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Design Software Giants Target the Unemployed
avishere writes "People are losing their jobs, but for some execs the economic meltdown seems like the perfect time to get their software into the hands of those who can't afford their multi-thousand-dollar price tags. Software giants Autodesk and SolidWorks have each latched onto the worst-economic-disaster-since-the-Great-Depression meme and released free versions of their flagship computer-aided-design brands before their potential users are forced to sell their laptops on Craigslist. 'In these uncertain economic times,' Autodesk coos sympathetically, it will give away temporary licenses of AutoCAD and other software to those unemployed in the fields of architecture, engineering, and design. (They are also developing a Mac version, two decades after abandoning the platform.) SolidWorks was quick to respond with its subtly titled Engineering Stimulus Package. So if anyone out there has their weekdays free, jumpstart your hardware and design projects for cheap. Legally, too."
It's actually cost effective to freely distribute your software to people who want to learn it.
It's like someone figured out that someone will eventually pay for a license for software you are good at using.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
"These uncertain economic times"
I'm tired of hearing it. It's like the PR tool's qualifier for everything.
Bow-ties are cool.
Adobe recently announced a similar program but for software developers:
http://www.jamesward.com/blog/2009/04/03/free-flex-builder-for-unemployed-developers/
-James (Adobe)
I was hoping that they were just giving away short-term licenses to anyone, but apparently if you sign up for the program, you have to be verifiably unemployed. I wonder what method they use to check...
(hmm... Firefox says that "verifiably" isn't a word, but I looked it up, turns out it's a valid adverb form of "verifiable")
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This actually makes sense. The most important thing for a software company to be successful is to have people who know how to use their software. Which is why student prices and Learning Editions exist. And there have been reports that some laid off workers are starting their own companies, so getting your software into the hands of those people would be a smart move, too.
I...I'm attacking the darkness!
No kidding.
Maybe if people stopped calling these "economic times" "uncertain", then they'd stabilize!
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nothing like an economic meltdown to make Co's recognize the value of their most important asset: their current and potential customers.
Buy a new Saturn today!*
If you lose your job, don't worry.. we will postpone the repossession for up to 9 months!
SolidWorks is a package; IIRC, it is the cousin product to Dassault Systemes' (under license by IBM) CATIA. It is not a "company" as far as I know. Much like 3DSMAX is owned by Discreet. Also, SolidWorks is not the "Flagship" product. ;) That would be CATIA. :D
I'd MUCH rather see free licenses for Catia V5, than Solidworks any day. SolidWorks is OK, but you can do WAAAY more with a "Full" seat of Catia. (Everything from avionics, to radar waveguides; there's a workbench for it in Catia.)
Oh, US and Canada only. Never mind then.
And maybe if they stopped calling these times "economic" all money would disappear!
Sorry.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
...and now we get a mac port? We used to get a version that would run on all kinds of UNIX platforms. Now they have to use OSX? Bullshit. Civil3d is hitting the trash can; I'm switching to Inroads.
Any company doing the same for developers? Something like IDEs, build tools, profilers, version controls?
True, in reality it's pretty certain what's going to happen from here on out.
Higher unemployment, a bit of something that looks like recovery, a sudden bout of inflation, high interest rates, more unemployment, inflation gets under control, unemployed bankers find something better to do with their lives than make bets about something they don't understand, then recovery. Might be some other fun stuff in there along the way, but that's the main thrust of it.
Qxe4
There is too much nasty software out there. Forced upgrades, incomprehensible licenses, AdobeDesk monopoly, since they bought all competition in their respective markets I moved to linux and illegal Autocad 2000.
HR realises that they can save licencing $$$$$ by firing the entire engineering team and farming out CAD jobs on Mechanical Turk, for the newly unemployed to do with their free software.
Ponies for everyone!
