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submitted 10 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Tech's broken promises: Streaming is now just as expensive and confusing as cable. Ubers cost as much as taxis. And the cloud is no longer cheap::Some tech is getting pricier and looking a lot like the older services it was supposed to beat. From video streaming to ride-hailing and cloud computing.

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[-] Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee 107 points 10 months ago

Is this surprising? The prices were always going to adjust to the market. Any new cheap thing that undercuts the market will eventually become the market as it becomes mainstream, and prices will be increased to what the market will bear to maximize profits.

[-] Mysterious_old_man@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

I think the problem comes in with all the copyright and monopolization bs companies like Verizon and apple pull to remove all possible competition and allow them to jack up their prices

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 4 points 10 months ago

This is surprising from a naive market based perspective. Think about how TVs and computers have gotten cheaper and better. The hope was that this wouldn’t just be the same product with new players. The idea (or the lie if you prefer) was that the new technologies would lead to efficiencies so we can all get more for less.

It just didn’t make any sense for something like Uber. It costs money to give someone a living wage and their app wasn’t going to change the fact that someone still had to drive the car. The whole idea made no sense, which is why they were racing to autonomous cars. That hasn’t panned out.

I actually think streaming is a much better value than cable, even at the same price. Shows are higher quality and more plentiful. Many high quality movies are included. You’re also not required to get every package. Skip Paramount if you don’t want it. I still think streaming easily beats cable.

[-] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 7 points 10 months ago

Exclusive rights to content are the problem here. There is no competition if the consumer has no choice (except not watching at all).

There is a case here for legal separation between content production and distribution. Not just streaming services, it goes for any content, games, cinema, even patents.

Uber on the other hand - I have a problem with their employment rights, not paying people or calling them "contractors" instead of employees.

Otherwise it's a great positive example of free market in practice. Someone had an idea for a new business model, tried it, it appeared to work for a couple of years, and now they will fail because it doesn't have a long term perspective. It shook up existing monopolistic practices in the industry, and then tried to establish their own monopoly. And will fail because of that. It goes in circles.

[-] anarchy79@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

The prices were always going to adjust to the market

The prices will always be inflated regardless. The free market is a myth at best, a delusion at worst.

[-] Fades@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago

No it’s not surprising, we ALL STILL live in the same fucking capitalist nightmare.

Anyone surprised is simply naïve and/or a literal child lol

this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
2270 points (97.6% liked)

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