Engineers - Free Parametric Solid Modeler (Legit)

Originally from SlickDeals.net ( http://forums.slickdeals.net/t109751...&highlight=cad )

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X-CAD has promised to give away FREE Mechanical Design Software. According to their website:
"When 100,000 people register, you will receive directions via e-mail to download the free software.

Spread the word and get your free 3D CAD software faster — tell all your colleagues and friends to register too!

It's the best deal on 3D CAD software for mechanical design, period. Own one of the most powerful parametric solid modelers on the market FREE when 100,000 people register by August 1, 2005.

Everyone who registers will get the X-CAD product for FREE — but only if 100,000 people participate. So, spread the word and get your free 3D CAD software faster — tell all your colleagues and friends to register too! "

http://www.x-cad.net/

There has been research by Ralph Grabowski, a prominent CAD journalist who claims that this is a legitimate site, and not a spam harvester: (http://www0.slickdeals.net/?t=109751...ad_mystif.html)

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There has also been another development. As we passed around 95,000 registrations Alibre Design posted a press release de-mystifying who is behind the give-away.

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RICHARDSON, TX.—July 20, 2005—Alibre, Inc. today announced that it is the company behind the X-CAD promotion launched in late May at the web site www.x-cad.net. The company also announced that the new software, originally announced as X-CAD as part a 100,000 seat giveaway contest, will be named Alibre Design Xpress when it ships -- if 100,000 people have registered. The contest goal of 100,000 registrations appears likely: over 94,000 have registered to date and the registration rate is increasing.

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Since I am going into college & mechanical engineering, I will personally find this software very useful. Mainly because it will be free, while most solid 3d modelers cost a fortune for a single seat. I really hope we reach the 100,000 seat goal, because I can use all of the Solid 3d Modelers I can get.

I've signed up already, and wanted to at least get another 100 or so people from AO to sign up too.

Cheers,
-Cliff

I signed up!

2/100

3/100
There at 99150 already. M gonna sign up with a diffrent email as well.
Edit: Can't sign up twice using firefox. But you can using IE and firefox. SO you can sign up twice. There at 99171.

4/100

i signed up to help out...but it really sounds fishy!

reading the posts at the bottom of the page, found this :

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Alibre Design Xpress is 3D solid modeling software for the masses. It is better than low-cost, it's free! That's right, free. How do they do that? When you run Alibre Design Xpress some of your screen will be dedicated to ads that are served up by Google. They aren't huge and obtrusive but they might be somewhat distracting. After all, you're trying to model stuff, not shop. It's probably a reasonable trade off for the free capabilities. Alibre Design Xpress is a subset or scaled-down version of Alibre's standard software Alibre Design. As such, it has certain things turned off. This means there will be many things you cannot do. For instance, hollows or shells are disabled and you'll be limited in how many components you can have in an assembly. It also requires you to have an internet connection to use; that can be somewhat restricting if you are on the road a lot. But don't panic. Alibre Design Xpress has a multi-stepped upgrade path that will take care of the problem. For a mere $49, you can eliminate the ads and work offline. You can also upgrade to the full Alibre Design software. Standalone, the standard verion of Alibre Design software costs less than a grand so it's pretty inexpensive for 3D solid modeling software. They also have Alibre Design Professional and Alibre Design Expert. You can visit their web site for details on those packages.

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So it has adware built in.........
BUT
you can get rid of 'em for $49 :eek

was at 100284 when I signed up and 3 mins later 100287.. looked interesting.. until i read further.. and with the adware.. I suspect that I will be leaving it alone.... pity Foxy posted while I was signing up.. pity I am sleeping so much.. it is a lovely winters day outside

Hey Hey,

I've added my support.

Peace,
HT

When you guys actually get it, let us know how it really is. I get leery when I read stuff like this:

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It is better than low-cost, it's free! That's right, free.

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Unfortunately it sounds like that tired old adage “if it’s sounds to good to be true, then……”; lives on to fight another day.

