| General > General Technical Chat |
| Is Altium free anywhere? |
| << < (3/18) > >> |
| EEVblog:
CircuitMaker is free: https://www.altium.com/circuitmaker/download So is AutoTrax for DOS. Still works. https://www.altium.com/documentation/other_installers |
| EEVblog:
--- Quote from: nctnico on May 14, 2023, 11:27:56 am ---You can. But it depends on the jurisdiction you are in and thus whether copyright is enforced. I don't think I'm telling anyone something new when I state that companies like Altium are very likely to create holes in their licensing system on purpose in order to gain traction in markets where they can't get into due to their pricing. Once those markets mature and the legal system improves, the money is raked in. See it like university licensing; get people used to a product and they are likely to keep using the product in their professional career. And this is not something that happens only far away. I've spend quite a few years in various jobs where the software provided by the company wasn't paid for. --- End quote --- Altium spent a long time watching with tears in their eyes as practically the entire Chinese design market uses Altium 99SE for free, it was the industry standard, and they couldn't do anything about it. They still struggled when I was there, and are still struggling today to convert these into legit licenses I'm sure. They don't do it deliberately. |
| Faringdon:
--- Quote ---Altium spent a long time watching with tears in their eyes as practically the entire Chinese design market uses Altium 99SE for free, it was the industry standard, and they couldn't do anything about it. --- End quote --- Thanks, this is what i'd also heard...it can only be a matter of time, before goverments round the rest of the world realise, that they must make either Altium, or an "Altium equivalent", free of charge in their own countries, otherwise they wont be able to compete. (ie buy out Altium and dish it out for free, or just encourage say KICAD more, say) |
| tooki:
--- Quote from: Simon on May 14, 2023, 12:38:23 pm ---KiCAD is quite usable, I went back to it after my escapade with circuit studio which is just Altium Designer really without the later features. --- End quote --- Out of curiosity, what pushed you away from Circuit Studio towards KiCad? |
| Faringdon:
..............Whilst we wait for @Simon to hopefully answer....ill speak on KICAD if i may.....i am certain it will stay free of charge, and will become "THE ONE". Knocking all others out of its way.....Unless Altium perhaps is bought out, and then dished out for free everywhere.....dont honestly known how Altium fully compares to KICAD, but am told KICAD is just as good....and can do the same high end stuff. I like Altium....but cant afford it...so having to use it now without familiarity....am still working on a small 4 layer board which i could have finished long ago if i had been allowed to use my "well known" Eagle Pro. |
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