|
upFront.eZine |
|
|
a
publication from |
|
|
Issue #608 : : June 23, 2009 |
|
|
In this issue: The upFront.eZine Tour of Northern Europe
- On Becoming a Platform
Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns.
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
The upFront.eZine Tour of Northern Europe Part I: Visiting Bricsys in Ghent*, Belgium In this day of slowing sales of CAD software (even top seller AutoCAD is down an astounding 42%), it is crucial for software companies to have a broad base of products to sell and regions in which to sell them. As the head of Bricsys, Erik de Keyser is changing the course of his small company to ensure its success. The areas of change are strategic: From Bricscad + a very few in-house vertical applications... From IntelliCAD-based code... From Windows-reliant... From Euro-centric...
During a 90-minute interview with upFronte.eZine, Mr de Keyser talked about his company's development over the last four years and of his plans for its future.
On Becoming a Platform A key to success, Mr Keyser determined, is to woo developers, who in turn speed sales of Bricsys. Bricscad currently works with 72 third-party applications; another 326 are being ported -- albeit not all to BRX. (For historical reasons, about half run on LISP; to improve code compatibility, Bricsys recently switched its LISP engine to OpenLISP from France.) The previous week, some 70 people showed up in Ghent for the first Bricscad developer conference. The company is able to capitalize on the negative circumstances some developers have experienced with large CAD vendors. When the number reaches 150 apps, Mr de Keyser believes, the market will take Bricscad seriously. The aim is that prices never exceed $2,000 -- that's for Bricscad + third-party app. “You don't charge third party developers.” I asked: “Will your support staff become overwhelmed as more developers sign up?” Because Bricsys does not charge a fee, it cannot afford to hire more support staff, and so I wondered how the company would cope. It turns out the answer is automation, along with a form of crowd-sourcing. “Say a support request arrives in Japanese. We cannot read Japanese. But among our 120 partners [who resell and support Bricscad in other countries] we have some in Japan. The request is automatically routed to our Japanese partners.” When a solution is found, it is translated into English and other languages. The plan is to never charge third-party developers. The free development platform allows developers to emerge from countries as unlikely as Viet Nam and Uruguay – just as blogging allows anyone with an opinion to voice it. But it is not just third-party developers who benefit; Bricscad does also: those using BRX influence the development of Bricscad, because their unique ideas can be implemented easily. This gives two faces to Bricscad: the drafting program, and the enabling application. “Will you compete against your third-party developers, as some large CAD vendors do?” I wondered. Bricsys will no longer write add-ons; they will concentrate their programmers on developing Bricscad and BRX further. The priority of Bricsys is on third-party developers. I probed further: “What about your Architecturals add-on?” It is in limbo and Bricsys would love for someone to take it over. If not, then in a year perhaps Bricsys will turn Architecturals into a 3D modeling API so that it becomes the basis of BIM. It could well become the first building information modeler for Linux.
On Becoming Independent of ITC It took Bricsys a number of years to come to the realization that it must be independent of IntelliCAD Technical Consortium. During the first stage of this progression, Bricscad wrote its own improvements to IntelliCAD, some of which were adopted by ITC -- but at a the slower speed necessary for supporting its many members. Bricsys' faster development of Bricscad caused a fork in the code, which led to the company realizing it needed to split from ITC completely. This allowed Bricsys to (1) advance at its own speed, and (2) incorporate enhancements not compatible with IntelliCAD. Instead of waiting for ITC to program replacement code (the much-waited-upon IntelliCAD V7), Bricsys did the task on its own. The work of removing traces of IntelliCAD from Bricscad was the primary effort in V8 and V9, and now is almost complete. If the feature sets of these last two releases were not “awe-inspiring,” shall we say, that was because most were under the hood. For instance, Bricsys recently completed work on a new geometry engine, the part of CAD that determines boundaries for hatching, intersections of lines, offsets of copies, and so on. (This will ship in Bricscad v9.3.) With the code its own, programmers at Bricsys can turn their attention to adding features that users will notice. (Version 10.0 is due out in September.) For instance: the ODA is adding 2D constraints to its DWG API later this year, and these will be added to Briscad v10.1. This is the crucial point: instead being compatible with IntelliCAD, Bricscad is now compatible with the Open Design Alliance's DWG format. “But,” I ask, “might your ties to ODA become as difficult as they were with ITC?” No at all; it's more like using D-Cubed technology, which CAD companies are free to implement fully, partially, or not at all. This is very much different from being dependent on another organization for an entire CAD engine.
On Being Weaned from Windows The massive rewrite of Bricscad made the software independent of ITC, as well as independent of Windows. Some 98% of the code is now-OS independent. This allows Bricsys to expand its market to Linux, Macintosh, and who knows what else? The Linux version will come out in beta by the end of this year. This is a real Linux version, not one that runs on top of WINE (WINdows Emulator). The primary issue being dealt with now is deciding on the installation method. Mr de Keyser thinks Bricscad will be a bigger hit on Linux than Windows. I won't quote the numbers Mr de Keyser used, because I don't believe them. But I found it interesting that the primary impetus for a true Linux version is not from regular users, but from corporate customers who are switching their enterprises from Windows to Linux, and want a 100%-Linux operation. “The Linux world needs to become compatible with engineering,” he said. Once Linux is out the door, then it's the turn of Macintosh. No details yet, except that the primary issue is the GUI. (Parallels is not the answer, because it still needs a Windows license from Microsoft.) Mr de Keyser emphasized that he does not consider VectorWorks and ArchiCAD to be competitors. Oh, not just desktop OSes. Mr de Keyser hinted at browser-based CAD. His new geometry engine is “very compact, and useful for browsers.” “We are the only one who is OS-independent,” Mr de Keyser proclaimed. [Not so, as Part II reveals next week.] In a computing world that is becoming increasingly OS-agnostic, this may become a key advantage over larger rivals. Bricsys will be a CAD vendor that offer third-party developers a single CAD platform for all three desktop operating systems.
