Graphix Advantage

[Jon Aston]

NO!!!!

Don’t do it!!!

Graphix Advantage is too old and tired to battle the XP dragon. You will need Gerber OMEGA if you want to run on XP. Talk to my friends at SPANDEX about a deal on an upgrade (I think they have some sort of special running).

[Brian Hays]

I was hoping not to have to spend lots of money on their Omega software, we only really use it for converting files to PLT & technical support with some of the prooducts we sell.

Sounds like i’ll have to give them a ring tomorrow & find out how much they are gonna make me part with 🙄

[Jon Aston]

The cost of keeping your systems (Software, hardware…Gerber or otherwise) up-to-date must seem a bit overwhelming at times…but the need for it is inevitable.

If you don’t mind a bit of well meaning advice: budget for it…even if it means raising all of your prices incrementally (ie. 2%) and banking the extra profit from every invoice.

[Phill Fenton]

Windows XP can be set up to work with software designed for older operating systems.

If you right click on the icon used to launch your program you will open a menu. Click on “properties” which opens another menu. Now click on “Compatability” and you can set the program to run compatible with windows 95, 98 me, NT4.0, or windows 2000. i.e if previously it ran under windows 98 without any problems – then setting compatabilty with windows 98 should ensure that it runs ok with XP.

The sofware designers prefer us to think that we need to upgrade older sign software to work with windows XP but I’m not convinced that this is the case.

[Jon Aston]

Phill (and anyone else you can name) knows more about the workings of ‘XP’ than I do…I’m just passing along the information I have.

There’s no conspiracy at work here…up until Gerber released a FREE OMEGA UPDATE to 1.56 (from 1.54), Gerber wouldn’t even recommend OMEGA for use with ‘XP’.

[Brian Hays]

Cheers I will try that Phill. As I said I only convert files from EPS to PLT with it so customers can open our files more easily.

I am going to call Spandex & see what it cost to upgrade anyway, in the unlikely event their upgrade price is reasonable then I will.

[Fat Bob]

Hi Brian

I thought you were a signlab Dealer I asumme you use it to drive an edge does e6 not do this and dont most sign packages convert eps to plt.

Regards ….Fb

[Brian Hays]

Gerber PLT is different than everbody elses PLT!! 😮

Qauntum/Cox? are the olnly Cadlink dealers allowed to sell their Thermal module, word is this could change soon. I don’t know how much truth there is in that though. 😕

[Bob Gilliland]

Brian,

Are your data files provided “at size” in .plt format with your product? And with proper “stacking” (or “z”) order? Not knowing much about your product, hence the reason for the questions.

And yes, Gerber’s .plt format is not the standard “plt” most others reference. And that file format is about to change yet again. It is nice to “save down” to diffrent plt versions, something that can’t be done with SignLabs cdl format. 🙁

And yes, time will tell…..

[Robert Lambie]

That’s a bit unfair is it not! Cox/quantim getting to be the only sellers of the new e6….
I think the way Cox has tackled the “oh we are now sellers of singlab e6″ is a bit of a joke. Its a bit like giving me the only rights to sell the program here in my shop 😮 😮 I don’t have the knowledge or experience, but I certainly do have more than the reps at cox! These guys were selling vinyl & plastics last week and now this week they swan about selling a £2000 software package and are the only ones allowed too into the bargain.. I’m not knocking them as sales reps for plastics and vinyl’s and the like… but software. Vinyl you lift off the shelf and hand someone, sheet plastics the same… software? Welllll………

Nah it’s not right… I don’t mean signlab cant say..”Ok your the only distributor because…” because what? Cox & others have now merged to become one of the biggest sign suppliers in the UK. Or because they have unrivalled sales, the best technicians, the most experienced signlab sales team in the UK.

