I&#x27;m already in 10 subscription services, from Dropbox and iCloud to Abobe, music plugins, etc. How much worse would it be in the future, when we&#x27;d regularly have to fork $500 per month or so (rent money in most of the world) just to keep using our software?<p>The situation reminds me of this part from Ubik by Philip K. Dick:<p>Back in the kitchen he fished in his various pockets for a
dime, and, with it, started up the coffeepot. Sniffing the - to
him - very unusual smell, he again consulted his watch, saw
that fifteen minutes had passed; he therefore vigorously
strode to the apt door, turned the knob and pulled on the
release bolt.<p>The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.”
 He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. “I’ll
pay you tomorrow,” he told the door. Again he tried the
knob. Again it remained locked tight. “What I pay you,” he
informed it, “is in the nature of a gratuity; I don’t have to
pay you.”<p>“I think otherwise,” the door said. “Look in the purchase
contract you signed when you bought this conapt.”<p>In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it
he had found it necessary to refer to the document many
times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and
shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip.<p>“You discover I’m right,” the door said. It sounded smug. 
 From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless
steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the
bolt assembly of his apt’s money-gulping door.<p>“I’ll sue you,” the door said as the first screw fell out.
 Joe Chip said, “I’ve never been sued by a door. But I
guess I can live through it.”<p>A knock sounded on the door. “Hey, Joe, baby, it’s me,
G. G. Ashwood. And I’ve got her right here with me. Open
up.”
 “Put a nickel in the slot for me,” Joe said. “The
mechanism seems to be jammed on my side.”<p>A coin rattled down into the works of the door; it swung
open and there stood G. G. Ashwood with a brilliant look on
his face. It pulsed with sly intensity, an erratic, gleaming
triumph as he propelled the girl forward and into the apt.