cocreate

Me in my virtual world / Uncategorized / cfdesign / cocreate / fea / logitech / quickcam / spaceclaim / yahoo voice — View Comments
15
Dec 09

Pushy software prompts piss people off

In the world of the web, I have seen some really slick ways of alerting the user, notifying the user and updating software. It is becoming more and more common for apps to “auto-update”. Some programs have subtle prompts that an update is available and then guide you through a gentle process of updating.

The next level is when the try to entice you to “upgrade”. Most are subtle and you can tend to ignore them without having to “turn off” the notification. There have been many that I have ignored for quite some time and eventually jumped into the deep end and bucked up. Examples of this –dropbox, evernote, flickr and jing. Many of these programs offer the “free version” and offer extra goodies when you put up some cash. I find my tolerance is based on the impact/cost ratio.

Meaning, many of the above programs offered me surprisingly tremendous value for free, so I felt obliged to take the step. Part of the reason is that I love the new up and coming fighters. The other part is that the upgrade process was simple and the price was reasonable. All of the above range from $15-100/yr.

So far so good, right? I recently received a new machine and was going through the ritual of reinstalling and downloaded XOBNI. They started out as they all do with the free version. I LOVED it. However, the love affair ended this morning. Why? I felt pressured and annoyed. They recently went to a premium option. Fair enough. One of the options in the premium version was to auto-fill your To: box much better than Outlook.They had a slick way of showing you (greyed) out what could have happened if I was on premium, still ok so far. But, I found it very difficult to turn off the teaser and found it to be in the way. I clicked to check out the link and the price was $29.95. Seemed steep, really steep. Enough that I had to think about it and decided to wait. I then noticed that I had to go to options to turn off the premium teaser. hmmm.. Now, I am pissed– annoyed really. So, what did I do?

I uninstalled it. Why? The teaser was annoying, too difficult to turn off and the impact/cost ratio was too high.

MORALE: It is ok to be a bit pushy, but be careful. Above all else, make sure that your impact/cost ratio is within reason. In my case, $9.95 would have been a no-brainer. $14.95, I’d have to think about it. Above that, no thanks. Not one to typically gripe about this sort of thing. But, unfortunately, you got me on a bad day. live and learn, I hope.

Me in my virtual world / Uncategorized / cfdesign / cocreate / fea / logitech / quickcam / spaceclaim / yahoo voice — View Comments
14
Dec 09

CFdesign nominated for NASA Tech Briefs – Product of the Year 2009

I can’t say I am necessarily above asking for you to help and vote for “Blue Ridge Numerics” in the NASA Tech Briefs Product of the Year poll. So, here is my request to consider voting for us this year.

But, I will give you a few solid reasons why I think we deserve it.

    • Abnormal obsession to helping our customers solve flow and thermal design challenges.
    • Constant strive to listen, understand and implement changes to our product to help the world that has been historically intimidated to even consider CFD, not only solve their problems but unleash innovation.
    • Unwavering dedication to helping people adopt a “new way” of product development in lieu of a crappy economy.
    • Undying determination to go up against goliath software companies to deliver a solution for the people, because its who we are to the core.

      Seems a bit over the top, doesn’t it? Anyone that has done business with us or has spoken to any of us, realizes in a few minutes that it is genuine. Genuine passion to exceed expectations…

      cad / cfd / cocreate / icem / spaceclaim — View Comments
      1
      Nov 07

      PTC buys CoCreate…why?

      I just grinned ear to ear when I read this. Not sure exactly why? Perhaps, because I can’t for the life of me figure out how PTC will incorporate yet another technology that is quite different than Pro/engineer into their portfolio. But maybe that’s the cool part, I am now intrigued and will be watching it closely.

      I have used both CoCreate and Pro. Definitely, not a power user of either but can drive both fairly well. They couldn’t be any more different. That, again, that is what intrigues me. Also, how will ICEM Surf come into play? Are all three going to be merged into a new hybrid blend?? Lots of buzz out there about hybrid modelers.

      I’d love to be in the product management meetings. Maybe I am the only one? But what a challenge – both technically and commercially.


      I wonder if PTC is feeling the heat from the new comer, SpaceClaim? SC has a similar non-feature based approach that CoCreate has been preaching all along. I have been driving SC for the last few months. I think the interface is awesome (check the image above). Totally different approach than the traditional CAD tools on the market. Lots of grabbing and dragging. I use it primarily to create and modify models for analysis. So it works nicely for me. But then again, I am in the targeted market for SC. Check out the cool image below.