Issue #93: 3 February, 1998

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    • First Anniversary of Weekly Service

    This issue marks the first anniversary of upFront.eZine being produced weekly. Now nearly three years old, upFront.eZine began as an irregular email supplement to CAD++, a monthly printed newsletter directed at CAD developers, later renamed CAD++VRML. The high cost of printing and mailing killed CAD++VRML after three years of publication. A year ago, we wondered if there would be enough CAD news to fill a newsletter on a weekly basis. As it turns out, there was...

         ...and continues to be. In the last year, we had no difficulty writing up 9KB to 18KB of news every week -- with the exception of rest periods. Circulation tripled, from roughly 5,000 readers back in Feb'97 to our current level of 15,000 readers in nearly 50 countries.

         Thanks to you, our reader, for your keen interest. And thanks, especially, to the many who take time to write us with encouragement and juicy news.

    This issue consists mainly of letters we received last week:

    In its announcement acquiring Marcomp's library of DWG APIs, Visio pledged to honor existing licenses. The question is, will existing licensees stick with Visio? One CAD developer wrote us:
      "We depend heavily on the MarComp library to access DWG files. I admit that [the Visio announcement] caught us with our pants down. As developers, we don't usually think about technology in terms of 'What if a competitor buys it?' and such. I guess we learned our lesson."

    The editor replies: This is a tough one for CAD vendors. If you switch to another of the remaining independent DWG API developers, you face completely rewriting your DWG import- export routines with completely different library.

    Andrew Stein , senior manager of ADF product management at Autodesk weighed in with this correction to our story:
     "I noted an element to the story on the Marcomp acquisition with respect to the DWG read/write solutions from Autodesk that I could clarify:
         "Regarding the acquisition of Sirlin three years ago, the resulting product from that company was a product called 'DWG OEM,' not 'DWG Unplugged.' The DWG OEM product never fully handled anything more than R12 drawing file data.
         "The challenge to anyone building a DWG read/write programmer's library by reverse-engineering is by default always one or more big steps behind AutoCAD. Especially challenging would be (reverse) engineering an open solution that would potentially fully support all possible, yet foreseen or developed, custom object extensions to AcDb, the DWG portion of ObjectARX.
         "The best solution to this challenge was to develop a new product by 'unplugging' the AcDb portion out of ObjectARX. We did this on R13 producing 'DWG Unplugged' in its first version -- thereby delivering the exact same code AutoCAD used to read and write DWG files."

    The editor replies: From our vantage point, it is the third- party developers who have proven themselves faster than Autodesk in releasing R14-compatible products equivalent to DWG Unplugged and Autodesk View 2.

    Going back to Iomega's ZIP drive, Steve Wildow provided this warning he read at http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,18622,00.html
     "Users of Iomega's Zip drives are reporting serious malfunction of their drives and disks, a problem that has come to be known as the 'Click of Death.' Users report that after a time, their Zip drives will no longer read disks and instead will produce a loud clicking sound, from which the problem gets its name. Afflicted units reportedly no longer work once they get the Click of Death, and numerous users reported damaged disks and data loss as well. The problem is not reported to be associated with Iomega's new storage product, called Clik, for handheld devices.
         "Acting on the possibility that the problem was specific to one batch, one Zip user is collecting serial numbers in an attempt to identify such a defective batch." More info at the news group: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc

    Further refining the definition of CAD, here is Geoffrey Moore Langdon on the subject of CAD, CADD, and CAAD:
     "You forgot CAAD - Computer Aided Architectural Design, a term I have endeavored to replace with the more descriptive Architectural CADD, since having CAD, CADD, and CAAD just generated confusion back in the early 80s. For the most part the term CAAD has disappeared everywhere but Europe -- possibly because of eCAADe, which is their association equivalent of our ACADIA.
         "For the most part, we have used CAD as the all encompassing category of design with computers, of which CADD is just one of the subsets, along with CAE (engineering), CAD/CAM (mechanical engineering and robotics), digital imaging, virtual reality, CIM (manufacturing), CAID (interior design), and many other fields. Thus Architectural CADD would be a subset of CADD which is a subset of CAD, in turn a subset of just plain design. Presumably, at some point in the next decade or so, the 'CA' in all these cases would just get dropped, since such technology is already so pervasive that use of computers is assumed, just as we don't segment out 'telephone - aided communications,' or 'pencil assisted design.'

    Perhaps OpenGL isn't so dead after all, suggests Keith Cok:
     "The title 'SGI Gives Up on OpenGL' that you attached to the piece in your latest newsletter is wrong. I suggest you contact SGI PR, listed in the URL that you mention, for the official data."

