CircuitMaker dead

[Bloch]

Alitum why are you not updating me ?

I did go and look at there site and ..... Oh well it not dead 
They are "To make the CircuitMaker beta process more transparent, we’re going to kick off a campaign leading up to the open beta."    Is that not that you did now almost a year ago ?

But Max Clemons has now promised that we all can download CircuitMaker May 16, 2015 at 10:00 AM (PDT)

[free_electron]

thier intent is to launch at a makerfaire

[Bloch]

>thier intent is to launch at a makerfaire

I realy dont understant that.

Would Dave launch eevblog on makerfaire ? How many at makerfaire do even use a pcb program  ? my gues is 0,1 %
 
 It is 2015 use the dam internet !

[miguelvp]

>thier intent is to launch at a makerfaire

I realy dont understant that.

Would Dave launch eevblog on makerfaire ? How many at makerfaire do even use a pcb program  ? my gues is 0,1 %
 
 It is 2015 use the dam internet !

It doesn't matter what year it is, there will be a lot of eyes at makerfaire so they get more exposure if their target is makers, and of course it is.

Why do game companies announce their titles at E3?
Why do gadgets get announced at CES?
What about cars?

The internet is not going to change what makes more marketing sense.

[Bloch]

LOL OK let me see. Here is just a short list of companies that doing it wrong then.


Apple
Samsung
Facebook
Tesla

Even on the theamphour that it fairs is just a pissing content 

So all us that will not use thousands of dollars on a trip to makerfaire 2015. How will they convince us to use there software.

And that product was showcased on makerfaire 2013 and 2014. Have i heard off because it was on makerfaire ?

[miguelvp]

I can't see Altium doing their own Altium world anytime soon specially for just one product that is intended for makers.

If you don't follow makerfaire events then maybe you are not the target audience, but the so called makers do follow what goes on in there from their own homes.

Anyways, it's their marketing decision, I see nothing wrong with announcing it on a platform where most makers will have their eyes set on what happens in there.

And why does it matter where they announce it anyways? or is this just a hope that if they don't do it there you'll get your hands on the software earlier? without a hard date it might slip because they might think it's not ready.

Also, no one said you have to be there to get the software, just that it's going to be released at that time.

[ehughes]

How many at makerfaire do even use a pcb program  ?

My guess is that if you have to ask that question you have absolutely no idea what MakerFaire is all about and CM's target demographic.


Some people do actually leave their computers to go outside and interact with others (gasp) of the same ilk to talk tech, show off projects and have some fun. 

[Bloch]

>target demographic

Is it now that i hear the chanting usa usa usa usa


If you have  a product. And my guess is that they do. They are just setting it up to failure. All i see is using a LOT of money


Do anyone one know that it will cost them at maker fair? Just wait then they want more money    "But it SO expensive to give all this to you for free  "

[miguelvp]

Don't you worry, they'll make money out of CircuitMaker.  Their cost at MakerFair is just a drop in the bucket.

[DerekG]

Don't you worry, they'll make money out of CircuitMaker.  Their cost at MakerFair is just a drop in the bucket.

I don't believe they will. Now that the deal with Farnell & Circuit Studio has been done, CircuitMaker will fade far into the distance.

Its full release is already 6 months late.

The only reason CircuitMaker was ever on the cards was to keep Altium's shareholders happy.

Now that Circuit Studio has arrived, Altium will focus their shareholders instead on this.

[miguelvp]

How is it 6 months late? I never have seen a release date until now.
And what make you think that Circuit Studio has anything to do with the outcome? CS was probably green lit before CM.

I guess people think that announcing a product means it's going to be released within 2 months, but they clearly stated they were going to close beta and no release date was set until now.

[DerekG]

And what make you think that Circuit Studio has anything to do with the outcome? CS was probably green lit before CM.

If you have been following the Circuit Studio thread you would have read that Farnell only approached Altium after they heard about the upcoming release of CircuitMaker.

If you have been following the EAGLE threads, you will know that Farnell have jumped into bed with Altium as they are pretty unhappy with the development team at EAGLE over these past several years. EAGLE's user-base is getting older as few younger engineers take up their software.

Circuit Studio will definitely make money for both Altium & Farnell.

CircuitMaker is pie in the sky stuff that might bring in a little shrapnel at best. Altium will quickly learn that the effort involved with CircuitMaker is (was) a waste of their development team's time.

[miguelvp]

And what make you think that Circuit Studio has anything to do with the outcome? CS was probably green lit before CM.

If you have been following the Circuit Studio thread you would have read that Farnell only approached Altium after they heard about the upcoming release of CircuitMaker.

What makes you think that's the case? it was announced after but that doesn't mean a thing.
Then again, maybe Altium programmers are so good they can just whip out a full software package in just a couple of months

Also what makes you think that Circuit Maker upgrades won't be sold via E14 and it was all part of the deal?
I see no downside having a freemium version of Circuit Studio (Circuit Maker) what will not only help them attract more customers into purchasing Circuit Studio but it will give them a big installation base to find problems with the core design of the product.

Maybe you have inside information that the rest are not privy to.

But, yeah, it's all conjecture from my point of view and maybe  a bit of conjecture from yours?

[DerekG]

What makes you think that's the case? it (Circuit Studio) was announced after but that doesn't mean a thing.

I am a lot closer to the action than you might think & I know exactly what discussions went on.

Then again, maybe Altium programmers are so good they can just whip out a full software package in just a couple of months

No, they were just directed to put most of their efforts quickly into Circuit Studio. Remember, Farnell wanted it, Farnell were very enthusiastic for it & the business model put to Altium made it a profitable deal for both parties.

Also what makes you think that Circuit Maker upgrades won't be sold via E14 and it was all part of the deal?

Because it wasn't.

I see no downside having a freemium version of Circuit Studio (Circuit Maker) what will not only help them attract more customers into purchasing Circuit Studio but it will give them a big installation base to find problems with the core design of the product.

I don't disagree with you here, but some at Altium are already pessimistic about the true ability of CircuitMaker to make money. Publically they are "all smiles" but the reason for this is because they promised the shareholders that this was the way forward to increase their user base & make money. After 7 months they can hardly go back to them & say "we got it wrong".

Maybe you have inside information that the rest are not privy to.

You have hit the nail on the head.

[LabSpokane]

Any idea if Farnell might change its licensing to a subscription based model?  That would help take some of the sting out of it for us small 'taters folks. 

[DerekG]

Any idea if Farnell might change its licensing to a subscription based model?

The current arrangement is that you purchase Circuit Studio for a little less than US$3000 which includes any updates & customer support for the first 12 months.

If you read back through the Circuit Studio thread, you can see there is mention of a 15% discount

After the first 12 months, you can elect to pay annually to continue your access to upgrades & customer support.

Have a good read through
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/altium/altium-circuit-studio/
for more detailed information.

As far as a subscription-only model goes, yes it was discussed, but the preference was to work with a business model that Altium knew already worked.

A subscription-only model would have had to cost ~US$1000-$1200/year for the profit lines on the graphing model to cross. This was considered less appealing than the business model currently offered.

[ehughes]

Given that CM and CS are essentially the same program, it is kind of a moot point about the development costs.   They are the exact same shell instantiating the same objects.   there are just minor differences in a few odds and ends.   How else did you think they made  CS so quickly?   It certainly isn't a different code base than CM.