issue
#320
3 December 2002
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a l k i n g a b o u t c a d
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#320
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Contents Below
the Radar, - - - - - -
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From the Editor I am planning to switch upFront.eZine to HTML format in January. If you have objections, let me <editor@upfrontezine.com> know so that alternative arrangements can be made. New at our Web site is eBooks.onLine, our new bookstore of e-books -- books in electronic format. There you'll find books on Architectural Desktop, General CADD Pro, customizing AutoCAD, and other soon-to-be-released titles. The books are in PDF format, or on CD. Take a look at http://www.upfrontezine.com/ebooks -- and don't be shy about ordering :> Many of you donate to upFront.eZine through PayPal. This Internet "bank" now accepts payment in US dollars, Canadian dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, and Yen. There isn't much happening news-wise in the CAD world these days, which gives me a chance to empty out my Letters inbox -- an extended Letters to the Editor section is below. And, after seven months, I've still not received an answer from switchfeedback@apple.com to my question, "Could you comment on running AutoCAD, the #1 CAD system, on Mac OS X?" Letters to the Editor "When I first began designing industrial tools, I had been a toolmaker and executed many designs drawn by my mentor. He had a quirky personality (he found it intimidating to make left turns in traffic but resolved the problem by making three rights at the first street following the intersection). But he also had a wonderful artistic style and sense of presence at the drafting board. "At the time we met, he was the only Tool Designer but had a photo of his early days at the company where there were maybe 6-8 designers, as well as additional detailers. When he retired I lamented his passing as the end of an era as I was already drawing solely on the computer and printing to a pencil plotter with only one lead thickness. "The computer has revolutionized our industry but, as John said, "You too can own space and bring forth machines. But watch out! Once you do, you will create a computer-driven, electronically-lit world, where these old skills can no longer have any place." - Chuck Korcz
The editor replies: "In terms of a job, such as my older neighbor across the street, who refused to switch to computerized graphic design, and now paints houses for a living. The old skills will continue on as hobbies; note the popularity of hand woodworking magazines." - - - "A fully worked up 3D building model, even with current tools, is still a bridge to far. Do the bits required for coordination purposes in 3D, with the required amount of detail, to solve 3D problems, and then generate the 2D drawings, and work them up to the level of detail required to suit the purpose of the drawing? Alas, at present keeping associativity between such 3D models and worked up 2D drawings is a problem. Therefore choosing the right time to generate the 2D drawings is very critical. As late a possible, is my motto. "At present I am writing an article for the Dutch CAD/CAM journal, 'CATechniek & Bedrijf,' about what to put in a title block when using CAD and PDM. It's not that I know what is right or wrong, but understanding what is required when using these new tools is something that needs continual attention. "The purpose is not to create drawings, but to define/create intelligible product definitions allowing easy fabrication of the product or building. Conforming with accepted 'traditional' drafting standards can increase intelligibility but if the new tools allow even better ways of presenting the solution why not use these? In practice good draftsmen are continually re-defining standards to suit new manufacturing procedures and techniques. When draftsmen stop questioning how and why they are making a drawing is when communication breaks down." - Rene Dalmeijer, Amsterdam - - - "Once a week I receive your e-newsletter to behold more negativity from end users toward the much hyped Single Building Model. When are the CAD vendors going to understand that every one of these people are their clients, and they're all telling them that they have taken the wrong approach to the real-world problem? Sure, they've spent a lot of money in developing a White Elephant, and they need to recoup their losses for the shareholders to be happy, but to keep pushing the product onto those not as wise is further blackening their name. "Allow me to simplify the situation -- here is a set of specifications of what the AEC Industry really needs:
