I have adopted a new philosophy of task management. It's the Do It Now initiative.

Essentially, it means that instead of adding it to a to-do list or putting it off, I just do it right then and there whenever possible. I notice something that needs fixing, and I fix it. I remember something I've been meaning to do, and I do it. If something needs to be cleaned, I clean it. This is a direct result of me spending more time managing my list of tasks instead of actually doing tasks.

It applies to blogging as well.

For the longest time I've been wanting to write a quick post about how much I loathe current software trends. And so here we are. This mostly applies to these two abominations...

• Subscription-Based Apps
• In-App Purchase Apps

Let's start with the subscription model which has become the darling of the software development industry. I fucking hate it, which is tough considering that it seems to have become the default. Adobe wasn't the first to go this route, but they're the most infamous to me. Instead of buying an app and owning it forever, you instead pay a fee to be able to use an app, and immediately lose access to it the minute you stop paying. This has caused me to abandon apps that I love, because I am beyond sick of this bullshit. And what's so stupid is that I usually bought an update anyway! Take for example Home Designer Pro. Half the time I buy the new version if there's a reason to do so (usually features or compatibility with new hardware). But this year they've moved their 2026 update to a subscription. Which means I am forced to pay for the annual update whether I want to or not. Doesn't matter how much I love the program, I am moving on because I just don't give a fuck about this kind of predatory app development. Just let me pay for what work you've put into the app up to that point... and come up with something compelling to get me to upgrade to the next version.

And then there's In-App purchases. And I don't mean apps which are free to download and you can then purchase it if you like it. That's fantastic. I'm talking apps which require you to keep buying shit to use it. And it's mostly games. I've done this exactly once with Simpsons: Tapped Out where you could buy in-game currency with real money and be able to buy stuff in-game. It didn't last long once I figured out how much money I was spending just to have the latest cool stuff in my online Springfield. The even worse scenario are games which are free, great, and addictive... but eventually get to a difficulty level which makes it impossible to play unless you buy in-game items in order to make the game playable for normal humans. I fucking hate this so much that I don't even bother downloading a game which has "coins" or "gems" or "credits" or what-the-fuck ever in-app purchases that guarantee the game will one day become too difficult to play without paying a shit-load of money.

I sincerely hope that one day consumer backlash convinces developers to go back to straight-up purchases of their wares. And we just might be taking first steps. Canva, a company which bought out the excellent Affinity apps, took a bold move to combine all the apps into one do-it-all design app, offer it as free-to-use, and only charge you something if you want to enable their AI features. Now, given that Affinity is already serious competition for Adobe... what is Adobe going to do? If people weren't willing to toss their subscription bullshit when the Affinity apps were a low-cost alternative, maybe they'll be willing to do it now that they're free. It'll be an interesting ride. And hopefully one which initiates some changes.

And now I need to get in my kitchen and unload the dishwasher since it will likely be finished with its run by now. I'M DOING I! I'M DOING IT NOW NOW NOW!!!