From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 1/16/2026 2:39 PM, Theo wrote:   
   > The full Altium is ~$7k pa so uncheap just for generating plots.   
      
   I am always amused at how "cheap" engineers are when it comes   
   to software tools -- despite the amount of TIME (which is money)   
   usually saved.   
      
   E.g., What would a SPICE license be worth -- at your current billable   
   rate -- to avoid having to construct and probe some number (likely   
   a very small number!) of prototypes to ascertain their behaviors,   
   if you had to "simulate them with real hardware"!?   
      
   Granted, one can farm out a board layout and save the trouble of having   
   to learn how to use such a tool -- PROFICIENTLY.  But, one can farm out   
   a lot of activities that somehow seem justified to take on, internally!   
      
   (E.g., I no longer build prototypes as it's "grunt work" -- even for   
   a grunt!  Easier to find someone who has the expertise to make them   
   "in production quantities" and get a heads up on any issues with the   
   design before RTM.)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)