state of the SW universe?

ok thankyou everyone for your input - good to see some familiar names come
out of the woodwork to offer some views

I have decided to pick up a subs for 08-09 because:
a)it is actually good deal money wise as offered
b)from 05 to 08 there is a fair bit to catch up on
-although it has problems and has half done stuff as usual there is a lot of
useful stuff particularly for surfaces which I need/use. (any longer and I
think the learning would be too steep or it would almost be as easy to
switch programs altogether.)
c)I regard the realview and UI stuff for better or worse as largely in there
now and not likely to occupy substantial development resources again
d)it brings me up to date so as to keep recent compatibility with other
businesses and brings back worth to my initial substantial investment and
also time spent learning it
e)the failings that annoy the hell out of me are regretibly not likely to be
fixed anytime soon
-untechnical help notes
-the big bug suck
-marketing crap and massaged forums/pet blogs
-semi useful VAR
-metallic lipstick UI

I wouldnt regard my choice at this time as any endorsement of of SW08 as a
desireable item rather conditions just suit at this time for me to jump
forward
I dont have in mind that this means I will pick up subs on an ongoing basis
SW will have to show they actually have laid the gotchas to rest for that to
come back into consideration and of course add new stuff I really can use in
a sizeable dose.

how will I get around the issues I have?
a)install only sp5 of a release when it comes out for the year
b)come here to discuss SW issues and help others - still the best darn place
to come despite the noise
c) buy my VAR a dress and send him out on the streets to earn some real
money

thanks
Neil

 

btw visiting matts blog I found the most useful link he has posted yet...now
heres something fine from America to share with the rest of us
later all

http://www.steepcanyon.com/

 

Reminds me of bobblehead banquer when what you can do
is what matters, not how pretty the video game all is.

 

Probably the best way to deal with SW. Here's hoping that 3.1 isn't too much
worse than the last release.

I find I spend more time on the Forum now than here. Partially because it
takes me longer to read through the posts I want to read, but also because
there is an awful lot of good content and not much trash.

Your VAR must be considerably better looking than any of the guys at my VAR.

Jerry

 

Jerry,

Seems that if you don't go at the pace of the UI you will crash. I
have to pace myself. After using it quite a bit you come to realize
that it isn't just what you put your mouse pointer on but how long and
how fast you get there that the software is reading. It would seem
that the next new technology for computers would be a man/computer
interface chip that would do all the sensing of the mouse/ mouse
clicks and timing and leave the CPU for crunching numbers. Maybe SW
can figure out how to put that on the second CPU.

TOP

 

IF so, have you tried adjusting the mouse properties?
But it should be very slow indeed compared to system speed
anyway. Mouse buffer interface or driver problem?

 

lol I just thought it could help drag the customers in - the lipstick doesnt
seem to be doing it as they hoped...

actually further to the sp5 timing - I wont be doing any beta testing,
reporting bugs, doing surveys, making any enhancement requests or
development suggestions, talking to any SW people, or.. .participating in
closed forums.

all I want is the last sp of the release, access to the relevant technical
info, and as a last resort a VAR.

Neil

 

"He pushes UG as THE CAD/CAM solution. Can't think of worse advice for many
small job shops." - Jon Banquer

 

"He pushes UG as THE CAD/CAM solution. Can't think of worse advice for many
small job shops." - Jon Banquer

 

"He pushes UG as THE CAD/CAM solution. Can't think of worse advice for many
small job shops." - Jon Banquer

 

"He pushes UG as THE CAD/CAM solution. Can't think of worse advice for many
small job shops." - Jon Banquer

 

"He pushes UG as THE CAD/CAM solution. Can't think of worse advice for many
small job shops." - Jon Banquer

 

I'ld like to use the SolidWorks Forum sometimes, but that is one I
can't use unless I fork out money on Jan. 1 for a product I won't
upgrade to until probably July. One way or another in a small way, I
wanted to make my point about wanting to pay maintenance for a product
I can use.

SWks considers a customer to be just paying maintenance for the
version a customer uses, and not necessarily the latest version. If I
alter my thinking to that method, then I look to what I would be
getting from the maintenance on my older version of SolidWorks. Well,
the answer is, I really am not looking for answers at this point, so
there is not anything I see to gain right now, other than paying now a
smaller amount less in maintenance than I would pay later. Of course,
I am then paying SWks maintenance & penalty & then being covered by
maintenance for only 6 months or so. Not good in that light.

It is SWks ballbark, and they set the ground rules. I can accept
that. Still, SolidWorks has to pull in the customers, and I still
think they need to come out with more thoroughly vetted SP0 products.
That means faster and better programming, error checking and testing,
and I surely hope they get it.

Bo

 

Bo,

I don't believe you need to have an active maintenance agreement to gain
access to the SW forum. You just need to set up a user account to post
with. You do have to have maintenance to get to download the updates though.

 

I checked and found a big "padlock" icon next to the forum. Wish it
were otherwise, but that is SWks policy.

Bo

 

Bo,
Visit the forums directly at http://fourm.solidworks.com. You will be
able to set up a user name and password and access the forums.

Richard

 

That must be a riot.