Tying These Together OS-independence is tied to third-party development. Think about it: with few competitors in the Linux and Mac markets, developers may well launch apps for all three Oses on a CAD package that costs nothing to develop with, and is available in a host of languages. Mr de Keyser is convinced the recession will cause a sea-change in the CAD marketplace. “We think the time for paying $4,500 for a CAD package is over -- forever. Companies are looking for savings. Once the recession endd, will there be a road back to $4,500 software? I think not.” “The time is righty for us,” he concludes. “We have the software in place.”
[Disclosure: Bricsys provided hotel accommodation in Ghent.]
*) The name of the city of Ghent (English spelling) is also spelled Gent in Dutch, Gand in French, and was formerly spelled Gaunt in English. Altair Engineering releases Altair HyperWorks 10.0 CAE suite, built on the solvers of RADIOSS, with these new features:
And more. www.altair.com
Luxology announces modo 401 software ($995) with these enhancements:
Works with PC, 64-bit PC, and Mac. www.luxology.com - - - Open Design Alliance chooses LEDAS to develop 2D constraints for in DWGdirect -- beating out D-Cubed from Siemens. www.ledas.com Sources report that PTC will add direct modeling (aka dynamic editing) to Pro/E v5, and expected in Q4. Other sources indicate that DS SolidWorks is adamant that its namesake software will "never" do direct editing. Siemens PLM Software ships NX for Mac OS X on 64-bit Macs. www.siemens.com/plm Jimmy Bergmark updates AutoCAD Automation Tools to v2.2, which inserts objects on all layouts. blog.jtbworld.com/2009/06/autocad-automation-tools-22-released.html Dosch Design's new "Dosch HDRI: Product Lighting" ($149) offers studio lighting setups that work well with high-reflection and transparent surfaces: 11 lighting scenes for each of 10 color effects -- just drop in your 3D model. www.doschdesign.com First Trace offers Korrigo v4.1, the very first document management software for AutoCAD LT 2007-2010. Says the press release, "Since AutoCAD LT was first delivered in 1992 there has never been a file management solution available for LT users; not even from Autodesk" [especially not from Autodesk!]. The software also works with to AutoCAD, SolidWorks, MicroStation, OpenOffice and Office. www.FirstTrace.com/product-korrigo-autocad-lt.jsp Autodesk gets excited about running its software on the Mac: "Alias Design joins the increasing number of Autodesk 2D and 3D software tools available for Mac OS X." When will CAD software join the list? MIE Docs manages documents by creating a virtual drive on your network; the latest version supports CAD. No-charge version from www.mie-solutions.com/mie/index.php/MIE-Docs ModuleWorks is researching new automated methods for 5-axis machining for mold and die manufacture. www.moduleworks.com Strata Enfold 3D CX creates folded 3D designs inside of Adobe's Illustrator. "Strata is located in the scenic red rock country of southern Utah," says the press release. www.strata.com Bunkspeed's HyperShot rendering software now works with Kubotek USA's KeyCreator "within the Americas." www.kubotekusa.com nPower Software releases version 6.0 of Power NURBS, Power Solids, and Power Translators for 3ds Max. npowersoftware.com/pressreleases/pressreleasePowerNurbs60_5_20_08_.html
People/Companies on the Move Dassault Systemes says its 3DVIA.com online community for 3D artists passes 100,000 members. Delcam boasts of its 30,000th customer. Like other CAD companies, PTC looks to reduce its office space, as well as divide its office and R&D divisions into two locations -- some 200-300 thousand square feet. http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2009/06/08/story10.html In a move that may well surprise you, BlueCielo ECM Solutions is integrating Oracle's AutoVue 2D Professional viewing software in BlueCielo's InnoCielo software. [A surprise, because Cyco, the forerunner of BlueCielo, invented the AutoCAD file viewing industry.] SAMTECH launches a new corporate image, logo, and new Web site at http://www.samtech.com Tacton Systems appoints Tom Francke as chief business officer. Mr Francke is the former ceo of XCounter AB. New Books/eBooks "KEYCREATOR 8 Hybrid Modeling"
"AutoCAD 2010 Update Guide: What's Inside?"
Market News IGE+XAO reports revenues of e16.4 million for its first 9 months, up 3.5% from a year ago. Autodesk pays Avatech Technology a half-million dollars for its BIMreview software. PTC acquires Relex Software for its design and field data analysis software; price tag is being kept a secret.
WorthWhile Web http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/five-reasons-be-terrified-google-wave
Letters to the Editor "Trimble has been in the software biz for a while. They bought Tripod Data Systems about 8 years ago. Their Survey Pro software ran on an HP48. "What makes this interesting, is that Technical Sales International (TSI) had an exclusive sales agreement with Trimble to market their Total Station in the MEP marketplace. TSI is the US distributor for Micro Application Packages in the UK (MAP Software LTD) who makes CAD-Duct, CAD-Mech, Est-Duct, Est-Mech, and CAM-Duct. Quickpen is the primary competitor of MAP Software's CAD-Duct/CAD-Mech." "Thanks for many years interesting and informative reading."
Notable Quotable "Not moving into victim mode is very important."
Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators These great people support upFront.eZine through their contributions of $25 (or more). Thank you, guys!
Copyright 2009 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide Article reprint fee US$250.0 and up.
All
trademarks belong to their respective holders.
"upFront.eZine," "Talking About CAD," and
"the business of CADg" are trademarks of
upFront.eZinePublishing, Ltd. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|