u p F r o n t . e Z i n e

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Issue #629 |  January 19, 2010  |  English Edition

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In This Issue

1. Two Wishes for IntelliCAD in 2010

 

2. The Russian MCAD Market

 

3. Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns

 

Two Wishes for IntelliCAD in 2010

IntelliCAD will soon be entering its teen years. For 2010, I wish the CAD package, its programmers, and distributors these two things:

 

One. Speedy implementation of new features, bug fixes, and release updates. With Web-based software providing near-realtime updating, desktop-based software needs to keep up. (Bricsys shows that weekly updates are possible.)

 

Two. Top-down reorganization of its distribution network. ITC members are competing against each other. As I look at the list of Linux distributions at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions, I wonder if perhaps the ITC could benefit from tighter regulation of its members activities. As I see it, the IntelliCAD market is split into three sectors, listed in order of increasing value as a customer:

It seems to me that the ITC should consider reorganizing its distributors to eliminate competition between members, and meet the needs of the classes of customer listed above. This could be accomplished by renaming members as "distributors," and segregating them by the following criteria: 

This is no different from how a "regular" CAD vendor operates. ITC members who don't care for this sort of reorganization could take the route of Bricsys, who spent roughly two years eliminating all IntelliCAD code from Bricscad, and now operates independently of the organization.

 

IntelliCAD Wikipedia

On another topic, Ben Decker of CADDIT tells me he's been cleaning up IntelliCAD Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IntelliCAD. He is keen on an accurate history of IntelliCAD, which I consider to be one of the most interesting ones in the annals of CAD. He writes that he is studying...

Some insiders of those heady days in 1998 are still in the industry. But I do not recall any press releases from SoftDesk or Boomerang on this subject, for IntelliCADD (two Ds at the time) was a stealth project for SoftDesk. As for Boomerang, it was a temporary corporation designed to hold the Project Phoenix code (IntelliCAD's temporary name) between the time SoftDesk had to spin it off (due to its impending purchase by Autodesk) and Visio's subsequent purchase of Phoenix and its programmers -- as indicated by the boomerang name. And the original IntelliCADD company existed before the Internet became the normal depository of press releases and other corporate biographical data.

 

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The Russian MCAD Market

David Levin of LEDAS and I have compiled all the documents from last fall's upFront.eZine Tour of Russia into a single research paper: The Russian MCAD Market.  This insightful document provides crucial information for Westerners seeking to understand the CAD market in Russia, as well as Russian customs and travel.

 

We believe this is the first bi-lingual research paper in the CAD industry. The lefthand pages are in Russian, with English on facing pages. The Russian translation was provided by LEDAS and nanosoft. All content was published previously in upFront.eZine and on WorldCAD Access, and is now collected together in a useful 126-page PDF file for $126 (PayPal or cheque). www.upfrontezine.com/rcm

 

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    We know data translation and provide immaculate developer-to-customer relations. http://www.okino.com

Out of the Inbox

SYCODE releases plug-ins for AutoCAD and SolidWorks to export 3D solids from these CAD packages to CATIA V4/V5 without needing CATIA licenses. (The company already sells CATIA V4/V5 importers for AutoCAD and SolidWorks.) AutoCAD plug-ins work with DWG 2000 - 2010; SolidWorks with 2001 - 2010. Trial versions available from http://www.sycode.com/products

 

IN-Motion integrates into Inventor to perform force and torque calculations of moving assemblies. Forces and torques experienced at joints, motors and actuators can be plotted or exported in spreadsheet format for further study. Price is a mere $200. http://www.ar-cad.com/in-motion/index.html

 

Schott Systeme updates their design and manufacturing software, Pictures by PC 3.4, with enhancements in modeling, machining, and technical documentation. Video demo at http://www.schott-systeme.com/en/newmixerdesignmachiningvideo-en.htm

 

CCE announces a new version of Oceans SDK software development toolkit for multi-CAD data access for ERP, MRP and PLM systems. The new version supports for 3D visualization data from CATIA V5, SolidWorks, Unigraphics and JT formats, with Pro/E and Solid Edge to be added shortly. http://www.cadcam-e.com/development-tools/oceans-sdk.aspx

 

Dassault Systemes releases 3DVIA Composer V6R2010x with paper space, ribbon user interface [ugh!], direct publishing to the 3dvia.com Web site, and more. http://www.3dviacomposer.com/v6r2010x

 

Siemens PLM Software launches Tecnomatix 9.1 digital manufacturing software. Enhancement include automotive body-in-white planning, cross-industry quality management, and assembly planning. More info from http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/tecnomatix/tecnomatix9/highlights.shtml

 

MIE Solutions ships another update to QuoteIt 2010, its quoting and estimating software for manufacturing, fabrication, sheet metal, job shops, and machine shops. No-charge trial version available from http://www.mie-solutions.com

 

