I'm curious about what tools or utilities you pay for at work that you really think should be free. I'm working on a small open-source side project, and it got me thinking—whether it's a command-line tool, a software-as-a-service that charges for basic features, or maybe you had to whip up a custom script because the free version just didn't cut it. What are your thoughts?
6 Answers
Free food and coffee! I mean, who doesn’t think they should be part of the workplace experience? My last job that didn’t have free coffee was back in '89! Found it wild to visit another site where devs had to bring their own tea and milk—just shows how some industries take the basics for granted. Everyone could use a little perk at work, right?
Totally! And honestly, more coffee means more productivity. It's like a simple win-win.
Honestly, I can’t think of anything I pay for at work that’s essential; most of our tools are open-source. I guess the bulk costs go to hardware and rent, and maybe my IDE, but that feels fair. How about y'all?
I end up paying for Docker Desktop just because I’m too lazy to use the CLI, but I kind of wish that was free. Have you heard of Podman Desktop? It’s not too bad if you want something similar without the cost.
I really rely on all free tools at work, honestly! It's refreshing to not have that financial burden. Anyone else in the same boat?
Support packages from cloud providers can be a hidden rip-off. You think you’re just paying for the service, but a lot of the time it’s just for when things go wrong on their end. It's like you’re paying to fix their mistakes!
Preach! Dealing with Azure support has been a nightmare. It's like waiting for an answer forever and then getting back some generic response, super frustrating.
Exactly! Sometimes it feels like we're paying them for the privilege of them not doing their job properly.
OAuth2 and SAML should be free, that just feels like a baseline necessity for security, not something you should pay extra for. It’s a bit ridiculous when companies put that stuff behind paywalls while essential features should really be a given.
I agree! I'm working on two applications that provide those features even in their base plans. It shouldn't be a luxury, it should be standard!
Totally! It feels like unnecessary gatekeeping when they could just make it part of the tool.
Right? I've been at places with awesome free snacks and it makes such a difference for morale!