Why not, not FreeCAD?
Why not, not FreeCAD?
I have no issues using proprietary software when it does something I really need it to. I don't even mind tiered software licensing, where I could opt out of the features I don't need yet, such as tools for LASER cutting or milling.
But holy crap, the amount of "hobbyist" CAD tools that pretend to be "free" when they're actually just setting you up to be proficiently bad at any other tool is horrendous. Stop pretending your tool is free, just to trap people into a life-time of outrageous parasitic fees when they realize they can make things worthwhile using your tool.
If you (the other CAD packages) just marketed truthfully and showed "hobbyists" the actual price of your software; you'll probably realize any "hobbyist", or any person paying out of wallet would avoid you like a plague.
"Enjoy designing and trading lifelike model airplanes? Try our CAD package, only twenty-thousand US dollars every three years"
"Oh, your model airplane model is selling quite well! Thinking of up-scaling and maybe starting a print-farm? Our sales representative would love to pass a long an offer. Oh, you're not interested? Our dedicated product lawyers would love to have a word with you!"
"Want to start selling that cute imported original-character you designed in Blender, but modified using our tool? Hope your wallet is made out of Silk, because you'll be paying us at least six hundred US dollars a year, or some other deliciously malicious number NOW and get locked in for the next 3 years! The cost will be so high, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO LEAVE."
"I hope you're not building something that requires more than one piece - because then you'll need to opt into our sixteen-hundred dollar a year package to enable that feature. Oh, no it's not a separate software - this just unlocks a feature that you need."
As someone who works in software, I understand profits have to be made. There are teams of manufacturing experts, computer scientists, and those super-elite product lawyers that need to fill in a salary, pay their bills, and hopefully maintain or make their software in the meantime. Even open software costs time to make, time that individuals opted to "give-up" which is a sunk cost for sure.
But I hope that at least one of the hyperbole above illustrate that these professional CAD packages are pretending to be something they are not. They aren't meant for people who don't have black-diamond corporate credit cards, or a team of product designers and accountants to justify their purchases.
- Rant over.