Maybe time to upgrade!
- Thread starter indesign
- Start date
I know it's not as exciting as the 1000 club, but it's a start :wink:Even though Motion won't do what I want it to do the most, I am still leaning towards the upgrade.
The price is almost to good to pass up right now. Considering when I go to the upgrade page on the web site and it says that the expert upgrade would cost me $1000+, $295 seems like the deal of the century.
I thinking of jumping on it, hoping that the features I need the most will come in future releases, but I would be able to maintain my low maintenance cost.
What to do What to do…………
I was talking to Alibre today about the motion capabilities, and was told that they are considering motion with true collision detection for things like gears, chain & sprocket, etc. for a future release, but at the moment it is just too expensive for the pricing that AD is set at. It sounded like it is still going to be a while before this type of motion makes it into AD. But what you do get for the money is still an outstanding bargain if upgrading from pro. I will be upgrading in the next day or two myself. Just to be able to make an animation easier will really help my sales presentations. And they can use all the help they can get!
tgoldstein
Member
I have an Alibre Expert license and am on maintenance. I have been told by my salesperson that Alibre Motion is not included in the upgrade I get as part of the maintenance. Personally, I feel a little ripped off as I purchased the top version, purchase the maintenance to keep this top version current and now am being told if I want to get all the goodies it is another $95 on top of what I have already paid.
Makes me think that even if you upgrade to Expert now you will still be asked to pay more for Motion.
Feeling that Alibre has been less than honest in what you get with maintenance. Definitely will be rethinking if I will spend the money to renew my maintenance again.
Tim
[Denver, CO]
swertel
Alibre Super User
I think some of the confusion of why Motion is not included in the Expert maintenance is that Motion is not part of AD. It is more of an add-on. Just like you have to pay for other add-ons, Motion is no different. Well, I should say slightly different.
In this case, Alibre is stating that the Motion add-on is $95. Some of the other add-ons that come with Expert ARE free with maintenance. Others, though, are only free on a feature limited basis or free for a limited time. After that, you have to pay!
In the case of motion, it appears that a new marketing strategy is emerging. Pay $95 up-front to get the add-on or not have it at all. Once you pay the $95, then hopefully the upgrades to motion are included with the standard maintenance fee. I hope!
The second point of confusion, at least for me, is that this entire thread is based on a email stating a sale on the upgrade and/or motion. Thus, it does not necessarily concur with the website that may or may not include the details of the sale. I think that after 9.1 comes out and the smoke clears, all of this will make more sense. Personally, I jumped on the band wagon because I don't want to miss the deal.
I agree that the email was slightly confusing but not decieving.......
Motion IS an addon and the price to include it for both upgrading and new to Expert ARE more than the version was without Motion. It is logical to assume that the cost of Motion has to be carried over to include it. This is a request I asked for almost 8 months ago because the only other options were expensive to say the least. This is also better because it is integrated with Alibre.
With that said I too would love to keep the cost of Alibre down. But when you add features that cost Alibre then there must be a cost increase of the software.
tgoldstein
Member
This discussion has made it MUCH clearer what Motion is and is not. Alibre has done a terrible job in clearly communicating what is part of the software, what is included add-ons, what is included trialware, and what part of that your maintanence actually gives you when it is upgraded. To make the confusion even worse than it already was the "sales" letters on the preorder of Motion at $95 (which I am told is what it will also cost later) and the "Upgrade Now" communications.
This model of core, version features, full addins, trial addins, trialware, and optional addins is getting to be more and more like buying a car from Detroit in the 70's. What you want a steering wheel in that thing?
Tim
Denver, CO
swertel
Alibre Super User
Re:
Considering that I wasn't old enough to buy a car in the 70's, I'll have to trust your analogy. But, in taking with you concept, I agree. I even voiced my opinion to Alibre back when they developed the whole Basic, Pro, Expert structure and how confusing it would be.
But sadly, it was the right thing to do at the time. The product structure allowed the pricing structure to be affordable to more people, getting CAD in the hands of more people, fulfilling Alibre's mission, and still allowing Alibre to remain in business.
Perhaps the time has come for yet a new product structure.
