Comment by krapp

>But, there's no denying that any friction for the user getting the software will drastically reduce their likelihood of using it at all.

I'm sorry, but the fact that the dominant paradigm for software use has been, and still is native (I'm counting apps as native here, because they're installed, even though in some cases apps are just wrappers around a website) disputes it.

If people want to use some software, moreso if they need to, they'll put up with installing it. What you're describing is really only an issue for web services, and would maybe only =apply to native software that worked according to a subscription model, which most doesn't.