Question for Alibre

[wfpelletier]

I almost titled this thread 'Question for Mr. Paul Grayson', but I was unsure how closely he monitored this forum, and wasn't sure when he might answer. I am hoping that Mr. Grayson, or another Alibre executive, will post an answer to this question.

On May 24,2005, through its former CEO, Alibre told its users that any user that had their Alibre Design maintenance current as of May, 2005, would be able to renew their maintenance indefinitely at the annual cost of $295, unless they let their maintenance expire. My question is this: does Alibre intend to break this agreement? On this thread (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7941), a user named 'kdevoe' said that he contacted Alibre and asked this question, and was told that Alibre was not honoring this agreement, and that his maintenance costs were going up in September. Is this true, or was 'kdevoe' given inaccurate information by someone at Alibre, who may not have been fully aware of Alibre's statement on May 24, 2005?

I really like the Alibre Design software, and I expect to be using it for a long time. I would also like to continue the maintenance agreement that was set out in May, 2005, and I ask Alibre to please excuse my confusion on this issue.

Sincerely,
William Pelletier

 

[paulg]

I monitor the forums everyday, receiving automatic emails with new posts. I have been following the "Increased Maintenance Costs" thread and waiting for the comments to accumulate before responding. I also commented on the maintenance increase in a response to a comment on my recent "Is Frugality Fashionable?" blog.

Rather than reiterate all of the points, I will refer back to the comments made by HaroldL, wathavy4, and z28tt in the "Increased Maintenance Costs" thread as they capture very well the conundrum that Alibre management faces with this issue.

Fundamentally, Alibre and all other businesses, reserve the right to change their policies in light of new circumstances. After careful consideration we decided to change our maintenance prices.

I know this is not the answer you are hoping for and regret if we have disappointed you and others. However, we appreciate your loyalty and our proud of our customers and get great satisfaction from seeing them succeed with our product. We are listening and paying attention to the comments on the forum and badly want to increase everyone's satisfaction with our product and our company.

Paul

 

[Dabble]

Although any cost increase is hard to swallow no matter what it is you are dealing with, I have to applaud the quick responce and clear answear by paulg. I know speaking as an American citizen I always here grumbling about jobs going overseas or to mexico. But when we go to the store we want the cheapest product possible with the same quality as the more expencive product made here.

I have set through a Solidworks Demo recently and from what I saw in the demo Alibre is not as seamless as Solidworks or do they claim to be, but I did not see one thing in the demo that I could not do in Alibre and some things they did we would have needed to purchase extras to do, that is included in the pro version of Alibre.

Yes maintence price increase hurts but for the value of the software and what it is capable of doing, I am hoping my company will just smile all the way to the bank.

 

[indesign]

Please read here.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictiona ... definitely

 

[scarr]

Good call on the definition of indefinite - I've been watching this thread for a few days, although I haven't given it a lot of attention because I've been too busy making money with the design work I'm doing with Alibre, but there will always be price increases in almost all areas of the consumer universe - and there will always be people who complain about it, it's just human nature. Greg never used the words in perpetuity, or forever and ever, or until the sun ceases to shine, etc., etc. My advice to those concerned about the increase would be to either get over it, or go find a better CAD package at a better price for a lower yearly maintenance fee. It's less that a dollar a day - it's ridiculously low - it's a no brainier, it's a gift and Alibre should be commended for keeping the increase so low. Plus they gave everyone an opportunity to buy multi-years of maintenance at the lower price and they give their hobby tool away free. What else could you ask from a company that is afterall a corporation, who's purpose is to sell a product at a reasonable profit margin. Just my two cents.

 

[wfpelletier]

Please read here.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictiona ... definitely

Well, actually, Greg said more than just 'indefinitely'..

So for the licenses you own as of May 31, 2005, if you purchased this month or any time starting with June 1, 2004, when your maintenance comes up for renewal you may renew at $295. You may then continue to renew at $295 as long as you don’t allow your maintenance to expire. This is our way of saying thanks to our current customers.

Is there any real doubt as to what Greg Milliken was saying in his message? Can anyone who reads his entire message still be confused as to what he meant? To me it seems quite clear, and I do not get the impression that any part of his message was 'uncertain', or 'undefined'.

To me, the agreement that Alibre made with its users in May, 2005 is very explicit, and to me it looks like it has the elements of a contract. (Since I am not a lawyer, anyone reading this should verify this on their own.) And I know if I make a contract with someone, I don't believe I can 'reserve the right' to change it unilaterally, no matter how my business conditions may have changed.

wfpelletier

 

[indesign]

K :shock: ....not arguing here....thats for lawyers.

 

[bobster]

I have been using Alibre since Version 5 and have upgraded over the year to the "expert" version.
Before I bought Alibre I investigated the alternatives, Pro-E, Solid Works, Solid Edge, Iron Cad and Inventor.
All of these modelers required a significant initial investment and carried annual maintenance costs of $1K-$1.5K.
My budget could stand the investment but there would have been nothing left over to fund the realization of my target projects.

I tried the Alibre free offer after reading an article in Cadalyst and discovered that Alibre might work for me, not as well as Pro-E or UG that I use at my day job, but certainly better than the version of TurbCad that seemed my only alternative for "legal" 3D modeling s/w.

I would like the lower maintenance cost, of course, but I'll watch for the "deals" and take advantage of them as they appear.

Alibre has grown in capability and is maturing into a more robust product. It has done everything I've asked of it, and has allowed me to turn ides into designs that have been realized in metal. I look forward to Version 11, fully expecting some hiccups along the way.

When Alibre's value and cost of ownership approaches the competition I'll probably take another look at these alternatives.
Until this threshold is crossed, Alibre will continue to provide the 3D modeler solution for my home-based design efforts.