ARCHIdigm releases Kitchen Cabinets 10 eKit and Bathroom Cabinets 10 eKit for AutoCAD Architecture 2010. eKits comes with library files, content browser catalogs, tool palettes, and tool images. "The wizard installs the files; all you have to do is add the catalog," Odin Cary tells me. http://www.archidigm.com

 

And ZWSOFT announces ZWCAD 2010 with optimized memory, mtext editor, improved spline editing, and ZRX (ZWCAD runtime extension) API. http://www.zwcad.org

- - -

These were some of the news items posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:

 

Seminars & Conferences

CIMdata PLM Certificate Program is Mar 8-12 in Andover MA USA. http://www.cimdata.com/services/education/plm_certificate.html

 

COFES Israel Forum is Dec 160 in Tel Aviv, Israel. http://cofes.com/Events/COFESIsrael/tabid/506/Default.aspx

 

People/Companies on the Move

IBM, Bricsys, and Fresh T collaborate to integrate Vondle Live into IBM LotusLive. Vondle Live document viewing and annotation, graphical workflow, automated data processing, and on-line data repository with dynamic reporting to LotusLive. http://www.bricsys.com/vondlelive

 

WorthWhile Web

http://designbygravity.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/the-garage-principle/

The Garage Principle

by Christopher Schanck

 

http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2010/01/12/google-takes-a-match-to-the-china-corporate-communications-script.aspx

Google detonates the China corporate communications script

by imagetheif

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/15/clearing-up-confusion-on-google-and-china/tab/print/

Clearing Up Confusion on Google and China

by Sky Canaves

 

Letters to the Editor

Re: Unhappy New Year

Because Cadopolis is closing, do you know of any other sites that sell similar products?

    - DraftT

The editor replies: Try www.novedge.com

 

 

Just want to say we are alive and kicking and that there are two sides to every story.  We prefer not to air ours regarding the payments or the cancellation of the license to the technology from Luxion.  We are indeed working on a new generation of HyperShot that will take advantage of the upcoming release of new generation hardware.  

    - Philip K. Lunn, founder/ceo

    Bunkspeed

 

 

I just got wind of DRCAuto’s closing down in Australia.  Have you had any communications with Gary D'Arcy as to why this has happened, and if he has plans to resurrect his AutoCAD LT enhancement lines of software under a different name, or sell the code to someone to continue the product?

    - Gregor Markel

 

I don't know how familiar you are with DRCAuto's LT Toolkit, but it requires a re-authorization code every year. Since they are no longer around, our AutoCAD LTs will now lose their LISP and ARX functionality. One license ends next week. The president of our company has made it very clear that we will not be upgrading to full AutoCAD. (He considers even AutoCAD LT to be overpriced, and since our IT people have traditionally blamed AutoCAD for anything and everything, he thinks it's much buggier than it is.) We're boned.

    - RR

The editor replies: From what I have been able to piece together is that D'Arcy died unexpectedly and so the firm closed 31 Dec. The drcauto.com domain name no longer works, and so email communications are not possible. I understand that the software needs to be relicensed annually. Evan Yares tracked down Leonard Liang, the former key developer at DRCauto. He is willing to help all Toolkit Max users. His Web site is www.cadsta.com  and his email address is leonardl@cadsta.com .

 

That's really sad - I hope they reorganize, we've invested a lot and its a great product.

    - Kathy Miles

 

 

Re: Autodesk vs SolidWorks Collapses

I read with pleasure your analysis on the DWG trademark issue and want to thank you for the line you added for me. 4M is one of the most talented ITC members (see ITC's success story) and the only one to offer a fully integrated BIM Suite (CAD, Architecture, MEP, FEA). They have already partners in 20 countries. My job as consultant is to open new markets for them including in the USA.

    - Cedric Desbordes

 

 

Do you know anybody who has successfully changed Autodesk's license agreement to a contract, and modified the contents of it to be equitable and moral? No matter how you look at it, the Autodesk license agreement is legally wrong and morally corrupt. I can't sign it conscientiously. However, I may be forced to sign it out of need.

     It should be obvious to anybody who's been in this business for more than two decades how Autodesk has positioned themselves in the market place. In so doing, they've put me in the position that I need their product (or an equivalent, namely SolidWorks). Effectively they've created and are using the social forces of CAD to force me to need their CAD software. If I don't use what they or SolidWorks has, I won't be able to make a living. Using paper and pencil in this day-and-age would be like me trying to beat a NASCAR at the 1/4 mile by running (i.e., my legs vs. their car)!

     So, I want to find someone who has changed the agreement and succeeded, so I can contact them to find out how they accomplished it.

    - Chris Huminski

The editor replies: One hears rumours of corporations larger than Autodesk getting custom agreements. Also, I would assume that governments have their own versions of contracts that software vendors need to follow.

 

Notable Quotable

Story after story written about how product X is a product Y killer. But here's the thing: there's no reason that product X needs to kill product Y.

    - Michael Gartenberg

    http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/08/entelligence-heads-i-win-tails-so-do-you

 

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