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Inside this Issue
Bentley Explains ATF
In a conference call last week, Bentley Systems explained how
Architecture for TriForma (ATF) differs from TriForma, which had
been their software for architects using MicroStation. Although
TriForma could be used for architecture, it was not as architecture-specific
as it could be. For example, doors were actually a "frame"
object, which didn't relate to it surroundings, such as walls;
change the wall thickness, and the door didn't update. ATF adds
architecture-specific modeling in three areas that were deficient
in TriForma:
* Upfront planning and design, including space planning.
* Production oriented details, such as true parametric wall, window,
and door objects.
* Extraction has been sped up and made easier to use.
TriForma is now a generic solids engine (resting on MicroStation) that supports a number of modules, including structural, HVAC, and architectural design.
Autodesk
Unveils New Hopes for Revenue
Last week, Autodesk held its annual Investors Day in New York
City. The day-long event was broadcast
live over the Internet, but the sound quality was so bad I
gave up after an hour. Of primary interest to analysts is the
future revenue flow, which Autodesk hopes to achieve through a
new subscription model it plans to start implementing this summer:
* New software delivery via include subscriptions, ASP hosting,
and rentals.
* Subscriptions managed by customers through a single, lifetime
number via the Point A portal.
* Customers will pay yearly.
* Online technical support and e-Learning are extra-cost options.
Autodesk's hope is that "customer adoption should increase."
The next day, US Bancorp Piper Jaffray reported "Upbeat Analyst
Meeting; Positive Outlook; New Business Model Is Powerful and
Predictable; International Exposure Lingers; Maintain Buy."
At the event, Autodesk also showed Autodesk Architectural Studio,
the new name for its experimental StudioDesk
software (aka Project Nora)
Running
ICAD Over the Web
After writing up last week's news item about IntelliCAD 2000 being
available as an ASP product, I thought I'd try it out. According
to the http://www.web4engineers.com
Web site, "Web4 has developed a proprietary process that
translates any Windows-based desktop software application for
use as-is over the Internet. The user-interface of the application
looks and functions exactly the same as the desktop version, thereby
eliminating any learning curve." (Curiously, the Web site
displays a blank page with the Opera Web browser I normally use,
so I had to switch to another brand.)
First, I registered, after which Web4 emailed me the password.
After logging in, I was told to click on "My Web4engineers."
I found there are three licenses of IntelliCAD available:
* A free version that lasts three days -- precisely, to the
nearest minute -- after I click the "Buy" button. (Don't
sign up for your free trial on a Thursday or Friday, because it'll
be gone by Monday morning!) I also got 10MB free of online storage
in which to store drawings.
* A 1-month not-free version, which costs US$30 per month.
* And a 24-hour version that costs US$8. The fees are described
as introductory offers, which means I expect the price to increase.
After "buying" the free version, it was hard to find
where on the page to access IntelliCAD; I discovered finally I
needed to click the rather small Icad logo. I still wasn't able
to run Icad because the Web browser displayed a mysterious "ICA
link launched" message. I emailed tech support, and the next
day received the reply that there might be a problem with the
Citrix client software on my computer. Tech support and I tried
a few things, but nothing helped. (Note that Web4 uses the same
client-server technology that Autodesk used for its test ASP version
of Actrix.)
I switched to my notebook computer, downloaded the Citrix client,
and had Icad running. As promised by Web4, the online version
of IntelliCAD 2000 looks just like the desktop version. Accessing
menus and entering commands felt fast over my DSL connection.
The online version of Icad defaults to opening and saving files
on H: drive, which is Web4's online storage space.
So, running IntelliCAD online works, but will it be popular? It's
one thing to review drawings online; it's another to create and
edit drawings online. One I can see a need for; the other is kinda
dubious in my mind. Web4 say they have over 200 people using the
Icad app.
