Save Money at Any Cost mdash Crypto-mining Your Way to Free Apps

This might not be a trend, but if it’s a glimpse at the future of apps, count me out. From Dan Goodin at Ars:

The app is Calendar 2, a scheduling app that aims to include more features than the Calendar app that Apple bundles with macOS. In recent days, Calendar 2 developer Qbix endowed it with code that mines the digital coin known as Monero. The xmr-stack miner isn’t supposed to run unless users specifically approve it in a dialog that says the mining will be in exchange for turning on a set of premium features. If users approve the arrangement, the miner will then run. Users can bypass this default action by selecting an option to keep the premium features turned off or to pay a fee to turn on the premium features.

What if I sold you an app that charged you by the hour? Sound good? What if it charged you by the hour but there were peak times that cost more? Still sound good? What if that price changed from peak to peak and year to year? That’s how we pay for electricity. That’s the real cost of paying for software with virtual mining.