Hacker News with Generative AI: Subscription Services

Why Kagi launched "no use, no pay" (getlago.substack.com)
Paying for a SaaS subscription you don’t use sucks. Sure, I don’t use that shameful cupboard with the ice cream maker, sous-vide device and electric ham-cutter either, but at least those things don’t charge me again!
Plex remote stream no longer free; Plex Pass 2x price hike (plex.tv)
You’re going to be hearing a lot from us this year—we’ve got a ton of exciting things to roll out, with even more in the planning stages. But first, we have to share some important upcoming changes to our personal media offering and our Privacy Policy that are necessary to make all this great stuff happen.
The F-35 as a Subscription Service (xxtomcooperxx.substack.com)
When countries purchase the American-made F-35 fighter jet, they aren't just buying an aircraft—they're subscribing to an ecosystem.
Plex no Longer Offers Free Remote Playback for Personal Media (macrumors.com)
Media platform Plex today announced that it is raising prices for the Plex Pass subscription service, marking the first price increase that Plex has introduced in a decade.
Kagi is a better search engine than Google – but it costs $10 a month (theverge.com)
Google has felt like a product in decline for a long time. Kagi offers a new, better vision for search, but the only way it works is if you’re willing to pay.
Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28 (arstechnica.com)
Amazon is killing a privacy feature to bolster Alexa+, the new subscription assistant.
Bye, Prime (tbray.org)
Today I canceled my Amazon Prime subscription.
Windows Notepad and Paint Now Have Paid Subscription Only AI Features [video] (youtube.com)
Apple Introduces News+ Food (apple.com)
Reddit plans to lock some content behind a paywall this year, CEO says (arstechnica.com)
Reddit is planning to introduce a paywall this year, CEO Steve Huffman said during a videotaped Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Thursday.
Buh Bye Spotify (darko.audio)
The first order of business for 2025 was to cancel my Spotify Premium subscription.
Lifetime access plans are (mostly) a hoax (ycombinator.com)
I have never trusted the "lifetime access" plans offered by SaaS websites with subscriptions, as I know hosting services costs money and human resources to manage.
You don't have to pay the Microsoft 365 price increase (consumer.org.nz)
If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you might’ve been told your fees are going up by $5 a month or $50 a year. But the fees aren’t actually changing – you’re just being upsold. Here’s how to keep the price of your subscription the same as it’s always been.
Samsung is rolling out a smartphone subscription next month (theverge.com)
It's Time to End Our Subscription Addiction (futureproofnews.substack.com)
There was a time, not that long ago, when the funniest writing in the world was happening on Twitter. And the undisputed philosopher-king among Twitter shit-posters was an account called dril.
Ask HN: GPT o1 pro users, was it worth the $200/month subscription? (ycombinator.com)
Would love to hear some real world experiences of o1 pro subscribers.
Carta is making it too difficult to cancel subscriptions, some founders say (techcrunch.com)
San Francisco-based Carta is the market leader in this industry. But some startup founders say Carta is making it too hard to cancel their subscriptions.
I am so sick of subscriptions for AI products (ycombinator.com)
I know that these AI products don't cost much since GPT 40mini is so damn cheap. I need to do 4000 one hour long video summaries in a month to pay off 10 Dollar subscription that Glasp and Eightify charge me.
OpenAI confirms new $200 monthly subscription, ChatGPT Pro (techcrunch.com)
OpenAI has launched a new subscription plan for ChatGPT, its AI-powered chatbot platform — and it’s very, very expensive.
Facebook and Instagram to Offer Subscription for No Ads in Europe (about.fb.com)
To comply with evolving European regulations, we are introducing a new subscription option in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Industry groups are suing FTC to stop 'click to cancel' (theverge.com)
Three industry groups, the NCTA, the Electronic Security Association (ESA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), are suing to prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from enforcing its new “Click to Cancel” rule that requires companies to make it easy to cancel subscriptions.
Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash (carscoops.com)
Mazda now charges $10 or more per month for connected services such as remote start.
CNN will start locking some articles behind a paywall (theverge.com)
CNN will put some of its digital content behind a subscription paywall starting next month, The New York Times reports.
One-time purchase alternatives to popular subscription tools (payoncealternatives.com)
Find the best one-time purchase alternatives to popular subscription tools and never pay another subscription ever again.
Docker ups subscription prices by up to 80%, bundles more services to compensate (devclass.com)
Docker will hike subscription prices by up to 80 percent from November 15 2024, as well as introducing storage charges for its Docker Hub repository, and to justify this it will bundle more services in order to offer what the company calls “seamless access to Docker’s full capabilities under one subscription.”
Docker Pro Subscription increases from $5 to $9 (docker.com)
Docker is moving to a simplified subscription model and giving you more in your plans!
Amazon is trying to trick me into signing up for Prime services (theguardian.com)
Tell HN: Vimeo's free trial is predatory (ycombinator.com)
Volkswagen Plans to Shift from Selling Cars to Offering 'Vehicles on Demand' (techdirt.com)
Wizz Air launches $550 'all you can fly' annual subscription pass (cnbc.com)