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How do they do that? When you run Alibre Design Xpress some of your screen will be dedicated to ads that are served up by Google.

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Well this has been in practice for a while. One of the requirements of a free browser I had did the same thing. The ads weren’t to inhibiting, but on this one they specifically say: “some of your screen will be dedicated to ads”


~cheers~

Thanks for the very sharp eyes @ AO for catching that (Google) adware part. Personally I'm very scared of running google software on my system (their image search, google earth - I use NASA WorldWind), although I do use my gmail account for a lot (this being one of the uses)... But it does open the door on there being something else that is hiding...I'll probably watch how others deal with it before jumping in with both feet...


BTW, thanks all for helping us reach 100,000+. It is probably just a marketing thing to say "we have 100,000+ people interested in our product," but now it is their turn to stand by their word. I have seen one other give-away with no catches recently - Pixmantec's RAW Shooter Essentials - so I was hoping this 3d cad one was similar without catch.


I will be running this to see if the software lives up to my expectations, though.

For the time being I'm planning on modeling some rather simple parts to rotate my Digital SLR around the nodal point of my lens (eliminates parallax error in stitched-panoramic photos). If it can do that I'll go further and see what the ceiling of the demo version is by thinking up some sort of robotic arm device with gears and such.

If it works out I might pay $49 to get rid of Google Ads, but I'm hoping there is something for students to get something better cheaper...because in the end I'm only parting with my $$$ if it does a good job...ie I don't want to fork out $50 if it doesn't meet my design/complexity needs just to get rid of ads. I'll see what Student Licenses I can get at a slightly higher price-point that can really get the job done right if that is the case...once I am actually in school I'll know for sure if they have other software licenses they give to students or not...

Hi Tim_axe,

Here's a site that might have some interest to you and others...

http://www.mcadcafe.com/
Welcome to MCADCafe, the Leading MCAD Portal

information on Alibre Design Xpress...

http://www10.mcadcafe.com/search/inf...JxPTAmc2k9MA==
MCADCafe - Web Search
( edit: link won't work...if you put ' Alibre Design Xpress ' into the search box it will direct you to the page I meant )

and another free item...

http://www10.mcadcafe.com/goto.php?h...y_21_2005.html
MCADCafe

Eg ;)

You know they are well over 100.000 if i can still count. (101.140)
So where is our free software?
By the way, nice reading foxy i didn't even see that. My guess is that it will be full of adware and other sh*t.

We get it on August 1st... Still another week to wait before we get it... :)

Update: This email was sent out to the first 100,000 to register today...copied/pasted into the thread...

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Hi ______,

Thanks to your participation in the X-CAD 100,000 Seat Giveaway we have reached the goal of 100,000 registrations early!

Some of you may not have heard, we announced on Wednesday that Alibre is the company behind X-CAD and X-CAD is Alibre Design Xpress, the newest member of the Alibre Design product family.

As of August 1, Alibre Design Xpress will be available to all for free. But, as one of the first 100,000 to register, you're getting a little more.

For you Alibre Design Xpress will include all the features listed on the new Alibre Design Xpress site, plus:

1) Advanced part modeling, which includes features like shelling, 3D sketch, reference surfaces, etc. View the Alibre Design brochure on our web site for the full part modeling feature set.

2) Create and edit assemblies with up to 25 unique parts. You can open an assembly with more parts in read-only mode.

3) Create 2D drawings with standard orthographic views. All drawings are fully associative: you change the model and the drawing updates.

4) 3D import/export of all the standard formats Alibre Design supports, including STEP, SAT (ACIS), and IGES. DXF and DWG are supported in 2D, and STL is supported for export.

All free versions of Alibre Design Xpress require an Internet connection and will display a banner of Google ads through a built-in web page. No third-party adware is installed on your system. If your Internet connection is lost we have taken steps to ensure that you can save your work. The Internet connection requirement can be turned off for a small fee.

