I received this press release a little while ago:

"Bentley Systems, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has acquired e-on software.

"Bentley Systems is a fantastic company that shares our passion for technological excellence. E-on software will continue to exist and thrive as one of its subsidiaries. The entire team is maintained and all our products (VUE, PlantFactory, LumenRT, CloudFactory, Carbon Scatter and Cornucopia3D) will continue to improve and rapidly reach exciting new heights.

"This is excellent news for all our users and followers!

"You will find today's press release further down and online at:"

http://www.e-onsoftware.com/news/?page=pressreleases&date=September%2014,%202015

Not familiar with Bentley Systems, but this sounds like it could be a good thing. Maybe they will have the money and resources needed to improve Vue, especially in marketing. Will be interested to see other opinions.

While I have NOT worked for a 3D company experiencing a buy-out, I have experienced one small company (bringing fresh ideas) buying out one of the oldest companies in US. I was responsible for No California fulfillment (marketing), and it was a "disaster". Half the employees left. I have never heard of this company. Hope it is a positive action for our community. IMHO E-on Software catered to Hollywood.

The only ones that usually benefit from a buy-out are CEOs, not the consumer of the product. History proves that true.

Quote from I believe a 2002 interview

"Macuarium. Is e-on software's intention to keep it alone or could it be merged with other large 3D/digital firms as Autodesk/Discreet or Nemetschek/Maxon?

e-on. We’re actually quite happy to be alone! Imagine, nobody to tell us what we should do! We can dedicate 100% of our time to crafting tools that users will love!" http://www.macuarium.com/macuarium/actual/especiales/2002_08_02_e-ongb.shtml

There is an FAQ on the E-on site under forum, announcements discussing this. I just saw it. There is room for questions.

They developed Microstation which has been around since the eighties, used by architects and civil engineers.

I'm familiar with Bentley systems, due to having a mechanical engineer background., mainly form their product MicroStation. If I'm very honest, I do not think that for us, hobby users this is a good move at all. For high end / pro users yes, this may turn out to be a good move, but for the rest, I seriously doubt it. Now we all know that the ladt few years, E-On was already focussing more and more on the high end users, so this doesn't come as a surprise at all. E-On has clearly shown that they prefer a different user base then home/hobby users, cutting back on that end slowly, but surely. This is just the next step up.

This move can go 2 ways in time to come. Either Bentley will swallow up the expertise, implementing it in their own software and ending the Vue line completly. Or they will keep Vue, but since their focus is on pro users, they will end the Vue Artist and Enthusiast line, only keeping the pro line. I'm going for the second one.

Well at least it isn't Autodesk.

mouser posted at 10:04PM Tue, 20 October 2015 - #4230893

Well at least it isn't Autodesk.

It won't matter if the outcome is the same. :(

Before we spend too much on the funeral, perhaps we could wait for the TOD to be called? Or maybe even wait for the wild ambulance ride to the ER first?

Seriously.

Yeah, it -may- be the gloom and doom for the hobbyist. But if they still existed here, I would suggest for everyone to go back to the days of Poser 5's release and start reading the death knells there. Which continued on for versions 6.7.8.9.10, and is being banged hard and loud as Poser 11/ Pro 2016 heads for the finish line. Yeah Cinema 4D tossed anyone who couldn't afford paying for the whole magilla under the bus. That was them. Getting the bowels in an uproar over something that hasn't even begun to appear to be happening is kind of a waste of energy, you know?

Dale B posted at 10:02AM Wed, 21 October 2015 - #4234547

Getting the bowels in an uproar over something that hasn't even begun to appear to be happening is kind of a waste of energy, you know?

Definitely. But where's the fun in that? ;)

Check out this article. :]

http://renderositymagazine.com/e-on-software-acquired-by-bently-systems-cms-74

Wow. I hadn't heard about this.

I am familiar with Bentley because I use Microstation every day at work.

It would be cool if it were easier to get Microstation models, etc., into Vue.

Okay, so here we are well into 2018 and as a longtime user of Vue, I have to say that I'm angry that they have not said a thing to users about why their site has been down for weeks now. Both E-On and Cornucopia still say they are 'doing site maintenance' and will be up in a few hours. This is unacceptable treatment to customers who depend on being able to purchase the items shown in the library. I just upgraded to Vue Complete 2016! WHERE ARE YOU?? -Stephen.

Well Stephen, indeed the websites are down. But all other channels are open. Send e-on an email - support@e-onsoftware.com or sales@e-onsoftware.com (in case of a sales issue) as others did successfully already.

