Just FYI, Alibre has been aquired by 3D systems

[cjdavis618]

Got this email today.

Alibre Inc. Acquired by 3D Systems
Today I am very pleased to share with you that we have been acquired by 3D Systems, a leading global provider of 3D content-to-print solutions including 3D printers, print materials and on-demand custom parts services for professionals and consumers alike.

I believe that this development is completely consistent with our strategy to democratize access and accelerate adoption of affordable 3D design productivity solutions that are designed to empower professionals and consumers to create, test, and make in 3D. As a valuable customer, you are an integral part of our history and our future.

I am deeply grateful to you for your continued support and belief in our products and direction. Your loyalty enabled us to successfully expand our portfolio of affordable design productivity tools and marketplace presence to over 50 countries. A question many of you will have is what this means for you as an Alibre customer. Powered by 3D Systems' resources, technologies and global reach, we plan to expand the breadth and reach of the Alibre design productivity tools and bundles even further. We are empowered more than ever before to consistently deliver affordable, high quality 3D productivity solutions.

I appreciate your continued loyalty to our company and as part of 3D Systems I look forward to serving all of your 3D design-to-manufacturing needs. Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions about this development or go to 3D Systems | Rapid Prototyping, Advance Digital Manufacturing, 3D Printing, 3-D CAD to learn more.
Paul Grayson
Chairman and CEO
Alibre Inc.

[hercules]

Well that explains the recent legal notice that they sent out to all users about license enforcement and also the signigifant increase in Maintenance fees that went into effect a couple of months ago. Seems they were tuning the company and enhancing future revenue projections to entice a new owner. Good for Alibre management and the Venture Capital owners, bad for us users that have already laid our money out.

[dan j]

Well that explains the recent legal notice that they sent out to all users about license enforcement and also the signigifant increase in Maintenance fees that went into effect a couple of months ago. Seems they were tuning the company and enhancing future revenue projections to entice a new owner. Good for Alibre management and the Venture Capital owners, bad for us users that have already laid our money out.

? As someone who was considering Alibre I'm bothered by what you're saying. Can you give some specifics? Downgraded software? What's the big deal about the license enforcement? The Maintenance Fees do seem like a lot; are they necessary?

Thank you

[hercules]

The legal notice went to all users and was pretty much just a restatement of the Licensing Policy which is basically one user per license, with the program able to be loaded on up to three computers at a time. Pretty straight forward stuff. Moving licenses around with Alibre is really easy, they do a good job at that if your computer ever dies or if you just want to move to a new machine.

The maint fees were bumped up earlier in the year. If I remember right it was about $199 per year for maintenance and that was bumped to $299. A big bump for existing users but still a reasonable deal in my opinion.

I use my Alibre Expert a lot and I love it. It is very user friendly. I wouldn't shy away from it if I were you.