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Alibre 2 CamBam Bridge
Microsoft Zune Software Update
I plugged my Zune in a couple of minutes ago to recharge it. It insisted that it install a software update, which required a reboot. There was a warning that if I did not apply the update I could no longer use my Zune, so I went ahead. Since the reboot; Yahoo messenger quit sending and receiving SMS messages to a particular number. Oh and my favorite; I deleted 1 album from my collection. Next thing I know every music item I had on my server, 6 years worth, is gone - and immediately syned to my Zune so it is deleted from there as well. I doubled checked on the server - all the folders are still there, but content is gone. Very nice Microsoft, my Zune is now in the trash can. I refuse to get an iPod since I hate Apple 50 times as much as Microsoft.Really disgusted with paid support
While I love Alibre design, and am impressed with it's developers, the support has been incredibly frustrating. Initially I bought V11.2 for $99 and added the $299 support contract. 2 weeks into it I encountered a problem with the 'free' CAM add-on, which turned out not to be a problem as much as conflicting documentation. Anyhow, I canceled support as they were never able to explain the problem to me, and instead kept saying it was something I was doing wrong. 2 Months later V12 came out. I decided to get maintenance for upgrade purposes. I called and was told "you can upgrade for $1200." "But I can buy it new with maintenance for $400 and have two licenses" I said. "Ok, we can offer you maintenance for your V11.2 copy for $400." "Why in the world would I want to spend $400 and only have one license, when I can spend $400 and have 2? You must have a better deal than that?" "Nope. that's the best we will do for you." "Idiots!" I then proceeded to buy V12 with maintenance on the web for $400 and now have 2 licenses, one of which I could give an employee.OK, so last week I upgraded my computer from 64 bit Vista to 64 bit Windows 7. Alibre quit working. No problem, I have paid support. Paid support's response? "You must be doing something wrong." I am getting tired of this, I have paid 3 times the product cost 2 times now and received nothing. No effort, no solutions. If this was a free support line I could see it, but $300 for support and nothing?
Here is the latest screenshot; Am I the idiot here?
(BTW, I did not type, I copied and pasted)
Anyhow, at this point I no longer have access to Alibre Applications (that I paid for) and will not be doing any further development on them.
Update:
J# second edition was installed as part of the new .Net (4.0)
You stated that the requirement for J# 2.0 (not second edition) is documented in the product requirements, however the only thing stated is that J# runtime is required of which second edition is. There are notes in V11.2 documentation, but not V12 concerning J# 2.0 vs. second edition.
.Net 4 will be mass installed in the very near future - you are going to have to fix this problem real soon. Seems to me like this incident should remain open until then.
After determining that I did not require J# second edition as part of my current development efforts (.Net 4.0) I uninstalled it. After re-installation Alibre did function properly.
I would also like to know what I need to do differently to get professional support when I first open an incident. This is twice now I have gotten "its your fault" from tech support without working to understand the problem. Eventually the problem was discovered, but getting there was far from professional. This is NOT acceptable for paid support.
CNC Simulator
Making some progress. Most of the concept code for the mill part is done. Huge thanks to Mike from http://www.newgrounds.com/. He probably saved me a weeks work by spotting stupid things I was doing in OpenGL. I'd say about 1/3 of the code needed to do full BSP CSG is completed, it's going much better this time.CnCGo Screen Capture
1/5/10 Update: CSG is in pretty good shape. Anyone have some C# code for extruded polygons?
CnCGo CSG Operations
1/9/10 Update: Screen capture using unoptimized routines - works as expected! Now I need to do polygon simplification and segment result caching - at least I think that is what I need to do.
CnCGo Screen Capture 2
The Year in Review
An interesting year it was, to say the least...Spiked3 Pictures of 2009
Got to love them tax collectors
I am currently on disability from a heart that wanted to stop badly in 2007. I have a pacemaker, but it doesn't 'fix' the problem, it just keeps it beating. Despite my doctor telling me there was ample evidence to support permanent disability I had to appeal for 3 years to social security before receiving disability benefits. While waiting, I tried to find potential employment that I could perform, and I obtained a federal gun smithing license. Part of that process involved registering with the dept of revenue, TN. Once I received my disability I shut down the gun smithing business, having never made 1 cent of profit. I filed the closing paperwork with the department of revenue, and included a penalty for it being late. I received a notice of overpayment, and a week later a notice that they had taken $637 dollars out of my checking account, without any legal process because I had made, in their estimation, $7000. WTF? Then today I read about how the department of revenue was diverting funds from one county to a local city - guess what city? It just happens to be where the department of revenue is located. What do you think? Responsible government? I am still paying bounced check fees because of it, and no one has bothered to put the money back.
Click on image for a larger copy
New: Alibre Design to CamBam Bridge
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| An external Alibre Design add-on that allows photo realistic rendering of your design images using the free POVRay ray tracer. You still need to use another program like Bishop 3D to edit the scene in order to place Cameras, lights, and work with materials, or if you are adventurous do it by hand. The results rival other $1000+ programs, for free. |
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