your point of view, it’s looking at it a bit differently.
Sames. I haven’t paid for a Windows OS since Windows XP.
The only way I ever got to the latest Windows OS, is either being given a machine with the latest version on it or I get a PC built but pirate a serial or a copy.
But “included” doesn’t mean free. You still paid for it.
That’s not the point. You’re buying a pc, it comes with it and sometimes costs extra.
This sub is about what’s surprising things people buy. Buying an OS is surprising, because it’s either part of the package deal for a new pc, or you can just use linux.
I think what you are trying to say is “buying an OS not as part of a package deal is surprising”. To that I would agree.
But most people are buying an OS as part of a package deal, so most purchases of an OS are not surprising.
I’m not “trying” to say anything lol. OP said operating systems. I’m talking about operating systems. Not a pc that is packaged with one.
So many people I know complain about windows having ads, that it’s auto installing bloatware, has annoying checks, forces you to login…
I paid the full price about a decade ago and haven’t been bothered by any of that. And yes, I’ve upgraded to windows 11
I’ve had the exact same experience. People on this site don’t like when others don’t hate Windows.
I like it because it just works.
It definitely “just works” alright. And damn do I appreciate that on the machine I like to use to relax
Streaming services. I’ve been balls deep into piracy since I was a kid but I remember once I was house sitting and my friend had netflix and I Was drunk and wanted to watch He-man. I turned on their netflix and it didn’t have it. I was like, why even pay for this shit whats it good for? I have been morally opposed to paying for streaming ever since. Ive been taking some classes recently and some of the Gen Z kids are like, baffled I don’t have spotify. I am baffled they can’t pirate songs. My friends, you dont have to pay for that single. I can download it during the span of this conversation with my phone.
Also on that note, any of WotC’s D&D tools. I remember the D&Dinsider debacle. 4e was a cool game but basically unplayable without some automation. They tried downloadable software but found people had way too easy a time hacking it. So they launched a constantly crashing version behind a paywall that ran on silverlight (so it couldn’t run on Mac. As a webapp.) And hackers still kept up the downloadable character builder with updates. It was more consistent, didn’t crash, and is still functional to this day. I ban D&Dbeyond from my games. I encourage everyone to use 5e.tools (if they must play 5e).
For dnd, so you have a character creator that is as easy as dnd beyond? I’ve looked at some open source versions, but nothing come as close for ease of use. Thanks!
Just do it manually?
Have you tried dungeonmastersvault? It is really easy to use and with like half an hour on searching you can get all the source material in there
I default to piracy too, but I’m guessing you don’t listen to a lot of new music. The thing a music service offers isn’t just access, it’s discoverability. It didn’t replace my FLAC collection, it expanded it. What it replaced was listening to the radio to find new stuff.
For video I’m more with you. I’m happy to rely on word of mouth. Especially since the streaming services drop movies all the time and discriminate against watching in a browser. Getting a good rip means you can watch it anywhere, anytime, and not have to worry about it disappearing.
While this might have been true for a while, but payola is alive and well. My spouse has Spotify and still has to listen to music podcasts for real discovery. Otherwise she’s one more person swatting down Espresso playing over and over.
Online subscription models, gacha and AAAA price tag games.
Not everyone wants to be a cybercriminal, god knows I’m one of them, but every person has a backlog of games, an old classic that they want to experience again or community favourite that has gotten a lot of mods. And even if you want to spend money on something, why would you spend it on this year’s hyped up game when last year’s is still just as playable and at a discount?
That being said, I did buy Balatro full price, so I ought to know the answer.
My problem is that I wait 20 years to late to play games and they cost more second hand than they originally did. GameCube fan problem
The Youtube channel made a video about gacha and I still don’t get it. I hate collecting junk, even more when I can’t choose which junk I get.
I’ve never played any of those games myself, but here’s what I have gathered from a video essay:
You just begin to play it somehow, you get introduced to the Gacha mechanics, and then it’s one of 2 ways: Either you spend a lot of money in the game because they are literally designed like Casinos to fuel your gambling addiction, like clouding your judgement how much a round of gambling is actually worth with many in game currencies.
Or you spend time in the game to grind premium resources, and your brain rewards you for it with the thought “at least I’m not spending money”, not realizing that the
housedeveloper also wins if you do that. An example i giving rewards for players who write strategy guides, something they otherwise would have to pay real money to a developer for.We really have to hate more on those regulators who failed to protect gambling addicts from candy crush on crack.
