Homebrew PCBs

--- 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