#5
The free demo version was uploaded to my site this afternoon for my inspection and I anticipate it to be available to the public tomorrow. After considerable evaluation of which version should be offered as the free demo it was decided that the latest IntelliCAD 2000 version was to be used. The following options were looked at:

1. Offer IntelliCAD 2001 version as free demo download, but this would not be beneficial for the company for obvious reasons or fair to our many customers who have purchased the LT version.

2. Offer IntelliCAD 2001 version as free demo download on a time limited trial basis, but this would not be beneficial for our supporters who prefer to use only the free download.

3. Offer the latest version of IntelliCAD 2000 LT with no time limit on use, which seems to be beneficial for both company and supporters. This version has many improvements over the current free demo.

I hope our demo users understand our reasoning for not offering the 2001 version at this time for no charge.

Melodie

#6
Now things are getting confusing...

What exactly is the difference between I2000 LT and I2001?

I think CMS should have a consistent free version policy to prevent disappointments.

Thanks.

#7
This is very disappointing.
Image


I find your logic flawed on the basis of:
1. time, meaning what about when icad 2k of both pe, lt and free were concurrent?
2. market, the market of icad does not include only your offerings, meaning the other site is and has been providing 2001 free version.
3. The previous statements as mentioned in the above posting, concerning the delays the promises etc.

Thank you so much,

b

#8
Thanks, braa_h.

Why not offer a free version consisting only of the Consortium code, without VB, Help or raster support? After all any Consortium member could compile the code and post it in a web page. Having this free, basic version from CMS would attract the goodwill of the free version users and they would be much more willing to help in the debugging process. Besides, IntelliCAD hasn't an installed base large enough nor is stable enough yet. I believe it cannot depend only on the paying users to advance.

Thanks.

#9
So is the free version I just downloaded now, newer or older than the free version I download on 03-Jan-2001? The "Help About" screen indicates this new free version is 2.2.12.5 from December 5, 2000. The "old" free version seems to have code from December 20, 2000.

I would like to use whichever one has the fewest bugs?

Jon

#10
I probably should have worded the above post better so let me explain.

In our FAQ section it explains the 3 different versions that will be available on our site. Below is a copy taken from the FAQ.

*********
A. The Free IntelliCAD version will be the current free release of the ITC, also available on their web site (only in source form). This is the basic no-frills package. Please be aware that these Free releases can be several versions behind in both bug fixes and improvements. The Free package does not come with support and the enhancements VBA, Raster support, and Rendering.

CMS IntelliCAD 2001 LT version is the latest IntelliCAD release that has been developed and enhanced not only by the many programmers of the ITC but also by CMS, Inc. CMS IntelliCAD LT is similar to AutoCAD 2000 Lite with the added features of LISP with DCL, Script Recorder, SDS (equivalent to ADS), and 3D drawing tools and 3D support. The CMS IntelliCAD 2001 LT version is available in both English and Spanish.

CMS IntelliCAD 2001 PE version is the latest IntelliCAD release that includes not only the same many features of the LT version but also includes VBA, Raster Image capabilities, and Rendering capabilities. CMS IntelliCAD PE is similar to AutoCAD 2000. This package also includes many advanced lisp programs developed by and for CMS, Inc and others. The CMS IntelliCAD 2001 PE version is available in both English and Spanish.
*********

This has been our company’s policy from day one and still is. I had not noticed that the version the programmer had posted late this afternoon was the December release and this will be changed to match according to our statement above. This was an honest mistake on our end and I apologize for the error. The latest release available for free download on the ITC site, which is available for free to anyone in source code only, is the March 19, 2001 version. This will be compiled by our programmer with the help files and will be available, I am told, by Tuesday of next week at the very latest but they will attempt to get it out sooner. (Would have been by Monday at the latest but because of the holiday I am told it may be Tuesday)

The free demo version has always been meant to be a trial version to give individuals the opportunity to try the product before spending the money for the LT version or the PE version if they decided they would like the VBA, Rendering and Raster Imaging capabilities. This free version is given as an incentive to purchase a commercial version. I believe that the LT version is a very good deal at the price that it sells for considering the time it takes to compile and the added features that come with it. There are membership fees to be a commercial member of the ITC and they are somewhat recouped by the sales of the LT and PE versions. The ITC has a description of the three different levels of membership that is available on their site and I invite you to visit the site.
http://www.intellicad.org/join_itc/index.htm

Melodie

[This message has been edited by MTriche (edited 08-30-2001).]

#11
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like the free version from January is the same code so I will stick with it since it has done the conversion jobs I needed to do.

Thank you.

Jon

#12
Thanks for the reply, MTrichie.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but months a go I received an e-mail from ITC that in order to accelerate the changes in ICAD they would release the latest code as soon as it's available. If I got it right there should not be any "delay" between the latest free release and the latest ITC release. Could you please clarify that?

Thanks, again.

#13
I can honestly say I have no idea. I do not get the newsletters from the ITC and I do not usually handle anything with the releases other than to test and announce the day they are uploaded. I will try to find out more information about this but with the holidays it may take a few days.

The free version has been updated on the site.

Melodie