Issue #117: 21 July, 1998

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    • It's vacation time! This is the last issue of upFront.eZine for the next six weeks. The newsletter will resume transmission on 1 September. -- Editor.

    Sun Announces Jini

    Sun Microsystems unveiled Monday Jini (pronounced "genie") that allows any computing device to connect to a network as easily as a pluging a phone into the wall outlet. Jini distributes computing power among devices connected to a peer-to-peer network sharing each other's resources. A lookup service keeps track of devices on the network.

    Sun co-founder Bill Joy and a small team worked on the Java-based Jini for four years. The development may have been hush-hush, but now Sun marketing is making sure everyone hears about Jini this week. The technology will be licensed for free, but Sun will charge for the use of the Jini trademark.

    The San Jose Mercury News gives these examples: "Once connected, the device would announce itself and tell the network what it is able to do. A printer, for instance, would identify itself and give some details about its capabilities, such as its color quality, resolution and speed. After that, any device already on the network could use the printer."

    Hard-drive maker Quantum plans to sell stand-alone Jini-enabled drives that automatically back-up to Jini- enabled tape drives. "A surveillance computer would automatically process the images, a printer could selectively print them and a storage device could archive them." Other vendors working with Sun include Novell, Ericsson, Canon, Epson, Toshiba, and Mitsubishi.

    Reader Mark Tuohy alerted me to this development and says, "This may not be CAD related...........yet! Aspen Smallworks is the 'think-tank' for Sun Microsystems -- their last big thing was Java!"  In my mind's eye, I see the wording of press releases that will flood my mailbox while I am away on vacation:

    Three sites with (serious) info on Jini are:
    http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/biztech/articles/15sun.html
    http://www.sjmercury.com/business/tech/docs/jini071598.htm
    http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/13744.html

    Automatic 2D to 3D

    AutoZ for AutoCAD Release 14 creates a true, 3D solid model from 2D multiview drawings, in many cases automatically.  Intended for mechanical applications, the software analyzes lines and curves in a 2D drawing and sorts the geometry into views. It then builds a solid model based on the features it identifies, and sets up a 3D viewpoint. A flying viewpoint lets you examine the solid from all angles.You can add and remove material from the solid by extruding, revolving, or intersecting profiles. There are tools to simplify the process of slicing and filleting. AutoZ will be released in September for US$495. http://www.emtsoft.com

    IMSI Looking for CAD Partners

    IMSI is inviting third-party developers to take a look at TurboCAD Professional v5.1. With the implementation of DWG, DXF, TurboLISP, and ADS support, TurboCAD offers developers anothermarket outlet for their products. For more info, contact Fred R. Weaver, CAD Partners Manager, IMSI, +1 (415) 257-3000 x238

    Intel to Integrate 3D 'Graphics Board' with CPU

    For the lack of an on-chip cache memory, the Celeron CPU has been a bust for Intel; total Intel markshare fell from 87% to 83% last quarter; marketshare of low-cost (under US$1000) PCs fell to under 50% for Intel, as lower-cost, more-powerful CPUs from AMD continue to make inroads.

    Intel will relauch the low-end Pentium in September under the name of Mendocino with 128KB of on-chip cache running at 300 MHz and 333 MHz. In the first half of 1999, Intel will integrate the i740 3D graphics accelerator, boost the bus speed to100 MHz, and increase CPU speed too 450 MHz -- all the while hoping to undercut competitive CPUs from AMD and Cyrix.

