Hello DBH,

Good article. I remember how expensive my first computer was.

All new technology must recover its development costs and produce demand sufficient for economies of scale to reduce costs before prices can be lowered. You mentioned Solidworks and its cost; one seat of my preferred Cad-Cam program costs four times that amount. It improves our productivity by magnitudes otherwise unheard of. It comes on one disc also. It is worth every penny. Imagine the lack of interest in developing, improving and supporting intellectual property of this nature for only slightly more than the price of recording and distributing a CD! I wonder how much entertainment (movies and music) would be missing in our lives if this mentality prevailed...
Regards,
O.A.