A New Era of Consumerism (part 4/4)

I think that a lack of ownership is indeed a concern for our society, and one of the big reasons is that we become subject to those we are paying for the services or products we want. How many times has your smartphone or computer program been “auto-updated” to a version you disliked? Have these updates changed or removed features that you liked, or have they required you to re-learn the way you operated things? I have a software program for composing music that I purchased in 2004, and I have intentionally kept it offline and avoided updating it because I like the way it works for me. At one point, I had upgraded from the 2000 version to the 2004 version and there were so many key command changes that I basically had to relearn the entire program. I want functionality, and don't want to waste my time learning a new program with each yearly update (believe me, this is a VERY complex program, so relearning it takes weeks.) I have the freedom to continue using the program the way I want because I own it, but if I wanted to purchase the latest version, I would be locked into a pay-to-use system and would be repeatedly subjected to forced changes in functionality through their auto-updates. This is an example of what we are headed towards in the future with all the digital products and services we use—we as consumers no longer have any rights, forfeiting choice and control as the products and services we use change at the whim of the corporations. We can't even “vote with our dollar” and go elsewhere because all competing corporations are following the same practices. Welcome into the new era of digital tyranny.