Hi wabe, I had Vue Complete 2016 crash on me today and the crash report window popped up asking what I was doing when it happened. I wrote a careful explanation and sent it off,but it was immediately stopped with an error message telling me the site could not be reached.

**When my ship comes in, there's always a dock strike happening. **

Thanks for trying to give the crash information. But this is something that indeed is not working right now. However, if you need any support, write to support@e-onsoftware.com and I am sure, you will get help quickly.

Well thanks for that link. I'll try that next time.

LumenRT is available through the Bentley web site, the other e-on products are missing still.

There are a couple of ways this can play out. If Bentley only wanted LumenRT then the rest is in limbo and this is not a good sign. If the e-on marketing platform does not match the way Bentley sells software then that may take some serious adjustments to merge them...but this is not a good reason to take the sites down for an extended period.

I have a small amount of cash in my Cornucopia3D account and if they sent me an email explaining why I have no longer got access to that I missed it. If they are shutting down I would expect something about a refund, I've missed that too.

Lack of any communication is not a good look.

I agree completely. There is no good reason for their total lack of an explanation or even a simple response to their loyal customers. I have been using Vue for many years now and I always promote them to anyone who asks. Now I feel like a liar to every customer I've pointed their way.

What happens if I build a new computer? If the server is down, Vue reverts back to the PLE version without even the ability to save renders. "Not a good look" is an understatement!

SBriggs posted at 2:29PM Sat, 20 January 2018 - #4322618

I agree completely. There is no good reason for their total lack of an explanation or even a simple response to their loyal customers. I have been using Vue for many years now and I always promote them to anyone who asks. Now I feel like a liar to every customer I've pointed their way.

What happens if I build a nis down, Vue reverts back to the PLE version without even the ability to save renders. "Not a good look" is an understatement!

I would say the “total lack of an explanation”, of which you speak, is not “total” at all. Need to activate software? Email support (support@e-onsoftware.com). They respond to customers quickly and can help with activation.

Why the “silence”? They are owned by a large company. Large companies have policies and protocols. With regard to this situation I’m sure one of them calls for employees not to make statements regarding the server/website maintenance issues except for what’s been approved by their leadership. Neither you nor I are going to get “the reason” why the sites are down. Accept it. Idle, and inaccurate speculation is pointless, and rumors only serve to misinform when/if they spread, which isn’t helpful.

Yes, well silence breeds my "idle and inaccurate speculation". All I want is the ability to access the products they offer for sale right from my copy of Vue. Is that asking too much? I see a nice tree and click on it to use in my work but all I get is that same blank "Maintenance" page. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I'm 66 years old and would like to be able to use the software before I die of old age!

@John_Mathews "Large companies have policies and protocols"

Indeed they do. And this is why the relatively short lifetimes of the domain name registrations of Cornucopis3D and e-onsoftware made since Bentley took over are interesting. Do some whois lookups.

lostchord posted at 7:58AM Sun, 21 January 2018 - #4322652

@John_Mathews "Large companies have policies and protocols"

Indeed they do. And this is why the relatively short lifetimes of the domain name registrations of Cornucopis3D and e-onsoftware made since Bentley took over are interesting. Do some whois lookups.

Not certain whether you believe I should do one whois lookup, or several? However, I did that toward the middle of the month when it became apparent E-on's website wasn't coming back up any time soon.

I wouldn't know whether it was a "long" or "relatively short" lifetime, regarding their domain name registration, but E-on Software's domain was registered from 7-1-98 until 6-30-18. 20 years doesn't seem like a "relatively short time" despite the domain name's expiration in June of this year. Their DNS servers are running, it would seem. Perhaps their procedure will be to renew their respective domain names prior to June, yes? Cornucopia3D's domain name has been in effect since 2004, it would appear, and may expire in May of 2018 if, of course, they don't renew.

Since you sound knowledgeable regarding the subject perhaps you can shed some light on the domain name renewal process, length of time for which a domain name can be renewed, the cost of doing so, and how long such a process might take?

It seems highly unlikely that either domain would not be renewed by Bently/E-ON. There is no evidence of anything nefarious or suspicious afoot.

SBriggs posted at 8:25AM Sun, 21 January 2018 - #4322648

Yes, well silence breeds my "idle and inaccurate speculation". All I want is the ability to access the products they offer for sale right from my copy of Vue. Is that asking too much? I see a nice tree and click on it to use in my work but all I get is that same blank "Maintenance" page. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I'm 66 years old and would like to be able to use the software before I die of old age!

However, my dear Briggs, they haven't been silent. Barry and Walther, two very helpful guys from E-ON support, have been quite responsive to customers through their support channel. E-ON have been quite active on Facebook, with daily posts including tutorial videos and responses to group members. If E-ON were "pulling the plug", they simply wouldn't go to the trouble of being so active in this regard.