I've never used SolidWorks, but I've used AutoCAD extensively. Autodesk knows how to force upgrades by capriciously changing their file formats better than anyone. As soon as one company in the network of companies that use AutoCAD upgrades, their peers are also forced to upgrade in order to remain compatible, and their peers, and so on. It's a cash cow not based on design excellence or innovation, but scurrilous abuse of their customers.
Which leads to the question: why are there no good free-as-in-freedom CAD programs? Because I haven't written one yet, I know. But surely I'm not the only one who's aggravated by this. I would be more than happy to assist anyone making a serious effort.
Stimulus.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Read this sort of thing along the lines of: "Since you're now low on dough and high on time, we're giving you our stuff for free so you dare not move to open source in general and Blender in specific to refocus your skills there, because that little Project is closing in on us in leaps and bounds and frankly is scaring the living piss out of us."
I sold my Lightwave 8.5 Licence (+ books 'n stuff) and forfeighted the right for cheap upgrades of this very neat Hollywood Grade 3D Kit because Blender has gotten so good, there are only very few features missing that LW has, and quite a few that LW (or any other closed source kit) doesn't have. Oh, and btw., Blender 2.5 is coming closer with a complete architectural redo that will boost its developement even further. The 3D market is tough as it is and Blender is a scaring thing to watch for SideFX, AutoDesk, NewTek and the likes, you can believe that. The 3D tool market allways was tough, but these days its even more so - wouldn't wanna swap with any of those companies still asking upwards of 3000 Euros for their software.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I'm only a lowly programmer, not a CAD designer or anything fancy like that, but this kind of thing is exactly why I stopped using commercial programming tools and went with open source tools for my consulting business.
And maybe if they'd stop calling it "time" our universe would disappear!
Or at least be static, in which case we'd have no chance to formulate thoughts on the universe, in which case the universe would, in essence, cease to exist due to lack of observation. Or maybe instead we'd all instantaneously be travelling at the speed of light, since the universe would be static (i.e., "time" would have stopped). Or something.
Now, where did I put that cruller?
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Every administration has it's catchphrase. The last one was "because of 9/11...". This one is "in these uncertain economic times".
I'm impressed. Sounds like an easy hand out to potential customers. Smart, and effective I bet.
Truth is a matter of perspective. Wear the other guy's shoes before you dismiss him.
Thats why Adobe is so popular. Piracy does build huge user bases and when the younger user base grows up they are already hooked on your brand and will buy a license eventually. Now I'm not saying that everyone will buy a license by quite a few will.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
unemployed bankers find something better to do with their lives than make bets about something they don't understand
They knew what they were doing. See:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/transcript1.html
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
You may have been marked as funny, but you do deserve a bit of insightful for that.
Perhaps not all of it, but a portion of the 'uncertainty' is due to the fact that everyone is certain that we are in 'uncertain' times. If we stopped pushing that down folks throats, then there might be less panic to keep things stired up.
That's to distinguish it from all those certain economic times, where everyone knows the next day's stock market results, lottery numbers, winning horses, etc.
You're right; I wasn't actually going for Funny with that one.
People are scared of spending money right now because they hear "OMG CRISIS" every day, but the best way to make sure that we don't end up in another Depression is for people to spend money. Otherwise, more businesses (small businesses, mind you, I'm not talking about those "too big to fail") will go out of sale, putting more people out of work, putting the economy in an even worse state.
Fortunately for me, I just got a new job and moved across the country when all this started to happen, so I was able to buy all the things I would've needed to get anyway for much cheaper than I otherwise would've spent.
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It's about as close to an extortion racket as you can find. You can opt for $1000/seat "maintenance" where they send you the next years version with only half of last years bugs fixed and a full crop of new ones, plus the need to double your workstation horsepower. Or you can hang onto your license for four years - about a year beyond when they update their file format (which is not backward compatible) and you get tired of most of your clients not being able to send you drawings without a hassle - and pay the price of a new seat (magically, just about 4 years x annual maintenance).
