In fact by repeatedly using their product you subtract from their bottom line since you are consuming computing and support resources.
I don't understand the point you're trying to make here. Their product is SaaS; by definition to use the product requires consuming their computing resources--that's what they're selling! Unless you're honestly of the mentality that companies have moral standing to tell you to eff-off once they have your money. But I don't think you are, so please clarify.
To answer your question, LastPass's popularity is largely due to word-of-mouth. People used LastPass because they liked it, they liked its ease of use, they liked what they perceived to be the honest nature of the company. Because people like the average user on HN, who are likely the "Tech guy" for all of their immediate friends and family, tell their families to use LastPass and help them set it up. When you piss off the guys who evangelized your product, you're not just losing his business; you're potentially losing the business of everyone whom they recommended it to.
Case in point, I convinced my girlfriend to start using it (she fortunately got 6 months for free via a student email and hence will suffer no monetary loss if we decide to switch) and was considering telling my family about it, but now I'm having second thoughts. And considering this is, again, a subscription model, the "Haha, we already have your money!" model only works for one year. The projected revenue based on the expectation of renewals, however, goes out the window.
My point is simply that LastPass has no responsibility to you and me to not ruin their product by selling to someone that might. If we were shareholders it'd be different, but as users we have very little say, and I think that's for the most part a good thing. Imagine if you had to treat all your users as shareholders.
Of course this sale to LogMeIn might mean the end of LastPass as a reliable and easy to use password manager. Of course it might cause you and me to spend time looking for an alternative solution, setting it up, etc. I am saying that none of that is LastPass's team's problem and I don't think that even a paid subscription for their service buys us the right to be consulted on their corporate strategy.
I don't understand the point you're trying to make here. Their product is SaaS; by definition to use the product requires consuming their computing resources--that's what they're selling! Unless you're honestly of the mentality that companies have moral standing to tell you to eff-off once they have your money. But I don't think you are, so please clarify.
To answer your question, LastPass's popularity is largely due to word-of-mouth. People used LastPass because they liked it, they liked its ease of use, they liked what they perceived to be the honest nature of the company. Because people like the average user on HN, who are likely the "Tech guy" for all of their immediate friends and family, tell their families to use LastPass and help them set it up. When you piss off the guys who evangelized your product, you're not just losing his business; you're potentially losing the business of everyone whom they recommended it to.
Case in point, I convinced my girlfriend to start using it (she fortunately got 6 months for free via a student email and hence will suffer no monetary loss if we decide to switch) and was considering telling my family about it, but now I'm having second thoughts. And considering this is, again, a subscription model, the "Haha, we already have your money!" model only works for one year. The projected revenue based on the expectation of renewals, however, goes out the window.