I agree, it would be great if a representative from Bentley/E-ON would make an informative and reassuring statement which shed light on the website issue and its resolution. That's not going to happen. I understand why, but I don't agree with it since it makes a lot of people start to put on their tinfoil hats, speculate, and spread unfounded rumors.

No one is being unreasonable who expects something he bought to work as advertised. This problem is temporary. It will be resolved, and before you turn 67 (Ha!). And, by the way, you're only about ten years older than I am. We're not "old". Ha!

Yes, I agree that Barry, in particular, has been very helpful to me over the years. E-On as the marketing tool, has not. My irritation stems from the fact that I was very excited over upgrading recently to Vue Complete 2016 which I think is a marvelous piece of software. It literally has no competition that I've been able to find anywhere. But it's like buying a hot new sports car and suddenly having all the gas stations shut down for no visible reason - questions, speculation and even some irritation are to be expected and will continue until someone in charge starts talking about it.

John_Matthews posted at 2:06PM Mon, 22 January 2018 - #4322666

lostchord posted at 7:58AM Sun, 21 January 2018 - #4322652

@John_Mathews "Large companies have policies and protocols"

Indeed they do. And this is why the relatively short lifetimes of the domain name registrations of Cornucopis3D and e-onsoftware made since Bentley took over are interesting. Do some whois lookups.

Not certain whether you believe I should do one whois lookup, or several? However, I did that toward the middle of the month when it became apparent E-on's website wasn't coming back up any time soon.

I wouldn't know whether it was a "long" or "relatively short" lifetime, regarding their domain name registration, but E-on Software's domain was registered from 7-1-98 until 6-30-18. 20 years doesn't seem like a "relatively short time" despite the domain name's expiration in June of this year. Their DNS servers are running, it would seem. Perhaps their procedure will be to renew their respective domain names prior to June, yes? Cornucopia3D's domain name has been in effect since 2004, it would appear, and may expire in May of 2018 if, of course, they don't renew.

Since you sound knowledgeable regarding the subject perhaps you can shed some light on the domain name renewal process, length of time for which a domain name can be renewed, the cost of doing so, and how long such a process might take?

It seems highly unlikely that either domain would not be renewed by Bently/E-ON. There is no evidence of anything nefarious or suspicious afoot.

I did the following lookups:

**bentley.com

Dates 8,826 days old Created on 1993-11-22 Expires on 2021-11-21 Updated on 2017-11-03

Name Server(s) NS1-07.AZURE-DNS.COM (has 60,191 domains) NS2-07.AZURE-DNS.NET (has 98 domains)

cornucopia3d.com - located in France

Dates 776 days old Created on 2015-12-07 Expires on 2018-05-23 Updated on 2017-09-18

Name Server(s) NS1-09.AZURE-DNS.COM (has 60,191 domains) NS2-09.AZURE-DNS.NET (has 98 domains)

cornucopia3d.net - located in quebec

Dates 2,866 days old Created on 2010-03-18 Expires on 2018-12-31 Updated on 2017-09-18

Name Server(s) BHS.E-ONSOFTWARE.COM (has 3 domains) RBX.E-ONSOFTWARE.COM (has 3 domains)

e-onsoftware.com - located in France

Dates 776 days old Created on 2015-12-07 Expires on 2018-06-29 Updated on 2017-03-05

Name Server(s) NS1-01.AZURE-DNS.COM (has 60,191 domains) NS2-01.AZURE-DNS.NET (has 98 domains)

e-onsoftware.net - located in quebec

Dates 2,866 days old Created on 2010-03-18 Expires on 2019-01-01 Updated on 2017-03-05

Name Server(s) BHS.E-ONSOFTWARE.COM (has 3 domains) RBX.E-ONSOFTWARE.COM (has 3 domains) **

What I find interesting is that Bentley seem to be renewing on a four year cycle (assuming the last update was a renewal) and it would be far simpler from an administrative perspective to renew all domain names at the same time. They have all been transferred to the same registrar I think so this would be really simple to do. But the recent updates to Cornucopia3d seem to have been for some different reason. Note that the redirects for e-on and cornucopia3d seem to be going to designated dns servers which is also odd.

So maybe they are not going to renew the domains. Nothing bad about that although you would want to hang onto them for a while to cover the transition period and May of this year is not that far away for cornucopia3d.com. Maybe they are trying to integrate with the Bentley site - LumenRT is there already - and it has gone pear shaped...well that should not kill off the old sites and normal services can be resumed while you lick your wounds and get ready to try again.