"If the CAD vendors were car manufacturers, they'd be trying to sell us 18-wheelers (as you guys in the USA call them) to get the family to the beach -- couldn't afford the gas or a new set of tires, and the comfort level is non-existent! "On behalf of virtually all architectural practitioners, I would like to apologize to the CAD vendors: sorry YOU made a mistake. Next time, ask us what we need! (I use AutoCAD LT and drc Smart Architect -- much kinder to the boss's hip pocket and my sanity.) - Alan Reese, Australia - - - "A modest size building might have 14,413 separate and distinct products. If I am the stone supplier for the exterior walls, I count as one product, even though I might have 500 or 1,000 unique parts (each with a quantity >= 1). It would not surprise me if the electrical part of the building had 14,000 or more parts that are assembled on-site into the electrical system. Ditto for HVAC and other systems. "One reason for the fracturing of many chains in AEC is the sheer complexity combined with the non-repetitive manufacturing. Each building is unique." - Leo Schlosberg The editor replies, "Even if an AEC modeler could handle all components of the entire building, the users might not." Leo Schlosberg responds, "The modeler would have to know an awful lot about each product. The real problem is in interface between disparate products. No supplier owns the interface, and the possible considerations and pairings are numerous. Interface is where most failures occur, especially on the exterior related to water penetration. "If you are designing gas stations, you may get the modeler to know all it needs to know. But higher-end offices, hospitals, public works, and so on are still out of reach for completeness. "A venture capitalist once asked me about the Holy Grail: the architect leans back in his chair, clicks, and the design falls into place, parts are ordered. The techno-optimists thought it was in reach. I think it's a way off; the recently restructured IAI has a long history of slower-than-anticipated progress. And suppose for that a day you had everything together: who is responsible for maintenance and updating? Blah blah, I could go on and on. Interesting stuff. "Home builders will be the pioneers in this in the AEC world, since they use mass production of configurable items." - - - "I'd say the blame [for leaky condos on the West coast of Canada] lies directly with the architects. The builders worked off plans that were specified by the architect; I don't think they are to blame unless they put the cladding on wrongly. The inspector was checking against the approved plans and checking the builders work. "As the residents have found out, distributed accountability leads to distributed denial. The cladding manufacturer would be a good place to get the answer. Considering the weather conditions, would he have used it on these buildings? If so, was it constructed to spec? If not, then the architect should take the fall. "Then again it could be that the residents are overly moist, the condos were badly designed, badly built, and poorly inspected to a building code that was wide open to interpretation!" - Martyn Day - - - "CAD systems that were rigorously protected against 'theft' in the past, like Personal Designer from ComputerVision, are practically dead to day. A few have survived, like MicroStation but I assume they would be far more successful if they had given up the hardware lock (which real pirates remove without much trouble) after Autodesk gave up [in North America]. "I believe those who develop software would be far better protected against theft if they dropped their license idea, and gave their customers true value fro their money. How? By offering software like consumer goods with true customer rights and obligation. Theft of goods and true value are regarded as a crime by most countries such that special laws would not be required. "The license idea has made software developers live in a fairy tale when it comes to quality and reliability. Would you buy a tool for $3k without a guarantee or second-hand value? Answer: very few would, but when You buy software you are forced to. Even the software developers are hurt by their own stupid idea of being free to develop rubbish, since they too must base their development on other bug-ridden software modules.: "To regard compiled software as intellectual property may be one of the biggest mistakes in modern history. Of course it's nice for innovative developers, but the average users are wasting years of their life learning and relearning to cope with software with unnecessary changes and bugs thereof. "These are my opinions and thoughts; feel free to license them without a guarantee (I'm not charging anything, yet.)