If I spend £2000 I want to lift the phone and say “listen I have a problem & can you help” not for the reply to be. “eh, old on a min mate, till I get my manual out… 3 min pause… ah yeh.. Click the icon with the scissors.. Nah that’s not right.. Tell you what mate i’m in seeing someone wanting to open a vinyl account. Ill call you when I get back in the office… 😡

I know first hand that Cox gave a 1-2 day tutorial to existing sales staff & then handed them a laptop with e6 on it and said. “Right get out there and sell sell sell…” surely signlab have thought this through…

Oh well… ive had my rant and rave for the night.. 😕

[Bob Gilliland]

Robert,

I think perhaps Mr Aston will be able to add a few thoughts to this subject matter, as ND Graphix (part of Spandex, Spandex part of Gerber) is the exclusive distributor of Gerber branded products and services for all of Canada! While “I” from a consumer standpoint may not like the situation, “I” from a businessperson view understands and appreciates such policies, IF, and that’s a big IF in my eye, good policy is implemented and followed.

The downside of this arrangement, IMHO, is that the end customer can be abused to easily if the operational model is not thoroughly thought out and adhered to by all parties involved. And this can be happening long before it becomes apparent further up the food chain, then, often, it’s to late to correct.

Jon should be able to share some could real world “pro’s” and “con’s” to this operation.

[fluidedge]

Being fair to Cox they do have a guy working there with probably more sales experience of Signlab than most others in the UK. Tony Winterbottom, used to work for Signlab themselves.

Knows his stuff, although he did fail miserably to convert me away from Macs and Flexi a few years ago.

His kid is at the same school as one of mine, so if anyone has any Signlab gripes I would be pleased to collate them, print them out and hand them to him at the next parents evening!

[Robert Lambie]

i agree bob.. there is always 2 sides to every story. at the end of the day business is business… marketing this way may sell more but cause a few headaches along the way too…

i agree also mate.. ive met tony at signuk a few times.. fair enough he may now work for cox & amongst that a few other top notch, clued up signlab guys.. but cox etc have about 40+ depots all selling the software.. still hardly enough for that kind of support..

anyway ill not go on and on as i dont know enough about it all to keep knocking it.. im just basing my reply on having spoke to 2 of there sales guys.. one being a relative. so things may have improved, i dont know 🙄

[Brian Hays]

Robert, I think the reason they are at present the only people allowed to sell the thermal module is because apparently they put a lot of time & effort into helping Cadlink develop it. Doesn’t help much when 1 of our customers can get it from the States & not from us though 😕

Hopefully things will change soon and there will be far more choice on where & whom to buy it from. 🙂

[Robert Lambie]

call me dumb, but how could they do that?
not saying they havent, but i dont really understand how their people
would be in the position to show a software company how to improve on somthing, “i would imagine” know nothing about. possible that they helped finance it, who knows..?

i know bob gilliland worked closely on the thermal module project.
maybe bob would know?

bob? 😀

[Brian Hays]

I could be wrong that’s just what I have been told?

I think maybe they have a Gerber Edge in the UK & Cadlink certainly don’t (oops they do only just though) . Mind you I don’t think Cadlink have any programmers in the UK either. Maybe they just said that to pacify Cadlink dealers here. Who knows?!

Bob?!

[Bob Gilliland]

Well, this is quickly getting beyond my comfort level!

There were many involved to some degree with the Thermal module outside of CADlink proper. Some were a bit more involved then others, but every input, large or small, combined for a very robust initial product that is currently in the market place. I will verify that I was involved with the product prior to it’s release and made little attempt to hide that fact hear on this board.

I have never met nor spoken to Tony directly, but was involved with a “joint” project related in some capacity to the Thermal product. Yes, from what I hear, he is a very knowledgeable individual and can confirm that he is a former CADlink employee.

Beyond that, specifically to what equipment CADlink has or does not have at their various locations, programmers at and not at certain locations, and beta site names and locations world wide, and what is or is not happening from a distribution standpoint is “no comment” from me.

I don’t think it’s proper for me to repeat some known information, and other would be “speculation” and therefore not good for anybody consumption if typed out. I think some things will sort themselves out and become visible in the very near future, until then…

“I aint sayin nottin’ and aint’ spillin’ no beans!!”

One thing that I can say is that one of my companies, InKnowVative Communications, is in fact an authorized CADlink reseller. Since I have no desire to step on anyone’s toes here or break board rules, and that my participation here is to share knowledge and help fellow sign tradesmen (and women!) and to not “drive sales”, I’ll stop it at that. Well, maybe one little plug! We also are very proud to be the US contact and distribution partner for Mike the Signs “The Secret’s” CD. OK, now I’m done! 😮 😀

[Brian Hays]

But surely Bob like me you don’t have enough hair for a (?) (?) (!)

