[POLL] Local software + cloud account?

Dev Zone
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I’ve had discussions with others professionally around this idea, but I’m curious to hear from others on their take. I’ll wait a bit before I share my stance. Feel free to share more if you land in one of the less definitive buckets.

Imagine a software product that is slightly better than current free OSS, 100% local-only, and offline alternatives. The software states it runs completely locally and offline, but it requires a free cloud account to function; this account also provides an optional cloud sync for your data.

Would you use this product?

  • Yes, I’d create an account to use it
  • No, I’d stick with the account-free alternatives
  • Maybe / It depends
  • Other
0 voters
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Everything before but is bullshit.

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I mean that’s it right there isn’t it? That’s the scam we’re all seeing everywhere right now. Give you the carrot, but YOU are the product. Selling your data and footprint while providing a ‘service’ - convenience isn’t worth ‘their’ end result imo.

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Local only, no cloud connection, no telemetry that isn’t directly user facing. I’m planning on using tangled’s knots so you would need a DID to contribute, but you can make your own at home there too. The best software was always that binary that just did what you wanted and never asked for input otherwise.

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imho selling my soul to Satan just to have a “a software product that is slightly better than current free OSS”, keyword slightly, is a bit of a hard sell.

I can start considering selling souls, firstborns or virgins only if the software is significantly better and can do things nothing else can do, and/or is massively faster or smarter, like it has a very real and big edge for a workflow I’m making money off of.

But even then eh, I’m not enthusiastic and I’d be preparing for the rugpull that will inevitably happen when the application moves all to the cloud, terminates the “”““lifetime””“”" license and asserts ownership over everything I produce with it (any resemblance with Adobe products is completely coincidental I swear)

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Sounds like steam and such to me.

Authentication servers are nothing new

We might all dislike them, but they are a step less bad that online only tools, like google docs or stadia gaming.

I am not an artist, but adobe/davinci products, still run locally but require an online authentication?

So, we use them a lot in a lot of fields.

Alternatives exist, like GOG for games, and other services for other fields, but the always internet connected apps, seem to be technically good, despite the always on holdback…