Re: freestanding!
> few of us would pay the premium for it.
Too few. Bean counters rather cater for the brainless crowd which would gladly follow the trail of "shiny" right off the financial cliff... "Connected" makes more money for way less effort than any one-time "premium" might ever earn you.
Think about it, the world's population and thus your potential customer base being finite, what would make you the most profit:
a. Sell one item with unlimited lifetime for an one-time fee (quaint old method)
b. Sell one item with limited lifetime for an one-time fee (so people have to buy it again every x years. Think smartphones)
c. Sell one item with limited lifetime for a recurring fee (so people not only have to buy it again, but also keep paying it over and over again in the meantime)
As you see, option c. is the best one, the one which earns you the most profit from the same product expenses. Now tell me why on earth bean counters and shareholders would renounce this additional profit.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