    More in Y2K for CAD

    Several readers were interested in discussing the reason for the Y2K problem:

    "I believe it's the number of seconds since 1970, and I don't think it's just non-PC platforms, since that's the value returned by the time() function in the standard (PC, UNIX, etc.) C-runtime library. If a program treats it as an unsigned integer (meaning values of 0 through 4.29 billion), then we'll be fine through 2106, but if it treats it as a signed integer (-2.1 billion through 2.1 billion) then we'll have problems in 2038 in any program relying on the time() function to calculate dates."
         -- Dan Thompson

    "The real scary stuff happens when you start to examine embedded systems. I've read (I think in Dr. Dobbs Journal) that there was a nuclear plant somewhere running through its compliancy tests and they found that their air conditioning failed to work beyond Jan 1, 2000. Not a big deal, but it's going to be expensive to fix these problems if they are widespread."
         -- Carlos Eberhardt

    "...it is being claimed now that most-recent and even currently-made PC motherboards do not inplement the 'Century Flag' function of the BIOS date system reliably. Even those that do seem to successfully make the century transition may prove to exhibit an on-going unreliability such as reverting to the last century from time to time unpredictably. The only fix for that will be either a new motherboard that is properly century compliant or a plug-in auxiliary BIOS to take over the date handling.

     "One company, which promotes a 'Fix-2000' board, claims that even currently-made PCs are not reliably compatible. Of course, they have a vested interest in persuading us to pay $190 for their hardware fix solution, an ISA plug-in board with its own BIOS chip. The chip intercepts date functions and provides all system data, bypassing the PC's motherboard date hardware. For portables that cannot accept a plug-in board, they have a resident software solution, that may not be so reliable. http://www.eurosoft-uk.com "
         -- Geoff Harrod

    http://www.baystate.com/tech/97/1118.htm - for your collection, Baystate Technologies Y2K statement.
    http://www.visio.com/yr2000.html - the link to Visio's information on Y2K.

    CAD and Internet News

    EMAP

    CADCAM magazine has moved to EMAP Trenton, 19th Floor, Leon House, 233 High Street, Croydon, CR0 9XT, England. Editor Alan Burrows is at alanb@trenton.emap.co.uk

    Immersive Design

    IPA Professional v4.0 is an assembly animation package that animates SolidEdge designs, including assembling and dissasembling models. The animation can be saved as an AVI file. A direct link to SolidEdge ensures the animation is automatically updated. Download an eval version form http://www.immdesign.com

    LaserScan

    The Korea Land Development Corporation is performing country-wide GIS based on Laser-Scan's Integrator geospatial toolkit. Integrator combines Laser-Scan's object-oriented database with Microsoft programming environments.

    ManuSoft

    SuperPurge v2 for AutoCAD R13 and R14 makes it easy to clean up drawings and reduce filesizes by removing unecessary database objects. The shareware software has both dialog box and command line interfaces.

    Monumental CAD

    Monu-Cad System is CAD developed specifically for laying out and producing a monument stencil mask. Production time is reduced by 16 to 1 over manual stencil cutting work. Using the new CSR Turbo cutter, it is possible to cut the stencil for a 3-0 x 2.0 monument configured with a family name, two inscriptions, standard SB carving and a emblem or two in under 10 minutes.

    MSC

    MSC/InCheck v2.0 for SolidWorks adds shape optimization and steady-state heat transfer simulation to the stress, vibration and buckling simulation capabilities of MSC/InCheck.

    SoftCAD International

    SoftCAD.3D is a conceptual 3D program with powerful object and extrusion functions, and a large library of objects, doors, windows, furnishings, and landscape features. Any model created in SoftCAD.3D is read as a parametric model in ArchiTECH.PC. Windows, doors, walls and all other objects can be edited with in the objects paramterics. ArchiTECH.PC US$1,950.00; ArchiTECH.PC Lite US$850.00; APC.Draft US$249.00; SoftCAD.3D US$850.00; and SoftCAD.3D Lite US$199.

    SolidWorks

    SolidWorks has sold more than 15,000 seats of software to more than 6,000 customers through a network of 160 resellers in 43 countries in just over two years of shipping product.

    Spatial Technology

    "The leading developer of open, component 3D modeling technology for the MCAD, CAM, CAE, and AEC industries, announced it signed 23 new ACIS license agreements in the second quarter of 1998, a record for the company."

