[Clackneil]

I feel like "a real kick in the teeth" is a little understated. They are basically telling anyone that isn't a large professional shop with that kind of disposable income to eat it... Pretty poor business model if you ask me, but I know, my opinion means very little to them, or most. lol

[cygnus x-1]

I feel like "a real kick in the teeth" is a little understated. They are basically telling anyone that isn't a large professional shop with that kind of disposable income to eat it... Pretty poor business model if you ask me, but I know, my opinion means very little to them, or most. lol

Oh yeah, they've made it pretty clear that they couldn't care less about small businesses. I also won't be surprised if (when?) they eventually start moving to a subscription based model like Autodesk has done. Then you'll see a REAL firestorm.


C|

[warrenb]

I feel like "a real kick in the teeth" is a little understated. They are basically telling anyone that isn't a large professional shop with that kind of disposable income to eat it... Pretty poor business model if you ask me, but I know, my opinion means very little to them, or most. lol

I agree. Dassault doesn't care. Their reasoning is ridiculous as well. They claim if you skip your subscription it is not fair that you can get back on after a few years because the "other guys" paid for the R&D and new features. If a Ford dealer told me I had to buy every model of Ford since I bought the last one I would walk right out of the office. And that's what I'm doing with SW. Autodesk was watching and Dassault did the stupidest thing possible with their new licensing as the market was turning to rental software. I hope Autodesk buries Solidworks with their Fusion offerings. I've had SW for a while but phasing in Autodesk as it becomes more robust. I wish Fusion was available before I bought SW. I needed SW to work with clients and have made a lot of money on it. If I were a new startup or single person shop there is no question to go to Fusion 360. None, zero, nada. Even the pro. version with 5 axis and full simulation is less than SW's subscription.

[HomerSimpson]

If a Ford dealer told me I had to buy every model of Ford since I bought the last one I would walk right out of the office. And that's what I'm doing with SW.

I agree that software maintenance is annoying, however, your analogy isn't a perfect comparison. To be closer, either:

1. When Ford sells you a new car, they tell you that if you pay an annual fee, you can get a new model each year. If there are any problems with the car during the time you are paying this fee, they will fix it for free. If you don't pay the extra fee, you still get full functionality of the original car forever.

2. Or, when Solidworks sells you software, they don't offer annual maintenance. Each time you want the latest model, you pay full price.

By the way, since Fusion is a subscription product, the comparison would be that you must pay Ford a regular fee or the car will stop working. The closest analogy is a car lease, which are never the best deal.

Of all these options, my preferred is to buy the perpetual license, and not pay annual maintenance.

[warrenb]

A new fun feature of solidworks. No more laptop license. Your perpetual SW license use to come with that. DSS statement is some people took advantage of the second license. Great. SOME people drive over the speed limit so everyone must be punished with speeding tickets. Better remember to check in your license when you go home or to the office. Better hope you have internet access with your laptop on the road. I can't wait for their next announcement. Maybe triple the cost of subscription? Maybe ransom legacy data? I'm sure it will be in the customers' best interest.