Here's the link to the Electric Quilt web site that has been asked about in the General Forums. Pretty cool program :D
http://www.electricquilt.com/

I thoroughly enjoy my EQ. Highly recommend the program.

I love my EQ. Still have a lot to learn. I recently found out that I can go to their website and download more stash!

The only problem with EQ is that I could spend all day designing quilts on the computer, and never actually start one! LOL

I love EQ as well. However, I'm on a mission to change their new activation policy. Something to think about, if you haven't purchased version 6 yet.

http://www.electricquilt.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000042.html

I just bought EQ5 instead of EQ6 specifically because of the restrictions. I can understand that they want to reduce piracy but it's so limiting to have only so many activations AND having to activate it online. I would love to have the feature in EQ6 that scales fabrics automatically but I'm not sure that it's worth it.

I read the thread posted (which, btw, I posted in a while back. lol) and am wondering what is EQ's competitor? I'd be interested in checking that out even though EQ5 is working fine for me now (I bought it used on ebay so it wasn't full price).

Quilt Pro 5
http://quiltpro.com/

I've done some research on this EQ6...I had heard about it but this is the first time I actually looked into it since I was trying to design and keep coming up blank. The price is more than I can afford at this moment since I just bought that in fabric....so out with the graphing paper...I do believe it will be purchased by me soon, tho, as it sounds so delightful...and yes, I'ld be spending so much time with the program that actually sewing might take second seat for a month! So ladies, has this EQ really been worth it..how many quilts have you actually made using this program? There's so many free patterns out there.....you've given input on this some, I guess maybe I need talking into it........... :roll:

If you like to design...or just come up with possibilities as you see them....it is wonderful.....the key is remembering to put them to fabric. It makes it quicker. It can be delightfully relaxing and there are literally a gazillion options at a fingertip...which is I admit .....one of it's greatest thrills. It allows you minutes of your time to design, instead of the hours it can take by paper, and it prints out your requirements and patterns at the click of the mouse...Nice! You may still go back ot hand drawing some patterns, and that is ok...sometimes that fits too. But all in all...it is a great program. 'Course I am only using the EQ5. There is so much yet to do with it that I will be occupied for some time.Does your local quilt store have it? Maybe you can try it out and see if it is up your alley then no great expense is put out for a program you wont use. Or maybe a friend in your local guild has it and will let you try it out. Give it a go...who knows...you may just get hooked.

Can't get pics to load without extra info....but check out EQ info and see if you can have a go at someones program before you buy.

there are lots of things i like about EQ6, but i am not impressed by the looks of self-scanned fabrics. it's sooooo up close you can see every detail of the weave. it distracts from the "in person" beauty of the fabric. the colors aren't right, either. these problems could be from the software or my scanner. not sure. whatever the cause, they don't look any better in EQ6.

point of all that being ... don't pay extra for EQ6 if your only reason is being able to scan in your own fabrics UNLESS you are satisfied with the quality of the scans you get. otherwise, you're better off plundering the built-in and downloadable stuff to find something close to the fabrics you plan to use.

P.S. a few days after writing what's above, i tried taking pictures of the fabric instead of scanning. i had to fiddle with the zoom to try getting an "actual size" photo), but they look much better in general and especially in EQ.

Patrice:
Like you, I tried to scan some fabric into the "stash" on my EQ5 from my personal stash and when it was done I didn't really recognize the fabric I had scanned so I'm glad to hear that you took pictures of your fabric then saved it in EQ. and it worked for you. I hadn't even given that a thought but I'll try it! Thank you.
Feathers

I know I haven't posted much since I started reading the forum...but..just wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that you can't legally sell your old version of EQ. When I upgraded from EQ4 to EQ5 I thought it would be nice to give my friend my older one, but after reading the agreement, decided to just leave it on the shelf http://www.electricquilt.com/Help/PreventPiracy.asp scroll down to selling or giving away....
Hope this topic doesn't offend anyone.

Gee, If it is old and they are making money on the new, what is the problem if you give it to a friend. What if you owned two computers and your friend used one........Sounds like they may have spyware in their soft ware. Creepy. Maybe you have to rent a computer so that they can't watch you. Beware the man is watching :roll: :( :evil: :thumbdown:

I too have been looking into EQ6, but have decided not to purchase because of activation restrictions. and I really really wanted this programme. It costs a lot over here too NZ$310

I don't mind registration and activation, I understand companies have to find some way of protecting themselves from piracy. But to charge for every activation after the first four is just a bit much. Even Microsoft isn't this restrictive. In fact over my recent computer troubles they were very helpful about reactivating programmes.

I recently had experiance of having to reactivate programmes after a major computer meltdown and have realised that if you had a bit of bad luck it wouldn't take much to use up 4 activations. EQ does allow a 5th for computer malfanction situations but after that there is a charge every time no matter what the situation. I was informed of this in an email from the company in reply to my query.
Charge is US$37.50 which is about NZ$45 -50 depending on exchange rate.

some of the things that would cause you to have to reactivate would be, upgrading or replacing the hard drive, formatting the hard drive because you had to get rid of a web nasty, buying a new computer and so on.

