Aren't we about due for Service Pack 7 for Protel 99 SE? DXP, even by the most expert opinions, is not ready for "Prime Time" yet, and it appears that most people are saying that it will be about a year before it is really ready. (See the Altium DXP forum for more on that issue.)
There is the additional question of whether or not one wants to pay for an new system when the one that he already has paid for still has some unresolved problems and issues. While I know that there are those that will say that there has been a "free ride" with all of the "free" Service Packs that have been issued for Protel 99 SE, I would respectfully remind anybody who might think that, that there are numerous people out there who have bought P99SE at SP5 or SP6, and some of which have even been bitten by the price increase last July, and yet will still not receive a free upgrade if they purchased before October 1st of last year, and still have not seen any response from Altium to some of the remaining problems and issues with P99SE which have been reported to Altium. Please note that some of these people have not even had P99SE for a full year yet, and irrespective of how long they may have actually had it, they have still seen no resolution to problems reported within a week or two of purchase. I would respectfully submit that many people out there have purchased a product, Protel 99 SE, for a very large sum of money, which they intend to use, and intend to keep, and intend to have it properly perform the function for which they bought it, and for which it was designed, and have the right to have the remaining problems with that product fixed with another Service Pack. There is an existing Bug list. There are numerous other problems that have been addressed in this forum which are reasonable canidates for inclusion in a Service Pack 7. I would respectfully submit that this issue should be discussed here in this forum, in a reasonable fashion, to determine if there is enough basis for requesting another Service Pack for Protel 99 SE from Altium. I would further submit that minimally that Service Pack should be free to anyone who purchased Protel 99 SE while it was already at SP6, and possibly even SP5. Further, I believe that whether or not older users of P99SE should have to pay any fee for the Service Pack, would be a topic for discussion, and would among other things, be partially based on just what was fixed versus how long it has been a known issue or problem. I am not exactly sure what the date of the release of SP6 is, but I know that it was in effect when my employer bought another seat for me early last July of 2001, about a week after the price increase. I respectfully submit that it is reasonable to assume that at least from the time of the release of Service Pack 6, and possibly even Service Pack 5, that Altium has been working towards, and concentrating all of their efforts, not on solving the remaining problems with Protel 99 SE, but rather on the release, and sale, via ATS and upgrades, as well as new sales, of their new Product, DXP. Where does that leave recent purchasers of Protel 99 SE? I submit that Altium has not finished fixing the Protel 99 SE product, and that there are those customers who have purchased Protel 99 SE prior to October 1st 2001, who are entitled to have the product that they paid for upgraded to Service Pack 7. I would respectfully submit that Protel / Altium may have resolved the "update" issue for those who purchased P99SE after October 1st 2001, by offering an "upgrade" (by means of ATS) in lieu of an "update", and that therefore, these customers will in fact get some form of an "update". If Altium wants to take the stance that those customers who purchased Protel 99 SE, no matter how recently, now only own a license for a product that will no longer be supported, then I might respectfully submit that an alternative to issuing a Service Pack 7 "update" for Protel 99 SE, might be to give a free "upgrade" to DXP, without ATS, to all of those customers who purchased Protel 99 SE at SP6, and possibly even SP5. Of course I would maintain that that free "upgrade" should not be issued (since there will be no ATS) until such a time as the DXP Product has achieved a stable platform. I submit that it is time to make a list and submit it to Altium. Respectfully Submitted, JaMi Smith ************************************************************************ * Tracking #: 1DE5091DB7CC3945AC0BCAAF216E63E1538C4F89 * ************************************************************************ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