The only reasons for an extended outage are either (1) the site and all its data is lost...including backups... or (2) extreme incompetence managing an upgrade, or, finally (3) they are in the process of dumping it.

What I find interesting is that Bentley seem to be renewing on a four year cycle (assuming the last update was a renewal) and it would be far simpler from an administrative perspective to renew all domain names at the same time. They have all been transferred to the same registrar I think so this would be really simple to do. But the recent updates to Cornucopia3d seem to have been for some different reason. Note that the redirects for e-on and cornucopia3d seem to be going to designated dns servers which is also odd.

So maybe they are not going to renew the domains. Nothing bad about that although you would want to hang onto them for a while to cover the transition period and May of this year is not that far away for cornucopia3d.com. Maybe they are trying to integrate with the Bentley site - LumenRT is there already - and it has gone pear shaped...well that should not kill off the old sites and normal services can be resumed while you lick your wounds and get ready to try again.

The only reasons for an extended outage are either (1) the site and all its data is lost...including backups... or (2) extreme incompetence managing an upgrade, or, finally (3) they are in the process of dumping it.

I seriously doubt it's your third option. Of your first two, the latter seems a bit more likely. I'm thinking it was something inadvertent, accidental, and, unfortunately, catastrophic. The kind of thing a new policy will be written especially for. The kind of policy with someone's name on it ("....oh yeah, that's new, it's the "Gary" policy..."). At least now they have something of a website up and a means of contacting sales or support personnel. I think if the lights were going out they wouldn't bother to waste resources and money any further.

John_Matthews posted at 5:35AM Thu, 25 January 2018 - #4322667

However, my dear Briggs, they haven't been silent. Barry and Walther, two very helpful guys from E-ON support, have been quite responsive to customers through their support channel. E-ON have been quite active on Facebook, with daily posts including tutorial videos and responses to group members. If E-ON were "pulling the plug", they simply wouldn't go to the trouble of being so active in this regard.

E-on should have emailed its customers about what was happening or at the very least posted on sites like Renderosity in an **official **capacity to put minds at rest. YES they have been very helpful to me once I contacted them, but I only knew about how to contact them because of another member on this site! Had they sent a simple email telling us all how to contact them etc it would have stopped all the 'idle and inaccurate speculation' in its tracks.

I am very happy with the way e-on have helped me and I am pleased to see the placeholder website up.

andy.taylor posted at 9:25AM Thu, 25 January 2018 - #4322999

E-on should have emailed its customers about what was happening or at the very least posted on sites like Renderosity in an **official **capacity to put minds at rest. YES they have been very helpful to me once I contacted them, but I only knew about how to contact them because of another member on this site! Had they sent a simple email telling us all how to contact them etc it would have stopped all the 'idle and inaccurate speculation' in its tracks.

I am very happy with the way e-on have helped me and I am pleased to see the placeholder website up.

I would agree their damage control left much to be desired. It was only today I read their email regarding a multi-year incursion into their servers by unknown suspects. This has apparently been going on since 2013 and, once discovered, they took everything offline. E-ON say financial information (e.g. credit card data) wasn't compromised due to encryption. I haven't seen any fraudulent charges against my card, so that may be true. Of course, if the vermin have been gnawing at the grain since 2013, the damage would have already been done by now.

E-on's website was compromised and they claim no financial information was stolen. I don't believe them nor should anybody else since they discovered the theft occurred several years ago. Typical companies that don't tell their customers until years later because they're afraid they'll go out of business. They should go out of business. E-on is on my list with other software companies not to do business with anymore. I also will not place an order with a company in a country other than my own because it causes problems with the bank and I don't trust other countries handling my personal information. There have been so many problems lately with websites being hijacked and we're the last to hear about it.

I believe them, because I understand how the hack probably happened and what they mean when they say the financial information was hashed.

They were hacked way farther back then that. My ISP wouldn't allow emails from them. And still doesn't. Maybe e-on will be able to get some credibility back after moving their website to a new setup.

It takes a long time for many customers to trust a company again especially since they intentionally withheld information for several years. I don't care who took over E-on. I never heard of them so why should I trust them? Their apology is a canned response and meaningless to me.

Prior to ordering Vue 2016 years ago if I had known they were operating out of France I never would have ordered it. Canada is bad enough because there are some crooked companies there I've had problems with who do not supply usable product keys. I had to deal with the dysfunctional Canadian BBB to get my money back several months later. I don't even live in Canada. The company lied and said they had an office in the U. S. when they did not. If you have software product keys that suddenly don't work you can blame this Canadian company.

