Previously, you bought a box that contained a CD – some will remember – and the software was on the CD. You got something physical in return for your money. It was yours once purchased. The CD could be passed along to a friend or family member, much the same as any other thing you actually own such as a music CD, for instance.

It was thus something under your control. You didn't have to keep paying a subscription in order to be allowed (by Microsoft) continued use of the software.

Gates decided it wasn't enough to make billions selling people software CDs. It would be much more extractive to charge them recurrent fees to use (license) the software. This would also eliminate the problem – from Microsoft's point-of-view – of friends and family members getting Microsoft software for free via hand-me-down CDs.

Tesla was the first vehicle manufacturer to take that ball and run with it. Buyers of used Teslas found out that the vehicle they'd bought – which came with Tesla's much heralded full self-driving feature – lacked that feature. The capability was still there, but to "unlock" it, the new owner had to pay a subscription to Tesla.

BMW decided to try the same with heated seats. The hardware was built into the car but software controlled it. BMW did not need to install buttons to turn the seat heaters off – or on – because its cars (like all new cars) have antennas that do much more than receive radio signals. That part is almost incidental, just as a smartphone only incidentally makes phone calls. It is primarily a tracking device and data aggregator (about you).