Altium hit a new bottom (and at the same time, a new high) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 04:03:15 pm
content: Paying for advertising on Youtube! Lol, they couldn't get anyone to watch their channel.Edit: the video in question is found here:http://www.altium.com/switch-to-altium-designer/It is a bit loud at the beginning. The music and his expressions makes me feel im being treated like an idiot.Edit 2: now, THIS, is a properly brilliant video:http://www.pcbworks.com/They pulled some tricks out of Steve Jobs's hat .

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 06:44:15 pm
content: How is that a "new bottom"? Most companies spend money to advertise.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 07:39:46 pm
content: Whats next! are they going to team up with/pay a distribution house like digikey/mouser/newark and peddle their wares on the front page there?Oh wait I forgot, thats mentor and NI :p

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 12:37:37 am
content: FWIW I'm subscribed to their CircuitMaker channel, even if they don't have much yet.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbkzlBx4QBw51f-lVDUKewg/videos

author: rx8pilot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 01:09:47 am
content: That does not seem odd. They have a marketing team of some sort with a budget that will be compared against sales performance. Paid advertising on YouTube is proactive instead of waiting for the target audience to magically show up. It's not like Altium will be producing the next big viral video.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 04:34:45 am
content: Nope, Altium hit the bottom with this:and this:

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 08:04:30 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 13, 2015, 04:34:45 amWhat's the upper text on the ad? I can't see it!How to no make an ad / Make a bad ad -> With antigeek stuff:- Very bad and cheesy actors ?- Bad fake bad TV news ?- Crappy comparisons ?- Sexualized woman ?- Not showing real features ?- Wasn't National Semiconductor dead?

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 01:41:31 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 13, 2015, 04:34:45 amSo desperate!Just like advertising on youtube. As if they were a brand of cerealIt's a new bottom because it's so out of their scope. They should be advertising on IEEE (they do) and the likes of that.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 02:29:39 pm
content: Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on June 13, 2015, 08:04:30 amCan't rememberIt was their "What Makes You So Special" campaign when they dropped the prices by 75%http://www.altium.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/what-makes-you-so-special

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 02:33:01 pm
content: Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on June 13, 2015, 08:04:30 amI can remember when they emailed this around the office for comment before release. You could just hear facepalm after facepalm from one cubicle to the next.Altium wasn't a place were you spoke against the company "direction", but a lot of people went "ah, no, this shit, don't release it".Of course, they released it

author: Tandy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 05:04:09 pm
content: Why shouldn't they advertise, I had never heard of Altium before I joined this forum. I had only ever used Eagle and not looked at anything else other than KiCAD. So their advertising might have got me to notice them if I was interested in a CAD package.I am going down the KiCAD path so that I can be sure that any designs I make can be re-spun by other people without having to buy expensive software, but conversely I could have found limitations or otherwise been unhappy with Eagle as my needs expanded and not known about or forgot to consider the offering from Altium. A prod reminding me they are there is not so bad, at least it is about something I may be interested in unlike most nonsense that pops up on youtube.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 05:27:17 pm
content: Quote from: Tandy on June 13, 2015, 05:04:09 pmIt doesn't matter. Trashing Altium is the official sport here. ;-)

author: rx8pilot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 07:24:00 pm
content: It is harder to love software when you wrote a $9k check for it. At that price, you can feel like it should wash your dishes after dinner.Advertising is in a renaissance phase right now. It used to be trade publications and trade shows only. Today, you can advertise with a huge variety of media in a vast number of venues 365 days/year worldwide. For a niche piece of industrial software, those are more limited than selling potato chips (crisps) to be effective. Everyone is experimenting with new ways to find and engage new customers. In the case of Altium, this is not a small task. It is expensive to buy and generally MUCH more expensive to implement in a professional environment since it changes your workflow. It will also require you to abandon any libraries you have built over many years. I don't fault them for experimenting - even if it seems weird or unconventional.Regardless of any Altium bashing, I cannot imagine that it does not blow the doors off Eagle which is what I am using now.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 08:59:28 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 13, 2015, 04:34:45 amI was feeling very down this morning, but that made my dayThanks DaveI wonder what will they thing when they realize the video has a couple hundred new views. It's probably the largest surge they will ever see on anything that's not circuitmaker.

author: rx8pilot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 09:09:05 pm
content: I have worked on a bazillion corporate communications videos like that, primarily for tech companies. They all struggle to be entertaining. The more money and effort, the worse it is. I always wondered if they have any effectiveness at all. When they come off as feeling dumb or cheesy - I associate that with the product.The reality is that PCB design will always be less than entertaining or exciting. Forcing it is futile.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 09:17:00 pm
content: Quote from: rx8pilot on June 13, 2015, 09:09:05 pmExactly. This, for instance is 1000% more professional. They HAVE to inspire a professional look. This is not a kid's summer camp that you're advertising, or some consumer app. This is Altium freaking *Designer*.This is the proper way to do it, and it probably costed a fraction of what the video costed. It was like a 10 second animation that ended up like this:It takes you here:http://www.altium.com/future?gclid=CMuP4pPMjcYCFcURHwodISkAOwWhich is modern and okay. Good. I hope they retire the youtube thing. Youtube is very consumer-ish. In fact, you shouldn't be watching Youtube at work and I wouldn't want to be bothered with work stuff at home.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 01:39:53 am
content: Quote from: zapta on June 13, 2015, 05:27:17 pmPetty suretheofficial sport is shit talking audiophiles or consumer audio in general even on stuff that people have next to no idea what they are are talking about. Make a thread asking about what power strips/surge protector are good quality because you want to use it with a home stereo and it'll be a shit show before page 2.Though I won't deny that there are other close runner ups.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 03:06:10 am
content: Quote from: ConKbot on June 14, 2015, 01:39:53 amReligion threads, Altium, house wiring, audiophools, shady kickstarters and earthing. I'm missing a couple.