    Our prediction of the future of Autodesk's WorkCenter were not dead-on, according to Amar Hanspal, director of AutoCAD Product Marketing:
     "Without divulging specific plans for future products, I do want to say that this statement ["Autodesk told us that it sees too many problems with locking individual records in a drawing"] is somewhat misleading. It is true that record- locking in the world of objects (which can have inter- relationships) is a more challenging problem than record locking in the world of geometry. However, this does not mean that we're not interested in solving it.
         "Given our track record in supporting 'entity level locking' with ADE and then AutoCAD Map, you can rest assured of our interest in doing it in the future on both the client and the server side."

    The use of Internet Explorer as the help engineer in AutoCAD LT 97 rubs some people the wrong way, including upFront.eZine's editor and Geoff Harrod :
     "We all know about the legal doings over Microsoft trying to force OEMs into using Internet Explorer v4.
         "When you install LT97 there is something that pops up saying 'you need to have MS Internet Explorer to use LT97 help'. And when I run the help, it pops up my Internet dial- up window to connect to my ISP. I haven't investigated what happens if I let it run.
         "I use IE v3.02 and have discarded IE v4, like all my friends, because it has so many undesirable side effects."

    Is MPP an open or proprietary file format? Last issue, we argued it wasn't, using Scott Taylor's definition (the file format must be fully documented and be updated by an independent group -- not a single vendor). Per Ranch agrees with us 100%, but has these counter-arguments:
     "1. Kozo don't maintain the MPP format. It was just published and distributed by us 10 years ago and we have not made any changes.
         "2. My vision is to make a small, simple and fast Web- based 2D CAD program that brings CAD one step further than discussing layers, blocks, and objects. I want CAD to be an important part of everyday life for people that need vectors.
         "Today's situation with dedicated CAD personnel is outdated! Teams of professional users should be able to work around the same set of drawings anywhere and anytime. So, a compact Web format is needed!
         "We started with the MPP format since it is compact and stable. Autodesk wanted us to use DWF but did not listen to our request for handles and a better way to define hyperlinks. Both these issues are vital in the future since we want to link our entities with _big_ CAD systems. And, we can't wait for an independent standard body to define one! That's why we promote MPP.
         "One concern that one may have about MPP is precision. We agree and offer a 32-bit version of the MPP format, the MPW format.
         "We are currently porting DRA-CAD to the Web, called DRA-CAD Espresso. We now have a production kernel for internal testing. It will be up and running within a month. At that time we will have limited 2D CAD functionality as well as true (inter)network features."
     More info from http://www.kozo.com/press/ukesspec.htm

    AutoSketch Road Tour

    Stuart Cohen brought the AutoSketch Road Tour to the editorial offices of upFront.eZine Monday. He's the product manager for AutoSketch, QuickCAD, and Drafix -- those last two products Autodesk acquired when it bought Softdesk. While we had previously seen AutoSketch 5 (v3 and v4 never existed), Stuart showed some things we hadn't noticed before.

         We had noticed the various drawing StartUp wizards (architectural, mechanical, etc) but not that the Diagram wizard contains eight additional setup wizards, such as creating a flow chart or a network diagram. But beware of the box's claim that the "Diagram Wizard actually creates ... Web site maps." It does, but you have to manually input the Web links or provide a CSV file, unlike, say Visio Professional, which actually goes out to the Web site and reads the links.

         AutoSketch's hyperlinking is more powerful than AutoCAD's, since a hyperlink in an AutoSketch drawing links to another AutoSketch drawing, another file of any format, or a URL on the Web.

         All of the thousands of symbols included with AutoSketch are matched to the grid (which, in turn, is set up automatically by the setup wizard). That way, symbols always line up with each other. Isometric drawing is made easier with a rectangle command that draws isometric rectangles.

         Miscellaneous items: Asked who the target competitor is, TurboCAD was acknowledged. Asked about the future of the Drafix and Planix line, an announcement is forthcoming. Autodesk says there are 600,000 users of AutoSketch. The retail price of US$99 in the USA is CDN$99 in Canada -- shopping in Canada saves you US$30!

    CAD and Internet News Headlines

    Digital Equipment
    DEC showed off its Alpha CPU capable of 1GHz processing speed. As we used to say in the old days, "that'll really make the WordPerfect screens snap into place."

    Egghead
    The computer superstore is closing all 80 of its remaining stores and will instead try to sell over the Web at http://www.egghead.com

    Microsoft
    Here's one magazine review you won't be reading about in a Microsoft press release: Interactivity magazine compared graphical development environments on Unix and Windows NT. Overall, Unix won. NT lost in the areas of scalability, reliability, connectivity, and performance. Unix fared worse in interface, price, and application availability. More info from: http://www.eyemedia.com
         In unrelated news, Microsoft has denied reports Bill Gates plans to give US$1 billion to charity.
         In further unrelated news, Symantec and McAfee Labs have cures for the new class of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet virus discovered last week.

