11-04-2012, 05:49 PM
(11-04-2012, 03:00 PM)LiviuM Wrote: ...Autodesk and tekla company politics are very greedy, they are thief's too.
Why the same software, movie, music has different prices across the globe?
Because Autodesk says so.
What is the real price for it?
As much as Autodesk wishes.
Dear LiviuM,
I personally differ from your point of view, at least partially. If Autodesk has the right to fix a price for its products line it is because they invested huge efforts and money to develop that product and to keep that product as the industry standard. Simply as that. Long time ago, the founders of Autodesk where just engineers as you are now, but after a succesful idea and a bussiness concept they managed to grew the company to what it is nowadays. Same with Ashraff and Wilson in CSI (Etabs, Sap) and same with the researchers of Plaxis (I know those guys in those companies). So, why shouldn´t they use their ideas and hard work for making money? It is not that a government develop that software and then decided to exploit the public resources for making more money; again, it all started simply with ordinary guys.
Although I wish I knew how to program software, reality is that I know nothing about it. But when engineers in my office develop in-house software for our specific use, I go lengthy to warrant that no one outside my company uses that software. I have explicit contracts with our employees that forbid any use of any material (either drawings, specifications, software) that belongs to my company. If in doubt from an employee, for some sensitive information, I had sometimes choosen not to share particular information and better finished the project by myself. I know it sounds too agressive, but when we talk about bussiness, you bet I am not going to give any chance.
Why my attitude toward the office intelectual property? Because I have long experience dealing with theft of information. And it ranges from small things to big things; an example of the first case: long time ago I used some bussiness cards where I had the logo of one of the associations I belong to. Once, in a congress, I gave it to one colleague and, a few years later, I found again that engineer and then he gave me his bussiness card. And guess what? his bussiness card was exactly the same as mine few years back. He invested no time and no effort to develop that product, rather chose to still my intelectual work (those cards were designed by me, not by a graphic designer). Worst of it, I spend huge amounts of time and money to keep the prestige of my firm and myself, and then one guy suddenly wants to join the ride using that effort for its personal advantage? What on earth would give him the right to use my idea to sell/advertise engineering services? In my humble opinion, same case as Autodesk and Tekla products.
Well, this is just my opinion anyway. I don´t expect all of you think as I do, and the other way around.
On the other hand, putting product/services/ideas rights aside, it comes the reality of money and everyday needs:
For example, I think that a very big number of civilea users are students, and a number of the remaining are either proffesional or practicing engineers in developing countries. As for students, I think the problem can be solved by using educational software; it is my idea that the problem comes because they use an educational version and suddenly they decide they want that software, in full functionality, "just in case" if they need it in the "future".
As for engineers in developing countries, I think here´s the real problem. How much you can afford (and are willing) to spend when you are strugglng with getting paid and at the same time you have to satisfy your own needs (family food, kids school, house rent, and others)? No easy answer to that.
Since 2009 I have been doing my best to upgrade every single license of every single software I use, and to buy new one on the ground of both client needs and services expansion; so, just last month I decided to invest in MIDAS Gen 2012, but the quotation including taxes goes up to 14,500 USD. I think for a big number of engineers here that price leads you to think weather you buy that one, or find another ways. And by another ways you know what I mean. In my case, probably I simply will continue to use the software I use today (not MIDAS), and wait for a better time...
As Dell Brett would say: my 2 cents!
Information is not knowledge.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein