S.O.N.A.I.S. Comic Archive

Setting: office.
Max: Gah! Why is some Open Source Software so awkward to use? It takes ages to understand the GIMP's UI.
Heidi: It's a defense mechanism. FOSS cannot become too easy to use.
Max: Huh? Why?

Heidi: Take GIMP: latest versions are really powerful, with 32 bit depth and such. By keeping the learning curve steep, corporate leeches selling products with a polished UI feel less threatened. The curve usually gets steeper with increasing price of the commercial alternatives.

Max: Yeah, I have tried making a font in FontForge once. It was like navigating a minefield while wearing drunk goggles.
Heidi: But, you did succeed?
Max: Yes, one look at the cost of a commercial font editor was motivating enough to persevere.
Heidi: Time really is money.

Setting: corridor, open door to closet full of junk.
Max: So, this building used to be occupied by some ISP?
Adil: Yes, something with ‘Columbia’ in its name. They left behind quite a bit of stuff in some of these storage closets.

Max: Look at this, Snurf guns with suction darts, these must be ancient! This is some kind of rapid-fire model.
Adil: No way that those still work after so many years.

Adil's face is full of suction darts.
Max: Oops.
Adil: I stand corrected…

Setting: same storage closet as previous comic.
Adil: What's this, looks like cardboard cylinders filled with junk?
Max: “For the safe containment and disposal of Deletium. Pour crushed CDs and install floppies of Macroshaft products into tube, seal both ends. Handle with extreme care.” Hey, is that a photo of Bill Gates?

Adil: This sounds so like a bad joke from last-century Nerds poking fun at Macroshaft!
Max: I would agree, if it wouldn't somehow give me the creeps. Look at this weird substance oozing out.
Adil: Probably just glue…

In other room with some hardware, Max puts cylinder next to workstation with GPU like in comic #3.
Max: I'd like to open one of these, but not without first donning some PPE.
Adil: Meh, the worst that can happen is getting a CD splinter in your thumb!

Close-up of cylinder shaking and more ooze coming out.
“GRRR…” “BLUB!”

Setting: office.
Max is wearing gloves and a face shield.
Max: Bring it on!
Adil: Good thing the construction crew left behind some stuff, this isn't exactly standard gear for a company like ours…

Entering same room as before, the workstation is blocked by some kind of spider web.
Max: Ye Gods, what the heck happened here?
Adil: OK, who's in on this joke? It is a bit late for Halloween…

Steve comes rushing in.
Steve: Something is flooding the network and it comes from here… what the fsck.ext4?
Max: We may have a small problem.