> People used to say “when you don’t pay for a service, you’re the product”, but now you always are the product and sometimes you even have to pay for the privilege.<p>> As an engineer, I’m tired of working on systems that are openly hostile to the end user, where the best and most elegant solution is rejected in the pursuit of an extravagant business model.<p>This hits me hard. I feel this deeply almost every time I interact with a new startup product, etc. There is a great fight to be had here in having the most elegant (read: user-friendly) technical solutions ("software you can love").<p>At the same time, I can't help but feel a bit dismayed at the state of startups and the industry overall. I fear the future, where everything a new developer comes to learn is a VC-subsidized startup business model only to later push a "pay up or get out" statement.<p>Will the kids who are learning to write today using Apple Pencils on iPads, actually have the same opportunities to work with computers in the same way others here have? I deeply fear the rate at which software and technology is moving from a "solve real problems" model to a "solve the same problems, but with a subscription" model.<p>> We’re building software you can love, and big tech can’t compete with us.<p>I truly hope so - and that I can plan some role in turning this situation around.
> ...sometimes a reasonably priced, rock-solid, proprietary tool can be preferable to a janky OSS project connected to a murky business model.<p>I agree completely with this. Even worse, "free" (ad-supported) software is so darned convenient (and I'm so used to my software being non-paid) that I often end up using it even when there are better paid alternatives.