Two offerings: AD Express and AD. But, with the full AD, there is an ala carte' menu to pick all of your add-ons: DesignCheck, Sprutcam, Photorender, Photorender Industrial, Repository, Sheet Metal, VisualMill, Part Library, Modelpress, Motion, and Machinist toolbox. Maintenance fee would be a certain percentage, 10-20%, of the total cost of all the packages you own.
Current Alibre Design users would get grandfathered into the add-ons that they currently have with their basic, pro, or expert license. Upon their next renewal, their maintenance fee would then be representative of the total cost. At the time of renewal, though, they can opt-out of some of their add-ons if they so choose, thus saving money.
For those that want to add a package on later, they can do it anytime during their maintenance period. They will get maintenance on the new add-on for no extra cost up until their standard maintenance period ends. At that time, their maintenance cost will be adjusted for the packages they have licenses for. Maintenance will not be reimbursed if someone chooses to drop an add-on during the maintenance period. In other words, it behooves the user to only drop add-ons just before maintenance renewal.
tgoldstein said:
Considering that I wasn't old enough to buy a car in the 70's, I'll have to trust your analogy. But, in taking with you concept, I agree. I even voiced my opinion to Alibre back when they developed the whole Basic, Pro, Expert structure and how confusing it would be.
But sadly, it was the right thing to do at the time. The product structure allowed the pricing structure to be affordable to more people, getting CAD in the hands of more people, fulfilling Alibre's mission, and still allowing Alibre to remain in business.
Perhaps the time has come for yet a new product structure.
Two offerings: AD Express and AD. But, with the full AD, there is an ala carte' menu to pick all of your add-ons: DesignCheck, Sprutcam, Photorender, Photorender Industrial, Repository, Sheet Metal, VisualMill, Part Library, Modelpress, Motion, and Machinist toolbox. Maintenance fee would be a certain percentage, 10-20%, of the total cost of all the packages you own.
Current Alibre Design users would get grandfathered into the add-ons that they currently have with their basic, pro, or expert license. Upon their next renewal, their maintenance fee would then be representative of the total cost. At the time of renewal, though, they can opt-out of some of their add-ons if they so choose, thus saving money.
For those that want to add a package on later, they can do it anytime during their maintenance period. They will get maintenance on the new add-on for no extra cost up until their standard maintenance period ends. At that time, their maintenance cost will be adjusted for the packages they have licenses for. Maintenance will not be reimbursed if someone chooses to drop an add-on during the maintenance period. In other words, it behooves the user to only drop add-ons just before maintenance renewal.
I'm sure the decision will be one you won't regret. Alibre is a company that I have the utmost respect for, and my trust in both their desire and ability to do what's right by their user base, has never faltered, and more importantly, it has never been betrayed. Alibre has always delivered on their promises and Alibre Motion will be no different. IT will be a real plus for those of us involved in machine design, and considering what other CAD companies charge for similar tools, $95.00 is nothing anyone should have any gripe with.
I think that a few forum members sometimes suffer from a type of application disconnect - they work at day jobs using Pro-E, or Solid Works, or Catia and want Alibre to have all the bells and whistles that those tools have. In the process they loose sight of the fact that Alibre is an application primarily aimed at small to medium size businesses (including a lot of one man operations) that delivers an outstanding package of tools at a fantastic price. This isn't to say larger companies couldn't benefit from using Alibre in place of some of the higher end apps.
They just haven't come to their senses yet.
I think you're one of the users like myself, who have been with Alibre for a while, and have been rewarded for our loyalty with values not normally offered to new customers, such as upgrading to Expert for $295.00. I bought Alibre several years ago at $795.00 and now own a package that is valued at $1995.00, with a yearly maintnance fee that is worth every penny when I weigh it against the upgrades and improvements we receive.
Alibre has payed for itself many times over, and I think I'll always be a loyal follower of the their banner. Viva Alibre.
swertel
Alibre Super User
First, wait until v9.1 is released to be able to download the motion module.
In the meantime, check out the new renderings you can make with the industrial pack.
Other than that, Alibre Expert has not features beyond Pro in AD. It does, however, have additional add-ons you can download and try.