> Actually I agree with much of what you are saying - Protel, for an > increasingly upmarket product, still suffers from some basic software bugs > that we have a right to be fixed, for free. Some of these have been > documented for years.
I'll second that! I am probably one of the few people on this list who *don't* make a living with Protel specifically - it just helps me do my job. I'm a freelance/contract Engineering Tech who purchased Protel99SE out-of-pocket simply because it was the only product that even seemed to even work and didn't make me wanna pull my hair out (thank you Eagle). Sticking to textbook bean-counting like "Protel will pay for itself in N amount of time," would have put Protel out of my league. Part of the reason I finally bought it was because they released something on the order of 2 service packs during the time of my evaluation. I thought, "Yeah, it's a lot to spend just for prototypes and test boards, but it works, it'll keep me working, it keeps improving, and I'll never have to tell a client, 'I can't do that with my software'. After spending this $5000, I'll never have to spend another dime on SCH & PCB layout for a long time." That's what I thought a year or two ago. Now I'm concerned about my investment. At this point, I can live with never seeing a service pack 7 - I hope. But, could I have lived at service pack 2 forever??? If I was crazy enough to "upgrade" to Phoenix, that might just happen (apparently) - unless of course I wanted to spend the ATS $2K EVERY YEAR to keep getting service packs. I definately love Protel and it's the only PCB/SCH system I've ever been able to enjoy using. But I'm beginning to fear we're getting the "Microsoft" treatment: "Yes, just keep paying and upgrading, and *someday* the product will work as advertised... no really, the next relase is the winner." Protel, if you're listening: If you *did* release a service pack 7 (or show similar support), the cofidence gained by users, and subsequent upgrades to Phoenix, might make it worthwhile for everyone - Protel bean counters included. Also, if you promised that Phoenix upgrades included "basic operational improvements" for life (like service packs that fix bugs), you might get users like me to upgrade. I'd bet many people don't care if they ever see a new autorouter or 3D viewer, but would love the security of knowing that Bug X will be fixed someday - and NOT cost $2K. But as it stands, I don't feel like I have any choice but to hold tight to P99SE SP6 and hope I can continue to make it productive. Luckly, I don't see a problem with that and I'll still recommend Protel to clients/engineers and techs alike (although, now at $8K + 2K per year to use it {effectively}, I'm guessing Protel is largly gone from the out-of-pocket market). Ok, sorry for being melodramatic, rant mode off. I realize I'm probably just being idealistic. Lob a brick in my dirction at your choosing but please throw only soft vegetables at the band. ;-) Buck * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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/proteledaforum@techservinc.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *