From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 1/16/2026 4:43 PM, TTman wrote:   
   > On 16/01/2026 23:16, Don Y wrote:   
   >> 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.)   
   >   
   > I'm long since retired on a pensioners budget. No way can I afford ANY fancy   
   > software.   
      
   Different use case -- you're no longer being paid for your work   
   so can't use that as a metric to decide what a paid PRODUCT would   
   be worth.   
      
   I no longer buy software as I have enough tools to address most   
   needs -- even if my tools aren't "current".  There is a cost to   
   STAYING current that I don't care to "pay" (because the cost is   
   expressed in terms of HOURS not dollars!)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)