www.upfrontezine.com
Inside this Issue
Autodesk Loves GIS
During January Autodesk launched a new division, acquired another
company, and released two software packages -- all to do with
GIS. "The wireless generation presents an enormous opportunity
to deliver on Autodesk's growth strategy," says ceo Carol
Bartz.
With its new Location Services division (launched January 23),
Autodesk is using B2B2C (business to business to customer) to
target wireless carriers/operators and vertical markets, who,
in turn, provide location services to mobile individuals. Autodesk
has already partnered with Ericsson, Targa Services (a FIAT company),
and Geodan Mobile Solutions. Apps and services are due to ship
later this year. http://www.autodesk.com/locationservices
Autodesk completed the acquisition of Gentry Systems (on January
24), a company that supplies software and services to the electric
utility industry. Autodesk has gained job estimating, electric
network design calculations, and physical design calculations.
http://www.gentrysystems.com
Autodesk began shipping its new GIS Design Server on 16 January,
calling it "the cornerstone for bringing the only end-to-end
GIS solution to utility companies, communications firms, and local
government." The server is based on the VISION* technology
acquired by Autodesk two years ago. http://www.autodesk.com/gisdesignserver
Finally, the new MapGuide Data Extension for SHP (ArcView GIS
shape files) allows MapGuide to read ArcView maps directly (not
to be confused with AutoCAD's SHP format for fonts and shapes).
http://www.mapguide.com/sampleapps/default_dx.cfm
Who
Is Behind the V8ball?
In last week's The GIS Monitor e-newsletter, editor Adena
Schutzberg wondered about the V8ball.com
Web site. The site was described in an anonymous letter to MicroStation
Manager (MSM) magazine as "my unfiltered, un-spin-doctored
stuff ... better than any corporate Web site." Sorry, but
the site does a better job boasting about itself than providing
information about MicroStation v8; it fails to include info that
appeared three months earlier in MSM magazine.
Ms. Schutzberg reports that an allegation appeared in the comp.cad.microstation
news group "suggesting this supposedly clandestine site
was only a Bentley-staged promotional stunt." How is it that
the magazine published by a software company would print an anonymous
letter pointing to a Web site designed to circumvent the company's
marketing effort? Is the V8ball site really competing against
Bentley's corporate site, or are the two cooperating?
Busy
Week for P&BS
Intergraph Process & Building Solutions division released
a wack of press releases Monday as part of DaratechPlant 2001
Conference and Plant Lifecyle Strategy Workshops currently going
on.
Intergraph P&BS named two executive vps: Kurt Ingenthron is
now executive vp of Technology, and Gerhard Sallinger is executive
vp of Global Sales & Marketing. Both were previously with
Intergraph.
Intergraph acquired Marian Business from debis Systemhaus Industry
GmbH. Intergraph Corporation acquires the intellectual property,
while Intergraph Holding GmbH acquires the assets of the Marian
Competence Unit of debis Systemhaus Industry of Germany. Price
was not mentioned. http://www.debis.de/debis/systemhaus/index_e.html
SmartPlant Review software now supports Elumens'
VisionStation. And, P&BS signed alliance agreements with
Fluor Daniel and with Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Generic
CADD Bidding War
Long-time reader Jerry Bragstad sent this: "How's this for
interest in a CAD program that was killed years ago. Sold for
US$41.00 and there were 230 expressions of interest in it."
A copy of Generic CADD 6.0 was auctioned off last week on eBay.
The bid history:
bantec $9.95 Jan-15 22:22:18
l_colyer $12.00 Jan-17 13:21:04
o-caver $12.00 Jan-19 11:17:41
paletritools $25.00 Jan-19 23:14:44
skieter1 $20.00 Jan-21 13:21:02
skieter1 $25.00 Jan-21 13:22:33
tritools $27.00 Jan-21 22:21:23
tritools $31.00 Jan-21 22:21:57
tritools $40.00 Jan-22 15:48:35
skieter1 $41.00 Jan-21 13:23:52
More
on IntellCAD Support Closure in Australia
After last week's report that an Australian distributor
(Struc Plus) of IntelliCAD was calling no longer going to support
IntelliCAD, I received email from Chris Ainsworth, also of Australia:
"I used to work in conjunction with Peter Coburn (Struc
Plus) in the provision of National Technical Support, and the
only provider of accredited training in Australia. I too have
withdrawn from the IntelliCAD scene citing similar reasons as
Peter, re the availability of free IntelliCAD software in Australia.
"We noticed a significant decline in sales and training
requests with subsequent increase in technical support. End users
are now unwilling to pay for training or technical support. Their
belief is that since the product is available free, then training
and support should also be free. A nice world if you can get away
with it.
"So the in the end there is no longer any Australian technical
support or training provided by ourselves. To my knowledge, I
do not believe anyone else is providing it either. I see the eventual
demise of the product here."
Below
the Radar
A summary of press releases you may not have read elsewhere:
Autdoesk's 3D Studio is being used to create MYST III: Exile, which is due to ship this Spring.
