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.

[anonpuffs]

- The tech industry has been on a quest for profitability lately.
- To get there, some tech companies have been raising prices.
- The result: Supposedly revolutionary services are looking a lot like what came before.

Sooner or later, everything old is new again.

We may be at this point in tech, where supposedly revolutionary products are becoming eerily similar to the previous offerings they were supposed to beat.

Take video streaming. In search of better profitability, Netflix, Disney, and other providers have been raising prices. The various bundles are now as annoyingly confusing as cable, and cost basically the same. Somehow, we're also paying to watch ads. How did that happen?

Amazon Prime Video costs $9 a month and there are no ads. Oh, except when Thursday Night Football is on. Then there are loads of ads. And Amazon is discussing an ad-supported version of the Prime Video service, according to The Wall Street Journal. That won't be free, I can assure you.

Paramount+ with Showtime costs $12 a month and the live TV part has commercials and a few other shows include "brief promotional interruptions," according to the company. Translation: ads.

Streaming was supposed to be better and cheaper. I'm not sure that's the case anymore. This NFL season, like previous years, I will record games on OTA linear TV using a TiVo box from about 2014. I'll watch hours of action every weekend for free and I'll watch no ads. Streaming can't match that.

...

more at the link

 

[Zzero]

Streaming is still far superior to cable. Wake me when streaming costs 150 dollars a month with no option to opt out of the shit you don't want.

 

[JAHGamer]

Uber used to be $7 for a 15-20 minute ride, now it's $20 not including tip

Streaming is only expensive if you pay for every service, pick and choose which you want and share accounts with friends/family. I have every service and only pay for Netflix

 

[historia]

Uber used to be $7 for a 15-20 minute ride, now it's $20 not including tip

Streaming is only expensive if you pay for every service, pick and choose which you want and share accounts with friends/family. I have every service and only pay for Netflix

Is Uber a US thing?

I paid for metro for like approximately less than 200 USD a year travelling to work and only use my car, boat or airplane for long trip.

Even my son lives in Vancouver, he uses that Skytrain thing only costs like 300 CAD a trimester.

 

[riesgoyfortuna]

Streaming is still far superior to cable. Wake me when streaming costs 150 dollars a month with no option to opt out of the shit you don't want.

You gonna wake soon

 

[Zzero]

Is Uber a US thing?

I paid for metro for like approximately less than 200 USD a year travelling to work and only use my car, boat or airplane for long trip.

Even my son lives in Vancouver, he uses that Skytrain thing only costs like 300 CAD a trimester.

Its an everywhere but China thing, is that where you are?

 

[historia]

Its an everywhere but China thing, is that where you are?

I just checked, my place don't have Uber but my country does. We drives on the left but not part of Commonwealth, guess.

 

[JAHGamer]

Is Uber a US thing?

I paid for metro for like approximately less than 200 USD a year travelling to work and only use my car, boat or airplane for long trip.

Even my son lives in Vancouver, he uses that Skytrain thing only costs like 300 CAD a trimester.

It’s in a lot of countries, definitely not just US. Metro is $80 a month where I live in the US and not reliable at all.

 

[Jim Ryan]

I believe in cloud gaming, it's the future... We will reach trillions and bazillions of people and possibly aliens with cloud.

 

[ksdixon]

I believe in cloud gaming, it's the future... We will reach trillions and bazillions of people and possibly aliens with cloud.

Have to be aliens at this point, to think Portal is a competent/up-to-task device.

 

[ksdixon]

That's Ryan's whole problem. Money's being made, so complaints/criticisms are none of my business. Coasting on PS4 love, actively enabling Valve/Deck, Switch 2 being more performant as tech moves on enabling better 3rd party support...

He's gonna golden parachute out, and suddenly people like Yurinka and this Jim Ryan parody account are gonna wonder why no one wants/needs a PS6, dumbfounded. As if the lack of focus/asleep at the wheel as the rest of the industry turns didn't happen and they weren't dismissing everything just because "omg sales!"

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

hopefully, A.I. is next