Plagiarism,
Par Deux
GIS Monitor editor Adena Schutzberg also reports
incidents of plagiarism. In two cases, an offender offered an
article to a Webzine, which s/he had copied from another source,
then added her/is own name. Both the TenLinks.Com and a GIS Web
site accepted the articles as original works, then found out the
text had been copied without permission. Says Ms Schutzberg, "The
writers involved in the recent Web site incidents were not students
but professionals. The Internet makes stealing even easier than
in the past, but it makes it no less unethical." She offers
this Web site as a resource: http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm
It's not exactly plagiarism, but it is a new trend that is bothering me. In the last month, I've received email from a couple of large organizations asking for professional's expertise free. One was Microsoft, who asked contributors to its Encarta encyclopedia (I wrote the article on CAD/CAM) to answer questions at their Encarta Web site -- a site that bristles with ads -- for no compensation. The second was a trade show organizer who asked its advisory board members (who are not compensated) to contribute 1000-word (or more) articles for free. I suppose in both cases I'm supposed to enjoy the admiration of my peers. But that doesn't pay for the needs of my family quite as well as a check ($$$).
I don't mind providing my expertise at no charge to non-profits, or people who need a hand up. But I do have a problem with large, wealthy corporations asking professionals to contribute their time and knowledge for free.
Below
the Radar
A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read
elsewhere:
The First Press Release for the Upcoming A/E/C Systems Show! "Infrasoft Corporation Previews New Collaborative Engineering Technology for Civil Engineering at AEC Systems 2001 in Chicago, IL. Infrasoft to Hold Luncheon Press Conference on Tuesday, June 19, 2001." http://www.infrasoft-civil.com
CosmoSoft Systems converts raster images to vector, and outputs in formats such as DXF, DWG, and DGN. The Bangladesh-based company converts 200-250 medium density D-size drawings within a month. More info from cosmo@bol-online.com
International Design and Construction Online <http://www.e-IDC.com> has launched its RFP/Bid Engine, which allows online exchange of drawings, specs, Requests for Information, and bid/quotes.
PTC will incorporate Raindrop Geomagic's reverse engineering technology. PTC plans to offer an initial implementation of the technology in the next releases of Pro/ENGINEER and ICEM Surf. http://www.icem.com
Little & Associates Architects <http://www.littlearch.com> has formed the AEC Objects Group to provide direct access to manufacturer-specific furnishing and building components for Revit.
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
Cimmetry Systems is shipping AutoVue v15.4 with
3D support for:
* Pro/ENGINEER 2D/3D parts and assemblies and drawings (v2001,
2000i2, 2000i, and pre-R20)
* CATIA 2D/3D (v4.x)
* Unigraphics 3D models
* Autodesk Inventor 2D/3D models (v4.x, 3.x, 2.x, 1.x)
* Autodesk Mechanical Desktop 3D models (v2000)
* SolidWorks 2D/3D parts and assemblies (up to v2001)
* Solid Edge 2D/3D parts and assemblies (up to v9)
* SolidDesigner 2D/3D parts and assemblies (up to v2000+)
http://www.cimmetry.com
Furix has updated CompareDWG 2000, which finds differences between two AutoCAD drawings and displays the result in AutoCAD, or saves them to separate drawings. A free 30-day trial is available from http://www.furix.com
Kruse Control 4.0 (US$399) gets a complete rewrite, and has view and print support for over 280 file types. http://www.kruseinc.com
Intergraph Mapping & GIS Solutions announces GeoMedia Transportation (creation and maintenance of a linear network) and GeoMedia Transportation Analyst (performs perform dynamic segmentation and linear analysis on the network). http://www.intergraph.com/gis/industries/transportation
Surfware announces its plans to release of SURFCAM 2001 in 2Q01. http://www.surfware.com/m-pr5.htm
Groove Networks is shipping Groove v1 for corporations [$$$]. The official personal-use version will be available later in the year, but a free preview version is available now. http://www.groove.net/downloads/
Advances
in Hardware
ENCAD has enhanced its 36"-wide CADJET 3D printer
(US$5,495) with new pigment inks, increased performance (565 square
inches per hour in super draft mode), and improved software. http://www.encad.com
The Epson Stylus Pro 10000 (US$9,995) has a variable droplet micro-piezo printhead, and prints up to 44" wide at 1440x720dpi resolution at speeds of up to 231 square feet per hour. Printer interfaces include USB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), ECP parallel, and Epson type-B expansion slot. Optional interfaces include 10/100 BaseT network, HPGL/2 plotting, and Fiery Spark Professional Software RIP. http://www.epson.com
Motient plans an always-on wireless modem (US$199 and $299) for the Palm V. http://www.motient.com
Dell will start shipping computers with 1.7GHz Pentium 4 CPUs in two weeks; a 2GHz CPU is due Q3. Intel is due to cut its CPU prices by 20% on April 15.
