The Revit free download got me thinking - How do students get this awesome software? Is it university computer labs? Pirate copies? Free downloads? I'm curious because when I was in school the computer lab was a joke and always packed and sometimes you had a friend who could get a copy from work but back then it wasnt as protected.
there's probably a lesser-expensive student version. or, talk to your i.t. guy in the computer lab: sometimes they have access to trials or discounts that they might not share with everybody. if that person is no help, in any school there are software/computer geeks that know how to get things on the cheap. just get to know them.
exactly. We have all the software we need at the office but we dont give it out to interns. I had a job once that let us have copies but those days are over. We have trouble paying for software so how do the newcommers pay? I cant imagine a student discount is that great or you get the whole product.
Students at my school pay a pretty penny for student versions of the req'd software. Unfortunately, some of the software licenses expire when you are scheduled to graduate...
It depends what software. Some student versions have huge discounts. For example, FormZ Renderzone sells for about $1800, but there is a student version with a 1-year expiration date that sells for about $100.
Some software is basically the same, full software but prints a watermark on anything you print - for example ArchiCAD has a free or very inexpensive student version that does this.
Also some schools these days have mandatory laptop and/or software programs that require that you buy a bundle of all the software used in that program. This is usually expensive, but a required part of the curriculum and much less expensive than purchasing each software separately.
At my school it was probably 99.9% pirated. The watermarks left on your drawings saying "STUDENT VERSION- NOT FOR PROFESSIONAL USE" would not have been considered acceptable on our presentation drawings.
At TTU, if you are authorized to use the network, then you get free copies of pretty much any program you want. ADT, Viz, Max, Maya, Rhino, SketchUp, etc. The only programs you can't download are Adobe, but we've got a pretty good deal worked out with them. You can get a legal copy of CS3 from Adobe, for about $200. It's not like that's walkin' around money for me, but my dad is a computer programmer and a technology business owner, so I pay the fees. Piracy takes food off of my family's talbe, so I do my part to put it on other people's tables, as well.
Oh, our lab fees are absolutely exorbitant, so none of those programs are technically free. But, I do get more than my money's worth.
Our school provides nada for personal use, and the computer labs are barely big enough for the small %age of students that don't own computers, not to mention everyone else. So everything is pirated. Like stated above, the (already expensive) student version of AutoCAD produces watermarks that make the drawings unusable for presentations or pretty much anything else serious. One day Autodesk will realize that no student actually pays for AutoCAD and therefore they should just give it to us and maybe gain some brand loyalty in the process. Until then, let the torrents roll.
AutoCAD makes some of the most hackable software on earth. They do it deliberately so students can gain knowledge of the software and they make all the money back on pro licenses for firms where piracy is more catchable.
As for a superb software source, four words: Summer Abroad in China.
i do not see piracy of software for personal/student use can hurt the industry... when more ppl knows about the software, more skill CG ppl available in the market, company can hire more ppl and eventually buy more license install in their firm.
i always believe that autocad shall be free, it is a software that u type in 10 commands and the software in return will ask u a few more questions before it can only complete one task... as to compare to other software, u type in 1 instructions and the software complete multiple tasks.
I remember in college that a student version of Autocad r13 was something like $500. Not sure if it "expired" but it did print that nasty disclaimer on everything.
Due to the price the college didn't require AutoCad as part of their "software package" that was required with their new laptop requirement. Remember, back then even a cheap laptop was $5k. So to make the new computer requirement look less expensive the college wanted us to use 2nd rate software, i.e. no Autocad, no Photoshop, etc.
Most of us balked at learning programs that the "real world" never used so we had hacked copies of Autocad, Photoshop, etc. We also had the year long leases of FormZ. The first week of studio was basically software loading week since there was one guy that had every toy imaginable, including a CD burner! ($1000 in those days) We'd go and buy blank CD-R for $5 a pop and have him make copies for us. Ahh, the days of expensive software piracy.
You know, those watermarks are easily fixed if you just print out of Illustrator. Aside from the fact that we get to download ADT programs for free at TTU, I always print out of illustrator. Always.
xacto, save the drawing as a 2000 .dwg, and then import .dwg in Illustrator. Then set line weights and colors, set up printer, and voila! No watermark. Just make sure you're working with different line weights/types on different layers. Its a 2 minute process if that. Some people I know also print to .pdf in AutoCAD and erase the stamp in photoshop.
I've actually downloaded most of the software I used from the actual source. How I run it is a completely different animal. But I find that if I buy my laptops loaded with the software I need I don't bitch and moan as much. Besides AutoCAD doesn't need to cost so much - it is after a all a piece of shit. Some of its best competitors vectorworks and archicad still cost less than 1k (granted I remember when miniCAD was for $500 - student copy was free but you had to submit your details)
Vectorworks Architect is about 1k.