It's a shame really because for a long time I've looked forward to when I had a computer good enough to run a quilt design programme, am quite dissappointed. May look into EQ5 though as this doesn't have the same restrictions. PS sorry about writing a book :lol:

I have EQ5 and have not upgraded to EQ6 because of the limited lives for all the fore-mentioned reasons.
If I pay for it, it should be mine to re-install as many times as I need, without further charge.
We all know how many quirks computers can have.
What if you just want to roll your computer back to a previous date, does that take one of the lives?
I have EQ5 on a computer that I bought in 2000 with Windows Me on it.
I also have a new computer I just bought but had XP and a floppy disk drive installed because of all of my other software that would not be compatible with Vista.
I feel it is my right to have choices with something I bought and paid for!
Joyce

I have EQ5 and upgraded to EQ6. The reason for the activations is so people don't buy then sell for cheaper and buy more and so on and so on. It makes sense. And there is no spyware. All programs have legal issues, it is just no one reads the small print. EQ6 doesn't beat around the bush and puts the facts right out there. Better then MicroSoft! But also if you really had a problem with the activations and notified EQ they do help. They are just trying to stop pirating so they can stay in business and keep us EQer's happy. Also if it is just patterns you want there are cheaper programs out there. I think the name of one is Quilt Pro. EQ is for someone who wants to design or learn to design their own patterns. Even before I had EQ I never used a pattern to make a quilt. I used the patterns for ideas that is all. Even my first quilt a baby quilt I designed using Thomas the Train fabric (without EQ). Anyway just though I would put in my 2 cents. :D On a nother subject I am going to post a new subject about a couple of contest. Mall Crawl and the Bunny Hop. Its fun. So check new subjects in a litte bit if you like contest. :D

i don't think most people object to the piracy protection. i think it's the need to be online during installation and - i assume - the extra steps it would take if you wanted to move the software to a different computer (without violating the only one-computer-at-a-time license.)

i never used EQ5 but am not convinced 6 has enough new bells and whistles for the price jump.

that being said, i DO think it's great that they continue selling EQ5 right alongside the newer version. most companies force you to buy only the newest versions. AND it comes with a BOOK! a real, live, hold-it-in-your-hand-and-have-it-handy book!!! almost unheard of in this day and age. sooooo much nicer than having to switch back and forth between the task and online help.

i've had many conversations with their support folks. they are absolutely the best when it comes to listening to their customers and for general customer service. i got my money's worth getting answers to just the first two weeks' worth of stooooooopid questions. :lol:

I have EQ5 Just learning it .. I've found this to be a great program .. it's fun :) I have to learn how to make my pantographs with it.. I know there's a way some how :)
Connie

Wow! Connie....I think I like your sewing machine (avatar)! If you get tired of us, just PM me and I'll send you my addy and pay the postage!

Feathers

Ha Ha Feathers, you're not getting my Bailey, you can forget those apples! .. I'm making Quilts for Christmas gifts this year using my Bailey and frame.. I guess I went off and set the tracks on fire because they split right down the middle LOL good thing I had an extra set laying around.. now lets see how long these will last before I set them on fire LOL .. These Little quilts I'm making isn't much to them really.. just sewed pieces of the same style of fabric together and sew my bias around. . but it's the panto designs that brings them out and the backing.. it makes them look reverseable :)
Now my break time is over.. back to work :)
Connie

I have EQ6 and really enjoy it. Sometimes I have a hard time visualizing what the block or quilt will look like with the fabrics/colors I would like to use. It is so much easier too for my arthritic hands to design on the computer than to grip colored pencils and do it manually. I figure it will take me another year or two to figure out all that it can do, but that is just more future enjoyment as far as I am concerned :D
I too, was disappointed when I installed it on my lap top and found out that by doing so I used up another activation according to the user manual. I guess we are the victims of too much piracy, it is similar to paying higher prices in the store due to the shoplifting costs caused by other people. I am hoping that some day they can figure out a way to identify how many computers I own and allow me 4 activations per computer, which would be much more fair in my estimation.

I couldn't agree more! It's not a cheap program, and 6 activations just are not enough!

Hi Connie811:
Just got a notice of a reply on this thread. Did you finish all your Christmas quilts. Post pictures, we love to see what everyone else is doing so we can get inspired and motivated.

Happy New Year.
Feathers

I got EQ6 for my birthday as a gift from my brother and haven't had the chance to use it yet. What he did (b/c of the activations) was he bought me a portable hard drive to put it on that way I can bring it to any computer I want and not have to worry about it. Seemed like a good idea to me. That way if your computer breaks, you won't have to reactivate it. I like it b/c I can bring it anywhere and use any computer.

Very Smart! I have only put mine on my lap top. Maybe I will use onother activation for a portable drive. Sounds good. :-)

Melissa K:
What a great idea to use a portable drive...that brother of yours is a genious and he's generous, too! Would he like another sisiter???? I can supply my addy for an EQ6. :wink:

Thanks for the info.
Feathers

I just ordered EQ6 last week and I can't WAIT to get it in my little hands and play with it. I have never had any EQ so I'm really excited to finally get the software!

Good going. I had EQ5 then now have 6. Started on it, but got side tracked. And it is totaly different. I have got to get back on it. Every time I am trying to do something that needs to be figured out (as to how to lay out a certain quilt) I think to myself dummy, you have EQ6 use it! Have fun. Let us know how it goes!!

I'm still struggling with my EQ5. I do so much better learning FAST if I can see then do...reading and doing takes a bit longer for me but I'm getting it slowly. For me I have found EQ5 IS counter intuative (I'm not spelling well this morning either :roll: ) but think once I master it, I'll love it. Because I struggle with it I haven't put in the time needed to read and learn and that is my problem. I got a new laptop so I now have it on my laptop and find I do most of my playing with it while I'm on a long trip and we haven't done many of those recently.

ooh what a smart idea!!! I was thinking of getting one of those external hard drives too :)

I just wanted to point out I read that putting EQ-6 on an external hard drive and that using it on various computers was mentioned (maybe on the eq6 forum)... it still would take an "activation on each computer, I believe it has something to do with the IP address used when activating it for the external hard drive, it was still done from a specific IP address.... Maybe check directly with the electric quilt website to have it explained more thoroughly

Correct, but if you are running it off the same drive it is not another activation. If I take my drive (tower) to your house and use it it is not another activation. It is only if you install it that it is another activation. :D