--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Alan King <alan@...> wrote:
>seems rather dumb to not accomodate that lower scale end of the
>spectrum in the licensing possibilities, especially when so many of
>the free users might move into that range..
Hey again Alan,
What I got to thinking later on, was that not only might that be an
issue, but with some of us, once we move past the stage of building
headphone amps or flashing LED circuits, we may be forced in turn to
move past Eagle, and into something else which can accomodate us, even
if it involves moving into an unfamiliar, less stable, or less
powerful app. I think that with some hobbyists like myself, if I spent
enough time learning a competing program, and it fit my needs, I may
be unlikely to move 'back' to Eagle, if the time ever came where I
could afford it, especially with an underdog app, which may be gaining
popularity/features/stability and growing along with me.
Again, it makes me feel cheap every time I think of it, but even 200
is much higher than I would feel comfortable paying, while keeping my
electronics/PCB goals in perspective with my budget and other
expenses.
I, personally, would prefer to see a "no commercial use" version with
no size or part quantity limitations, but none of the features
exclusive to production run work and muti-layer boards, which are
likely impossible for DIY'ers. Most of the machine work and milling
specifications which it can produce for circuit board houses, is most
likely never going to be used here. If I fished through it, I could
probably find a hundred other features I could say that about, many of
which might make it impossible to use in large scale commercial
applications. That might be a key issue to mention to them, as I have
considered that offering a fully functioning lower priced version for
non-profit and hobbyists, might lead to some less honest users never
upgrading after they could afford to.
Maybe they should have just spent more time compiling a uniquely
limited version, rather than just implementing basic limitations and
legal restrictions.
BTW- I must have forgotten most of that licensing crap you just
stated. Much worse than I remembered, almost "mob like". I guess I
just looked at the dimensioning details.
-George