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RichardJ19-Tanzanite
19-Tanzanite
July 13, 2017
Solved

Time to pay the piper, every year.

  • July 13, 2017
  • 24 replies
  • 9870 views

I don't know how many are aware of this, so I'm posting some important information.

 

Starting January 1st next year (2018) PTC will make it's products available by subscription only.

https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2017/ptc-accelerates-subscription-business-model

Basically, legal ransomware. If you don't keep paying them, you will be denied access to your own IP.

 

My understanding is that this new scheme will apply to all PTC products, other than one obscure product, so that includes Mathcad. I believe that existing perpetual licenses will continue to be perpetual (hard to see how it could be anything else, since that's how they were sold), but going foward you will either have to pay every year, or lose access to your own work.

    Best answer by Fred_Kohlhepp
    @ccattaneo wrote:

    You who are American citizens could organize a collective action against PTC; I am Italian ... I just have to suffer

     

    One could argue that Prime is a crime against humanity, and could be tried in the international courts.  Smiley Frustrated

    24 replies

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    RichardJ19-TanzaniteAuthor
    19-Tanzanite
    July 14, 2017

    No comments on this?

     

    Is that because everyone already knew this, or because nobody cares?

    W
    Werner_E25-Diamond I
    25-Diamond I
    July 14, 2017
    @RichardJ wrote:

    No comments on this?

     

    Is that because everyone already knew this, or because nobody cares?

    Maybe because everybody is shocked, helpless and can't believe.

     

    I was not aware of that plans.

    Our license runs until end of 2018 and we decided quite long ago that Prime would be a dead end and that we will have to change our tools.

    When I now read your post I am glad we did.

     

    R
    RichardJ19-TanzaniteAuthor
    19-Tanzanite
    July 14, 2017

    It certainly is a show stopper for me. I lost any real hope in Prime being a usable solution some time ago, but I kept hanging on anyway. This is the final nail in the coffin. Why would I pay a subscription for a product with glaring deficiencies, and a glacial development speed?

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    RichardJ19-TanzaniteAuthor
    19-Tanzanite
    July 14, 2017

    I should add that I have no idea how this will affect access to Mathcad 15. Access to mathcad 15 is necessary to convert old files to Prime (when that's even possible). I would guess that going forward when the Prime license that enables Prime and Mathcad 15 expires after 1 year, Mathcad 15 will be as dead as Prime. So the license we have now may be the last worthwhile one we will ever get Smiley Sad

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    terryhendicott21-Topaz II
    21-Topaz II
    August 9, 2017

    I have two perpetual licences for MathCad 14.  They will probably last as long as the laptops they are installed on.

    The subscription model is being adopted by everyone.  Adobe, Autocad, Office etc.  I have perpetual licences for all of them on the laptops.  I am retired so cannot afford the subscrition model keeping up licences without an income.  When the laptops go so does the software.

     

     

    The subscrition rates should have a non-commercial version for retirees etc.

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