This is just an example of not knowing who or what you're dealing with especially when a company was reputable at one time then turned crooked later. I know several examples of those. I think in E-on's case they were just negligent with protecting our information then covered it up for years.

chrysoula posted at 2:28PM Mon, 29 January 2018 - #4323131

I believe them, because I understand how the hack probably happened and what they mean when they say the financial information was hashed.

That's what they say, but they probably don't know and may not know for several years. So what do they do? Sell out to somebody else. Why should we trust them? I don't. So many companies have done the same thing under the same circumstances.

whbos posted at 11:43PM Mon, 29 January 2018 - #4323300

It takes a long time for many customers to trust a company again especially since they intentionally withheld information for several years. I don't care who took over E-on. I never heard of them so why should I trust them? Their apology is a canned response and meaningless to me.

If a company has intentionally misled their customers of wrongdoing, and has not met their obligations to inform customers of any compromise which may lead to financial fraud as a result, then I would agree there is reason to be distrustful. There is no proof of that of which I am aware. E-ON took a drastic step in bringing down their website and servers with the apparent intent of uncovering the problem and investigating the extent of any possible damage. It took far longer than anyone would have liked, but they issued a rather public statement to all software owners regarding what occurred and what they did to remedy the issue. Their investigation of the issue revealed unknown suspects were acting in unlawfully entering a secured computer network for several years. E-ON say no customer financial information was compromised and I tend to believe that since they're using fairly sophisticated encryption algorithms to secure such information. While embarrassing, the issue does not appear to have been covered-up. Hiring an outside firm to investigate what occurred is no small or inexpensive undertaking, either.

Prior to ordering Vue 2016 years ago if I had known they were operating out of France I never would have ordered it. Canada is bad enough because there are some crooked companies there I've had problems with who do not supply usable product keys. I had to deal with the dysfunctional Canadian BBB to get my money back several months later. I don't even live in Canada. The company lied and said they had an office in the U. S. when they did not. If you have software product keys that suddenly don't work you can blame this Canadian company.

Did you say you didn't know E-ON was in France? Did you not do any research into the company prior to purchasing your license? Might the same thing have occurred had E-ON been an American company? It has. Computer system and network compromises occur every day and wreak havoc financially for thousands of people here in the US. From your local grocery store chain to larger, nationwide retailers, it's happened to all of them. There are three types of computer networks; those which haven't been compromised, those which have been compromised, and those which will be compromised. It's a matter of time for all of them. Most large companies do their best to stay a step ahead of it. Comparing this to your experience with whichever Canadian company is a bit apples-to-oranges, in my book.

This is just an example of not knowing who or what you're dealing with especially when a company was reputable at one time then turned crooked later. I know several examples of those. I think in E-on's case they were just negligent with protecting our information then covered it up for years.

Wouldn't it be incumbent on you to do your diligence and know something about a company's reputation prior to making large purchases from them? Do you imply that E-ON is now "crooked" because they (and, perhaps, I should say "we") have been the victim of a cyber-crime? Were they negligent? Wish I knew. It seems they took some very big steps to investigate and correct the problem once it was discovered. Is it possible they could have been the victim of ongoing criminal activity without their knowledge until now? Absolutely.

I haven't been a customer of E-ON for long. Less time than some of you, I imagine. I can give them the benefit of the doubt. Had a criminal obtained my credit card information and started buying the world with it I would have known by now. So, chances are quite good they've protected that type of information quite well.

whbos posted at 12:15AM Tue, 30 January 2018 - #4323302

That's what they say, but they probably don't know and may not know for several years. So what do they do? Sell out to somebody else. Why should we trust them? I don't. So many companies have done the same thing under the same circumstances.

I think they now know what occurred and how it happened. That's why they hired a company from outside their own to investigate.

I'm not certain I understand what you mean by saying they "sold out" to someone else. E-ON was purchased by Bentley in 2015, wasn't it? Three full years prior to learning of an ongoing criminal activity of which they/we have been unknowing victims for five years.

Which companies have done the same thing under the same circumstances? Would you be able to cite examples?

I am not an E-ON fanboy or apologist. I'm just trying to be reasonable during a difficult period. I do believe things could have been handled differently as far as informing customers. Perhaps more information could not have been passed-along, however, without compromising their investigation. I'm also certain their corporate leadership did not want anything but uniform and official statements to be made regarding the situation. It was all an annoyance to me, too, but a small one in the grand scheme of things. I'm quite certain a fuller investigation will be conducted by law enforcement authorities who are no doubt eager to learn the source of the incursion into E-ON's computer systems. We may never know the outcome of that, but I'm certain such an investigation will occur.