Designer 3.0 costs what?

[lynnfrwd]

Only if you import a DXF. You can also use the drawing tools.

[ktjwilliams]

This is bogus !!! As 1 said a heads up that this was coming would-a been nice !! Another guy referred to the IPhone alwayz being upgraded ... He failed to mention all the updated software for the phone is free !!! Prior to 2.0 the designer updates were free .... Now it seems there's going to be an annual fee ... It's annoying that there is other software I wanted but passed recently to get 2.XXX ,, Only now to find out that it's outta date at 2 months old .... 2 Months ago 3.0 was well in the works and I could-a been given a heads up to wait a month or 2 ...

[TerryT]

Terry. Then what about that person that bought 2.5 months ago. There will never be a satisfactory cut off date. It is what it is.

Yeah, I guess. As has been said already, you don't HAVE to buy 3. Personally I find that 1.86 still works just fine for me.

[lynnfrwd]

Your floor feathering issue was made an option a long time ago.

[TerryT]

Sorry Connie. I wasn't quick enough on the edit. But yes, it was made an option but only if you bought 2.0. 1.87 is still flawed (in my opinion).

[lynnfrwd]

Like 12-14 new features now...I would think an upgrade would be pretty tempting.

[Durtdawber]

So will 2.0 be free to all users now as was stated when 2.0 came out? One release back would stay free.

Great question...where is the link for the free download of 2.0? It was stated that the previous version would become the free version when 2.0 came out.

[CW-HAL9000]

Don't hold your breath, I don't think 2.0 will be free for many years, if ever. I like all the new upgrades and rotary jigs and such but I can't afford them. I think the software is becoming more profitable for the company than the hardware and as long as there are those who buy the latest and greatest as soon as it is released and can afford it, CW will keep going with this new business model. I only buy what I absolutely need for the paying projects I have upcoming. I waited a year to buy centerline and only then when a sign required it. I paid for it with the profits from the sign and have used it to make money ever since. Based on that I want the rotary jig, but I don't need it. I would have bought it already though just for fun but when I found out I had to buy 2.0 to use it I got that purchase out of my head.

[Dale]

Here we go again!. In case the new guys do not know we went through this whole thing last year when 2.0 came out. There were several hundred messages to the thread and several people got their messages deleted which really caused a stir. We lost one of our very respected members over this. Like it or not this is the company's policy. If you want the newest, greatest thing you will have to pay for it. My wife has an embroidery program which comes out with an upgrade every year or so and it is handled the same way, the only difference is the price is around $1800. Lucky for me she sees no need to upgrade. Now I do agree that it would be nice to be notified in advance that an upgrade will be available soon but I guess we can count on something new beling released at the conference.

Just my thoughts.

[brdad]

And yet I can show you free basic software (advanced is a <$100 fee) for slightly different hardware which bugs and quirks are fixed often in both the base and advanced software. And remember the Carvewright is is a machine which is not recommended or warranted for commercial or industrial use which IMO puts it in a different class than higher end equipment. I am also guessing the software for the embroidery machine is not specific to the machine. If your wife chooses to change brands of embroidery machine, she likely can use the software with the new machine, as well as having the option of using less expensive software with the machine she currently uses.

For those reasons I don't think there is much to compare the CW software and pricing to other devices. IMO the CW is a small town kid trying to play in the big city. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does create challenges for both LHR and the end users.

I'll likely never be impressed with LHR's pricing structure, but the vector groups do make me want to get V3. I'll hold off until I need it, am assured the vector groups do what I want, and I am convinced any bugs and quirks are fixed.

That being said, are any of the 2.x bugs and quirks been fixed in 3.x? Can we load all of our patterns and projects in their proper directories without crashing or slowing down the system? Are the release notes available?