Eagle v6 no longer FREE?

[firewalker]

Yes, keep bugging them, please. I'd back you up, but I've been banned from the forum 

Dave.

What did you do to them, you bad boy. 

Alexander.

[EEVblog]

What did you do to them, you bad boy. 

They didn't like some things I said, just like they didn't like me using the their trademarked name by registering altiumforum.com 

Dave.

[firewalker]

I really can't understand the way a company like Altixx thinks and acts. Lets suppose that for those things, responsible is a stupid person/s to the wrong position. What is the company's defense system against this? Because (for me) the way they act make the company look bad.

I can;t believe that such a brand name like Altixx, as an "entity", behaves with such a moronic way. Can it?

Is it just "Screw Dave, or any Dave. They can't bring us money"?

Maybe Altiuxx will read this and will answer. 

Alexander.

What did you do to them, you bad boy. 

They didn't like some things I said, just like they didn't like me using the their trademarked name by registering altiumforum.com 

Dave.

[EEVblog]

I really can't understand the way a company like Altixx thinks and acts. Lets suppose that for those things, responsible is a stupid person/s to the wrong position. What is the company's defense system against this? Because (for me) the way they act make the company look bad.

Their defense mechanism is to is simply ignore everyone and everything, it's the Altixx way or the highway, take it or leave it.

I can;t believe that such a brand name like Altixx, as an "entity", behaves with such a moronic way. Can it?

Is it just "Screw Dave, or any Dave. They can't bring us money"?

Maybe Altiuxx will read this and will answer. 

Altixx specialise in shooting themselves in the foot at every available opportunity, in the quest for this months idealistic dream.
They have demonstrated it time and time again with almost everything they do and every direction they take, and it still continues to amaze me.
Take the FPGA dream. They floated the company, pissed away all the money they ever got over more than a decade, and the result is a novel yet unmaintainable system that hardly anyone uses.
It's a massive shame, because it's such a great tool, and a fundamentally good company with great people. They could have been the #1 PCB/schematic tool vendor in the world with more cash than you could poke a stick at, but that wasn't satisfying enough for them.
It's only their loyal PCB customer base who have keep the Titanic afloat.

Dave.

[Zero999]

I hope the next version of Eagle is either not available for free or is made completely free and open source (fat chance). Mainly because it's shit but also because it will encourage KiCad development.

[McMonster]

I hope the next version of Eagle is either not available for free or is made completely free and open source (fat chance). Mainly because it's shit but also because it will encourage KiCad development.

And gEDA and other CADs, free software ones in the best case, but not exclusively. Alternatives are always needed because it encourages the development of each other and leaves people a choice. I hate having limited options.

[alm]

While competition is good, also for free software, a larger user base is also important. Especially for things like footprint libraries, available tutorials and support. I can see how Eagle discontinuing the free license might make an end to the almost complete dominance of Eagle in the hobbyist segment. Although I find it hard to believe that they would be this stupid, it would be essentially suicide for Eagle in my opinion. Maybe Altium wants to buy them from Farnell?

[slburris]

Just another vote for Diptrace here.  I was an Eagle user for
many years, tried Diptrace, actually payed real money for the standard
version, and I've never looked back.

Scott

[EEVblog]

Although I find it hard to believe that they would be this stupid, it would be essentially suicide for Eagle in my opinion.

I would be, and they know it, so it won't ever happen.

Maybe Altium wants to buy them from Farnell?

Farnell paid more for Eagle than Altium's entire market worth a few months back!
Altium wouldn't have to buy anything, they could crush Eagle overnight with a re-compile and a change of attitude. They foolishly choose not too.

Dave.

[alm]

Maybe Altium wants to buy them from Farnell?

Farnell paid more for Eagle than Altium's entire market worth a few months back!
Altium wouldn't have to buy anything, they could crush Eagle overnight with a re-compile and a change of attitude. They foolishly choose not too.

Altium would be quite good at handling the shooting themselves in the foot and suicide part.

Does Eagle actually enjoy any significant market share outside the hobbyist/maker crowd? I know they basically own the Arduino/open hardware/maker market, but what would they have left after losing them? It's not like they have a compelling product compared to the many other commercial competitors.

[westfw]

Altium ... could crush Eagle overnight with a re-compile and a change of attitude.

Neglecting that EAGLE could retaliate with a mere change of policy as well...

It's not like [EAGLE has] a compelling product compared to the many other commercial competitors.

The feeling I've gotten (from the EAGLE forums, mainly) is that EAGLE is pretty popular among small shops that would rather not spend more than $1500/seat for their CAD package.  A lot of the 'compellingly better'  packages are in the $5k range, aren't they?

I'd be pretty unhappy to give up EAGLE's ULP capability; do other packages have something similar?

[alm]

Altium ... could crush Eagle overnight with a re-compile and a change of attitude.

Neglecting that EAGLE could retaliate with a mere change of policy as well...

The issue with this is that Eagle can only compete on price. If Altium sold a version with enough features to compete with Eagle for $500, this would get them most of the small business customers. If Altium made a free version for hobbyists, this could severely hurt Eagle's market share.

[EEVblog]

Altium ... could crush Eagle overnight with a re-compile and a change of attitude.

Neglecting that EAGLE could retaliate with a mere change of policy as well...

Not when Altium's tool is vastly superior in virtually every way. Except maybe the auto-router, but lets not go there...

Dave.

[Greg J]

The free version is 500 pins 2 layer! No area limitation. And no sign this, sign that form.

Sounds like DIPtrace have it right. I have to try this!

And they have MAC version ! Very important to some !

As some who knows open source and works with it a lot (I'm KDE contributor), and as software engineer mainly by day - I have to say that gEDA is an utter shit. Not even an option, not even close.
I know these guys are trying hard, and donate their time - great. But usability isn't really high on their agendas. I
 tried to draw simple schematic in gEDA, very simple one (two 741, 4 transistors, and comparator) - and it was next to impossible !
Didn't even got to the PCB stage, because I'd rather use Eagle.

Now don't get me wrong, usability isn't very high on Eagle developers agenda either. But it is so much better then gEDA, despite its shittness.
I wish open source folk took usability seriously. If they want anyone to actually consider their software serious alternative to anything.

[metalphreak]

V6 still has the same "Light" version.

The following limitations apply to the EAGLE Light Edition in general:
The useable board area is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches).
Only two signal layers can be used (Top and Bottom).
The schematic editor can only create one sheet.

Free for non-commercial use. $69 for a commercial license.

The hobbyist license for $169 is basically the same as the $820 standard except no commercial use. Not really sure who would pay that much to make 6 layer boards, that they'd only use personally... Seems a bit silly. The size restrictions are just annoying.

[48X24X48X]

I think they increase the price compared to the previous version.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The size restrictions are just annoying.

Wonder if you could draw everything half size then rescale the gerbers afterwards 

[EEVblog]

Maybe Altium wants to buy them from Farnell?

*snort*
Altium's current market capitalisation is worth less than what Farnell paid for Eagle. A shame for the once great Altium, worth 1/4 to 1/2 Billion dollars at their peak IIRC.
Altium pissed away what money they had left on their good buddies Morfik.

Dave.

[ejeffrey]

Does Eagle actually enjoy any significant market share outside the hobbyist/maker crowd? I know they basically own the Arduino/open hardware/maker market, but what would they have left after losing them? It's not like they have a compelling product compared to the many other commercial competitors.

I don't know numbers, but it is reasonably popular in academic circles and small businesses as well as home hobbyists.  If your job is not circuit design, but you occasionally have to draw up a PCB as part of a project, the cost benefit analysis favors a cheap tool with a fast learning curve over an expensive tool that requires a lot more effort to get started.  If PCB design is a big enough part of your business that you have people doing that full time, the up-front costs in licensing and training are worth the long term productivity.

[MarkS]

The useable board area is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches).

I wish they would calculate this based on area and not edge lengths. Your board can be 100x80, but NOT 80x100 or 200x40 or... That always irritated me.

[hugos31]

basic free    PCB WIZARD    http://www.new-wave-concepts.com/pr/wizard.html