March 23, 2004
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- - - C
O N T E N T S When
CAD News is Plagiarized Darren
Young's Editorial: - - - Below
the Radar Write - - - Donate - - - Look for additional,
nearly-daily CAD commentary at our Weblog: (ADVERTISMENT) Updated and Expanded for AutoCAD 2004! Tailoring AutoCAD 2004 is the first book for AutoCAD 2004. Download as a 204-page e-book in PDF format (US$24.95) or on CD ($29.95). Covers all areas of customization, from changing the user interface to writing toolbar macros and LISP routines. Click here to sample preview pages and place your order.
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Over several months, major newspapers discovered their staff and freelance reporters plagiarizing or faking stories. In some cases, these are star reporters; in others, part-timers who write only occasionally:
The problem affects the CAD industry. News articles from upFront.eZine and other publications have been plagiarized over the years. Sometimes the plagiarism is done by highly-visible editors; other times, by anonymous co-workers. The Internet makes it easy to plagiarize; it also makes it easier to catch plagiarism. Here are several cases:
- - - In general, anything you write (even your grocery list) is automatically covered by copyright, whether stated explicitly or not. (Rules vary by jurisdiction.) The owner of the copyright can choose to place the material in the public domain, which means you can copy it freely. Or not. At the end of this newsletter, please note the mention of the US$500 reprint fee. Rules of Attribution The University of Chicago lists the three rules for using the words of others, in "Plagiarism Guidelines" <home.uchicago.edu/~msmurray/word_docs/w2-plag.doc>. Paraphrasing:
Leave out rule #1 or #3, and you plagiarize -- intentionally or not. [Square brackets] and ellipses ... can make the writing less clear, so I've adopted the use of the word "paraphrasing" to indicate material I've rewritten from original sources. Some writers and editors take a fourth step: they ask permission, or alert the source that the material is being reused. I see that as a compliment. The Accidental Plagiarist During my 19-year writing career, I have learned that that plagiarism sometimes occurs by accident. I paraphrase a source, and then later go back to edit and rewrite. Upon occasion, the rewrite makes the sentence sound substantially similar to the original source -- to my horror. Notes the UofC: "It is trickier to define plagiarism when you summarize and paraphrase. They are not the same, but they blend so seamlessly that you may not even be aware when you are drifting from summary into paraphrase, then across the line into plagiarism." Can Ideas Be Plagiarized? upFront.eZine was one of the very first to describe AutoCAD 2005. Other publications can do the same, because these are facts, not ideas. Not so clear is whether ideas can be plagiarized. The UofC thinks so: "You also plagiarize when you use someone else’s ideas and you do not credit that person." I am not so sure. In patent law, an idea cannot be patented; only the working out of the idea. WorldCAD Access wonders about the future for non-Autodesk customers of MechSoft <worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2004/03/mechsofts_nonau.html >. It is plagiarism when other publications opine on the same idea? I think not, but I really don't know. Mauritz Botha of IMSI stopped by the offices of upFront.eZine last week to show off the just-released TurboCAD 10 (US$795). I like it when Mr Botha visits, because he's a techie and I don't have to listen to marketing mumbo-jumbo. Why did IMSI buy Aladdin Systems? IMSI spent the bulk of its cash reserves on this maker of Mac and PC utility software. "They have technology we can use in TurboCAD," explained Mr Botha: encryption, compression, and general utilities. IMSI still has its non-CAD side. And why did IMSI buy DesignCAD? It's for the consumer market, explained Mr Botha. Plus the former owners have heavy emphasis on electronic learning. DesignCAD is low-end CAD for consumers; TurboCAD Designer is in the middle for prosumers (non-professional CAD users who take CAD seriously); and TurboCAD Professional is for professional users. The CAD side of IMSI is called the Precision Design Group, A further distinction is that DesignCAD uses a home-grown solids modeler that isn't as capable as the ACIS used in TurboCAD. Which lead me to ask how ACIS is used. While TurboCAD has the complete ACIS R11 kernel, the