My goodness. A company that sells software wanting to dedicate their time to creating new features instead of supporting older OSes that the majority of professionals aren't using these days. Windows 10 was a free update at one point, and everything since then comes with it. Same goes for macOS, free updates, with hardware supported back to 2012. Don't blame the subscription model. This has always been the case with software. New features require new and more advanced OSes.

From Adobe, "If you’re running Windows 8.1, Windows 10 v1511 and v1607 or Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan), you can continue to run and install current and previous versions of Creative Cloud applications. However, you will not be able to install or run the next major release of Creative Cloud unless you’re on a supported version of Windows or MacOS."

It's not like you lose access because you don't want to update and want to continue to use an OS that's nearly a decade old.

As someone who has used Linux for 15+ years and who has run a small business, there is nothing out there that can match what QuickBooks will do for your business. It is a time saver and has capability beyond what any open source package has. I understand your fundamental want to use OSS, but honestly, you pick the right tool for the business. Maybe GnuCash will work for you, but QuickBooks will work so much better. It's probably the best $200 I ever spent on my business.

If you do not have an Engineering degree, you should not call yourself an Engineer. As someone who works for an Engineering University, who does NOT have an Engineering degree, I would never water down what an Engineer is. It is prestigious, and should remain so. Respect the title. If you're not one, don't call yourself one.

Internet retailers are not required to _collect_ the taxes, but you are still _required to pay them_. Internet shopping is not tax free.