Conferences
Congress on the Future of Engineering Software, April 26-28 in
Scottsdale AZ USA. http://www.cofes.com/
AEC Systems 2001 conference, June 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago IL USA. Greg Bentley, ceo Bentley Systems, and Philip Bernstein, vp Autodesk, will be keynoting on Wednesday 19th (8:30 to 10:00am). http://www.aecsystems.com
New
Newsletters/Webzines
DotSoft produces a periodic newsletter targeted to the AutoCAD
community. Each issue has information on a new free tool produced
by DotSoft, as well as tips for increasing productivity using
AutoCAD. Web site at http://www.dotsoft.com
or subscribe to subscribe@dotsoft.com?subject=Subscribe
People/Companies
on the Move
PlanetCAD announced the departure of cfo Elizabeth
Recigno, effective immediately. Ceo Jim Bracking has initiated
a search to locate a qualified candidate for the position.
Jeff Hall <jeffhall@adelphia.net> is leaving Applied 3D Science to find a new startup that needs help getting off the starting blocks. He reports: "A3DS is starting to ship product to its OEM users and the reaction is very good. ParaLogix fills some interesting gaps in the current field of CAD/CAM modelers and is moving to fill out all the basic functionality needed to get a designer's job done. If you hear of any promising new startups I'd enjoy helping another one get off the ground."
Cyon Research appointed David Pinski as director of marketing and business development. Mr. Pinski previously was a senior product manager for Primavera Systems.
Graphisoft US appointed Christopher Barron as vp of marketing and sales for their architecture division. Mr Barron was previously director of strategic business development for Asia and the Pacific at think3.
CADKEY announced the appointment of Paul Stallings as senior software developer. Mr Stallings was formerly the engineering manager of geometric modeling at Spatial Technology.
Tokyo-based MightyCar Service Co. Ltd. is the exclusive distribution representative of Spicer products in Japan. Spicer has a distribution network with representatives in more than 30 countries.
Nemetschek North America announced that its newest European distributor is Nemetschek España SA, a subsidiary of Nemetschek AG. [All in the family, I guess.]
Rebis has opened Rebis GmbH in partnership with Kiel Engineering Group. [Press release didn't say where in Germany the new office was located.] http://www.rebis.com
Computer
News Summaries
Atlantis Nova is the freeware version of the Atlantis
word processor. The download from http://www.rssol.com/en/html/export/downloads.htm
is just 1.1MB.
Intel, which emerged from the shadow of a U.S. antitrust investigation only last year, now faces a similar probe by European regulators. The European Commission confirmed Friday that it is looking into complaints of "abusive marketing practices" by the world's largest chip-maker. Last week, EC competition commissioner Mario Monti said his organization's probe of Microsoft may be expanded. - www.NewsFactor.com
Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have agreed to
stop making the misleading claim that their PocketPCs have "built-in
wireless access to the Internet and e-mail at any time and from
anywhere." While the PocketPC includes the communications
software, the hardware (modem) is lacking.
Meanwhile, rumors have started about a Palm m700 to replace
the Palm VII (which has the wireless modem built-in).
Office XP SmartTags need code to run, and can include a URL for downloading the code -- another way for viruses to invade your computer.
Market
News
Due to the fall in its share price, Ariba has called off
its acquisition of Agile Software Corporation.
Rand A Technology Corporation announced that 1Q01 results
are expected to be below expectations, and that no significant
improvement is expected over the next two quarters. "It is
extremely unfortunate that this setback has occurred just as we
are starting to see returns from our diversification into CATIA,
our rapid growth in the Autodesk sector, the standardization by
DaimlerChrysler and EADS Airbus on our proprietary Q-Checker technology,
and the rollout of our new d*ivisions," said ceo Brian Semkiw.
