Issue #90: 13 January, 1998

  • Prev: Upfront #89
  • Curr: Upfront #90
  • Next: Upfront #91

    • Intranet Drawing Server

    IntraPlant Technologies has introduced the first AutoCAD Web server with integrated search engine. Intranet DrawingServer
    uses the AltaVista search engine to find AutoCAD drawings based on a keyword or attributes. Drawings in specified
    directories are automatically indexed. The software supports: DWG and DWF files, viewing and redlinning of DWG
    files, and common office file formats.
     

    What's in a Name?

    "Cad" has different meanings, depending on the context. Jackob Vlietstra's "Dictionary of Acronyms and Technical
    Abbreviations" (Springer Verlag) lists the following meanings for CAD:

    And there's CAD, short for Canadian dollars. None of which has anything to do with the dictionary meaning of CAD, "An
    ungentlemanly man (short for caddie)."
     

    Magazine Circulation 

    Average copies per month for previous 12 months: In 1998, Cadence plans to up its circulation to 100,000 copies per month.
     

    Iomega ZIP Drive

    A client of ours sent some files on an Iomega ZIP disk. We didn't have the ZIP drive, so we bought one from the local
    Staples store. Their price was more expensive than the sale price at a local electronics discounter, but (1) the
    discounter was all sold out; and (2) Staples matched the price of US$118.

     We got the parallel port version since we didn't want to deal with installing a SCSI card. We attached the drive
    to the only spare parallel port in our office, a networked notebook computer. The portability comes at a: slow data
    transfer speed. We clocked the ZIP drive at a mere 2MB per minute. It took nearly half a day to copy archived files
    from one mutli-gigabyte hard drive to the networked ZIP drive
    .
     You shouldn't expect to use a ZIP drive to back up your computer's typical 3GB hard drive: you'd need 15 ZIP disks
    to do that. (Instead, consider the 2GB JAZ drive from Iomega, which stores 4MB compressed in backup mode.) We wish
    Iomega would store regular files on ZIP disks compressed, which would double the capacity to 200MB.

     We don't worry about backing up applications software but there are a number of crucial data files. The ZIP drive
    incudes a single ZIP disk that holds a package of several utility programs that used to sell separately for US$100.

     We had hoped to back up the crucial files of all our networked computers to a single ZIP disk. No luck. We were
    disappointed to find out that the backup software does not operate over the network: it only recognizes local drives.
    Running the ZIP backup software over the network results in an error message that no ZIP drive is attached. Duh! (Note
    that the ZIP drive does work over the network for simple file copying.)

     Another catch is the expense of the ZIP disks, which sell for US$17 locally. Fortunately, the electronic
    discounter had a sale featuring Maxell-brand ZIP disks for US$11 each. Even at the lower price, ten disks cost as much
    as the drive itself. There are many third-parties who manufacture ZIP disks, but there doesn't seem to be much
    price competition. Our guess is that Iomega extracts a high royalty fee. Based on a drive and ten ZIP disks, the
    price/MB is more than triple ($0.24/MB) the cost of a hard drive ($0.07/MB).

     The other catch is the capacity of the ZIP disks. Iomega has lots of 2-page, full color ads boasting of the
    ZIP disks' 100MB capacity. But we found the capacity is actually 95.7MB (or 100,431,872 bytes).

     For all these reasons, there are several incompatible competitors to Iomega, including 3M and Fujitsu, who boast
    larger capacity, faster speed, and lower cost.

     After our experience, we cannot recommend the Iomega ZIP drive: it is expensive, slow, and not fully network
    compatible. Only purchase it to be compatible with a client.
     

    CAD Internet Viewer Cuts Response Time

    The DRA-CAD Viewer now handles PkZip compressed CAD files internally. The proprietary MPP files are compressed up to
    70% resulting in corresponding shorter transfer times. The DRA-CAD Viewer is a 100% Java applet. It install itself and
    runs on 18 different platforms including PC, MAC and UNIX. The translator reduces a 2.2MB DXF file to less than 100KB
    as a condensed CAD file -- a reduction of Internet transfer time of more than 20x. For more info and a free fully
    working version (for a limited time):
    http://www.kozo.com/browser/browserZip/viewzipcode.htm
     

    CAD and Internet News Headlines

    ATM
    This Cambridge, England, company's ATOM chips boost phone line capacity and speed up Internet connections over phone lines
    by as much as 20 times.

    Autodesk
    As of Oct 31'97 the AutoCAD installed base is 1,816,000 licenses. Autodesk says it has shipped 270,000 new and
    upgrade copies of AutoCAD Release 14, representing 15% of the installed base.

    Dassault Systemes
    Dassault has completed its acquisition of Deneb, a provider of digital manufacturing systems, for US$105,000,000 in
    cash.

    EaglePoint
    Multiple Load Footing for Windows is a structural engineering software application that designs reinforced
    concrete footings for a combination of applied loads. 

    GeoPak
    The Summer 1998 Users Group Meeting will be held 13-15 Jul'98 in Bloomington MN USA at the Minneapolis Airport
    Marriott.

    PDAs
    3COM, maker of the PalmPilot, has announced it plans to sue Microsoft for using the name PalmPC.

     According to News.com, "The Newton development and management team has recently been hit by a significant
    number of employee defections to 3Com's PalmComputing subsidiary."

     A C compiler is now available that runs on the PalmPilot. More info from
    http://www.seashellinc.com/orbworks/pocketc.html

    PTC
    Parametric Technology Corp completed Jan 12'98 its merger with Computervision Corp, following
    approval by Computervision's shareholders. Computervision will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC.

    Softsource
    Vdraft v1.5 adds the Offset and Stretch commands, improves drawing aids, object tips, snap functions, and print
    options. Upgrade is free; free demo version available from Web site.
     Brand New CAD and Internet Books
    ++
    "Inside OrCAD Capture for Windows" by Paul G. Krol
    List price: US$54.95 (paperback); published by Onword Press

    "Maximizing AutoLISP R13" by Gesner, Middlebrook & Tanzillo
    List price: US$44.95 (incl. CD-ROM); published by Autodesk Press

    "Pro/Engineer in Practice" by David Bigelow
    List price: US$49.95 (paperback); published by Onword Press
     

    Letters to the Editor

    "upFront.eZine NEWS is an excellent publication that keeps us all well informed. I am curious about just one thing. Why
    is it that you give ArchiCAD from GraphiSoft no coverage whatsoever? I believe it is a big enough package, at least
    here in Europe."
         -- Keith Yeomans

    We give ArchiCAD as much coverage as we receive press releases. Last October, we gave coverage to the GraphiSoft
    road show, which we attended in Vancouver BC Canada. -- Ed.

    "Great newsletter! I look forward to it every week and immediately forward it to some of my employees and
    partners."
         -- RV

    "Keep up the great work and have a great New Year."
     -- CH
     

    Notable Quotable

    "Microsoft's growth model is one of tightly integrating the OS with applications. Why should the government intervene
    when this model is about to collapse under its own weight?"
         -- George Gilder, in Network Computing, 15 Dec'97

    Contact!

    All contents copyright XYZ Publishing, Ltd. Inc., 1998 and all rights are reserved. No material may be reproduced electronically or in print without written permission from XYZ Publishing, PO Box 3053, Sumas WA, 98295-3053, unless otherwise noted.