ArchiCAD is in the same range as Architectural Desktop (was 6k a few years ago and has been creeping downward slowly.)
MiniCAD is the former name of VectorWorks. Plain old Vectorworks (without the Architect option) is currently in the $700 to $800 range. The student version is about half that. Vectorworks' student version is identical to the professional version, and doesn't have a watermark.
ArchiCAD's student version has a watermark, and the file types it produces are also different than the professional version.
if you contact vendors like npower specifically, they sometimes have huge discounts that are normally not advertised. I got the full powerNurbs/solids for max for $150 and extra licenses for $25. Again, they do not advertise this - you have to ask.
it seems you must find solutions when your skills are seemingly monopolized by your limited choice of tools, perhaps it is okay to steal the tools for the sake of participation in the education of the monoploization, since they are what you will be engdered to use when your education is complete.
how does the world get it? the reason copyrights are a human rights violation has allot to do with GDP inequality.
even europe passed a law that says that it is legal as long as you are not making money
and even better yet look at McNeels educational license policy. 195$ and it is full commercial.. makes sense to me. the value is in the use not the cost.
For some reason, nearly all of the int'l students I know all know about super secret websites run by their respective countrymen, in their native language, from they're able to download anything and everything they want, so if you want to misbehave, I suppose you can befriend one of them.
How do students get software?
The Revit free download got me thinking - How do students get this awesome software? Is it university computer labs? Pirate copies? Free downloads? I'm curious because when I was in school the computer lab was a joke and always packed and sometimes you had a friend who could get a copy from work but back then it wasnt as protected.
argh
there's probably a lesser-expensive student version. or, talk to your i.t. guy in the computer lab: sometimes they have access to trials or discounts that they might not share with everybody. if that person is no help, in any school there are software/computer geeks that know how to get things on the cheap. just get to know them.
argh
I've been out of school since 95 Steven, I wish I knew a geek who could get things done.
Definately argh.
exactly. We have all the software we need at the office but we dont give it out to interns. I had a job once that let us have copies but those days are over. We have trouble paying for software so how do the newcommers pay? I cant imagine a student discount is that great or you get the whole product.
How do students get software?
Well, they pay for it, obviously. No one ever downloads pirated copies from Bittorrent or Limewire, nope. Definitely not, that would be unethical.
we need more pirates
Students at my school pay a pretty penny for student versions of the req'd software. Unfortunately, some of the software licenses expire when you are scheduled to graduate...
Here is the link for the free student license
http://students2.autodesk.com/
You are able to download various Autodesk products. and obtain a free 14 month student License....
But Alot of students , Get bootlegs....
I bought Student priced, versions or Fhino. and Maxwell....
and obtained a free student license for revit....
Its the best way to go, ecpecially when you buy it because you have access to all the support you sometimes may need.
bootlegs your on your own
(i did it this way when i was at school) downloaded from internet, bootleg copies, school lab, and as a last resource, student versions....
I still have my eyepatch and parrot from school.
BT.
It depends what software. Some student versions have huge discounts. For example, FormZ Renderzone sells for about $1800, but there is a student version with a 1-year expiration date that sells for about $100.
Some software is basically the same, full software but prints a watermark on anything you print - for example ArchiCAD has a free or very inexpensive student version that does this.
Also some schools these days have mandatory laptop and/or software programs that require that you buy a bundle of all the software used in that program. This is usually expensive, but a required part of the curriculum and much less expensive than purchasing each software separately.
el jeffe - i love that graph
At my school it was probably 99.9% pirated. The watermarks left on your drawings saying "STUDENT VERSION- NOT FOR PROFESSIONAL USE" would not have been considered acceptable on our presentation drawings.
At TTU, if you are authorized to use the network, then you get free copies of pretty much any program you want. ADT, Viz, Max, Maya, Rhino, SketchUp, etc. The only programs you can't download are Adobe, but we've got a pretty good deal worked out with them. You can get a legal copy of CS3 from Adobe, for about $200. It's not like that's walkin' around money for me, but my dad is a computer programmer and a technology business owner, so I pay the fees. Piracy takes food off of my family's talbe, so I do my part to put it on other people's tables, as well.
Oh, our lab fees are absolutely exorbitant, so none of those programs are technically free. But, I do get more than my money's worth.
Our school provides nada for personal use, and the computer labs are barely big enough for the small %age of students that don't own computers, not to mention everyone else. So everything is pirated. Like stated above, the (already expensive) student version of AutoCAD produces watermarks that make the drawings unusable for presentations or pretty much anything else serious. One day Autodesk will realize that no student actually pays for AutoCAD and therefore they should just give it to us and maybe gain some brand loyalty in the process. Until then, let the torrents roll.
