Regarding image-google-chart, and other google APIs: I was going to voice my support for this complaint, as I have a number of still popular projects that use it (and will need fixes or updates), but I had to rethink that.
Conclusion: free lunch is over. Some of us developers are learning that we can't rely on a free (or even paid) service for any long term.
> Conclusion: free lunch is over. Some of us developers are learning that we can't rely on a free (or even paid) service for any long term.
I totally agree. SaaS is ephemeral. Personally I don't expect to see a SaaS site being active for more than two-three years, because the goal of most startups is to get bought, at which point they'll happily let the product die or turn into a piece of crap. If I use a third party service, I do that with an expectation that my project is temporary and will die/get superseded faster than the service it relies on.
Conclusion: free lunch is over. Some of us developers are learning that we can't rely on a free (or even paid) service for any long term.