." - O. H. Ystanes, Norway - - - "You could throw ERP into the mix of high risk/failure re: implementations. The big difference being desktop applications (i.e. 2D CAD) vs. departmental or enterprise-related applications that handle an organization's processes. Some dealers/VARs/SIs are good at it, phase it properly, and prepare their customers for the required journey. Others still sell 'it' like a box of software and throw in some training -- just in case. Not sure how many CAD dealers will be able to make the required jump." - Bruce Waschuk, Canada - - - "Fairly Compatible is all I've ever expected. It would be nice if we were in a perfect world, but as long as formats are closed, "fairly" is as close as anyone will get. "As for the TabletPC, it has definite uses (shop floor markups, liaison) in a manufacturing environment. Question is will it be durable enough to handle life on the floor. Also, will it still be cheap enough after they realize that is is not going to replace CAD workstations. Laptops are just now starting to come down in price. "One of the things that many people misunderstand is that Linux in itself is not the end all of open source. It is a kernel to an open source operating system. I currently use and prefer Linux; I have also used FreeBSD. Someday I may try Hurd (yea, it's a odd name). It does/will have a number of features that are very slick. "The magic is that if the operating system is open (all of it) then both commercial and OSS applications can compete on even terms. When Hurd is ready, it should be a transparent change between the two. If nothing else, competition is just as good between open source projects as it is between commercial." - phrostie - - - "I wish one of the CAD industry's analysts (such as yourself) would take a stand on the practice of comparing the price of a one-time-only software purchase with that of an annuity price (such as Alibre's). The net present value of Alibre's US$495/year pricing over just five years is $2,333.16, over ten years it is $4,446.38 (assuming 2% inflation). "When you compare this to TurboCAD or ParaLogix, which use one-time-only pricing, there is no comparison of price to value. Sure there's a benefit to leasing your software if you are in a cash crunch, but the leasing cost of ParaLogix Level One would be about $250/year over give years, and Turbocad 8.0 Pro would be about $90/year over the same period." - Jeffrey L. Hall The editor replies: "I think the math leaves out paying for upgrades to TurboCAD, which is $250 a year." - - - "SharePoint uses WebDAV <http://www.webdav.org>, but with proprietary extensions. Oops! Who would opt for vendor lock-in when superior, standard conformant alternatives are plentiful? Further, who would trust a Microsoft product with their enterprise data? "Also, you wrote that 'CAD vendors no longer speak of bugs, but of "issues." Robert McNeel & Associates has a new term for beta: 'ork-in-progress'. 'Issues' is disingenuous. 'Defects' would be most accurate. "The company I work for does 'advance releases' where the number of customers who get a new release is limited. If everything goes okay, they progressively broaden the release. There is no 'beta'. "I like McNeel's approach with Rhino 1.0: beta until it's ready. I'm liking best, however, how the better open source projects do it: nightly builds, stable builds that pass some sort of acceptance testing, and releases that are builds that achieved some sort of milestone -- all available for download. When tied to a public defect database, like Java's Bug Parade, such a scheme is unstoppable. IBM's www.eclipse.org is my exemplar." - Jason Osgood - - - "Remember the radical TIME magazine issue with the title 'God is Dead'? Why not be the first to come out and say what everyone will soon realize: 'CAD is Dead!' - Gene Roe The editor replies, "I recall that TIME magazine. I wonder if God is still chuckling over having the last laugh. As for CAD, it's not so much dead as changing into something we can't call CAD for much longer." Gene Roe responds, "To me living off of my installed base is like being dead. Customers don't care. They have all the technology they need. It's over."
