[@Denis X]
I agree with your points and sentiments, however, it is important to understand one misnomer you stated:
>”PS also is never owned as you pay monthly for it.”
You never own any software (unless you developed it yourself); instead, we purchase a license to use the software in whatever manner the license allows, whether it be a lifetime license, timed license (expires in n years, etc.), or a subscription-based license. Apowersoft’s Background Eraser’s license is what is offered for free, not the software itself. Promotional (free/reduced price, etc.) licenses can be different from outright purchased licenses in what they allow and offer for services such as support or even features.
Ideally, we would like to have a lifetime license for each of the software programs we get to try, but there is little incentive for developers to offer such a license if they are in the business of making money from their investment in time in developing, promoting, and supporting their software.
There was a time when everyone could use PhotoShop of whatever licensed version they could justify in their budget. A lot of those people became great graphic artists, and as such, they were able to justify upgrading their license to a later version. They then carried that expertise into companies that in turn, purchased licenses for the latest versions, which obviously was good business for Adobe. Adobe’s choice of limiting access to a less expensive license for students eliminates a lot of the others that do not qualify as students/teachers, etc. To make up for the loss, Adobe’s subscription license is what many consider “too expensive.”
Professionals making their living off of full-time graphics work made in PhotoShop, Adobe’s subscription model makes a lot of sense. They pay the price but they always have the latest versions and features. The problem is that it limited a lot of the others that used PhotoShop on a less frequent basis. To add insult to injury, Adobe killed off the licenses of older versions so that they can no longer be activated.
By limited who can afford a license for PhotoShop, Adobe has opened the doors for many other smaller companies to develop alternatives to do specific tasks, such as Apowersoft’s Background Eraser. They also allowed Open Source alternatives, such as Gimp, and a few lesser-known ones to grow and become viable solutions for many users.
Sometimes, business decisions come back around years down the road as the superior choice. Linux is an Open Source operating system based on AT&T/Bell Labs UNIX. Linux has become so successful, these days, you hardly ever hear of UNIX. Further down the road, companies such as Apowersoft may be the dominant supplier of graphic software, or it could be one of the Open Source programs that eventually become so common that hardly anyone remembers PhotoShop.