[Brian Hays]

Oooops Cadlink do have a Gerber Edge in th UK now, but they have only just got it. 😳 😳

[Jon Aston]

I cannot comment on the pro’s/con’s of someone else’s exclusive distribution arrangements…particularly if I’m not at all familiar with their organization.

Given the right circumstances, I believe that exclusive distribution agreements are good for the market, in general.

I suspect that more than a few people out there will disagree with me…perhaps speculating that manufacturers who grant exclusives somehow grant license to distributors to overcharge.

Debunking the “Exclusive distributors are evil, greedy, monopolistic, capitalist pigs” mythology…

For starters – and quite categorically – our customers make far more gross profit on any product they purchase from us than we do. This would logically hold true for all distributors…not just those with exclusives.

Secondly – all things being equal – when several distributors offer the same product: price inevitably becomes THE deciding factor in most signshops’ buying decision-making process. Now, before you start rubbing your hands together at the prospects of benefiting from a price war…consider the fact that developing and managing the service and support infrastructure for providing the level of service that you need to be successful requires investment.

Exclusivity allows the distributor to invest their profits freely…into such things as: R&D, inventory and other areas of operations like inventory management and distribution systems, demonstrations and communications to keep you informed about the latest and greatest ways of growing your business…and all of the other infrastructure necessary to support you…without the risk that “me to, but for less” competitors will negate any opportunity for return on that investment.

Exclusive distributors are typically (and quite rightly) held to higher standards by customers and manufacturers alike. We are forced to invest smartly, in order to be able to offer more value…or no-one will buy from us and ultimately the manufacturer will be forced to seek alternative channels to market.

We also have to remain price-competitive or signshops won’t even give us the opportunity to begin to discuss the inherent value and benefits of buying the (in our case: premium) products from us.

I’m fortunate to have enjoyed a career with an organization which continues to benefit from many long-standing exclusive arrangements — with leading vendors world-wide. To suppose that we managed to be this successful at the expense of our clients (ie. by “overcharging” them) would be truly ridiculous.

At the end of the day, the market will always decide which exclusive distribution arrangements are of real value to the market, and which aren’t, as the case may be.

[Robert Lambie]

Thanks Bob, thanks Jon 😉
I may be putting myself across wrong here, sorry! 😳
What I meant, had nothing to do with cost on the product or what it may be sold at, nor did it really have anything to do with giving any distributor sole rights to any product. I am fully aware we are all in business to make money, agreed! I am also aware lots of the bigger companies have better marketing strategies, staffing, experience and are financially stable into the bargain.
What I meant was….
I heard some time ago how they had went about selling this product from day one.
Basically, after a day or two briefing on the software. Their “already” vinyl & plastics sales team were each given a laptop and told to sell sell sell… fair enough. Business is business, like I said. If signlab don’t mind giving such an excellent tool to be sold by tom, dick & Harry then that’s fine by me..
But after hearing Brian say they are sole distributors of this product, I was miffed to say the least!
Not because the company is unreliable or anything like that but purely down to the end users are the ones to suffer..
Keeping this to a minimum and not wanting to elaborate on my minimal knowledge on this matter.

if a small sign company saved its good money to fork out on one of the best ever sign software.
It is in “my” eyes a bit unfair that the only people they can approach are the ones with very limited knowledge on the product. Especially when there are lots of experienced software distributors around.

If these sales guys are just the same vinyl & plastic sales team…

Do they have the same sales guy training you, as they do selling you it?
Do they have the same sales guy giving you after sales support & advice, as they do selling you it?

Well I don’t know the answers to those two questions. but I hope they have drafted software specialists in for this
As this is the least we would expect for our good money.

[Brian Hays]

That’s all well & good Jon, if they go about it that way from the start.

