Hi Caslav,

Well, if you don't already own DXP then that is a horse of a different color. First, and foremost, congratulations! You've NOT spent the price of a car on a program that the manufacturer is going to refuse to support within a couple of years. This is what I am faced with today. I own 99SE, and for some reason it has stopped working on my office computer. I tried everything I could think of to get it to work again, to no avail. And when I asked Altium if they had any ideas, the only idea they had was for me to give them thousands more dollars for a couple of upgrades. Otherwise they would be no help. They no longer support 99SE.

Can you imagine paying thousands of dollars for a Toyota only to find out four years later that they would no longer make or sell parts for your model? I bought 99SE just a few months before they came out with DXP.

Anyway, I do not believe that it is necessary to spend thousands of dollars on EDA software. Once upon a time LOTUS 123 was the only spreadsheet around, and if you wanted it you had to spend a couple of thousand dollars by the time you added all of the optional modules (fonts, landscape printing, graphs, etc.). Then Borland put out Quattro Pro, with all of the optional modules already included, for $99.

I used to own AutoCAD (Version 11 was my last). I had the solid modeling extensions and everything. Then I had no choice but to upgrade because I was forced to switch over to Windows 95. Unwilling to keep coughing up thousands of dollars at a time, I found that IMSI had put out TurboCAD, again with all of the same bells and whistles included, for about $100. I've used nothing but TurboCAD since, and have found absolutely nothing I could do in AutoCAD that I can't do in TurboCAD.

I suspect EDA software will experience the same thing. There are too many students and cheapskates like me who use the software but who can't or won't spend the exhorbitant prices that Altium and Mentor Graphics want to charge. Somebody is going to come along and offer a good package for a reasonable price, and then Altium and Mentor Graphics are going to join LOTUS in trying to justify their prices.

I just bought one such package from an individual on eBay. A guy in England has written his own package and sells it for about US$36 (actually he sells it for about 18 British Pounds, but I don't know the number to make the funny curvy little 'L' thingy symbol). I haven't used it yet, but I have hopes. When I do actually use it I will post something here in 8052.com Chat, assuming its worth writing about.

My point is simply this. If you haven't already spent the money for DXP, then absolutely put a lot of thought into which package you buy. And remember that whether you spend $10,000 for Altium, $100,000 for Mentor Graphics, or $10 for Bob's HomeBrew Electronics Schematics and Printed Circuit Board Phantasmagorium, a gerber file is a gerber file.

And I still say the best thing you can do to make that choice your best is to learn all you can, and become as proficient as you can, with what you have (access to) now.

Good luck,

Joe