On August 1, you will receive instructions on how to download the software. We had hoped to release it to you sooner, but given the nature of software development, we are in the final stages of quality testing. At this time we expect all to be ready for the August 1 release.

This is truly the best offer for parametric 3D CAD software available anywhere. When you get the download instructions, please complete the steps to download and install Alibre Design Xpress right away. The special offer you get as one of the first 100,000 expires on August 31, don't delay.

If you are no longer interested in Alibre Design Xpress and would like to be removed from all future email communications and eligibility for the extra features offered to the first 100,000 registrants, you may unsubscribe here <URL Removed>.

This isn't the end, there will be additional valuable incentives for engaging with us over time, so I encourage you to stay opted in to our email communications and participate in the short surveys and contests. We won't abuse your email address, we stand by our privacy policy <URL Removed> and if you opt out, we won't send you messages.

Best Regards,
Greg Milliken
President and CEO
Alibre, Inc.

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So apparently as the first group of 100,000 people we get a few more features than what the official "Alibre Design Express" will offer. Only when it is actually released will we know for sure what is included. But it is exciting that the only thing they're putting in there is Google Ads. Definately better than other things...

And the funny thing I find is that the Google Ads on their website have links to their competitors...wonder if when we're running their free version of the software Google Ads will urge us to buy SolidWorks and 3D Studio Max, lol. :p

Hmm, I didn't get an email, and I was in the first 100,000...

I'll say it now:

Darn It!


I've been watching threads at BBR unravel and I'm finally becoming pissed off at x-cad.

• Bait-and-Switch - Original terms mentioned fully-functional - Now it is crippled
• Viral Marketing - You get it only if you tell 100,000 people!
• Google AdSense Violations - It is designed to show AdSense where it isn't meant to be (Section 5, subsection VI)
• Censorship - Deleting forum posts criticizing their actions
• Non-Response - No official word from them other than press releases

There are probably more, but those have really pissed me off. I thought it was alright at first, but now that happy feeling is gone.

This x-cad thing could probably make a nice case-study for someone writing about Adware/Spyware and other underhanded stuff. But until August 1st you writers won't even be able to conclude the story...what a rip off...


A Link -- Linkage @ BBR


(BTW, if a mod can, get rid of the "Legit" part from the thread title please. It looked legit at first, and even I was willing to think it was, but it has become a bait-and-switch due to bad viral marketing and I don't want to give them a lot of credit for it anymore)

i just got the email to download.

I think the rush for the first 100,000 was pointless, because the site asked me for referrals who would get free copies as well.

i'm not even going to try the stupid thing now!

I would NEVER say that there's no such thing as a free lunch :)

But it's a shame that it appears to be less than first advertised ...............
'cos there's 100 000 LESS punters for the NEXT one ..........Or maybe that was the intention :)

Just become friends with the lab staff and ask for a site licensed copy of what ever CAD software they use, at my uni there more than willing to hand out copies to who ever needs them.

I got myself a copy of Solidworks, Matlab and Ansys - all hardcore engineering programs. (~£20,000 of software if i purchased as an indivisdual)

See what they have to say, you might be surprised! I was!

i2c

Yeah, I'll probably ask when school rolls around. I use GNU Octave instead of matlab for the time being. I don't use it much, but when I need to quickly get multiple numbers from a function I use it for the easy creation of arrays and display of them.




As for this X-Cad stuff...there seems to be much more than Google Ad-Sense. If that is even Google Ad-Sense, since from the screen shots I've seen it is much more targeted than Google ever was. But it has a lot of HTTPS traffic going on, and it communicates with their servers all the time, constantly sending a lot of machine information (not encrypted) and then something else that is within HTTPS and not visible.

Very suspicious. I'm not even sure if I want to run it, but I decided to download it so they have to pay the bandwidth. Still, I noticed they changed some more stuff half-way through (they now have more required fields on the download forum, I got it when there were no required fields). They're a sneaky lot. I wonder what they are trying to do? I don't feel comfortable running it to find out...