I don't think Nick is grumpy either. What I do think is that those of us in the part of the world where you pour a beer DOWN into a glass saw his use of the word "polite" as having a different meaning. It was interpreted (here in North America) as meaning that it is okay to be disrespectful when discussing issues encountered with eCabinets. I believe, after rereading the thread a couple of times, that Nick was simply saying that not bluntly discussing issues with eCabinets does not help with getting them addressed. In other words, don't use a sugar coating.Neville Bastian wrote:...I don't think Nick is grumpy. You guys don't know what its like being at the bottom of the world or "Down Under". Pouring a beer is a real mission...
As Nick agreed in his last post, we must be polite and respectful in our interactions with each other but that does not mean that issues shouldn't be discussed. If the issues are not discussed, and feedback is not given via eCabinets, issues will not be addressed.
Lets analyze the cost aspect a bit. First off, the "cost" being discussed is Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as opposed to purchase price.
One must add the purchase price to the investment of time in order to arrive at numbers that can be compared (TCO).
Some are saying that eCabinets is not free and that they have paid dearly for it. They may have invested time in learning to use the software and more time in figuring out work arounds for issues encountered, but eCabinets is most certainly free.
You would have at least a similar amount of time invested in learning to use any other software package. You would likewise have an investment of time learning work arounds with any other software package.
Now, given that the investment of time will be at least close, you still have to pay hard cash for other software packages. That drives the TCO much higher for them than with eCabinets.
Those that have purchased a Thermwood CNC, likewise did not pay for eCabinets. They invested time learning the software, but they did not pay for the software. This still keeps TCO far lower than with other software packages.
Is eCabinets perfect? No. In my 30+ years in the computer industry I have NEVER seen software without issues. In that same time I have never seen a software company that responds to users in the same manner as Thermwood does. Just to drive this point home, try to get Microsoft to fix bugs with any of their software. After paying $90 USD for the privilege of speaking to a human, they will do their utmost to put blame for the issue squarely on your shoulders, knowing that it is a bug in the software. Once they get a few hundred thousand complaints on the same issue, they MIGHT address it.
Lets not lose sight of the caliber of company we are dealing with in Thermwood.
Retouching on the original intent of Nick's concerns, I agree--bugs should be corrected before new features are introduced. Some minor bugs with acceptable work arounds can be elevated to major bugs by introduction of a new feature.
What I would like to see with version 6 is a complete decoupling of the components of eCabinets. There is no good reason that each component could not, and should not, be a separate stand-alone program. Some users never use the Display Part Editor. Some never use the Part Editor. Some never use Custom Layout and some never use the Line Drawing Editor. Some never use the Door/Drawer Front Designer.
In my opinion, changing everything to operate in a stand-alone environment would greatly reduce the computer resource requirements and would allow bugs to be addressed more quickly and efficiently.