    PLH Systems
    IGESure v2.0 for Windows 95/NT is an IGES file viewer and editor. New features include save and edit IGES files, as well as parts of IGES files; compress IGES files by removing excess white space; choose between different line termination styles when saving; 72 IGES entities and forms fully supported and documented. Download a demo version from http://www.pacinfo.com/~plhsystems

    SoftSource
    Vdraft Personal Edition is just US$95. The first CAD program to be 100% file-compatible with AutoCAD. More info from http://www.vdraft.com or +1 (800) 877-1875 or fax +1 (360) 671-1131

    Visio
    The Washington Software Alliance gave the 1997 Industry Achievement Award in Business Products to Visio for its business drawing and diagramming software, Visio Standard v5.0.

    VRML
    VRML97 specification ratifies VRML 2.0 functionality as an official ISO standard. As an ISO/IEC standard, VRML has gained international endorsement and provides a guarantee of specification stability, which will promote content compatibility to drive the growth of 3D on the Internet.
    More info from http://www.vrml.org

    Market News

    IMSI reported a 73% increase in net income for 2Q FY98; net revenues for the quarter were US$16.4 million, a 39% increase.
    Intergraph posted a loss of US$0.43 4Q.
    Cadence Design announced its revenues were up by 33%.

    The WorthWhile Web

    http://www.myo.inst.keio.ac.jp/FAQ/format/image-formats.html
    Matsushita, Okada, and Yokoyama Lab, Keio University, Japan
    A 100KB listing of raster, vector, and text file formats, in alphabetical order, with a (very) brief description. Particularly useful for explaining acronyms and file extensions. Has link to similar listing of multimedia file formats.

    http://www.cadonline.com/webworks/index.htm
    CADalyst
    Register to receive the CADonline email newsletter.

    http://www.autodesk.com/products/acadr14/misc/emailupd.htm
    Autodesk
    Register to received email newsletter for R14 users.

    Brand New CAD and Internet Books

    A Tutorial Guide to AutoCAD R14
    by Shawna Lockhart
    List price: US$39.95
    publisher: Addison Books

    3D Studio MAX Training CD
    by Andrew Clayton and Nancy Fulton
    List price: US$59.95

    AutoCAD 14 Training CD
    by Nancy Fulton
    List price: US$59.95

    CAD/CAM: Principles, Practice, and Manufacturing Management
    by Chris McMahon
    List price: US$72.95
    publisher: Addison Books

    Digital Space: Designing Virtual Environments
    by Peter Weishar
    List price: US$49.95
    publisher: McGraw-Hill Book Company

    Instructor's Solution Disk: AutoCAD and Its Applications -- Basics, Release 14
    List price: US$40.00
    publisher: Goodheart-Willcox

    An Introduction to AutoCAD Release 14
    by Alf Yarwood
    List: US$35.95
    publisher: Addison Books

    Students Work Disk: AutoCAD and Its Applications -- Basics, Release 14
    List price: US$48.00
    publisher: Goodheart-Willcox

    AutoCAD for Architecture R14
    by Alan Jefferis and Michael Jones
    List price: US$54.95
    publisher: Autodesk Press

    AutoCAD 14: No Experience Required
    by David Frey
    List: US$29.99
    publisher: Sybex

    Letters to the Editor

    "I am a Marketing Specialist in a software company in St. Petersburg, Russia, so I need to be aware of all the news that take place in the CAD community. I am sure that your eZine would be most helpful in my work (I have read some of the issues on the Web)."
         -- Marina Shubina

    "I read your email every week -- great information!"
         -- Roger Kollbrunner

    "Keep up the good work. Your newsletter is always timely and informative. And the content continues to be valuable every week."
         -- Don Dennison

    Spin Doctor of the Moment

    The US government plans to allocate US$2.31 per person for hi-tech training:

     "Among the new initiatives announced were: a US$3 million grant system by the US Labor Department to provide computer skills to laid-off workers from other industries; a new Internet-based job bank organized by the Commerce Department; and a public relations campaign designed to spice up the image of high-tech workers.
         "The announcements came amid mounting concern that there may be not enough skilled workers to meet the economy's growing demand for computer engineers, programmers, and systems analysts over the next 10 years. Daley said his department now expects there will be a need for more than 1.3 million new high-tech workers over the next decade..."
         -- Thanks for Don Beaton for providing this excerpt from http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/980113/tech/stories/jobs_2.html

    Notable Quotable

    "Dreams of broadband consumer access will give way to the reality of a long slow march from 56kbps up through ISDN and on to the unglamorous midband (64kbps to 384kbps), where most consumers will likely spend the next decade."
         -- Bill Frezza, 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.