Below the Radar A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read elsewhere, or that I found interesting:
Autodesk is cutting the annual subscription of Revit 5 to US$695 (used to be $2,388). Prices for other software, unfortunately, are going up by as much as 20% on January 15. Release 3 of Architectural Studio still lacks DWG; instead, a DWF translator is provided. [I'd've though Release 2 would have DWG-in and -out.] Autodesk is promising an aggressive campaign against software piracy in India. "This is simply not acceptable. India is going the wrong way. We might start questioning the validity of our investments in India if piracy cannot be contained," says Andre Pravaz, regional director of Autodesk's South Asia Pacific operation. - - - Oasys Limited says that Columbus, its free document management system, has been registered by 18,000 companies at a rate of 60 new companies a day. http://www.Oasys-software.com/Columbus/ [I like it when I can try out software before committing to paying for it.] - - - D-Cubed's updated its 3D DCM component for dimension-driven assembly part positioning, kinematic motion simulation, 3D sketching, and direct (non-history based) part modification. http://www.d-cubed.co.uk - - - Top Systems of Moscow this week shipped T-FLEX Parametric CAD v7.2. http://www.tflex.com - - - GEOMATE announced that ToleranceCalc ($795), its automated tolerance analysis wizard for Inventor, is free until 31 January for qualified users. [Corrected HRL:] http://www.inventbetter.com - - - Penton had Marketing Special Teams conduct a study to find that "there is significant and favorable response for the addition of the Building Product and Technology Centers to the June 2003 event to be held in Washington, DC." http://www.aecsystems.com - - - Of 325 readers responding to a 'CATIA Digital Digest' survey, 52% said they use Windows, while the remaining 48% said Unix. file://localhost/C:/WINDOWS/TEMP/eud1190.htm - - - Camtek enhanced their PEPS Solidcut 3D mould, die and component machining system with a semi-automated electrode geometry design option. http://www.peps.com - - - ImpactXoft says its IX SPeeD software combines digital modeling for mechanical design with tools for design collaboration. http://www.impactxoft.com - - - Eagle Point announced SMI Flex GPS (US$29,995) that includes hardware, software, and implementation services. http://www.eaglepoint.com - - - Nemetschek North America has the 10.0.1 maintenance update for VectorWorks, RenderWorks, LANDMARK and ARCHITECT at http://www.nemetschek.net/downloads/vectorworks - - - Alibre is being upgraded to v5.1 this week. http://www.alibre.com
New Newsletters/Webzines Jaroslaw Koziewicz wrote to tell me of the Polish CAx portal at http://www.cad.pl and Polish CAD magazine at http://www.cad.pl/mag.cgi .
People/Companies on the Move Cimatron appointed Alon Zelzion as vp of marketing.
Redo "Surya Sarda is doing an excellent job leading the ITC and growing CADopia into a successful business. I must point out, however, that Surya was not one of the original IntelliCAD programmers. He was a product manager that was added to the team by Visio after their acquisition of IntelliCAD from Boomerang Technology. "The original team hired by Visio were Mike Bailey, Fred Cleveland, Jason Casseday, Alan Pister, Rick Gardner, Steve Pucillo, Linda Eskin, Angela Gardner, Lori Stateham and myself. After Visio, some of these developers got into the video game business and others moved on to new careers outside the CAD industry. "Over the past two years, Mike Bailey has been hard at work on another market-shaking product aimed at the world of 3D." - Robert Dummer
Computer News Summaries A standard for printing direct from digital cameras to printers -- DPS (direct print standard) -- is endorsed by Canon, Fuji Film, Hewlett-Packard, Olympus, Seiko Epson and Sony, further eliminating the need for PCs. - CNET Market research firm IDC says 2-megapixel digital camera prices could fall to US$99 in a few weeks. [Think how expensive these cameras would be if Microsoft were behind them a la the PocketPC.]
"Although we actually think the Tablet Pc is kind of cool, we also tend to think of it as the kind of thing rich people come up with to make the rest of us buy a new computer when we don't really want one. See, when you're really rich you figure people will just buy things because they're different -- at least that's the best explanation we can come up with for Microsoft's enthusiasm about the Tablet PC's early potential." - Jon Peddie Research
Market News The upFront.eZine stock index is at www.cadwire.net/to?upfrontezine/stocks
The WorthWhile Web http://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp Wincustomize Truly remarkable imaginative skins for the CoolPlayer MP3 player. One looks like an old fashioned gas pump, another like a dragonfly.
Spin Doctor of the Moment "Open Value" - Microsoft's name for its three-year customer lock-in plan where payment is made in installments+interest, rather than the full amount upfront.
Notable Quotable "The extraordinary thing happening on planet Earth today is the de-secularization of world history. This is not how things were supposed to have turned out. As people become more modern, more educated, more enlightened, religion will either disappear or will be confined to the purely private sphere of life. That way of telling the story dominates our textbooks from grade school through graduate school." - Richard
John Neuhaus
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