I will be honest I feel a bit deceived. Call me ignorant because I clearly didn't read the EULA well enough. I am sure that is a more appropriate term. I have been using (and LOVING) Alibre as an alternative to more expensive parametric modelers. So much so I shelled out for the Design version and so far it has done everything, functionality wise, I could ask for. What a fantastic bit of kit for a VERY fair price.
I purchased it under the assumption that "perpetual" meant that I could use the software indefinitely. This does not seem to be true. In the past few months, and thanks to COVID, I have had internet outages. Mostly related to over consumption of everyone linked to my neighborhood trunk causing down time. As a result, there have been a handful of times alibre has entirely locked me out of using the software until my internet connection resolved. Certainly, this is bad timing. But it's also incredibly concerning. It strikes me that I don't actually "own" the software so much as Alibre, through some legal wizardry, has managed to transmute the term "rental" into "perpetual".
It appears that it requires "reactivation" every 14 days. This makes sense to me if you're operating under a maintenance plan (so they can confirm your license is active and can accept updates). For me, I have no intention what-so-ever to continue my maintenance plan after it is up at the end of the year. I am a simple hobbyist and purchased the 1 year maintenance plan as a package with my software. Looking up other options there's a so-called "darksite" option that seemed attractive, giving me an offline activation option, but requires a relatively painful reactivation process every 4 weeks. Still...not acceptable. Not at all. This is just a longer term rental.
It doesn't entirely make sense to me that "perpetual" is used so loosely here. It is only perpetual in the sense that you make a single lump sum payment and you're allowed to use the software so long as it can phone home every so often to confirm your license. I'd prefer a single activation, confirming I am legitimate legal user, and then allowing me to use the software true to the term in perpetuity.
Is there any possibility what-so-ever of a one shot "activation" to confirm my legitimacy as a customer (and so its not used on more than one system) and then leave me alone forever? Or are the "darksite" and "always-on" options the only way this is possible? I am a little disappointed because I feel like Alibre, or whatever company buys them in the future, can just change the definition of perpetual and make it rentalware. The software appears to me as a lock-in scheme no different than Autodesk offerings, minus the monthly payment (which is really just a reworded maintenance plan, anyway).
I purchased it under the assumption that "perpetual" meant that I could use the software indefinitely. This does not seem to be true. In the past few months, and thanks to COVID, I have had internet outages. Mostly related to over consumption of everyone linked to my neighborhood trunk causing down time. As a result, there have been a handful of times alibre has entirely locked me out of using the software until my internet connection resolved. Certainly, this is bad timing. But it's also incredibly concerning. It strikes me that I don't actually "own" the software so much as Alibre, through some legal wizardry, has managed to transmute the term "rental" into "perpetual".
It appears that it requires "reactivation" every 14 days. This makes sense to me if you're operating under a maintenance plan (so they can confirm your license is active and can accept updates). For me, I have no intention what-so-ever to continue my maintenance plan after it is up at the end of the year. I am a simple hobbyist and purchased the 1 year maintenance plan as a package with my software. Looking up other options there's a so-called "darksite" option that seemed attractive, giving me an offline activation option, but requires a relatively painful reactivation process every 4 weeks. Still...not acceptable. Not at all. This is just a longer term rental.
It doesn't entirely make sense to me that "perpetual" is used so loosely here. It is only perpetual in the sense that you make a single lump sum payment and you're allowed to use the software so long as it can phone home every so often to confirm your license. I'd prefer a single activation, confirming I am legitimate legal user, and then allowing me to use the software true to the term in perpetuity.
Is there any possibility what-so-ever of a one shot "activation" to confirm my legitimacy as a customer (and so its not used on more than one system) and then leave me alone forever? Or are the "darksite" and "always-on" options the only way this is possible? I am a little disappointed because I feel like Alibre, or whatever company buys them in the future, can just change the definition of perpetual and make it rentalware. The software appears to me as a lock-in scheme no different than Autodesk offerings, minus the monthly payment (which is really just a reworded maintenance plan, anyway).
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