"Here is one little old dotcom that has been online since
the 4th of July 1996: http://www.caddvillage.com
. The site sells and supports VersaCAD, Vdraft, and Visual
CADD. Our most active user forum supports the many diehard Generic
CADD users. Recently we were able to make the AutoConvert file
conversion utility program (Generic CADD to R11/12 DWG/DXF) available
again to CAD users."
- Noel Browning <noel@cirs.com>
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has selected 150 seats of Chief Architect 7.0 as the architectural CAD software package for its Certified Fire Investigators. http://www.chiefarchitect.com
Microsoft has been giving its upcoming software the code number of "10," as in Office 10 and Visio 10. The WordWare Publishing book catalog indicates the software will be called 2002, as in Visio 2002. Other possibilities cited by The Register include: Visio X, Visio Millennium Edition, and Visio XP (short for eXPerienced). The word from within Microsoft is that a name hasn't been decided.
Unigraphics Solutions has joined the BSA as a worldwide member and will participate in BSA's global anti-piracy campaign. J. Randall Walti, Unigraphics vp and general counsel, says: "Unigraphics Solutions will aggressively pursue software pirates and prosecute them to the fullest extent permitted by law."
SolidWorks donated 123 licenses of SolidWorks software to the China Education Association of Mechanical Engineering in Shanghai, China.
SDRC reports that for the fourth quarter ending December 31, Metaphase sales totaled US$47 million. There are now approximately 405,000 Metaphase users worldwide. SDRC says this number is 15 times the estimated number of users of other product knowledge management software.
Oracle has launched its own Exchange Marketplace to make it easier to purchase common parts.
think3's TimeMechanic tutorial has been delayed another month.
For readers who want the CAD headlines delivered to their desktop on a daily basis, you can subscribe at http://www.tenlinks.com/News/subscribe.htm.
New
Software Releases
This new department lists software that was released
in the last couple of weeks.
Alias|Wavefront released StudioTools v9.6 of its 3D computer-aided industrial design software.
Cimatron Technologies released Wire EDM software for creating toolpaths for 2D- and 3D-based part geometry for solids, surfaces and wireframes.
Cosmos/M 2.6 is the latest version of SRAC's
finite element analysis software
program. V2.6 has enhancements in the areas of heat transfer and
nonlinear analysis. Cosmos was one of the original FEA programs
for desktop computers.
LightWork Design released LightWorks v5.6 of its rendering technology.
The Discreet division of Autodesk has begun shipping 3ds max 4, its 3D modeling, animation, and rendering program (US$3,495; upgrade is US$795).
Conferences
Daratech Summit 20001, Feb 26-28, in Boston MA USA.
http://www.daratechsummit.com
Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, April 26-28 in Scottsdale AZ USA. http://www.cofes.com/
New
Newsletters/Webzines
TenLinks.Com has changed
CAD Depot Newsletter from a monthly shareware update e-newsletter
to a weekly. Another of its e-newsletters, The GIS Monitor
has signed on over 3,500 subscribers.
In other news, TenLinks has discontinued its premium Business
Express Service that provided faster processing for listing businesses
who paid a fee, bypassing the queue that stretched as long as
sixty days. Explains ceo Roopinder Tara: "Basically, it wasn't
fair."
People/Companies
on the Move
ANSYS appointed Michael J. Wheeler to the
position of vp of marketing. Mr Wheeler was previously with several
companies, incuding PTC.
Jeff Weitzen, who took over as ceo of Gateway a year ago, has stepped down. Company founder Ted Waitt has assumed the role. - CNNfn
Composite Design Technologies, developer of FiberSIM software for designing and manufacturing composite products, has changed its name to VISTAGY, Inc. http://www.vistagy.com/
ASIC Alliance Corporation starts its fifth year with a new name: Zaiq Technologies, Inc. "Our new name," explains ceo Ray Carlin, "is a variation of the word 'mosaic.'" http://www.asic-alliance.com/index.htm
Redo
"McNeel is part of the group of resellers that we tiered
and have put through distribution. However, all of our ASCs saw
no price change with the introduction of our new contract in February.
And since ASCs do the vast majority of our business, most of our
customers will not be impacted by this."
- Patrick Schutte, Director of Channel Business Development,
Autodesk
Computer
News Summaries
A photo of the new color Palm V, due out in March, has appeared
on the Web at http://images.palmstation.com/m505.jpg
. If not a faked photo, then it appears the new color Palm will
be called m505 and will have an expansion slot (note the Card
Info icon). The monochrome version may be called m500. Palm invested
SiPix Digital Technology, which will next month launch
a line of low-cost digital cameras. SiPix is also working on a
small thermal printer for handhelds using PalmOS. - CNET
Market
News
Takeover rumors printed in a German newspaper caused the Nemetschek
share price to spike; the company has denied the rumor.
SDRC reported 4Q revenues of US$120.0 million, compared
to US$114.1 million last year. Net income for the quarter, excluding
restructuring charges, was US$5.7 million, up from US$5.4 million
last year. Including the restructuring charge, SDRC had a net
loss was of US$40.7 million.
CIM Solutions & Networking has purchased the CAD business
of 3DATUM, Inc., a CADKEY dealership in Smyrna GA USA.
