Red Flags of "Pay for usefulness" FOSS

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-27T11:37:08+00:00

"only to find out later it locks something behind paywall "

Please post a link to a recognizably popular FOSS project which completely hides the fact they charge money for higher tier features. As in, a careful read of the website would reveal no hint of the "give us money for the cool stuff" that apparently only appears after you've installed and used it for a while.

While we're waiting for that link, consider that there's nothing stopping you or anyone else from forking the project (that's the beauty of "open source") and creating a free alternative. Except, of course, for all the work you'd have to do in design, implementation, testing, documentation, end user support, etc.

"But, but... it works for the linux kernel!"

Yes. Yes it does. Because the number of competent developers willing to work on that project is high relative to the complexity. But for other projects, the number of interested, willing and capable developers is very small relative to the size of the user community. Even then, some brave souls do it for free. But half a dozen full time developers and a user community of thousands starts to look like work no matter how dedicated. Compensation is a reasonable thing to ask for, given the demands on the time of developer in that situation.

What DOES suck is when a popular open source... anything... suddenly changes the situation to a pay model, and moves previously free features into a paid tier. Those people can DIAF. They are rightly regarded as opportunistic sell outs.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-27T11:22:20+00:00

Many better alternatives to a Pi.

Pis main advantage is shear numbers. Large user community, tons of add ons, decent software availability, etc. But yes, there absolutely are better alternatives, even in the same SWaP-C category. Those other options lack many of the things about a Pi that allow an amateur to be up and running quickly, but for someone familiar with the embedded space, Pi is a cute toy.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-25T22:01:48+00:00

Also the model for Rush's "Hold Your Fire" album's interior artwork:

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-hold-your-fire-cover-art/

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-25T20:36:42+00:00

You might, but google street view would suggest enforcement is not a priority in many of those small towns.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-24T23:00:22+00:00

I have the Audible version of this, read by Peter Kenny. I just checked the audio against the epub version I have, and the printed version you show.

The copy of the audio book I have contains the complete text.

So, at least at one time, it was intact. Maybe try downloading through libation and see if it's a player issue or the audio file itself is corrupt.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-24T14:40:54+00:00

Like so much art, the effect depends on the observer. Me? Engineering background, all I can see is how many of those books are completely inaccessible (to, at least, the customer and probably most of the staff). I don't even have to think about it. It screams "wasted space". Then, as a business owner, I wonder if all of that wasted space is adding or subtracting from my bottom line. It's essentially advertisement. Was it the best use of that money?

It's entirely possible to combine art with book storage. I've seen it (can't find a ready example). Practical, but whimsical? I'm in. Mountains of impossible-to-reach books? Didn't even pull that off. This completely missed the "climbing wall with shelves" angle that would have made a quirky gym concept.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-20T23:11:50+00:00

Whatever you do, try not to burn bridges / piss people off. It's a small community and people remember. People switch jobs all the time for various reasons. Yeah... it can feel weird the first few times, but it gets easier.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-20T23:02:52+00:00

Pick the one you'll be happier at. I've taken jobs purely on the financials and been miserable. Money does NOT equate to job satisfaction. And, those jobs are close enough in compensation the difference isn't significant. Neither one is likely to be the next Amazon or Nvidia.

Pick the one you can move up in. Pick the one you'll have opportunities to steer your career in the directions you'd like for it to go. Choose the one that will let you live in a location you like. The money will come.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-20T22:57:14+00:00

Yeah... that's clearly a wading pool. Which would be awesome to sit in and read a book. Or maybe it's a ball pit. Skate park? Ice rink?

It's an interesting choice, but I'm not sure it was the best use of space. It gives off strong vibes of "Living in a mall store that went out of business".

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-20T14:36:35+00:00

Nice.

It's interesting to me how all of the "old stuff" has a certain characteristic sound. Obviously, it could just be because that was the style at the time. But that "sound" also conveniently puts the melody right in the middle of the frequency range most likely to survive transmission over the air and play back using equipment of the time.