As it is we have many customers who have purchased Signlab from us since we have been selling it for the past 5 years or so. Many of these hopefully would like to continue purchasing from us, we have a fair amount of experience with Signlab. I myself worked for Cadlink & The Electric Studio before that. Many of our customers for whatever reason do not want to deal with Quantum/Cox Plastics, these same customers have Gerber Edges & have PC60/600’s. Where does that leave them? IF I hadda invetsed 1,000’s in software & was suddenly being told I could no longer buy adds on to that software from my trusted supplier I would be more that a little miffed as well.

Anyway dunno quite how we got to here when I only asked a question about Advantage software (!) 🙄

[Steve Broughton]

Bob & John don’t worry its just normal British scepticism, hows that rap tune go “Don’t believe the hype!!!” just typical Rip Off Britain, this is the bit that worries me though:- “Well, maybe one little plug! We also are very proud to be the US contact and distribution partner for Mike the Signs “The Secret’s” CD. OK, now I’m done! “ he’s after world domination he is!! watch out Mike or ol’ George Dubbyah will be after you too, first Iraq then Oxfordshire 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

[Jon Aston]

Gents:

After reading the comments that followed, I re-read my “thesis” concerning exclusive distribution arrangements being good for the market…and can see how it might be misconstrued as being somewhat defensive. That wasn’t the intent, at all! I only weighed into this discussion in response to Bob G’s invitation to comment on the subject.

As my opening comments suggested, I am completely and utterly ignorant of the market in Great Britain and so I couldn’t comment on the particulars of the topic…and — based on your description of the situation, Robert — I agree with you.

Perhaps the newly exclusive distributor in question is paying attention and will hire some specialists. If they don’t, they probably won’t be able to maintain their exclusive in the long-run.

[tony winterbottom]

I know Im posting this a little late, but I only saw the conversation yesterday, Id just like to clarify a few points.
Cox Plastics do not nor ever had exclusive rights on the ‘edge ready’ signlab 6.1, its just we were the only dealer on the market to see the opportunity and embrace it, we spent a lot of time helping CADlink develop the product while in beta, we invested in a Gerber Edge
and of course we are ideally placed as a group to locate the edge users in the market as we sell 3rd party foils. so we are ahead of any other dealer in terms of the thermal product offering a choice other than Gerber

to clarify our sales training program, my move from CADlink to Cox Plastics was to head up the software sales and training program
this is no overnight task but i can assure you it was and is more than a 2 day session, we have an internal branch champion on signlab at every branch in the country who are backed up by myself and 2 other tech guys.

Signlab does not need a bank of tech support guys, it never has
it is a very strong product requiring very little support
a good indication of its quality.

our sales team are continually learning the product, some of course are better than others, but hey we all have to start somewhere

we are committed to providing a quality solution. software, foils , vinyl and plotters at competitive prices

if we sell the customer the wrong package or dont provide him with the correct aftersales support is he still going to buy consumables from us ?

No, we would damage our core business

we see software as only the enabler for on going business where as most other dealers see it as a one off sale, they have no reason to contact the customer after the sale.

finally to answer the question, most customer training is carried out by myself, 15years experience and if not by me then the sales guy is usually accompanied by me until I feel he can offer the training at a good level on his own.

now we have cleared that up, to end on a more positive tone if any of you guys do need any signlab help I am more than happy to help

regards, tony winterbottom

[Brian Hays]

quote tony winterbottom:

Id just like to clarify a few points.
Cox Plastics do not nor ever had exclusive rights on the ‘edge ready’ signlab 6.1

Strange then that we cannot buy it for our customers, no other Cadlink dealer I have spoken to can either. Strange also that anybody that calls Cadlink direct is told that they can only buy it from Cox. Strange that your sales people have also told customers of ours that you are the only people they can buy the module from.

(?) (?)

