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.

  • Random Dent@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Yeah I was gonna say, there’s nothing wrong with the technology itself per se, just the way it’s being used/exploited.

    The fact that things like Netflix/Uber/AirBnB are useful and good value when they first come out and then turn to shit later shows that they can work and be successful, they just get greedy and go sideways.

    • DigitalWebSlinger@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know about “be successful”, depending on how you measure success. All of these examples have been subsidized by cheap money for years, undercutting competition - and taking year after year of losses while they do it - for the purpose of capturing the market and driving out competitors, so that they can subsequently enact monopolistic behaviors to start actually turning a profit once customers have no other choice.

      The problem is money suddenly got expensive, so now they’re scrambling to find a way, any way, to turn a profit, before full market capture was achieved.

      Can services like this be reasonably priced and user-friendly? Sure. Can they “succeed” / become sustainable while remaining so? Current examples indicate that’s where the problem lies.