Autodesk screws customers by turning lifetime licenses into subscriptions
Autodesk screws customers by turning lifetime licenses into subscriptions
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U4-pp1uKNnM
I hate the software subscription model and the monopolisation happening around adobe and autodesk. I was very sad when they bought allegorithmic
Nobody likes subscriptions but there's not really another good way to treat software as the living entity it is these days.
Monopolization needs to die in a fire though.
The old system worked fine. You bought a version and you get to keep it forever. You typically got a year of updates along with it. If your didn't want anything new ever, you were done. If you wanted more updates, you could buy another years worth typically with a nice discount. That way the customer chooses how much they need updates and the company gets paid for the updates.
And no one was truly surprised. Autodesk is like Adobe + Oracle of engineering.
Which is why I'm always amazed the semi-pro and hobbiest community standardized on fusion. They've already pulled that rug multiple times but fanboys don't learn.
It was more fucked up than a simple rug pull.
Autodesk used the hobby community for years as free resource to develop Fusion and when they deemed the product finished, and sufficient amount of people hooked, the company put up a paywall. Then another one. And another one.This is some Nestle milk formula level of bullshit.
I'm open to suggestions for alternatives for functional part 3D modeling.
I use Fusion 360 because it's free for hobbyists and it's features for functional 3D modeling blow away any other software I've tried in the open source/free/low cost market.
Fusion 360 handles parameters beautifully, has a very flexible timeline editing system, and generally is very forgiving about how you use the software.
I'd happily pay up to $120/year for hobby use. It's that good. I can't afford $600 a year for a hobby tool though.
The closest alternative I know is FreeCAD. It has a notable following, but compared to Fusion it's slow, clunky, buggy, and fights you every step of the way you use it. In FreeCAD, there is usually one right way to do something, and dozens of wrong ways that all end up with you having to redo tons of work.
TLDR: I've created all sorts of useful things in Fusion. All I've created in FreeCAD is tears.
FreeCAD works if you work on learning the workflows. In my own experience the number of ways to accomplish a simple task can be overwhelming. The last two years the development pace has really picked up. If it's been a while since you've tried I'd advise trying again.
As for other alternatives, SOLIDWORKS is a great contender. It's inexpensive or free for hobbiests, has everything you need and the kitchen sink, interoperates with industry standard formats well, is generally fast and stable.
I've also heard good things about Siemens Solid Edge, which has a great set of features for free and is hobby friendly.
FYI everyone, the linked website is based on crypto.
Is this a good or bad thing?
I'll let you decide for yourself, just mentioning it because it's not obvious. A lot of people feel a lot of ways about crypto.