I'll probably drop out of maintenance when it expires in December, I'll download the full installer just before it expires and stick with that. Just too expensive to keep going.
I'll probably drop out of maintenance when it expires in December, I'll download the full installer just before it expires and stick with that. Just too expensive to keep going.
No need for that. You can still download installers and it will work just fine up to the last supported version of the SW.
What's that, you didn't pay back maintenance? Oh, then you can pay all the annual back maintenance, then pay even more to upgrade.
We have a number of licenses. Our company is growing, and our usage has been increasing.
If you want or need any flexibility at all, you pay more. Want to move a license, you pay. Want to keep your versions sync'd, you upgrade. What's that, you didn't pay back maintenance? Oh, then you can pay all the annual back maintenance, then pay even more to upgrade. Want some flexibility, pay more for a floating license. What's that, you want to use your floating license at a remote site? That'll cost you more! Overseas, even more again!! Got a problem, found a bug? You're doing it wrong...
Maybe sticking to an old perpetual licensed version of Altium works in your situation, but it doesn't work for us.
John
If you need the latest and greatest Altium version and cloud, then I can't see how Kicad is a viable alternative.
The ALF license I used you just drop it on ANY PC and run it, doesn't matter where it is, or if you installed it somewhere else. Although they have georestricted now as you say, blueskull had to use a VPN to get around that AFAIK.
Maybe they don't sell that licenses type any more, or maybe you have to fight through sales bullshit to get one, don't know.
I never said we needed the cloud. This not useful to us no matter how hard the sell. Our boards are not complex in the sense of parts and high numbers of nodes, and aside from the database library, KiCad may be enough. We will do a design and find out.
We don't need the latest and greatest for our designs, but if you want to add an Altium license, you have to add the latest and greatest. If you want any support, you have to have to pay for the latest and greatest whether you install it or not. If you have to manage a group of people, it can be a headache to manage multiple versions, because it makes it a lot tougher to keep everyone consistent. When we implemented some consistent design procedures and flow, our manufacturing yield went way up and rework went way down, so we are keeping the process in place.
Also, we are not going to use a VPN to get around the license because it is likely to be illegal, and we won't do that as a company.
Altium has some really nice features, and it could be great. But for our situation, the cost of doing business with them has become painful enough that we will invest some actual resources to evaluate KiCad as an alternative. We know that making a switch will be painful. But our current situation is also painful and shows no sign of getting better. Just the opposite, it appears.
John
FWIW, in late 2020 I bought a "perpetual" AD license for $4k USD. It allows me to use it one one machine at a time as long as there's an internet connection at startup. I've seen folks recommend using a file-based (.alf) license, but the Altium sales rep said that wasn't a possibility for the kind of license I have.
When they hit me up for subscription $$, I declined. So now I'm stalled at AD21.9.2, but that's fine for my needs. It definitely paid for itself in projects over the first couple of years, so I'm not complaining (much).
FWIW, in late 2020 I bought a "perpetual" AD license for $4k USD. It allows me to use it one one machine at a time as long as there's an internet connection at startup. I've seen folks recommend using a file-based (.alf) license, but the Altium sales rep said that wasn't a possibility for the kind of license I have.
When they hit me up for subscription $$, I declined. So now I'm stalled at AD21.9.2, but that's fine for my needs. It definitely paid for itself in projects over the first couple of years, so I'm not complaining (much).If it works for you at present, then it's still going to be working for you in a decades time.
Unless you are on the corporate coin, or absolutely must have the latest version to client work, there is little incentive to upgrade.
FWIW, in late 2020 I bought a "perpetual" AD license for $4k USD. It allows me to use it one one machine at a time as long as there's an internet connection at startup. I've seen folks recommend using a file-based (.alf) license, but the Altium sales rep said that wasn't a possibility for the kind of license I have.
When they hit me up for subscription $$, I declined. So now I'm stalled at AD21.9.2, but that's fine for my needs. It definitely paid for itself in projects over the first couple of years, so I'm not complaining (much).If it works for you at present, then it's still going to be working for you in a decades time.
Unless you are on the corporate coin, or absolutely must have the latest version to client work, there is little incentive to upgrade.Probably the latest update was the Draftsman. It really changed the way I am creating technical documentations for the boards, and I truly think it saves me days of work on a yearly basis.
Its perfect to create assembly guides. It is great to mark isolation distances. It is very useful tool.
Would be interesting to know how much it's actually increased.
But after price rise and close Altium sales in my country, i can't buy it.
Tech star Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) rocketed $5.91, or almost 20 per cent, higher to $35.84 after the electronic design software company reported a 57 per cent rise in net profit, to $US55.5 million.
In the meantime, my employer has been spending time to see if we can move some of our designs to KiCAD. So far, we have transferred one design with some minor issues that were straightforward to resolve.
At the moment, we are looking to see if we can implement our custom DRC rules. Our current rules are there so that we can have floating circuit net classes so that within the floating net class, we can have a low voltage clearance, but everything outside of the floating net class will have a higher voltage clearance (it's for a floating gate drive and some other floating circuitry). It needs to accommodate the IPC rules for outer and inner layers.
If we can implement our rules within the KiCAD environment, there are two remaining hurdles. The first is whether or not we can manage our output files in a semi-automated way (we use outjob files quite a bit) and the second is our desire for the implementation of a database library.
We have been pleasantly surprised at how well it has gone so far. Still a bit to go, though.
John
Some hints:
- Output Automation: For example https://github.com/INTI-CMNB/kibot
- Database Library PR: https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad/-/merge_requests/1282
This weeks reporting.QuoteTech star Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) rocketed $5.91, or almost 20 per cent, higher to $35.84 after the electronic design software company reported a 57 per cent rise in net profit, to $US55.5 million.
Don't expect a price reduction anytime soon the shareholders need to be happy.