    ACIS v4.1 introduces the ACIS Healing Husk, which lets the users correct inconsistencies in imported model geometry; the technology said to be the foundation of a comprehensive new interoperability strategy. http://www.spatial.com/products/husks/healing/healing.htm

    The PigeonHole

    The PigeonHole is an online, offsite storage space and electronic plan room for the construction, facilities management, and CAD design industries. The software delivers your CAD files to the proper "pigeon hole," which is rented space on a hard drive. Membership pricing is US$15.95 per month or US$99.95 per year.

    Market News

    Broderbund Software posts US$0.13 3Q loss versus a nil EPS.

    The WorthWhile Web

    http://biz.yahoo.com/t/a/adsk.html
    Yahoo Business
    Listing of Autodesk employee share sales.

    Brand New CAD Book

    Creative Design With Mechanical Desktop is a training manual for Mechanical Desktop v3.0 and will be available the third week of August, coinciding with  the next release of MDT. The book covers Parts, Assemblies and Surface Modeling; price is US$115.00, plus shipping and taxes. For more info: Dennis Jeffrey, Tekni Group, Inc., 7209 Mill Run Road, Fort Wayne IN 46819 USA, Tel. +1 (219) 478-4014 or email tekni@teknigroup.com

    Letters to the Editor

    "Whenever someone downloads a demo Piranesi from our Web site at http://www.informatix.co.uk , we ask how they heard about us. Since our appearance in your newsletter, your name features regularly. Good audience you have out there."
         -- Chris Russon, Marketing Manager, Informatix Software

    "It turns out that sending upFront.eZine US$15 costs me US$12. Bank fees over here [in Sweden] are sickly high, everybody protests nobody does something about it.Now, I am about to go to Italy where I will meet with a lot of Americans from Texas. Sure some of them have change in their pocket, which I buy for a resonable price. For the tranfser to you, I need your postal adress. No, no: Letterbombs or similar things are not on my mind, neither are the US$12 a real problem. It is just that the system of bank charges disturbs me, becouse they transfer money on their own network with no cost at all, and they still charge us. Anyway, give me a good adress and you'll get rich."
         -- Florian Lauterbach

    "I'm an AutoCAD user and have been looking for a good source of current info and tips -- Looks like I've struck gold!
         -- Rick Pearlman

    "Just a note from a fan of many years -- been with AutoCAD since version 2.1 and appreciate all you have contributed to this fine mess we're in. I'm enjoying it, just fine, thanks."
         -- Peter Friedrich

    Spin Doctor of the Moment

    "Intel admits that the words 'strategic emergency' and 'miracles' appear in one slide presentation, but denies that the company declared a strategic emergency and denies that the company viewed the performance of [Digital's] Alpha as a 'miracle.'"
         -- From Intel's reply to the FTC

    Notable Quotable

    upFront.eZine's six-week break should be long enough for readers to digest this actual excerpt from the Canadian government's "The GST/HST News":

    "Tax Status of Salads:

     "Food containing ingredients, whether mixed or not, such as chopped, shredded, diced, sliced, or pureed vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, or other food when supplied with a dressing and/or seasoning(s), whether or not the dressing is mixed with the other ingredients, is considered to be a 'salad' for purposes of determining its GST/HST [tax] status. A combination of one ingredient and a dressing or seasoning(s), which is sold or represented as a salad, is also considered to be a salad.

     "All suppies of salads, except those that are canned or vacuum-sealed, are taxable at 7% (15% in the participating provinces). Generally, if there is no dressing or seasoning applied to the ingredients, and no dressing or seasoning is packaged separately with the ingredients, the package is not considered to be a salad and is zero-rated. However, supplies of fruit salads or gelatin salads are taxable at 7% (15% in the participating provinces), even though they generally do not contain a dressing.

     "Supplies of salads that are sold in cans or containers that are vacuum-sealed are zero-rated. Supplies of mixed, cut vegetables that are packaged and promoted as 'stir-fty' or 'chop suey mixes' are also zero-rated, since they are not considered to be salads."

    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.