Agree with your point on them being loaded up with spyware etc because that's just how it is now I suppose.

In terms of maximising compute I kind of agree but also kinda not - people's laptops and phones aren't burning at 100% 24/7 either. Sure AI requires so much more compute...but not _that_ much more, especially as technology marches on.

For the general use case; I could be wrong but I'd see it sort of like a GPU/NAS/etc. "Pay once" rather than a subscription (to a service offered by a datacenter).

But tbf, the way things are now _is_ all subscription models and consumers just kinda let it happen. I would love to be able to pay a one-off fee for lightroom...but I can't because they want a subscription to "pay for all the updating we're doing". They barely update shit.