AutoCAD makes some of the most hackable software on earth. They do it deliberately so students can gain knowledge of the software and they make all the money back on pro licenses for firms where piracy is more catchable.
As for a superb software source, four words: Summer Abroad in China.
i do not see piracy of software for personal/student use can hurt the industry... when more ppl knows about the software, more skill CG ppl available in the market, company can hire more ppl and eventually buy more license install in their firm.
i always believe that autocad shall be free, it is a software that u type in 10 commands and the software in return will ask u a few more questions before it can only complete one task... as to compare to other software, u type in 1 instructions and the software complete multiple tasks.
had a prof that gave out 50 fully functioning copies of rhino back in the day.
wish more had been so forward thinking...
I remember in college that a student version of Autocad r13 was something like $500. Not sure if it "expired" but it did print that nasty disclaimer on everything.
Due to the price the college didn't require AutoCad as part of their "software package" that was required with their new laptop requirement. Remember, back then even a cheap laptop was $5k. So to make the new computer requirement look less expensive the college wanted us to use 2nd rate software, i.e. no Autocad, no Photoshop, etc.
Most of us balked at learning programs that the "real world" never used so we had hacked copies of Autocad, Photoshop, etc. We also had the year long leases of FormZ. The first week of studio was basically software loading week since there was one guy that had every toy imaginable, including a CD burner! ($1000 in those days) We'd go and buy blank CD-R for $5 a pop and have him make copies for us. Ahh, the days of expensive software piracy.
You know, those watermarks are easily fixed if you just print out of Illustrator. Aside from the fact that we get to download ADT programs for free at TTU, I always print out of illustrator. Always.
rfuller, you mean the AutoCAD Educational ones? How do you do that?
Make really good friends with the IT person.
mininova.org
isohunt.com
isohunt sucks these days.
I still use at home, personal use cracked software from 1999!
Fortunately I dont have to do anything outside of work much anymore like school
I've never been able to download anything recent from any of those sites - its always incomplete
xacto, save the drawing as a 2000 .dwg, and then import .dwg in Illustrator. Then set line weights and colors, set up printer, and voila! No watermark. Just make sure you're working with different line weights/types on different layers. Its a 2 minute process if that. Some people I know also print to .pdf in AutoCAD and erase the stamp in photoshop.
i will have to try that.
"How do students get software"? with their hands!!
off the back of a truck...
I've actually downloaded most of the software I used from the actual source. How I run it is a completely different animal. But I find that if I buy my laptops loaded with the software I need I don't bitch and moan as much. Besides AutoCAD doesn't need to cost so much - it is after a all a piece of shit. Some of its best competitors vectorworks and archicad still cost less than 1k (granted I remember when miniCAD was for $500 - student copy was free but you had to submit your details)
Vectorworks Architect is about 1k.
ArchiCAD is in the same range as Architectural Desktop (was 6k a few years ago and has been creeping downward slowly.)
MiniCAD is the former name of VectorWorks. Plain old Vectorworks (without the Architect option) is currently in the $700 to $800 range. The student version is about half that. Vectorworks' student version is identical to the professional version, and doesn't have a watermark.
ArchiCAD's student version has a watermark, and the file types it produces are also different than the professional version.
Rhino is 195 student price..Which gives you a full comercial version ,
Maxwell.... is something like 3 bills...way cheap ..Just like rhino, giving full rights
if you contact vendors like npower specifically, they sometimes have huge discounts that are normally not advertised. I got the full powerNurbs/solids for max for $150 and extra licenses for $25. Again, they do not advertise this - you have to ask.
it seems you must find solutions when your skills are seemingly monopolized by your limited choice of tools, perhaps it is okay to steal the tools for the sake of participation in the education of the monoploization, since they are what you will be engdered to use when your education is complete.
the five finger discount
digital osmosis
otherwise - I go open source!!
Open Office is a great open source choice for your office apps.
http://www.openoffice.org/
Sun, a better company than Apple or Microsoft.
how does the world get it? the reason copyrights are a human rights violation has allot to do with GDP inequality.
even europe passed a law that says that it is legal as long as you are not making money
and even better yet look at McNeels educational license policy. 195$ and it is full commercial.. makes sense to me. the value is in the use not the cost.
http://www.rhino3d.com/eduproducts.htm
Get Rhino for $150 (and other tiltes) here:
Academic Superstore
For some reason, nearly all of the int'l students I know all know about super secret websites run by their respective countrymen, in their native language, from they're able to download anything and everything they want, so if you want to misbehave, I suppose you can befriend one of them.
Well any one can use any downloader software and get it for free
But as we know to learn you have to spend
ipfilter.dat
why would anyone pay for software
Look! It's Elvis!
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