[tony winterbottom]

then your issue lies with CADlink…
I personally dont see why you shouldn’t have it. if you are up to speed on the thermal printing process and the benifits signlabs thermal module offers and you know where the edges are buried, go for it…

[Robert Lambie]

quote :

i can assure you it was and is more than a 2 day session

i dont know how long you have been at cox mate, but i can assure you i do not post on this site without my info coming from a good source.
my info comes from one of there own reps, he wasnt knocking cox in any way. but was complaining about the new aproach to his day to day role.
having been with them for a good while, he was sort of settled. if thats the right way to put it.
then the merge came and then the changes.. his complaint was..
“i sell vinyls & plastics, im not great at working a computer, never mind selling software and showing how it all works” “1-2 day tutorial and then im handed a laptop” to as he says “sell sell sell” yes he maybe exaggerating, but! he was thinking of changing job on this very complaint… so it makes you wonder 🙄

anyway.. if things are all on the ball like you have said then cox/signlab have nothing to worry about. 😕 thanks for clearing up some areas of this string of posts. 😉

[Phill Fenton]

quote tony winterbottom:

Signlab does not need a bank of tech support guys, it never has
it is a very strong product requiring very little support

How very re-assuring. 🙄 One of the reasons I chose to buy Signlab a couple of years ago was because Scanvec Amiable in their wisdom decided to drop Casmate Pro (my software of choice) and now no longer support it!!. This means if I get a problem with the software – I can’t get it fixed!! Anyone spending a couple of thousand pounds on software expects to get proper technical support.

This is typical of the attitude of big business – get the product sold – talk the talk – but do they really care about servicing the end user properly (-)

[tony winterbottom]

I believe some of us do care (very much)
I have been selling software for a long time and believe in the product I sell ( Ive got to be carefull here, Rob will think Im trying to sell you something 😉 )

if over the years I hadn’t looked after my customers i wouldn’t be able
to sell to them today !

admitadly perhaps not all suppliers have this attitude
but I am sure you could analise all industries and find the same situation

[tony winterbottom]

Rob, re your post, there is a saying, ‘sometimes you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ which fits the bill with whom your talking about..
and I know he wont mind me saying so, I have a very good relationship with him
I have been working with Cox prior to the merger when they were Quantum so about 4 years in all,

rest assured they are not all of the same opinion or tech level as you know who! 😉

[Phill Fenton]

Oh dear – I think someone’s going to be in the ‘doghouse’ now 😆 😆 😆

[tony winterbottom]

not at all.. my contributions on this site are my own and are not necessarily the opinions of the company I work for…

there is also another saying, ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’
so whatever happens within this forum doesnt overflow into my working role (unless of course there a sale to be had, rob 😉 )

[Phill Fenton]

So he’s not in the doghouse 😥 and there won’t be a vacancy at Cox in the near future for an experienced sales rep with knowledge of Signlab then

[tony winterbottom]

Im not saying anymore.. if the guy gets the sack or made redundant
your all going to think it was me 😮

when could you start (?) (?)

only joking 😀

[Robert Lambie]

Not a problem Tony,
I don’t really think someone can get the sack because they are not entirely happy with
their “new” day-to-day role. As long as they do it, they can’t be sacked! (Unfair dismissal) 😀
It doesn’t make them any better at selling software though. In this case I don’t think it’s a case of teaching a dog new tricks. More like teaching a dog to meoww like a cat. 😉
I don’t think you know who I’m on about anyway.. Maybe you do!.. Who knows? But…
🙄 As for keeping things being kept here on the boards. Well, I do know various folk from Cox visit the site.
They have enquired about advertising and also being a supplier to the UKSG. “also supplying Signlab to the group, via Cox”
I really think you would be surprised by the amount of suppliers that visit this site, but are not registered & do not post.
One of the reason I don’t tolerate blatant advertising in posts. It degrades the site & clogs posts full of tacky replies. 🙄

[fluidedge]

Glad to see that Tony has added his not inconsiderable weight to this discussion!

On the subject of whether or not it is right for a company to have an exclusive on a product, I can remember the 80’s when you could only buy a Grafix 4 from Spandex in the UK unless you grey imported and saved around £4000.

Similarly, when Flexisign first appeared it was Granthams that did all the early running and beta testing. Once the product was ‘right’ everyone else started clamouring to sell it. Because of the relationship with Granthams, Amiable directed all UK reseller enquiries back to them.

Unlike Spandex, Granthams then selectively allowed other resellers to market and sell the product. If it is the case with Cox that only they have an exclusive to sell this thermal thingy, then can’t they offer terms to other qualified resellers?

Their time and investment can then be recouped, plus Cadlink will sell more product.

