Fred, an average EDA customer would be rather foolish to think that
ViewLogic (or any other company) would give names of customers who
weren't just bubbling over with enthusiasm for their product.  This is
not to say that seeking these references is a waste of time; just that
these references have been hand picked by the very people trying to
convience you to *buy* from them.

Going to the net or talking to friends is sometimes the only way one
can get no bullshit answers to the question of: "Is this tool worth buying?"

                              - John Cooley
                                the ESNUG guy
                                (and EDA & ASIC Design Consultant, too!)

===========================================================================
 Trapped trying to figure out a Synopsys bug?  Want to hear how 3114 other
 users dealt with it ?  Then join the E-Mail Synopsys Users Group (ESNUG)!

     /o o\  /  it's a FEATURE!"                 (508) 429-4357
    (  >  )
     \ - /     - John Cooley, EDA & ASIC Design Consultant in Synopsys,
     _] [_         Verilog, VHDL and numerous Design Methodologies.

     Holliston Poor Farm, P.O. Box 6222, Holliston, MA  01746-6222
   Legal Disclaimer: "As always, anything said here is only opinion."

Actually, the cynical answer isn't the reality I've run into.

First, the marketing/sales guys don't really hear everything the tool user thinks.
They usually think "oh he buys, therefore he must think it's good"

I've talked to "hand-picked" people and been surpised when I hear negative things.
The reality is all tools have negatives, and people live with a tool because they
can get it to work for their application.

So the important thing to 'suss out is: what features do I really need? How much home-brew do
I need to do to get it all to play together (i.e. how much internal support)? Are the details
of my application unique enough that I run a risk that no one else has tried it? Am I too cash-poor,
and have to find a different way to compete, rather than throwing money at EDA vendors.

Second, the net is good, but realistically, it's only a subset of users. You might get a better
shot a finding "someone like you" by talking to your vendor....Once you have the company and a name,
ask to talk to the guys in the trenches...work the phone....

oh and p.s., don't trust anything you hear from people selling workstations.

Just a side comment for the views expressed here...

We have just concluded an exercise in evaluating 4 vendors who provide tool sets
for customer service tools. Two of those vendors publicize that their customer
lists are 100% referencable. In other words, we could call ANY of their
customers. (The customer, of course, is asked previously if they agree to be
included on this list.) The m{*filter*}of the story is, there are some software
companies out there who spend enough effort in trying to satisfy EVERY
customer - not just the biggest ones. As a marketing strategy, I liked it.

Regards,
Chuck

--
Chuck Matthews

                                              655F Lone Oak Drive
(612)683-5385                                 Eagan, MN  55121

People have been referred to me by several vendors, and in a fair amount of
cases I have recommended against the purchase of that particular product,
for whatever reasons. I'm not married to any CAD vendor, and will tell
things like they are.

I'd recommend doing both. And specifically asking one vendor what they have
to offer over another one. There's nothing better than watching competition
at work.

    -Kartik