Your grfather was right: there really is no such thing as a free lunch.
Consider Android fan favorite shbullet, an incredibly useful app that just unveiled a “o” level subscription service. Some of its best tricks, like the universal copy paste feature, will now require a subscription of either $4.99 monthly or $39.99 per year.
Most of the features will hang around at the free level, though with some limitations. For example there will now be a cap on storage space for files, messages, total storage.
Here’s a full breakdown of what you get on the free vs. paid plans:
The impact on you: It’s a pretty straightforward equation: if you want to keep using everything shbullet offers, you’re going to have to pay. Good software services deserve monetary support, but it’s always kind of a letdown when you’ve been using a free service for a while suddenly you’re asked to start paying a monthly fee. It’s a good thing to keep in mind when you check out that next hot app that’s artificially propped up with venture capital money.