For more storage space yes. We have 2x2TB HDDs in raid atm and a few years ago that cost more than $100 (although I forget the exact amount). I have no doubt they will last long long time (I have a 1TB HDD in my PC that is about 10 years old and still going strong). But we can't even store all our favourites let alone movies/shows we watch as one offs. So we would need to 'upgrade' what we have which we can't remotely afford because in this country even 2nd hand storage adds up to expensive.
Unfortunately not everyone has access to cheap storage so for us a few bucks a month is more cost effective than having to upgrade expensive storage regularly. ๐
Record labels (and the like) suing ISPs like this is such a weird fucking take. Like, imagine book publishers sending their agents to markets, libraries, book shops, etc. and noting down every single book sold and who bought them, then suing the local council/government/roading organisation if they discovered off brand books or even second hand books for allowing book pirates to drive those books along the roads.
Or how about suing the power companies for providing power to pirates, or computer hardware manufacturers, or farmers for growing the food that pirates eat...
Heh, that box and version of Redhat was the first I tried Linux, as well as the same year - 1999 Cost me $110 brand new from a local stationary shop. Which was a lot for a poor student! Sadly didn't last long as I just couldn't get everything done in Linux as I could in Windows. And this was despite studying computing at the time.
Oh well 15 years later I tried again (Mint then Arch) and haven't gone back to Windows since. ๐
Organized crime has negative consequences for consumers and society as a whole
Organised crime like Google, Meta, Microsoft, the entertainment and music industries, Microsoft, most politicians.... right?
I think some amount of it is apathy, or modern-life time-poor induced apathy where people just want something to work and work quickly without much effort or time and so they just pony up. And with so many people not keeping a budget, $10 a month here and there or $30 once a month doesn't seem like much if you're not adding up all those subs combined over a month or a year or 5 years. Really, some subs could fall into the category of a dark pattern because $10 a month doesn't seem like much compared to say $100 up front even though over the course of a year (or 2, 3, 5+ years) that sub costs you more than just buying software up front. (Think also Sam Vines Boot Theory).
I see some people are getting fed up (I'm one of them) but sadly plenty more who mindlessly keep paying more and more.
Have you tried switching Proton versions? Also check protondb.com as people will often post solutions in their reports.
Its been a while since I used a Kindle but AFAIK its still this - using Calibre + the deDRM plugin. I don't know if linking directly to stuff here is OK so just do an internet search for github noDRM deDRM_tools and you should find the plugin you need for Calibre.
Or Fit Girl
Reminds me of my Windows XP days when I used to customise the hell out of everything I could... custom boot screen... and yes custom BSOD. Which I switched to red ๐ฅโ One day my PC RSODs in front of a family member and he said, "Oh shit, that must be really bad if it's red instead of blue!" ๐
Would be interested in this too. Only reason I stopped using Pantheon was because it got too annoying fixing it when it broke with updates and Elementary was behind on making it distro agnostic.