problem is how to expose its features with TurboCAD's style of user interface -- which means not every ACIS feature is available. - - - TurboCAD 10 makes surfaces part of ACIS; they used to be defined internally. But now TurboCAD can convert solids to surfaces and back again. The surface doesn't need to envelop a volume: TurboCAD interpolates the needed surface to make the solid volume. Mr Botha demonstrated how the faces of solids (and surfaces) can be deformed interactively. TurboCAD has two methods: apply a uniform pressure to the face, and get a bell-shape; or define points that constrain the deformation. TurboCAD now creates cross-sections linked to views. Several standard cross-sections are predefined; new cross-sections are defined by simply placing a line, and selecting the side to show. I particularly liked the preview window that shows the cross-section before committing. OCR [optical character recognition] and raster-to-vector conversion are integrated, instead of being a separate module. This means that you can now place a raster image in the drawing, and then selectively convert portions to vector. There are two modes: convert everything within a selection rectangle; or convert the features nearest the cursor. You can specify "by color," so that, say, only blue features are converted to vector. - - - What else is new? Hidden lines are shown in 3D views. The Explorer Palette imports layers from other drawings. Real-time rendering is improved. Walls can have a different surface on each side. Select more than one control point to manipulate splines; drag a part of the spline, and TurboCAD relocated the control points. And IMSI is finding that TurboCAD's animation tool is being used as a low-cost alternative to 3d studio. If I missed anything, you can read more at www.imsisoft.com/prodinfo.asp?t=1&mcid=167 Darren Young's Guest Editorial Readers React In his guest editorial, Darren Young asked people to back off from criticizing AutoCAD 2005 until they've had a chance to use it. As usual, our readers reacted! Here are some of their letters: - - - "Mr. Young admits, 'the product isn't on the dealers' shelves, and there's very few who have even seen it.' Is his analysis based on AutoCAD 2005 documentation? Or, is he one of the 'very few who have seen it'? "Why is Autodesk ignoring basic drafting needs? Basic drafting needs ought to be part and parcel to a product upgrade. At its core, AutoCAD is a drafting application. I certainly don't mind learning new things if they make my job easier and more efficient (I think I speak for everyone). "Mr. Young is correct no one should have to pay $300 'to glue a couple lines back together', but isn't that a bargain compared to paying $300 for a feature you will never use? Mr. Young is accurate in regard to pleasing everyone. It's simply not possible! "Mr. Young states, 'From what I've gathered, sheet sets are not the easiest to set up, but AutoCAD'll do it, and do it automatically once configured properly.' Perhaps a little polish is needed there. "Mr. Young writes, 'If AutoCAD 2005 sales do poorly, it'll be a result of people being complacent about accepting what's handed to them, and not demanding real insight and imagination.' My perception of the problem is that the user has been handed something he/she has not demanded. Isn't the customer always right? Should developers deliver what the customer requests? Does the fact that most organizations have not bought in to the 3D hype mean anything to developers? (We will all go 3D AFTER the software can deliver as promised.) "The proof is in the pudding, or should
I say, the forced upgrade. In the end AutoCAD 2005 can be no worse
than R13 (right ?!) Thank you Mr. Young for your thought-provoking
editorial! - - - "First off, kudos and thanks to Darren Young. We Autodesk dealer reps fight the good fight on a daily basis, and hear the entire range of opinions regarding Autodesk. It is always good to hear from unbiased fans who take the time to write to you. "In response to Richard Jonas exception to Darren Young ("If Autodesk is intentionally hobbling AutoCAD for the purpose of selling additional applications at higher prices, such as Inventor or Revit, they may find otherwise loyal customers looking elsewhere for products that compensate for AutoCAD's shortcomings.") "I am happy and thankful that Autodesk continues to focus heavily on 2D automation in AutoCAD in order to keep AutoCAD in an unquestioned leadership position as the standard in 2D design. To dilute the 3D development of