Oh, and of course if you ever decide to get off the train, you can't sell your licenses without selling them as part of the assets of your entire company.
Autodesk can kiss my hairy white ass.
Right! There will be none of that here!
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
we (well not me, but the engineers i work with )are pretty serious solidworks users.
and at the last project mtg, the boss says, i gotta show everyone this, i did a model of our project over the weekend with google sketchup which is free, and he says, of course it isn't solidworks, but the 3d rotation is better...
Those of you with memories of more then a few minutes will remember that there use to be this great software called proE, and it was incredibly exspensive, and along came this "low cost" upstart, solidworks...... the innovators dilemman, in software
Fuck them all.
I've been wondering for a while now why they didn't just get down to the business of finding the exact value of the mortgage backed securities. If they did, it would end the whole problem almost immediately: investors would be willing to buy them again because they would know their true value.
Now I know. It's corrupt bankers, trying to hide their corruption, and cowardly politicians, trying to 'protect' the general public. We could be all done with this by now and on the road to recovery.
Qxe4
It's too bad employers aren't more willing to take "risks" on people who can prove that they've been able to learn on the job before.
I mean, I'd never get hired to use AutoCAD, but I learned to use at least the basic functions on the job here. Heck, from looking at some crazy AutoLisp program we bought, combined with a bit of Googling and minimal knowledge of functional programming, I modified and expanded the code to cover nearly everything we do regularly.
That said, I think these guys are doing the right thing by releasing versions like these. I only wish that more software companies would consider things like this when they have meetings about how best to "fight piracy," because this is a far more sensible way to deal with their problems.
Hmmm, if they say you must be verifiably unemployed, they have to check with the (or each) state's unemployment benefits division. It could take weeks for people to get counted, and in that time, people might game the system with fake information.
For those who are honest, though, they might be starting up their own company, but then the software companies giving away software to the "unemployed" will have to "look the other way", since in some states the mere ACT of operating as a business means you're in business. That is, incorporating, signing documents, opening business bank accounts, advertising on web sites and issuing business cards, and the like. So, if the STATE says the person is in business (income absence need not verify that you are not employed, it just means you don't have cash flow...), then the can of worms opened up is caused by companies turning a blind eye.
If they are GOING to turn a blind eye, why not just offer the software for all, but then continue to key-code it and grant continued functionality/accessibility only to those who prove they are meeting the spirit of the contract.
WARNING: these companies *might* compel the student/unemployed to furnish their SSN. THAT would be a bad move. Thus, these start-up types might need to get an EIN (Employer Identification Number), which further murks their employment status, depending on the state. IIRC, Calif will let you draw unemployment if you are not actually earning income/cashflow while in start-up phase, but, don't try to game the system. If you are a student, make sure your school uses student ID numbers not made up of parts of your SSN. If you are a non-student, you may want to initially contact your EDD/UI division and pre-arrange some proxy/substitute ID that binds the state protect your SSN, even though this is a 3rd party event tangential to obtaining for free some product/service not offered by the state.
It might be interesting if one or more enterprising unemployed or part-timing students band together and create competing training centers. If they already KNOW the material/product, they could create their own course that only lacks creds/authorization/blessing of the software company. Then, OTOH, i suppose they'll have already writtn (or will soon) a clause barring such competitive-purposes acquisition of their products.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
They don't have exact values; as the default rates of the underlying mortgages change, the value of the security changes. Selling foreclosed homes into a depressed market exacerbates this (because you have to throw out your old estimate of what you were going to recover).
If you don't know where the economy and the housing markets are going (and no one knows), you can't put an exact value on the securities.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
SolidWorks/Dassault Systems has already made some software for Mac's
http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/pages/news/eDrawings_Mac_OSX_version.html
http://www.cosmicblobs.com/software/deluxe.html
and they gave away 4000+ iPods at SolidWorks World 2008 with Microsoft being a big sponsor
We know how often people typically default. We know how often they typically default during recessions. The only real unknown here is how many of those loans were given to people without documentation. How many of those loans were rated AAA when in reality there was no chance they would be repaid. If those questions are answered, we can return stability to the financial sector. Although it will probably be a stability at a point much lower than some people would like.
