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issue #559 : : may 13, 2008 |
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In this issue:
Readers React: Stories Too Difficult to Tell
Out of the Inbox, and the other regular columns.
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Write the editor. Make him smile! Through Paypal, consider donating $25 in support of upFront.eZine. Or else... We're trendy. We have a Weblog. WorldCAD Access. |
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It's fascinating to see what can be patented these days. Here are some processes for which Autodesk has received patents in the USA (or applied for one). Some seem awfully generic, like "Selecting functions via a graphical user interface"; others are non-CAD specific, such as "Communication mechanism between disconnected applications in a computer system" -- reads like Google Gears to me. SheetSets
User Interfaces
File Formats
Images
Mechanical CAD
Readers
React: "It is a shame when the reason for going offshore is to cut costs, but there is a benefit: a 24-hour design workflow. This works only when everyone is in-sync and has comparable abilities. Companies gain by cutting actual time by 2/3 while still taking the 3/3 they would need to get things done. After all, once I leave the office having put in my 8 hours, the 16 hours left over are basically wasted. "With continuous workflow, the job starts on Monday, is promised to the client for Tuesday instead of Friday -- but it would still be around 40 hours of billed time. "No longer are we tied to our drafting boards. No longer is there a country/province/area/city/block/building-border. With the Internet and intranets the end product looks (and is) the same whether being viewed by me on Monday morning or half way across the globe at midnight. However, I'm sure that this is not the mindset or business plan of companies; they _are_ in it for the bucks! "With so much disappearing from this continent I wonder how soon it will be when we will be totally dependent on others to grow our food, knit our sweaters, and build our machines. And will we be able to afford these items having been laid off due to offshoring? "Of course, there is another option: a migration from the
West to the East. If the jobs are there, and the living expenses
are less, and so a decent life can still be held there even when
being paid less?"
"Research has shown that for every H1B visa issued [in the United States], jobs are not lost in the US but are created. This is because firms are keeping operations in the US, and have further opportunities to expand. They also hire people that may work alongside the H1B person or perhaps below them. "Tech companies have had to look at outsourcing (and even creating new branches in Canada) as a result of not being able to hire people they normally would via the H1B route. Take a look around: you'll find that since the number of H1B work visas dropped to 65,000 per year, the rate of outsourcing has risen dramatically. "Too bad, but this is perhaps one example of fallout from
this issue."
"Tariff breakdowns and capital-flow-restriction removals make crossborder commerce easier. But one of the problems with globalization is that there is no similar breakdown in cross-border movement of labor. This puts developing economies at a disadvantage, since they are rich in labor, not in capital or products. The whole Internet / flat-world thing addresses this: if you can't move the people, move the work. "The American system of a-pink-slip-and-an-escort-out-of-the-front-door is something that has baffled me for years. The pink-slip approach is getting outsourced to developing nations too, along with the work. And since developing nations have little in the form of social security nets, things are a lot harder for that guy in developing-nation A who just found that developing-nation B got his job for the same reasons that our first guy got it in the originally. "What amazes me is that the Americans have tolerated this move-it-if-it's-cheaper approach. It disappoints me as I approach my old age is that this philosophy seems to be taking over rest of the world. I have a lot more sympathy with the German approach to all this, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working. "Not only is it not roses all around, it's not even roses
all the way in many of the nations that benefit from off-shoring/out-sourcing/callitwhatyouwill. The editor replies: "Call centers outsourced to Canada are being shut down. And the 'advanced' country of Canada has crossborder restrictions between its provinces [states]." DRCAUTO Software ships SlingShot Max 2009 ($99) and its 60+ commands for the AutoCAD 2009 line of software. Demo version at estore.smart-architect.com/paypal/freetryout/slingshotmaxtryout.htm RCMS announces its iBIM [integrated Building Information Modeling] service that converts paper drawings into 3D BIM models with constructability and quantity information. www.rcmsgroup.com CIMdata estimates that worldwide NC [numerical control] software and services market grew last year by 7% to US$1.4 billion. The beta program for Solidworks 2009 launches in early June and runs for two months [source: www.mikescadblog.com/2008/05/official-solidw.html ] Autodesk launches AutoCAD P&ID 2009 [process and instrumentation diagram] with Project Manager, Data Manager, snap-to symbol libraries, validation tool, and more. Demo version at http:// www.autodesk.com/autocadpid DEM Solutions releases EDEM [discrete element modeling] v2.0 particle simulation modeling software performs parallel processing on up eight CPUs. www.dem-solutions.com CADnection adds support for DWF in its software that links AutoCAD with SharePoint. www.cadnection.com LMS combines its 1D and 3D vehicle handling simulation software: 1D with Imagine.Lab Vehicle Dynamics for analyzing vehicle ride and handling in the early concept stages; 3D with Virtual.Lab Vehicle Motion to simulate the vehicle in detail. www.lmsintl.com Delcam Crispin launches new OrthoModel software
for designing and manufacturing orthotic insoles. www.delcam.com
Autodesk unveils Autodesk Seek Web service for finding design files and building specifications for engineers and architects. It's embedded in the 2009 versions of Revit, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, and AutoCAD MEP (US only). Also available through "standard browsers" at seek.autodesk.com -- although it didn't work with my Opera Web browser. nCode International announces ICE-flow Automation for Web-based analysis and management of test data, integrated with its GlyphWorks data analysis software. www.ncode.com And Autodesk ships SketchBook Pro 2009 ($195) painting and illustration program for tablet PCs -- it runs on Mac OS X Leopard, as well as Windows. 15-day trial from www.autodesk.com/sketchbookpro - - - These news items were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog < worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
Hardware News Oce combines toner and inkjet printing to create its new CrystalPoint printing technology that converts toner into a gel, which gets jetted onto paper. Images are crisp on plain paper, water-fast, and have accurate dot placement. www.oceusa.com Seminars & Conferences Siemens PLM Connection Americas 2008 (renamed from "UGS Connection") is June 2-5 in Orlando FL USA. www.plmworld.org
People/Companies on the Move Right Hemisphere outsources development, maintenance, and customer support of its Deep Creator 3D software to Esperient Corporation, who already did sales and support for Deep Creator -- and who developed v3.0 of the software. Right Hemisphere becomes a shareholder in Esperient, and continues to sell to enterprise customers. (Esperient was founded last October by former Right Hemisphere employees to takeover development of Deep Creator; CTO is Mike Bailey, original architect of Deep Creator and one-time lead programmer on IntelliCAD.) http://www.esperient.com Print Audit will be moving "to a new and improved location" but the press release forgot to tell us where.
Market News Autodesk acquires Kynogon of France and its artificial intelligence software used for games, but maybe also now for CAD. Price is being kept a secret. www.autodesk.com/kynogon Autodesk also acquired REALVIZ of France and its software for generating 3D images from 2D photos. Autodesk expects to use the software in computer games and architectural design. Sadly, the product line is being cut off: Stitcher Pro, Stitcher Unlimited DS, and StoryViz are discontinued; Matchmover, Retimer, and VTour are no available as standalone products (will be integrated into Autodesk software). www.autodesk.com/REALVIZ Hagerman & Company acquires Ideate's Manufacturing Solutions Division.
Notable Quotable "...mapping/GIS has been an oligarchy; specialists made
the maps. Now with Web 2.0, it's supposed to be democratized, but
it's still an oligarchy."
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