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 03:26:12 am
content: Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on June 13, 2015, 08:04:30 amHoly crap I can see her wrists and neck and I can hardly contain myself! Burka!

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 06:13:25 am
content: Quote from: GK on June 14, 2015, 03:26:12 amLike this?

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 09:53:27 am
content: Quote from: GK on June 14, 2015, 03:26:12 amFor the glory of Allah, finally someone that's not an infidel here!There's something in computing named "brogrammer", and using women for electronic ads is another similar thing. That's not a favour for women in the electronics field. And I find it stupid, if I want to see meat there's real pr0n.

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 11:42:10 am
content: Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on June 14, 2015, 09:53:27 amDespite however corny that contrived Altium advert may by, the female presenter is hardly "sexualized". C'mon, get your hand off it.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 12:04:42 pm
content: Let's please put burkas aside on this thread for now, thank you.The sexualized woman is on the last minute of Dave's video. It's not of good taste, doing that, not even on a real sports show.

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 01:02:06 pm
content: Quote from: ivan747 on June 14, 2015, 12:04:42 pmOh, I didn't make it that far.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 02:25:53 pm
content: Quote from: ivan747 on June 14, 2015, 12:04:42 pm"Bunny" was part of their whole advertising campaign for a while, even had her at the DesignCon trade show stand:https://www.flickr.com/photos/altium/sets/72157613375768000/

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 02:32:09 pm
content: Oh how terribly tacky.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 02:33:47 pm
content: BTW, this was their main campaign video for that:Yes, the Dave in the video is actually meant to be me, and several other names were other real Altium employees.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 04:08:58 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 14, 2015, 02:25:53 pmThe horror

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 04:12:39 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 14, 2015, 02:33:47 pmMeant to be you? Come on!You don't need a stock photo to substitute youBut then, stock photos are cheaper than setting up a photo shoot.OH WAIT, YES THEY DOJust watch it

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 09:01:32 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 14, 2015, 02:33:47 pmAnd now we see why you left Altium

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 11:37:07 pm
content: Quote from: bitwelder on June 14, 2015, 09:01:32 pmWell actually they gave me the arse along with 1/3rd the company. But yeah, I was looking to get out anyway.My friend who hired me into there only lasted 6 months, he couldn't stand it. But I gave them a chance.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 12:04:36 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 14, 2015, 11:37:07 pmWhat kind of designs did you do there? Real designs for production or just testing their software features and giving feedback?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 12:26:48 am
content: Quote from: zapta on June 15, 2015, 12:04:36 amI was in the small hardware group working on the design of the Nanoboards and other hardware.But yes, part of my job was to give my professional feedback on the software.

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 12:32:35 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 15, 2015, 12:26:48 amAltium shipped me a free NB1 that I was never able to use due to the antiquated parallel port interface. What numbnuts figured that was modern and up-to-date?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 01:57:57 am
content: Quote from: GK on June 15, 2015, 12:32:35 amThat's why they formed a hardware group.Of course our hands were still tied, resulting in the world's most expensive development board

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 03:19:19 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 15, 2015, 01:57:57 amHow much money are we talking here? And how much of it was in the FPGA?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 05:13:56 am
content: Quote from: ivan747 on June 15, 2015, 03:19:19 amUS$4300http://www.digikey.com.au/en/news/press-releases/2008/sep/digi-key-corporation-and-altium-limited-announce-global-distribution-agreement

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 05:57:03 am
content: That doesn't sound too bad, there had to be more expensive dev boards at the time.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 06:41:19 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 15, 2015, 05:13:56 amNice workstation, and you look happy there.What happened to the ring, game of poker? pawn shop?;-)

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 07:49:20 am
content: Quote from: zapta on June 15, 2015, 06:41:19 amDave's Secret Life...What calculator is in the photo? DMM? And the book?

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 01:17:47 pm
content: Even so I've never been able to use it, I did think at the time that my NB1 with it black silkscreen PCB and overly solid and black powder coated metal base was really quite pretty. It was bizarre at the time because Altium were so obviously desperate to get people to start using their brand new NB1 (the original Nanoboard) that they were literally throwing them at software subscribers like Rolf Harris giving out candy at at kindergarten.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 04:34:47 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 14, 2015, 02:33:47 pmI may be weird but I like it