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Comment by javajosh | Hacker News Reader

Indeed, and this is why I still buy paper books, DVDs and CDs (and vinyl, when the mood strikes). Heck, I suspect that in the not-too-distant future, old software licenses and media will be valuable, perhaps extremely so if open-source tools are effectively blocked on the major platforms.

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I borrow everything at the local library. If they don't have it, I ask if they can get it. Mostly I just give them the ISBN number and a few days later I get a mail that they reserved it for me, come and pick it up. Almost faster than ordering it myself on the net :-)

In ebook form (e.g. Libby) or physical?

Physical

Same for me. I will only buy a paper copy of a book, which cannot be removed from my account when it is on my bookshelf. Same for CDs and DVDs. Amazon seems to offer an instant download of mp3s after buying a CD, so often I never even open the CD after receiving it. But having it means I will own it forever.

Anything that is not available in a format I can own in perpetuity, I will not buy. Voting with your wallet is the only way to pressure these companies.

I don't see the interest in buying DVDs. Books and Music are two medium one is likely to revisit. Movies/Drama on the other hand? Once it is viewed, are they really that many people that will try to view it again? Do they get the same thrill as for a very good story/music piece?

When I find a movie I really like, I tend to want to either rewatch it with different people who haven't seen it, or lend it to those people.

This is very subjective, I have rewatched far more DVDs than I have reread books; seems to me that rewatching a good story in movie form isn't much different to rereading a good story in book form? (Typically with less time commitment & effort/imagination required)

I agree. Revisiting old content is the rule, not the exception. If there is stuff you really want to watch again you are very likely to pay for it again. There is a game that I played on PS2 that has been ported to NDS and then PC and I bought all versions even though it was the same game every time.

> if open-source tools are effectively blocked on the major platforms.

Come on, how can you have such a grim outlook? Nobody will “effectively block” open source tools. Consoles can afford to. Phones are being challenged. Everyone else won’t.

Windows on ARM only allows you to install Microsoft Store apps. Everyone claims ARM is the future but all I see is a proprietary prison.

The moment a platform becomes for “general purpose computing” they will be forced to open up. Especially Windows won’t be allowed to be a closed platform given its dominance. Even then, there will always be Linux.

My 2013 1Password license ($19.99) proved to be a valuable investment.

Unfortunately I'll have to migrate to their subscription sooner or later, I already don't have access to their Safari extension.

Last time I checked they also had their regular license available in the website buried somewhere.

You may want to give a try to Bitwarden (https://bitwarden.com/)

I was a long (15years?) paying user of Lastpass, saw the company grow and discussed with the founders when they were just starting. Then the software grew old (and some M&A were dubious)

Switching to Bitwarden was a great choice (since about a year)

(I have no affiliation with Bitwarden, I just work in Information Security and look closely at this kind of software and their tradeoffs)

Thanks for mentioning it, it looks pretty nice. However, as that's something I would self-host, the pricing options do not make sense to me. I'd be willing to pay a one-time fee of $10, maybe $40 for the family variant (though 6 users feels really arbitrary when you self-host). Not $40 per year for little added value (the thing I'd be interested in is 2FA via OTP/U2F, and maybe that shared item thing).

Anyway, I think I'll look at something else for now, I can't really afford that :)

I do self host Bitwarden. There are two possibilities:

- the official docker solution which is extremely complicated

- https://github.com/dani-garcia/bitwarden_rs which is extremely simple and just works. It includes everything for 0 EUR.

I still sent money to both projects because I think they did a nice work.

I find Bitwarden better than LP in handling Android (seems to be better at recognizing places it can fill in) and it is very complete in terms of what the product itself offers. I considered moving mu OTP (currently on Authy) there, up to the moment where I realized I need OTP for Bitwarden itself :)

Otherwise I have no complaints. The sharing part is excellent (much better than LP) - the only thing to be aware of is that once you "share" with a group, the elements is not "yours" anymore. It becomes truly shared within the group. Specifically you cannot "take it back". While it was a bit disconcerting at first, I find it very logical in the long term. And use it extensively with my family.

Thank you for mentioning that alternative, that looks very interesting indeed. May I ask how you sent money to bitwarden? By subscribing?

Your comment on OTP makes a lot of sense. I personally use Aegis from F-droid from OTP (moved from AndOTP), which I quite like.

bitwarden_rs: https://github.com/sponsors/dani-garcia (you can subscribe and then resign - there is no way to make a single payment AFAIK)

bitwarden: I subscribed and then cancelled as there is no single payment either.

As for the OTP, one more point is that in the case where Bitwarden would be hacked, the fact that OTP is somewhere else is a real layer of security.

Or just buy EPUB or PDF of the book that just sits on the hard drive.

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