Cadkey calls CIM Solutions their top-selling VAR in the USA.
MatrixOne 2Q revenues ending Dec 30 increased 112% to US$34.3
million, compared to US$16.2 million last year. Net income was
US$2.2 million compared to a net loss of US$2.1 million a year
earlier.
Moldflow 2Q revenues ending Dec 30 were US$10.4 million,
up 65% over the year earlier. Net income increased to US$1.3 million
from US$364,000 in the same quarter of the prior year.
Cimatron had a 4Q profit of US$359,000 compared with a
net loss of US$848,000 a year earlier. Fourth quarter revenues
were US$7.26 million, down slightly from the previous year.
The
WorthWhile Web
http://www.cadkiosk.com
CAD Kiosk
View, translate, and store CADAM, Helix, and Unigraphics drawings,
as well as DXF, IGES, HP-GL, and HP-GL/2 files, CGM, STL, and
TIFF and JPEG image files.
http://www.thebigbreach.com/excerpts/
The Big Breach
Excerpts from the spy book banned in England.
http://www.tealpoint.com/gallery.htm
TealPoint Software
Gallery of art created by Palm users of TealPaint.
http://www.geocities.com/rcwoolley/
Windows CEmeNT
Parody created by Rob Woolley.
http://users.megapathdsl.net/~revolution/vxdfix.html
THE WINDOWS 9x VXD PAGE
Utility that helps reduce crashes caused by Windows 95/98.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/16377.html
"DirecTV attacks hacked smart cards."
A wonderful story of how DirectTV hacked the crackers.
http://research.microsoft.com/ui/TaskGallery/
Microsoft Research is experimenting with a 3D user interface.
I was unable, however, to download the 20MB video.
http://www.dams.org/
The World Commission on Dams
Letters
to the Editor
"I just finished the latest issue and as usual I was not
disappointed. You have a way of telling it like it is. I have
a couple questions. I am a died-in-the-wool MicroCADAM HELIX user.
Are there any others out there? How can I make contact with them?"
- Paul Kelley <paulkelley@mailexcel.com>
"I believe the \Render folder [found in AutoCAD 2000i
installations] is for network rendering with 3D Studio VIZ or
MAX. I tried to set this up in our office, but ran into a few
snags. First I received an error about not finding 3dsmax.exe,
so I renamed 3dsviz.exe to 3dsmax.exe. This enabled the render
server to find the exe, but then I received errors about other
missing files.
"I think that the files in the Render folder aren't complete,
but maybe in the future Autodesk will finish it and every computer
on a network that has AutoCAD will be able to be a render node
for VIZ or MAX."
- Troy R Gates, Design Plus
"Hmmmm. I wonder if Microsoft legals got the better of
'em. I got the infamous 'page cannot be found' error for http://www.mvps.org/vb/index.html?rants/dotnot.htm
"
- Randall A. Maxey, CAD Associates
The editor replies: "You seem to be right. CNET reports: Microsoft 'most valuable professional' Karl Peterson had launched the VB.Not page on his Web site, enumerating incompatibilities between the currently shipping VB 6.0 and VB.Net. Days later -- poof! -- no more VB.Not. Rumor has it that the page disappeared after Redmond's henchmen exerted some of that old-fashioned Microsoft charm with which Tod Nielsen and his buddies, formerly employed by Crossgain, are so familiar. As one developer, who was dismayed that the page was offline quipped, 'Sounds like MSLawyer.Net works!' Peterson didn't return calls; neither did Microsoft." - CNET
"I think there is an error in Web address www.aecdata.com.
AEC Data is still alive and correct address is www.aec-data.com."
- Tomas Kacha
The editor replies: "There are two companies who share nearly identical URLs. One is aecdata and the other aec-data. The www.aecdata.com Web site, located in the USA, is indeed dead; as well, their phone number is no longer in service. As you note, the similarly-named www.aec-data.com, located in Prague CZ, is working well."
"This item sounds a little macabre. Is 'defacement' a
new technical term, and what are these sites now running?"
- David Archer, Integrated Spatial Systems
The editor replies: "Defacement is when a cracker replaces a Web page with one of his own. You can see an example archived here: http://defaced.alldas.de/mirror/2001/01/23/www.microsoft.co.nz/ , which shows how Microsoft's New Zealand Web site was defaced. The defacers use security gaps in Microsoft's Web server software to replace the home page of Web sites."
"Thought you might enjoy this: http://www.revit.com/foundation/oncharrette.html
"
- Christopher Rogers, Sterling Hager (Revit's pr firm)
"Just a note to let you know that your magazine is outstanding
and that every Tuesday I look forward to reading it."
- Martin Owings
"Thanks for a great eZine!"
- Greg Morehouse, Motovated Design & Analysis, Ltd.
"Thanks!! Great job!!"
- Harriett Lublin
Spin
Doctor of the Moment
"Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 1 and Internet Tools
769KB Download Time: < 1 min."
- http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.
Actual size is 14.2MB and takes two hours to download on a 28.8Kpbs
connection.
Notable
Quotable
"A faster processor don't mean a thing -- when you're slowed
down by too many passwords."
- myciti ad
Contact!
