Streaming subscriptions keep getting more expensive, and a recurring bill that keeps changing is the last thing anyone wants to see on their spreadsheet. We know that. Been through it. I am not arguing for the price hikes. But looking at the alternatives for private viewing, I believe the streaming model still offers a substantially better experience at competitive prices.
Tagged Subscription
Claude Max 20x Revealed as 8.5x
Claude Max 20x’s fine print has become the talk of the town, thanks to a viral tweet. Anthropic’s $200 plan does provide 20 times the Pro usage — but only inside each five-hour session. For the separate weekly limit, a proposed class-action complaint puts the upgrade over $100 Max 5x at 1.7 times, not four. Apply that multiplier to the advertised 5x baseline and Max 20x becomes 8.5x. Calling it “20x” is a euphemism.
Samsung to Charge for SmartThings Interoperability
Samsung will start charging $4.99 a month for individual SmartThings API access in October 2026, while the SmartThings app remains free. This is not a new service for the ecosystem. It is a subscription for an existing feature: allowing other IoT platforms and software to reach Samsung hardware. No one is stopping Samsung from selling services, nor do I believe the company should stay away from them. The only question is whether the hardware giant has a solid service to sell.
The Case of the ‘Indulgent’ Subscription
Bit of context before I get into the whole fiasco. The choke point of physical ownership is real estate. Everyone who has ever tried owning every contents would know this. At some point, medium takes up more space than the media: books, movies, musics, video games, just about all of them. Movies, especially, would hit close at home for most of us. VHS, Betamax, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, the list of mediums are keep growing for the same movie. And some of the mediums haven’t even survived its own era. Streaming has solved this, albeit at a price.
LLM, Subscriptions, and Tokens
As I have previously said, I don’t see Claude replacing a proper programmer’s job anytime soon. I am subscribing to meager Pro tier, and that’s nowhere near enough to replace my hobbyist’s job. Granted, there is the joy of not needing to fiddle with technicalities. Being able to implement new algorithm and upgrade existing core algorithm to a new one like blocks falling into places feels like a vindication. But this is from a hobbyist’s perspective.