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Issue #466 : : March 21, 2006 |
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C o n t e n t s PGoogle Buys @Last Software Your Graphics
Board is Obsolete, Part II
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Google last week shocked the CAD world with its purchase of @Last Software and its SketchUp 3D pre-modeling software. Everything remains the same, except that the @Last name is replaced by Google, and that SketchUp may expand its realm beyond the AEC market. The price was not revealed, but is estimated to be in the 7 digits. But Why? But the announcement proved to be a puzzler. Why did Google purchase a CAD company? The tone from @Last was not encouraging, their reason being along the lines of "When we and Google wrote the SketchUp-to-GoogleEarth translator, we found we got along really well." This doesn't sound like due diligence. There are several CAD packages that do the same job: export 3D models in KML format, and then imposes the graphical data at the correct location in Google Earth. Vendors like Graphisoft, Avatech Solutions, Bentley Systems, and others are also in the game. Especially Bentley Systems, who were, um, surprised to learn of Google's acquisition, news of which came as they demo'ed to the CAD media new MicroStation plug-in that they had hoped would become "the most popular way to view CAD and GIS information together." Oops. Here's Why CAD journalist Randall Newton answered the Why? question most succinctly: "Google Earth shows the where, SketchUp shows the what." <aecnews.com/articles/1446.aspx> The Kelsey Group ruminates: "Companies like GeoSim are already well underway in developing rich 3D maps of cities for online implementation. And Microsoft is heavily investing in the same thing -- even though the mainstream user population is still at driving directions. SketchUp may in fact become Google's answer to Windows Live Local's Birds Eye photography. Think about real estate or hotels/travel as two immediate examples that come to mind." <206.106.174.250/blog/blog_comment.asp?bi=982> CAD editor Martyn Day wonders if it might be used for a 4D version of Google Earth: "Will Google Earth eventually become a virtual 3D blueprint for all our cities? Could historical models be created [in SketchUp] and stored as our cityscapes change, allowing us to roll forwards and backwards in time from any point in space of time?" <www.martynday.com/page1/page1.html> I don't know that Google understands what the CAD market entails -- kind of like Visio execs not comprehending the amount of work IntelliCAD would require. I suspect they saw some Picasa-like software for visualizing 3D buildings and snapped it up. The Impact of KML on KAD Will KML do what VRML could not? CAD publisher Geoffrey Moore Langdon thinks perhaps so: "In the long run, this could be a very important benchmark. As yet, there is no true and omni ubiquitous standard for 3D, like Autodesk did for 2D with DWG. Several companies are jockeying in the hope that their thing will be it. "Suddenly you have a 3D CAD company bought up by an organization with virtually the entire planet of Web users as their base -- a company with a reputation of buying up other companies, and then creating at least a portion of that business as a free resource. That is big. "Even if SketchUp, even with its database link with Google Earth, does not, at the moment, possess all sorts of slick features such as file-size (like o2c) or portability (like 3D PDF) or BIM smarts (like gbXML, ArchiCAD, or Revit) the potential for the merging of Google and SketchUp must be enormous." <www.CADDtutorialsOnline.com> The Danger for SketchUp For SketchUp, there may be some danger being acquired. Instead of being the primary product from a well-liked software company, SketchUp could get swallowed up in the bowels of a huge corporation that the public is beginning to lose trust in -- kind of like the way that Visio got "lost" inside Microsoft. To take one minor issue, how many press releases will now go out from Google on SketchUp? Next to none. On the day of the acquisition, there was no formal announcement from Google; the press release was on the @Last Website, and a semi-official announcement on the official Google blog was written by an @Last employee. Visibility may plummet, because for Google, SketchUp is just one more product. Another proof: the acquisition was ignored by most media, whether general or computing. On Another Matter At a market capitalization 11x greater than Autodesk, is Google now the largest CAD company in the world? I'd say not, because CAD is a minor contributor to the bottom line -- like of like EDS not being a CAD company while it owned UGS. Your Graphics Board is Obsolete, Part II Autodesk Responds Shawn Gilmour of Autodesk notes that the high-end specs are only for doing 3D work with AutoCAD 2007; normal computers are still fine for 2D work. He continues... "AutoCAD has had the ability to use OpenGL based graphics hardware since AutoCAD 2000. With AutoCAD 2004, we added the ability to display textures, materials, and lights on 3D models in real-time. All of these features depended on the speed and ability of both the graphics card and driver for better performance. Most customers don't know this, because we left OpenGL hardware acceleration off by default and left it to customers to discover it. "With AutoCAD 2007's focus on conceptual design and visualization, we felt it was imperative that we test AutoCAD on graphics hardware and drivers [from ATI, nVidia, Matrox, 3D Labs, NEC and Intel] so we could recommend to customers what graphics configurations best support the features of AutoCAD. There are cards in our certification list both old and new for as little as US$250. "With this analysis, AutoCAD 2007's Performance Tuner can determine if OpenGL hardware acceleration can be reliably enabled by default the first time customers start up. We also let customers know if their card or driver does not support some of the new features; they can turn on hardware acceleration if they wish. "The key features that need more graphics power for AutoCAD 2007 are real-time shadows and Gooch shading. Cards that support the features (but are not supported by the vendor for CAD use) are still supported by Autodesk, but hardware acceleration is turned off by default. "Your ATi RADEON card is a gaming card that has what we call 'graphics cleanup issues'. You can enable hardware acceleration using the 3Dconfig command; the www.autodesk.com/hardcert/db.html Web site will be live on March 23, as well as a Q&A and a problem reporting page. "As you stated, this is not new to the industry; it is also not new to AutoCAD. It is going to be new to AutoCAD customers who have only been using AutoCAD for 2D and wish to start taking advantage of its new 3D capabilities."
ATI Support Canada's own ATI Technologies provided me with this list of boards that work with AutoCAD 2007's 3D: The following boards should be used with driver package 8.223. FireGL cards have faster OpenGL performance due to the different GPUs and optimized drivers. 1. Certified cards and drivers; OpenGL enabled by default:
2. Cards that passed, but are not recommended; users can enable OpenGL at their own risk:
3. Cards that did not pass and are not recommended; users can still enable OpenGL at their own risk:
www.ati.com/firegl/autodesk/index.html Note from the Editor No other items this week; I'm in court watching my son's criminal trial on three counts of Dangerous Driving Causing Bodily Harm, following his automobile accident of May 2004.
I've updated 'Tailoring AutoCAD 2007' and it's now available for US$30.20 through https://www.paypal.com/affil/pal=ralphg%40xyzpress.com . Note that this 302-page PDF book contains only customization details; the programming portion has been split off to a separate PDF book available in summer. More details to come.
Copyright 2006 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide Article reprint fee US$250.00.
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