tools that are more capable and sophisticated (Revit/Inventor) for the needs of 3D designer/engineers is doing more harm than good to the user community, and to Autodesk's position as a business. "Autodesk offers reasonably priced upgrades and crossgrades to products that are functionally competitive to other AEC and MCAD applications. The pricing of these products makes a move away from an Autodesk platform harder to justify, than moving forward into full parametric 3D design with Autodesk. An AutoCAD user should be able to move to Inventor thanks to her/his investment in AutoCAD for considerably less than acquiring a new license of one of the competitive offerings. "Personally, I would be very hard-pressed to compete in a benchmark among AutoCAD and the gamut of MCAD competitors in regard to 3D design. Even Mechanical Desktop required an upgrade fee, which, despite keeping the AutoCAD feel on the desktop, opened the door for competitors in the way of ease-of-use and assembly performance. Now with the inclusion of Inventor, Mechanical Desktop and AutoCAD as the Inventor Series, Autodesk's 3D offering is capable of competing for the same standard-esque position in 3D as in 2D. "Pardon the shameless marketing. After over four years and nine releases of Inventor we still hear from individuals who are not aware of these upgrade options (shame on me, yes?). "Thanks, Ralph. You continue to offer
the best insight into the CAD community in as unbiased of a publication
as I've seen." The editor replies: "Because someone agrees with you, does not make them unbiased." - - - "One of the frustrating things about
AutoCAD is it is at times too big. Useful command options are often
undocumented, or buried a long way into a command. The rotate [Reference]
option is an example." - - - "From my experience, NOBODY has yet bridged
the gap between modeling and fabrication drawings -- not even Inventor.
Consequently, 2D CAD drafting is still essential in the creation
of reasonably presentable fabrication drawings. "For a number of years now I have been creating models in 3D and porting their orthographic views over to 2D (AutoCAD) to create fabrication drawings. The overhead in labor, hardware, and software required to automate the task is too high for the little guy like me. Those that do usually settle for Microstation, Pro-E, Catia, ME Pen, etc. Consequently, it behooves Autodesk to GET ON THE BALL with making their 2D CAD program up to date with the constant needs of 2D drafters. "WHY is the price of AutoCAD LT rising
so HIGH? I want a candid and HONEST answer from Autodesk. I want
to know what drives their pricing decisions, WITHOUT the LEGAL and
POLITICAL rhetoric. Anyone else agree with me?" The editor replies: "Autodesk raises the price of AutoCAD LT to US$900 with release 2005; the price is even higher outside of North America. The reason for the high price? Autodesk doesn't really want you to buying it." - - - "I thought I might share this perspective regarding Autodesk and 'big' changes as versus spit'n polish: "I think that this might well be applicable to longer-term users who have already built up a repertoire of LISP and VBA routines, have a plethora of favorites/bookmarks to AutoCAD resource sites. But (knew that was coming, didn't you?). "What about new users who have not built
up such a library of routines and utilities. These are laying down
big bucks, and (I expect) expecting a polished product out-of-the-box,
without having to Google for downloads. Like everything else, a
balance must be struck, I suspect." Below the Radar A summary of CAD industry news you may not have read elsewhere, or that we found interesting: - - - think3 launches the next release of thinkdesign (v7?)on Tuesday, April 13. Make it 2: Today's release of LocationLogic 5 is Autodesk's second product to support Linux. www.autodesk.com/locationservices Dave Edwards Consulting announces a new font designed for technical documentation and CAD users. The Newplex font <www.tcfonts.com/pjnpchrspr.jpg> features advanced readability, oft-requested special characters, international characters; available in SHX and Truetype formats. www.tcfonts.com Looking Glass Microproducts is back on the Web with no-charge 30-day eval downloads of IsoCAD (converts ortho projections to isometric) and TableImport (imports CSV files into AutoCAD 2005 as Tables). www.LookingGlassMicro.com GlobalCAD's scheduling and cost-estimating software, GlobalCAD Schedule 2004, merges tabled items based on user-defined criteria, and has dynamic links