Qxe4
We know how often people typically default. We know how often they typically default during recessions. The only real unknown here is how many of those loans were given to people without verification of what they could pay. How many of those loans were rated AAA when in reality there was no chance of being repaid. If those questions are answered, we can return stability to the financial sector. Although it will probably be a stability at a point much lower than some people would like.
Qxe4
the best way to make sure that we don't end up in another Depression is for people to spend money.
Broken Window Fallacy. Google it.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
In a sense, I am just quibbling over what 'exact' means (which isn't very interesting, but your first comment is a lot more open to it than this one, as it (the first comment) talks about the securities in a very general fashion).
I'm not entirely convinced that recent recessions will be a great guide for foreclosure rates, home values were way out of whack, and this recession looks to be pretty severe, so the models are getting pushed on from both sides.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
if they say you must be verifiably unemployed, they have to check with the (or each) state's unemployment benefits division.
A prior poster said you have to include your previous employer/supervisor and the company will check with them.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Isn't that how deals with the devil always work?
With the devil, if you're lucky you get to be a Ghost Rider.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
The Broken Window Fallacy just means that we shouldn't break windows for the express purpose of creating more business for the glacier.
However, if people stop replacing windows that get broken naturally, the glacier will go out of business.
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National Instruments is providing information on how to get Government-paid NI training and certification. You have to complete a couple steps (depending on your state) to get assistance, but there is a good amount of information and assistance available here.
Maybe if people stopped trying so hard to measure these "economic times" they wouldn't be so "uncertain"
The good, the evil and the vacuum tubes.
Learn how to MANIPULATE and USE people, processes and technologies.
I'd like to buy homeland for our 10 million people. http://twitter.com/mahadiga
In a sense, I am just quibbling over what 'exact' means
Yes you are! Stop it!
I'm not entirely convinced that recent recessions will be a great guide for foreclosure rates, home values were way out of whack, and this recession looks to be pretty severe, so the models are getting pushed on from both sides.
Indeed, valuing anything is not precise, but it needs to be precise enough for people to dare to take risks.
In any case the point of my original post was that I hate everyone involved in this thing. Read the link that someone above me posted and you will see why.
Qxe4
I had almost lost all hope in Autodesk after hearing they had cut the Tea and Biscuits fund.
For shame, Autodesk.
I didn't know ice rivers did anything business related. Gee, the things you learn on /. these days! :D
Silliness aside, I think the word you wanted was "glazier", as in, "someone who glazes windows". For that matter, I wonder if "someone who glazes doughnuts" is also a glazier? Mmm, doughnuts...
Cheers,
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
If you work with 3DS max, they "update" their file format so it's not backward compatible *every frickin' version*! and they release a version every year! Tey do it for no reason at all other than to force you to keep up with others - the actual difference between versions is usually minor. Their business practices make Microsoft look like the Mother Teresa of software development.
But then the big companies won't be able to get free "bailouts" from the governments, and they'll have to do desperate things to make money. ...like selling goods and providing services for reasonable prices. Oh no!
Oh, no. The "economic times" are uncertain because people are trying hard to measure the "economic energies". If they were trying to measure the "times" directly, they'd be way more certain (but of course, would have no idea of the "energies").
Rethinking email
You're assuming people have money. The problem is that there was a slight dip in the economy and a few too many people lost their jobs. Those people have no money. Unfortunately those people had mortgages that had been sold as part of complex financial instruments and as soon as investors realised that they were riskier than they were led to believe they all wanted to sell them and buy no more. This led to the collapse of the credit system.