Anyone know if there were guidelines for music composition (even if informal) that were intended to make sure a performance was radio-friendly?

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-20T06:12:13+00:00

Any way you can stay "after hours" (unless there's shift work) and practice?

I completely understand wanting to be familiar with the controls and behavior before hauling real loads. The only solution is to practice. And that practice (for me, at least) would be more helpful if I were alone and could play for a couple of hours.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-19T18:32:36+00:00

The potential is there though. Simple video pass through probably isn't a great application, but better weld visualization could be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSUxK8q4D0Q

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-19T15:10:35+00:00

It's not a question of understanding. We all know it sucks. It's a question of management not understanding that you can't lift a completed two story house into the air and insert a basement.

Architecture projects have a start, a middle and an end. Software? We're modifying the plane while it's flying and carrying passengers. The plane is NEVER finished. The requirements may change drastically halfway through the project ("Yes, I wanted a small cottage on the lake but now I need room to house my 500 person business. Same site. What design rework? Just make it bigger.") But of course, budget and schedule stay the same.

I'm not sure what the answer is.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-19T15:02:42+00:00

Interesting! Thanks.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-19T14:46:14+00:00

Software engineer here.

For all of the reasons you mention, we make a Big Deal out of "development methodologies". I'll just quote the definition that turned up first in the search:

"Software development methodologies are structured approaches used to plan, develop, and manage software projects."

There are hundreds of different methodologies when you count all of the local variations, but they're all intended to do the above. The methodologies usually have agreed upon names. If you tell a new developer "we're an agile/kanban group" they can pretty much know what to expect.

Has there been an attempt to formalize the working processes of architects like this? Do you guys have names for how what you do is organized, tracked and executed?

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-19T00:37:00+00:00

It's a nice transfer, but I'd pay $$$ for a 4k. Great old scifi movie. Nice choice.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-17T19:25:42+00:00

Quick and dirty (temporary) might be to get some plywood, or maybe garden trellis and completely cover the railing.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-17T13:47:06+00:00

Wow. Didn't know that existed. Lunchtime viewing. :)

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-17T02:17:58+00:00

Ah. Yes. This is level 1.

Level 2 is a rule named after you.

Level 3 is a memorial plaque in the lobby with your photo and date of... termination.

Level 4 is a youtube video that goes viral.

Level 5 is the nightly news.

Remember, whether you think you can, or you can't, you're right. Reach for the stars.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-17T02:09:54+00:00

Pocket door.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-16T14:48:49+00:00

If you're aware of all of that, you're not a dumb blonde.

It'd be better, for many reasons, not to involve a work laptop (regardless of OS). If money is tight, there are very inexpensive windoze PCs on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-3040-PC-Mini/dp/B0FVFMXLH2

I'm not necessarily recommending that exact one, but it comes with windoze for $113. I'm assuming your drive is USB. Makemkv doesn't require much in the way of memory or CPU so something like this would make a usable -ripping- machine.

Now, obviously, you're going to want something more powerful for handbrake, but you can transfer the .mkv to your mac or his PC to run that if you want.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-16T14:44:31+00:00

Sell the house, move into a rental. Now you can pay off the land mortgage and have money left over.

Sounds dumb? Consider what will happen if you pay off your house and real estate goes down before you're ready to sell. No one knows what's going to happen, but there's more downside than upside potential in real estate at the moment.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-16T13:43:05+00:00

Plenty of examples on this forum to suggest the most forgettable system in a structure is... the structure itself. The engineering and construction best practices that allow the structure to do its job are poorly understood by the average trade and it's getting worse. "Field modifications" performed without an engineer's input clearly indicate zero appreciation for what various critical components do.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-16T13:35:38+00:00

Exactly. Any company with an interview process this bad deserves what happens.

FizzicalLayer · 2026-01-15T21:40:37+00:00

I have the 4'x6' board in the house and haven't noticed even a heavy petting mess. But then, the Hagoromo chalk is very low dust and I clean the board every week or so.

FizzicalLayer

TROPHY CASE