> What I find truly bizarre is how many software engineers, who are aware of how much they earn and how long it really takes to make software, are so resistant

> What I find truly bizarre is how many software engineers, who are aware of how much they earn and how long it really takes to make software, are so resistant to paying anything for tools that make their job easier and faster. The first time I paid for a fancy IDE, it ran on an Apple IIgs in the late 80s. It was the first of many. Unfortunately, commerical IDEs and editors go out of business constantly. The rare survivors, like BBEdit, tend to be limited to a single OS. Around 1997, I figured out what I want out of an editor: - Supports every language and text file format I'll need. - Runs on every desktop OS. - Customizable, and scriptable using an industry-standard language. - Will still be around in 20 years. Emacs met these requirements, and I used it for over 20 years. A few years ago, I switched to VS Code. I don't buy commercial editors because they don't provide the key features I want. And I don't trust them to stick around.