In turn, this caused businesses that were depending on credit for their short term cash flow to go under as their banks called in their loans. This lead to more job cuts, more people with no money and more defaults on loans.
People can't spend what they don't have; expecting people who've just lost their job and don't see a new one coming any time soon to spend their savings for the greater good is madness. The idea that the economy is dependant on confidence is just a form of magical thinking.
Nick
People can't spend what they don't have; expecting people who've just lost their job and don't see a new one coming any time soon to spend their savings for the greater good is madness. The idea that the economy is dependant on confidence is just a form of magical thinking.
But there are people who have jobs and extra income that aren't spending as freely because of all the bad economic news. Self-fulfilling prophecy, vicious circle, etc. There's no magic in that.
Confidence won't make all those shitty loans that banks were handing out to anyone with a pulse turn into anything but the worthless garbage that they always were. Were that we could just pretend our way out of the ass-raping we just got at the hands of defrauding bankers, deregulation-happy politicians, greedy investors, and irresponsible fools who thought the definition of "American Dream" was "the right to perpetually live beyond your means."
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
How are they going to prove the "unemployed" didn't falsify information? Unless these software offerors check with DUNS/Dun & Bradstreet or some other source, they have to spend a lot of effort making sure the "company" is not the friend of a scammer.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
And they shouldn't spend their income, but rather save it so they can afford housing, medicine, etc if and when it's their time to face unemployment. That's the problem with treating people as "human resources", as capitalism does: they have no security of income, so they have to react with panic to every economic hiccup.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
Hi guys, these are student/educational editions and aren't allowed to be used for commercial purposes (only upskilling and personal use) so the article comment about 'starting your own projects on the cheap' is kind of true but if you ever got to the point where you were making money from what you created with the edu version, you would be violating the agreement.
Just worth people knowing.
And for those who think 'how can you watermark 3d?'. They don't, they watermark any 2D drawings and prevent saving in any format other than the proprietry educational format.
Still a great idea though, for its PR value more than anything else!
...or maybe if they'd just acknowledge that all economic times are "uncertain". The people that are certain about the economy are the ones that think that everything will always go up
And maybe if they stopped calling these times "times," everything would happen all at once!
I'm not sorry.
How are they going to prove the "unemployed" didn't falsify information?
By calling the previous employer. Sure it could be someone the applier knows but if the person calls and gives bad info they would be risking their own reputation.
they have to spend a lot of effort making sure the "company" is not the friend of a scammer.
reverse phone lookup. It won't prevent a scam but it can help.
BTW, I don't think these companies should be doing this. Instead if they're going to do anything let everyone download and use a special edition if nothing else.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Banks stopped trusting each other after they started buying and selling a whole crapload of shitty debt.
Now it's hard to borrow money, which is funny because usually when the economy goes to shit money gets cheap (See 20s and the railroad,oil, and automotive barons).
It's a whole new kind of economic fuckup... it helps only one group. Communist states like Venezuela and China.
I've found the 2.6 builds of GIMP work quite well with Mac (and yes, 24-bit colour has been supported for a long time).
I heard GIMP finally got native Mac support, I wish CinePaint came out with it too. However while GINP does work with 24 bit colour depths it does not edit photos in 16 never mind 24 bits. Currently it shouldn't make much of a difference if the software doesn't work with 16 bits unless a high end digital back is used because most digital cameras only use 12 bits per channel, and a few that use 14 bits. But that's still more than GIMP can reliably work with. For professional print work GIMP doesn't work.
As a matter of interest, what's your problem with X11? It should "just work" once you have installed it off your OS X DVD.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. It's not X I have trouble with, it's CinePaint. When I click on the icon or try to open a photo with CinePaint, by right clicking er ctrl clicking the photo and choosing "open with" it does not display. I get the CinePaint menu on top but that's it. I googled for a tutorial for CinePaint but didn't find one. Heck, CinePaint's online tutorial doesn't go over how to use it.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?