Just a thought…

[Bob Gilliland]

Jon,

Thanks for the reply. Although not always “happy” about such market arrangements from a consumer standpoint, I fully appreciate and understand it from a “business owner” standpoint.

Robert,

quote :

It degrades the site & clogs posts full of tacky replies.

Are you talking about me again!?!? Funning with you mate!! 😀

Brian,

Did you ever get a solid answer to your original question??

[Phill Fenton]

Wot I would like to know is… does signlab e6 run on windows xp 😉

[Brian Hays]

Don’t do it UPGRADE! Spend MONEY! What else is it for after all?

😉

[tony winterbottom]

yes, signlab 6 runs on XP,
you may have to reload the hasp driver for the dongle, but only in extreme cases

just back from an XP install infact today

tony

[J. Hulme]

Yes Signlab works fine on XP
didn’t need the HASP driver for the laptop running Home edition, but did for when I changed to the desktop computer running XP pro.
I changed from 98 as I needed a really stable OS for this type of work and 98 crashed too frequently for my liking.

And I do (like Becky)still have problems with E6 crashing, mainly on cleaning up nodes, I have learn’t the hard way to save every minute or so, I’ve lost count on the amounts of times I’ve cleaned an image up perfectly to lose it all at once.Tried autosave but found it more trouble than its worth.

Cheers

[tony winterbottom]

what build of e6 are you running ?, you can find out under the help menu / about signlab, and then press the Alt and R key, this will bring up the actual build.

the other thing to check is whether your running under polyarc or polygon mode, found under General prefs, I always run in the old fashioned polygon mode and dont experience the level of crashes you tlk about
but its more than likely to be a build thing

let me know
tony

[Brian Hays]

Errrr I think Phill was joking (?) (?) (!)

[J. Hulme]

Hi tony

I’m using Signlab e6 version 6,
rev 1,
build 12.

I think I have the latest upgrade installed
though I think i’ll now go and have a look if there’s been any minor upgrades since last year

Cheers

[Henry Barker]

Just thought I would say Hi to Tony W. We met on the Textman stand at SignScandinavia a few years ago. I bought Signlab 5 Colormaster as a crossgrade, have since upgraded to E6. But as in having a hard time to teach “an old dog new tricks” I am still using my Gerber Omega, I was beta testing the 1.56 before it was released. with the best will in the world and trying to make use of my investment….I want to get into Signlab more especially as we run an Edge here now….but it finding the time!! It seemed so easy when you demonstrated it! Its more a case of the devil you know.

Glad to see you posting here, might have some questions for you from time to time!

All the best,

Henry

[tony winterbottom]

a blast from the past (!) Hi Henry, I hope your well, I remember the demo..
if your getting stuck there is a Signlab made easy CD you could try,
call Kenneth @ textman or you could call Lars @ Uddesen.

I see your situation a lot which I must admit find difficult to understand,

signmakers purchase a new piece of software at a substantial cost,
usually because it does things their existing package doesnt or makes things easier, then very rarely make use of it, struggling on with the old software
this surely contradicts the reason they bought the new package in the first place ?

my advise Henry, make some time to play around with the package, it won’t be long before your comfort level with it grows and you will be making signs like ‘ mike ‘ 😮 😉

nice to hear from you, happy to help if I can..
this could turn into a world wide TW reunion thing (!)

tony

[tony winterbottom]

Hi Outline,
there is a Signlab 6.1 maintenance build
which supercedes your rev 12. its a new CD, not a patch
so you will have to get it from either your dealer or CADlink direct in the UK.

tony

[CMYanko]

quote rightsigns:

Windows XP can be set up to work with software designed for older operating systems.

If you right click on the icon used to launch your program you will open a menu. Click on “properties” which opens another menu. Now click on “Compatability” and you can set the program to run compatible with windows 95, 98 me, NT4.0, or windows 2000. i.e if previously it ran under windows 98 without any problems – then setting compatabilty with windows 98 should ensure that it runs ok with XP.

The sofware designers prefer us to think that we need to upgrade older sign software to work with windows XP but I’m not convinced that this is the case.

