Stefano Marinelli @stefano@bsd.cafe
Public

The Virtue of Finished Things

An email asking if my software was abandoned made me realize how the ideal of completeness has disappeared from our lives. In an era of mandatory updates and disposable goods, I reflect on the value of boring software - the kind that is finished, reliable, and simply does its job.

my-notes.dragas.net/2026/01/06

The Virtue of Finished Things

An email asking if my software was abandoned made me realize how the ideal of completeness has disappeared from our lives. In an era of mandatory updates and disposable goods, I reflect on the value of boring software - the kind that is finished, reliable, and simply does its job.

my-notes.dragas.net

Link author: Stefano Marinelli@stefano@bsd.cafe

Anita Lewis @ajlewis2@vivaldi.net
Public

@stefanoStefano Marinelli

Absolutely right! I use several programs that are rarely upgraded and work very nicely. Bluefish and calibre immediately jump to mind. Both have slowly added features over around 20 years that I've used them and have stayed solid. I have another one for maybe 5 years that has glitzy new features often and a couple years ago a bug appeared that is annoying and limiting. The upgrades keep coming (one came this morning) and the bug I reported and got an email back saying they are a small shop, etc., is still there.

I must add: I have not paid for these programs, though I do donate, so I am still grateful for the use of all of them. Paying for stuff like that would be different. How can they sleep at night to control someone washing their clothes?

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