Now this is what seems to me pure advertising with no contribution to the general thrust of what Orchid is about. This should be at the least off line. Or should be paid advertising. And this is the company (person) that sent out annoying personal emails under the pretext that it was an individual asking for help. Troubling!
Kevin, I tend to agree with you that blatant and somewhat
unscrupulous advertising is discomforting, however I am needing more
on this emerging technology. From my own experience as
a computer user I know that it pays to be very well informed about
the technology before committing to a purchase. Several years back
one of our neighbors purchased a point of sale system for her book
store. She spent $30,000, which she later found out was $28,000
more than a similar, equally problem plagued product. One only has
to look to the recent software advances in fields like 3D games and
Video editing to know that revolutionary changes to jewelry specific
software programs are imminent.
One of the reasons there is such variation in the abilities and
pricing of the available options is because we jewelers, as a
general rule don’t have the time to spend on a steep learning curve.
For many of us, we need quick return on our investment, so we are
willing to pay exorbitant rates for what we know is 5 year old
technology as long as we can make money with our investment. You can
bet that the recent Emmy and Grammy awards for movies made on Apple
desktop computers were not using 5 year old software.
I am currently working with a relatively simple but effective, and
profitable 3 axis system, but have yet to settle on the design
package. I will probably spend 8 hours per week for the next 10
years working on computer design. That is about 4000 hours. I need
to make the right decision and purchase the right software that will
keep us on the leading edge of technology.
I feel that many of the software developers are accustomed to
operating in the corporate arena. Companies like Ford or Lockheed
have hundreds of designers working together, with special
departments set up for technology evaluation and training. With so
many designers under one roof the developer - user dynamics are so
much different than in our industry where independent designers are
the norm. The software developers simply have not been providing
the lay person with adequate to make an informed
purchasing decision.
What I ultimately hope to find is a set of design and RP/milling
software that is positioned to stay in the forefront of technology.
Hopefully a package that runs on various different platforms. When
Apple abandoned their old operating system and replaced it with the
new unix based OSX, there were many bugs to be worked out as the
idea of backwards compatibility was abandoned. Personally I don’t
need backwards compatibility I want the new stuff.
I need extensive video training. When Total Training made their
Photoshop_5 training tapes, the tutorials were 38 hour long. Many
of the techniques they demonstrated are now still relevant years
later. I need to see, not only how the software commands work, but
how those techniques apply to the actual milling or RP of each
piece. I enjoy developing new ways of making things. Knowing the
tips and tricks that others have used is imperative, to innovation.
With adequate video training I would soon become a productive
contributor to the art, instead of another poor soul stuck on the
learning curve.
In December one of the software firms asked for assistance in giving
away 400 licenses of their software to US schools. My experience
with school was that most people attend, not to learn, but because
they need the piece of paper that proves they submitted to the
requirements. Traditionally software companies give discounts and
freebies to schools and students, it is “standard practice”. There
may be plenty excellent school settings and enthusiastic teachers
out there, yet the overbearing nature of most educational
institutions breeds mediocrity. I am not looking for a long term
relationship with a “standard business practice” firm. Rather I
looking for that company that realizes that business as usual is not
going to carry us through the rapid changes currently underway in
this field.
So I suggest to these software developers:
Put your product in the hands of interested parties who are ready
and able to use in this technology. Put your product into the hands
of established artisans whose body of knowledge we celebrate on this
forum. Let them, the Orchidians, evaluate and advise on your
products.
It would be easy to look through past posts to make up your lists of
worthy metal smiths. I suggest we each get a year long trial from
each of the advertising developers. Then at years end we will have
unbiased reports about which package suits which need.
I will be ready to start evaluations in September.
Sincerely Martin