Goldman Sachs cut its 2001 earnings estimate on Parametric
Technology from 40c to 35 cents a share.
Engineering.com completed its acquisition of IQtraders.com
from Waterloo Maple for
1.4 million common shares. IQT develops Web-based applications
that use computation engines to solve engineering problems.
SDRC has acquired Inovie
Software, a provider of Web-based, peer-to-peer collaborative
project management software; price was not announced.
Wind2 Software has acquired
Infomax, whose A/E Award software will be renamed Wind2 Award.
Notice that Dassault Systemes has set its 52-week low.
The
WorthWhile Web
http://www.palm.com/support/m505/m505_faq.html
Palm
m505 FAQ
http://www.cadinfo.net/visio/visio2002-1.htm
CADinfo.NET
"Microsoft Visio 2002: A Sneak Preview"
http://www.acroname.com/robotics/info/PPRK/PPRK.html
Acroname
US$300 kit that uses Palm to control a three-wheel robot.
Letters
to the Editor
Re: ADT vs Revit
"I bought Autodesk Architectural Desktop R2 in July '99 before
I was aware of Revit. Last December, I did some quick math: US$800
for the upgrade to ADT R3 was much cheaper than US$2388/year for
Revit.
"While I have some beefs about ADT and its complexities,
in general I am further ahead with it than without it. I have
a large amount of time and money invested in training and trial
& error. More important, I can get drawings on a printed page
looking the way I want them in a timely and predictable fashion.
The real world has deadlines; that's how I stay in business.
"Revit demonstrates a terrific model environment, but I have
not seen anything that convinces me that the ugly process of doing
construction documents is really any better than AutoCAD. Several
of my client require AutoCAD in their layer, pen, and symbol standards.
I do not want to maintain both CAD products to satisfy my customers
for an unknown improvement in creating the model.
"Maybe I am just trying to rationalize staying with what
I know, rather than jumping onto the 'Next Big Thing.' I do know
that I have to get some drawings finished today."
- Paul Adams
Earth and Sky Architecture
"A few years ago I picked up a copy of 3D Home Deluxe
and found it to be remarkable. Here is a US$60 software package
that lets me draw a floor plan that automatically gives me elevations,
sections, material lists, etc. I used it on a few small projects;
results a bit surprising at times and crashed occasionally, but
remarkable. I found it lacked good printing control, and I was
unable to get professional looking prints or plots. Once things
got complex, the crashes became more frequent. Back to AutoCAD.
"We bought a copy of Architectural Desktop (and several updates)
that some of my draftsmen have tried from time to time, but it
quickly became complex. The initial jump in productivity gets
lost in tweaking a model; trying alternative designs and chasing
which one is current; trying to get rid of extra lines in the
roof; or getting an elevation to display correctly. Back to AutoCAD.
"When Revit announced their software, I thought, 'Great!
An advanced, reliable, professional successor to 3D Home Deluxe.'
I found the Revit v1 trial tricky to use and crashed more readily
than 3DHD. I never got to try printing out anything. Salesman
said I needed to get licensed version and take some online classes.
I taught myself AutoCAD v2.5 to AutoCAD 2000, Word Perfect to
MS Office 2000, I should be able to teach myself Revit; no time
for online class. Besides, a class is not going to keep it from
crashing.
"Tried trial v2. Crashes. Back to AutoCAD.
"I still hold out hope that someday I will be able to draw
a floor plan, add some information about ceiling heights and roof
shape, make some changes, back up, and get a set of documents
that a builder can build from automatically. But I am not holding
my breath."
- John Brunt
Samoa Telco
Re: The editor prefers separate tools.
"That thought process seems to make sense for an engineer,
who is use to dissecting and breaking down a problem into bits
and pieces, called 'tasks', and then solving each task separately
until the whole problem is resolved. This approach works very
well for machines and such, but it fails on other types of complex,
organic, 'human' problems like buildings and spaces.
"In short, it IS how you are wired!"
- Drew Groeger
Whitney Design
Notable
Quotable
"All your data (and biz plans) are belong to Microsoft."
- The Register
Contact!