between AutoCAD and Excel. http://www.globalcad.com AutoForm's DieDesigner is sheet-metal die design software. www.autoform.com And, it's become negative, so it's time to change the lingo: Oracle renames offshoring as "global workforce enhancement," and its Oracle Outsourcing software as "Oracle On Demand." - InfoWorld Hardware News NVIDIA's Quadro FX 600 PCI graphics board supports up to eight high-res digital flat panels. More features: stereo 3D viewing, 256MB frame buffer, and 128-bit floating-point graphics pipeline. Board ships next month from PNY, Leadtek, and Elsa. www.nvidia.com HP updates its Performance Tuning Framework to support Inventor 8, IDEAS 9-10, Pro/E 2001 and Wildfire, CATIA and SolidWorks 2003-2004, and 3D Studio Max 5-6. Seminars and Conferences ArchiCAD University WEST is March 25-27 at Cal Poly Pomona, Los Angeles CA USA. www.acuwest.com VSMM 2004 (VR and the Human Factor: Art, Science and Culture) is 17-19 Nov at Softopia in Ogaki City, Japan. www.vsmm.org/2004 Letters to the Editor "Should the CAD industry go open source?" The editor replies: "Are you thinking a single open source CAD program, or all CAD programs going open-source? The closest to that is the IntelliCAD Technical Consortium, which requires members to contribute improvements to the IntelliCAD source code for the benefit of all members. The product, however, is falling further and further behind its nemesis, AutoCAD." NWBR responds: "I'm thinking about CAD users. Do you have any idea what would it take for your readers to switch to an open source package (in addition to 100% compatibility with AutoCAD, of course)? Would be interesting. "IntelliCAD is an interesting story, although I'm not sure it proves anything -- there are just too many external factors: Visio firing the original developers, user inertia, end of the Internet bubble, etc. I don't know if it is the closest. "OpenCascade is a better example. Not
that it is doing much better yet. But then again, very few people
took Linux seriously five years ago."
"Why does 2D CAD cost so much? Or should the question be, why does AutoCAD cost so much? Are the two synonymous? "You can get really complex powerful
solid modelling tools for the retail price of AutoCAD: four copies
of Rhino, six-seven copies of Alibre." - - - Re: PDF or DWF or ? "I think Autodesk is missing part of the point when it comes to sharing engineering design data. They've completely overlooked the printing end of this equation. I often use large raster images as a backgrounds for my design work, and when it comes time to print these drawings, I convert them to PDF and send them to my 42" HP 5000 PostScript printer. "Why don't I just print them directly from AutoCAD? Well, it takes about 45 minutes for the printer to spool a drawing with a raster image attached, because the drawing is not in PostScript file format. PDF is a PostScript file format, so once I've converted my drawing (with image) to PDF, the HP prints it in five minutes. "I tried converting to DWF, but DWF isn't
a PostScript format either, so the HP takes just as long to print
it as the original AutoCAD drawing file. I can't imagine sending
DWFs to my clients and expect them to go through the same thing." - - - Re: Intergraph "I believe you are correct, I think they
were the first company to ship a computer with Intel's Pentium CPU,
AND first to write 32-bit applications, and at one time was the
largest 32-bit software developer in the world." - - - Re: Gluing Lines and Importing Tables "We have had the Overkill command in
Express Tools that takes any number of coincident lines and turn
them into one line. Who says Autodesk don't have a command for this?"
"AutoCAD 2005 will not import a table
from a CSV file. With my new AutoCAD add-in, TableImport 2005, AutoCAD
will do just that. Please take a look at it at lookingglassmicro.com/tableimport.htm
" - - - "Thank you for your insightful newsletter." Spin Doctor of the Moment "We just felt that we wanted to publish at a time when he was able to promote it properly." - Warner spokeswoman Emi Battaglia on why Michael Eisner's book (on lessons about life he learned at summer camp) is delayed by a year. Notable Quotable "Merriam-Webster receives hundreds if
not thousands of requests each year from a wide variety of people
who would like us to alter the definitions in our dictionary in
order to promote a particular cause, interest or belief, and these
requests come from all parts of the political spectrum." |
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