CompuServe Thread

I haven't been keeping up with the boards lately, but the "one guy even said they were planning legal action…" sounds like something someone might say who misremembered something I posted some time ago. I NEVER said we were planning legal action. What I said was that I was concerned that Autodesk had opened themselves up to possible legal action from OTHERS. The patch modeler amounted to "bait-and-switch," which IS legally actionable. I proposed a SOLUTION which many here agreed was quite workable, but Autodesk didn't go for it. My solution was that rather than adding insult to injury by trying to "placate" us by giving us a "substitute goody" that (#1) wasn't worth anywhere NEAR what the Patch Modeler would've been (either in absolute value or in terms of productivity enhancement for a substantial majority of the users here), and (#2) MOST OF US ALREADY HAD!! (it was the very same Browser that came with Texture Universe, and which most of us bought and paid for T.U. SPECIFICALLY to get — I mean, the texture maps included were NICE and all, but they alone were just not worth anywhere NEAR the cost of that CD!). I even gave an analogy: imagine being promised by a car dealer that your new Mercedes includes a Blaupunkt Surround-Sound DAT & CD audio system with speakers custom designed by an audio engineer to provide "sweet spots" in all seating positions in the car, and to take the acoustics of the car's interior into account. But, when you received the car after having paid for it, you found it had only an el-cheapo AM radio. You complain, and they said that due to problems beyond their control, the Blaupunkt wasn't available. Yet they charged you the FULL price for the car as quoted WITH the sound system regardless. "BUT, we DID throw in this NIFTY little CARDBOARD WINDSHIELD SHADE to PROTECT your DASHBOARD from the SUN!!" #1, of course, such a cheap piece of cardboard is nowhere near as valuable, either in absolute value or in terms of desirability, as the Blaupunkt you were promised was. And, #2, YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE!! You even bought it earlier from the same dealer as part of a different promotion! Would you not be just a TAD bit upset with your Mercedes dealer in this situation? Now, what is different about this situation? NOTHING!! The SOLUTION I proposed was simple: set a perceived value for the Patch Modeller that we didn't get (say, $395). Then Autodesk sends out to all registered 3DSr"4" owners a certificate good for that amount, redeemable for the IPAS Plug-Ins of your choice from participating third-party Plug-Ins vendors (including the Yost Group). They in turn would send the certificates back to Autodesk with proof of purchase, and Autodesk would refund to the vendors the amount of $395 or whatever. This would've been a golden marketing opportunity. Many suppliers would likely be willing to accept the certificates at more than face value to get people to try their products. That way, while we still wouldn't have the promised Patch Modeler, we'd at least be able to get something of equal ABSOLUTE value and be sure to get something we did not already HAVE! One user might want to spend the certificate on, say, Bones Pro. Another, who already has Bones Pro, might prefer to get The Script Extensions instead. Yet another might want MeshPaint, or Yost Boutique #7, or perhaps a collection of less-expensive routines from Schrieber.