Compatibility modes are limited in there ability. Basicly it is just a list of things that the OS will lie about to an app (or more accurately, re-direct request). An example might be a request for an ICC profile. The folder these are kept in has moved around over the years with MS so a call for Windows\System\Color (the old 9x location) will be quietly re-directed to the XP location. Unfortunately there are other more severe changes in the OS that would preclude GA from running well on XP.

Trying compatibility mode is at least worth the effort though. There is even a compatibility utility on the XP CD that will give a detailed report about an apps behaivior and it’s compatibility needs for XP. I have run it with the OMEGA product but never tried the old GA apps.

[Phill Fenton]

As I have already said:-

“The sofware designers prefer us to think that we need to upgrade older sign software to work with windows XP but I’m not convinced that this is the case.”

In my own experience, I have discovered that software that I was advised by the original vendors was incompatable with windows XP – can actually run on this OS without any discernable problems. All I am suggesting here is don’t fall for the official line – try it for yourself and see if it works. Yes I’m sure there are compatabilty issues – but the designers use this to persuade us to buy new software.

A much more devious example from my own experience is this:-

Sage Instant Accounting – (A first class accounting package) was deliberately designed in the mid 1990’s not to recognise the year 2000. (The “So called – “Millenium Bug”).

Why on earth should an item of software – designed in the mid 90’s to run under windows 3.1 (windows 3.1 was not short of memory) not recognise the year 2,000. However – this software wouldn’t work once a companies year started or ended after the year 2000. This forced all of their users to buy an upgrade in order to keep using the program.

The “Millenium Bug” was a perfect example of the way software designers fool the general public into spending millions of pounds on upgrading software.

I believe this (“The Millenium Bug” 😆 ) was a total disgrace – Our own British Government was even taken in by it all and spent millions of pounds telling is all about the problem which was deliberately created by the big software companies in the first place. Fortunately for them (the British government) – a “flu epidemic” 😉 hit the country in January 2000 which took over all the news and allowed the potential embarrasment about the “millenium bug” to be brushed under the carpet. 🙄

I’m not being wise after the event – I said it was all a big con (The “Millenium Bug” 😆 ) at the time – even before the turn of the century.

My point is this:-

I’m convinced that software companies deliberately cripple their products to force upgrades in the future. No other industry would get away with this unchallenged

[Kevin.Beck]

Manufacturing a product, with a built in life span, is nothing new.

The motor car indusrty have been doing it for years. With products like “starter motors” some have been found with a fault manufactured in them, so they fail after so many turns of the key..

Whats to say, that the software programs, haven`t got a “built in” bug. That is releasted after a certain peroid of time!!!!!

makes you think.

[tony winterbottom]

your all paranoid 😉
when software is developed or written,
it is impossible to write code for an OS that doesnt exist at the time

if you were to write a program today, how could you possibley
predict the way an operating system will function in 2010 ??

software communicates to the OS in certain ways,
if the OS / Microsoft change the way they perform a task
then you can no longer expect the software to function correctly

there may be workarounds and you may be lucky
as soon as OS changes are made the software vendor will plan to take advantage of the new OS benifits usually at a time when they can also implement new features etc. its no mre sinister than that.

[Phill Fenton]

Okay – fair comment Tony. I understand the logic behind what you are saying. For me to say that all software companies deliberately cripple their software is a bit extreme. And I have to admit that I don’t really believe that companies like Cadlink would do that sort of thing. 😀

However – the example I gave about Sage Instant Accounting is true – and I still maintain that in that particular case it was a deliberate ploy. 😡

I also still think that the developers prefer us to believe there are more problems with compatabilty issues then there really are. They don’t lie to us – but they do not bother to pass on certain information in the hope that people will upgrade to a newer (and presumably better) product. For example – Scanvecs official website advises Casmate users to upgrade to Flexisign – rather than offer suggestions as to how their older software can be set up to run on a new computer. Even a simple solution such as installing an older operating system on a new PC is never mooted as a possible solution (this may not be a good solution – but it is at least a possibility). Or other suggestions such as setting XP to emulate an older OS. These possibilities are simply not passed on even though they must be obvious to the developers who are much more informed about these issues than the typical end user. 😀

[davidfx]

As I have been led to understand, is that the older versions that have problems with the security Dongle devices, like those wih GA 4.2 etc.

These are what have the compatability issues. (?)