SmartSketch is crazy.

I have a friend who says Flash used to be really, good and you would do anything with it... he could endlessly sing it's phrases, he isn't a java programmer, so i don't take him too seriously*, but anyway, I was reading about flash on wikipedia...

*maybe this is an unfair prejedus?

It describes the company which developed it, FutureWave Software (who later sold out to Macromedia, who had already consumed Altsys, and went on to gobble up iBand Software, Andromedia Corporation, Allaire, Presedia, and eHelp Corporation before they where themselves brought out by Adobe... who interestingly acquired it with a stock swap, instead of paying money. I wonder what they swapped it for?

anyway. Flash grew out of a product made by FutureWave Software for called SmartSketch, which apparently " was designed to make creating computer graphics as simple as drawing on paper" I've been having a few ideas about how to make drawing on a computer more like drawing on paper myself, so i thought I'd check it out. there was no wikipedia link so I googled it and got this

It didn't seem like quite the same thing but apparently "SmartSketch provides powerful features such as parametrics and relationships that enable execution of design changes quickly and efficiently. It automatically creates and maintains relationships between geometric elements, and supports parametric graphics"

which sound interesting as well. I used a CAD program for the first time a little while ago, but it was very disappointing to see that if i edited something, interrelated parts of the drawing didn't also change in a sensible way... if I changed my mind I had to start over. SmartSketch sounds like it has a way around this, so I thought well, I'll give it a go.

Looking for a evaluation download is discover that you can't down load it! but they will post it to you on a CD for free... I started to fill out the form, but then had to impulse to read the license agreement.

hell. it scared me. not only was it written ALL CAPITALS AND BOLD IN A VERY LARGE FONT, but it was also said things like "The PP&M Product is designed to automatically terminate without notice on the expiration date delivered with the evaluation key. " and "Upon expiration or termination of the license herein granted, Evaluator shall return to PP&M all copies of the Product and any other data furnished by PP&M in connection herewith".

I have to return the CD? yes, and also destroy any notes you have made.
"In addition, Evaluator shall return to PP&M or destroy all reports or evaluations of the Product."

plus your not allowed to tell anyone else what you saw on the CD, even after the evaluation ends. if you do gangs of highly payed Intellectual Property Lawyers will rape you in a dark alley.

all, that, and they still don't make any "REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING ITS USE OR PERFORMANCE AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE"

also, I am obliged to tell them what I think of the product, otherwise they will terminate the license "At any time" and presumably I will have to return the CD immediately.

by now i was intimidated enough to not want to try the software.

this is the most intense, scary, license agreement I have ever seen.

it's like the time I brought the dianetics book* from the Scientologists. the ones i met seemed like completely ordinary, nice people, but a few months later I received a letter giving me the option of a trial subscription to a Scientology magazine... but only if I signed an agreement on the form which said I would do nothing against the church of Scientology.

which is kinda creepy. they have something to hide and maybe i'd rather they didn't know where I lived.

same goes for PP&M

dianetics by the way, has a few simple interesting ideas, but is fatally flawed by mostly being unreadably absurd.