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good prices? but is it legal to buy apps like that?
can you update later?

No, it's not legal.

Autocad 2008 price is 3995$ at Autodesk's online store. Here it costs 60$. I guess that's because the box, the manual and the CD's are really awesome and worth 3935$

they offer games too.... but $23 for Doom 3 sounds like a lot might as well buy it in the store

There's all kinds of ways to get expensive software really cheaply (and legitimately). A good website to check out is:

www.academicsuperstore.com

This site has HUGE discounts on software, as you are purchasing a "Student" license rather than a commercial one, even though you are getting a full version of the software. Here's an example:

http://www.academicsuperstore.com/marke ... tNo=856169

This would cost you $6995 from the Autodesk online store, but you can get it for $379.95. Now, supposedly you are not "allowed" to use it for commercial use. However, licensing law is a grey topic, and there is no real way to prove a product was produced with a certain software. I personally own 8 different softwares (all licensed), and I'm constantly transfering files back-and-forth between the software. As an example, if you exported an IGES file from an unlicensed software into a licensed software, you instantly have full commercial use of the file. IGES is a universal format, so there is no way to determine the original source software. This would be 100% legal, and the same goes for other file types. Just about every 3D software will expot to a IGES, STEP, OBJ, etc., so a "student" license is no different from a commercial license when it comes down to it.

dilbert wrote:There's all kinds of ways to get expensive software really cheaply (and legitimately). A good website to check out is:

www.academicsuperstore.com

This site has HUGE discounts on software, as you are purchasing a "Student" license rather than a commercial one, even though you are getting a full version of the software. Here's an example:

http://www.academicsuperstore.com/marke ... tNo=856169

This would cost you $6995 from the Autodesk online store, but you can get it for $379.95. Now, supposedly you are not "allowed" to use it for commercial use. However, licensing law is a grey topic, and there is no real way to prove a product was produced with a certain software. I personally own 8 different softwares (all licensed), and I'm constantly transfering files back-and-forth between the software. As an example, if you exported an IGES file from an unlicensed software into a licensed software, you instantly have full commercial use of the file. IGES is a universal format, so there is no way to determine the original source software. This would be 100% legal, and the same goes for other file types. Just about every 3D software will expot to a IGES, STEP, OBJ, etc., so a "student" license is no different from a commercial license when it comes down to it.

If I show that to my friend he would die... He just payed $2k for Maya and he is a student

some student software like AutoCAD applies a watermark to any output that is nearly impossible to get rid of (even if you open in the commercial version and cut/paste/save multiple times).

MAX didn't use to have a watermark, though I don't know if that's changed.

Rhino educational is the same as commercial except you can't resell your license (McNeel has a great licensing policy btw)

Some software lets you know up front if it is going to apply a watermark or uses a file type that is incompatible with commercial versions…others aren't so "nice"

It's usually the personal learning editions that have the watermark. Most of the full versions softwares have no restrictions and no watermark. Plus, when you export files in a universal format such as STEP, IGES, OBJ etc. there is no data stored to have a watermark on, it's purely geometry.

I say:
If you are going to do things the honest way... do it all the way!

Leonardo wrote:I say:
If you are going to do things the honest way... do it all the way!

There's absolutely nothing dishonest about it. Think about why software companies even sell off student licenses in the first place? They're not doing it to be nice, but to make money on the tail end when those students go out into the workforce. It's really good cheap advertising for their software and company, which equates to dollars on commercial sales. Trust me, if they weren't making money off it, they simply wouldn't do it.

dilbert wrote:

Leonardo wrote:I say:
If you are going to do things the honest way... do it all the way!

There's absolutely nothing dishonest about it. Think about why software companies even sell off student licenses in the first place? They're not doing it to be nice, but to make money on the tail end when those students go out into the workforce. It's really good cheap advertising for their software and company, which equates to dollars on commercial sales. Trust me, if they weren't making money off it, they simply wouldn't do it.

Who says students join the workforce? If they freelance they aren't forced to purchase a commercial copy.

True, but my point still stands. Software companies are running a business like everyone else. If selling off student licenses wasn't profitable on balance, they wouldn't do it.

I have no problem with student license

I was refering to people getting too "creative"

Now, supposedly you are not "allowed" to use it for commercial use. However, licensing law is a grey topic, and there is no real way to prove a product was produced with a certain software.

I'm currently doing my placement year and have used solidworks before. I entered the company to do Cad for them and they had Solidworks 2003. So out comes my student version of solidworks 2007 showed them around and what could be done, further improvements and sold! They bought a commercial version for the company and plus I was comfortable using the newer solidworks! So student software does help in the adversing department!

Hey! Maxwell is there too!
I guess that's the answer, if it's legal or not...