Open source, libraries, frameworks and language development is how this is tackled.
Making software is implementing business logic. It's the specific nature of whatever problem you are solving which means you can't use some existing off-the-shelf product.
There are dozens (if not hundreds) of no-code/low-code app builders out there. Things like n8n or ndoe-red.
They get very difficult to maintain at scale.
In the cloud, obviously
XKCD alt text is always worth!
And it's not always available (like, the well known ones being circulated around social media).
Props to the OP for linking to the image from XKCD (as opposed to rehosting it) and further props for linking the source!
Just missing the delicious alt text (at least for me using jerboa, Firefox and a pixel phone)
Years ago, I played with AWS then contacted their support to make sure any AWS billing to my account was disabled.
I thought I'd try it again recently, and couldn't log in.
I still don't think I'm missing anything.
I'd rather have VPS or server providers where I know exactly what I'm getting per month no matter what, tho I've ran near data transfer surcharges.
Oh, it's expected costs.
Like, figure out the compute requirements of your code, multiply by the cost per compute unit (or whatever): boom, your cost.
Totally predictable.
Compared to suddenly having to replace a $20k server that dies in your data center.
So much easier.
Except when your code (let's be honest, the most likely thing to have an error in it... At least compared to some 4+ year old production hardware that everyone runs) has a bug in it that requires 20x compute.
But maybe that is a popularity spike (the hug-of-death)! That's why you migrated to the #cloud anyway, right? To handle these spikes! And you've always paid your bills so... Yeh, here's a 20x bill.
The amount of software that is limited free self-hosted but the next tier of "self hosted" is enterprise and thousands per year is ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
Like, you have self hosted. I like your software, I use it personally and that's why I'm using it for (and recommending it to) small businesses. They could afford your 10-100 per month for whatever extra features, but they don't want to rely on 3rd party hosting. They want to host it themselves.
But the only way to get those features is to go for some "cloud" bullshit they don't control, or to pay "enterprise" prices.
It's why I make part of what I make/charge a contribution to the products and projects I use and recommend.
I'll set all that up and tailor it to your company, but anything and everything I recommend/implement is standing on the shoulders of giants. So pay those giants.
Although I think I'm lucky with the people I work for, in that that are interested in the tech, but not the detail.
Such a framework for a government to properly adopt FOS software would require provisions against a "bad government" controlling said software.
Just because the US is plummeting into a political nightmare doesn't mean the EU couldn't do the same I. 20-40 years.
Such a framework of governments moving from Microsoft/Google/Amazon/Cloudflare/Whoever to a FOSS equivalent should require the target Foss platform to be run by an independent non-profit that cannot be politically influenced.
But I have no idea how to actually future proof that from corruption. Because money talks, and billions can buy so much influence in so many unexpected places
If you think curiosity without rigor is bad, you should see rigor without curiosity
I hope I typed that right. I couldn't copy the alt text from the source on mobile.
And I was annoyed that XKCD alt text wasn't included with the post, so I thought I would include it to the best of my ability
I presume US schools have to buy/rent busses and pay bus drivers? Specifically to drive kids to/from school?
Instead of the council (or whatever) subsidising routes that connect new builds to schools, and giving under 16s free bus travel.
This seems like a fantastic example of "if a metric becomes a target, it fails in being a metric".
Michelin Stars? Yeh, the tyre company recommending restaurants
Stop trusting VPS providers! Run your own servers at home!
Unless you infiltrate someone else's network, the endpoint your basic VPN connects to can always be traced back to you.
So, either you trust a VPN company doesn't hold logs and try to hide within all the other traffic.
Or you host your own VPN on a VPS knowing you haven't set up any logging (and hope that your VPS hasn't been tampered with), but then have a static IP that comes back to your identity.