Worth it to go to 2008?
Worth it to go to 2008?
(OP)
I'm currently working in 2007.
I loaded 2008 because I needed to look at a supplied file that was a latest rev. I was pretty disgusted with all the needless tweaking of the interface, but that was just a first impression from 10 minutes of using it.
We've got only one client whose engineering group has gone to '08, and even they are considering going back to '07 due to numerous bugs. I don't know any other users of '08. The situation reminds me of PTC's half-assed release of Wildfire and it's widespread non-adoption by it's customers. Most never even loaded it and didn't upgrade until WFII (or WFIII!) was available.
So the question is.... is it really that bad? Can I sit this one out and wait for '09?
-b
I loaded 2008 because I needed to look at a supplied file that was a latest rev. I was pretty disgusted with all the needless tweaking of the interface, but that was just a first impression from 10 minutes of using it.
We've got only one client whose engineering group has gone to '08, and even they are considering going back to '07 due to numerous bugs. I don't know any other users of '08. The situation reminds me of PTC's half-assed release of Wildfire and it's widespread non-adoption by it's customers. Most never even loaded it and didn't upgrade until WFII (or WFIII!) was available.
So the question is.... is it really that bad? Can I sit this one out and wait for '09?
-b






RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Pay special attention to the 'S' shortcut key and customise it to your needs. It will become your most used tool. Many people have switched entirely to an 'S' shortcut and keyboard shortcut combination, and hardly use the Command Manager at all.
"Can I sit this one out and wait for '09?" ... Sure, if you want to, but why not get up to speed now.
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
I have seen plenty of Autodesk users think they can install SolidWorks like any other application, then they screen it's a POS and want ACAD back!
Do your upgrades and installs correctly, you will love v2008.
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
What did you dream? It's all right--we told you what to dream.
--Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
The big issue is that if your clients are using it, you want to seem a little more knowledgeable than they are about the software, or else they might get the idea that they can do it all themselves. And that would be a bad thing...
Dan
www.eltronresearch.com
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
ctopher: I can do the installs correctly, but if most of my clients cannot, then they'll be switching back to '07 and so will I.
theophilus: You're probably in the same situation as me. The fact that you haven't installed it yet confirms my suspicions a bit.
dogarila: glad someone out there likes it!
The choice to ultimately use it or not is not mine. I will upgrade when a customer needs it, but I'm usually excited to get a head start. This is just a case where I wonder if any of our customers will ever stick with it.
-b
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog
Dell M90, Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 3500M
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
I agree.
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
I don't have any hard facts, but no it is not unique; but neither is it widespread. Judging from this forum and the SolidWorks forum, more and more people are adopting SW08.
I don't know your situation, but if the majority of your clients are not upgrading, then you have little choice but to stay with whatever they are using. If I were you though, I would get a head start with learning the new UI, even if you don't use it for production. Let your clients know that you are fluent with it and they may even hire you to show them how to implement and use the newer versions.
The level of bad press SW08 received, IMO, is/was not justified, but it had the desired effect. An SP re-introduced a lot of the customisation which had been removed or was simply not offered for new functions.
As with all upgrades, you need to do extensive testing before adopting it into a production environment.
I agree with Jeff, many of the problems users experience are self induced by incorrect installation procedure, using the wrong video card and driver, and general misuse/abuse of the program.
Having said that, one of the biggest problems with the SW08 release is its incompatibility with the Intellipoint mouse software.
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Ok, done with my rant.
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog
Dell M90, Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 3500M
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
What did you dream? It's all right--we told you what to dream.
--Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
And I am addressing both of you... I agree. Most releases with a big change in UI result in much gnashing of teeth.
I've heard much gnashing, and I've decided to wait. I don't need to look like an '08 guru to impress my clients, so there's little incentive to go out of my way to learn it. I will, however, keep my support fees up to date for when that time arrives.
-b
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Ed Danzer
www.danzcoinc.com
www.dehyds.com
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Not one crash or hickup for me and Vista64bit, not ONE problem. I think the best thing I did is asked my dealer what they suggested for the computer. M6300 Dell and a 380 Dell. I think SW is very touchy on hardware and how clean your install is of both the program and the OS
I use SW at least 4 hours a day on production, using it for over 10 years. IMO this version is pretty damm stable
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Window switching doesn't work - opens a random file instead. You can get around it with the new tab at the bottom, but I find it a pain.
Pack and go doesn't uncheck files when you ask it to in the column heading the way 2007 did. I am not sure if it even picks up the drawings.
Can't beleive they haven't fixed basic bugs like this in 8 months or however long its been out.
I am thinking seriously of going back to 2007 - which will create all sorts of other problems.
John
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
If you are using the Intellipoint mouse software ... stop. Remove it from your system and replace it with a Logitech version. This alone eliminated several problems I was having with SW08-SP3.0 ... including SW slowness.
SP4 (due out in a few weeks) is slated to correct the random file problem. Windows XP-SP3 apparently also corrects the problem.
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
A star for you. I never realized I could customise the 'S' shortcut key
Bradley
SolidWorks Pro 2008 x64, SP3.0
PDMWorks Workgroup, SolidWorks BOM,
Dell XPS Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU
3.00 GHz, 5 GB RAM, Virtual memory 12577 MB,
nVidia Quadro FX 3400
Use SolidWorks BOM
e-mail is Lotus Notes
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
I guess what I'm saying is, that everyone will find problems/bugs and make the issues bigger than they sound. I'm a prime example of that. Change is hard for everyone, if we open or eyes it's really not that bad.
Oh, one more thing. I'm having our IT department load the SW2008 SP 3.0 next week on everyone's workstation.
Have a good day,
Colin Fitzpatrick (aka Macduff)
Mechanical Designer
Solidworks 2007 SP 5.0
Dell 490 XP Pro SP 2
Xeon CPU 3.00 GHz 3.00 GB of RAM
nVida Quadro FX 3450 512 MB
I'm just a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic. Pink Floyd, was neither Pink nor Floyd. Discuss!--"Coffee Talk" Mike Myers SNL
RE: Worth it to go to 2008?
Jeff,
The fact that this statement has to be made is a sign of bad and buggy coding.
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group