Autodesk ArchitecturalDesktop 3.3
Autodesk Inc. = http://www.autodesk.com

Designers CADD Company ------ http://www.designerscadd.com
(Peter Bruckner) Cambridge MA --- (AutoCAD, ArchitecturalDesktop, ArchitecturalStudio, 3D StudioMax, Viz, Lightscape)

Consulting for Architects (CFA)  ----- http://www.cons4arch.com/BOS/bos.html
Boston, MA ------- (AutoCAD, ArchitecturalDesktop)

North American CAD ------- http://nacad.com   ----  http://www.cesplot.com
(AutoCAD LT, Plotters)

CADapult  ------ http://www.cadapult.net
Authorized AutoCAD dealer serving the Greater Philadelphia area

Robert McNeel and Associates  ---- http://www.mcneel.com
Scott Davidson -scottd@mcneel.com  -------  (AutoCAD, Accurender, Facade, Rhino)

Walter W. Fredrick Associates, Inc. ----  http://www.fredrick.com
Peabody, MA --- (AutoCAD, Plotters, Plotting Services, technical support)

Avatech Solutions  ------ http://www.avat.com/products/software
 (AutoCAD, etc.)

Kamel Software --- (AutoCAD Drawing Viewers)
Cimmetry Inc. --- (AutoCAD Drawing Viewers)
Cyco Inc. --- (AutoCAD Drawing Viewers)
Robert McNeel & Associates --- (AutoCAD Utilities, Accurender, Facade)
AutoCAD Shareware Clearinghouse

Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) --------------------- http://www.augi.com
AutoCAD SIG Washington DC ---------- http://www.cpcug.org/user/autocad
GBAUG - Greater Boston AutoCAD User Group ------  http://www.gbaug.org
BSA AutoCAD User Group ------------------ http://www.architects.org
ArchitecturalDesktop Group - Boston / NewYork
GLAUG - Great Lakes AutoCAD User Group - meetings  4th Thursday of the month -- Dale Batko <DBATKO@dt.smithgroup.com>

Extensive List of AutoCAD User Groups Worldwide  ---------   http://www.spaug.org/User_Groups.Html

CADence Magazine  ---- http://www.cadenceweb.com
Articles, reviews, extremely extensive web site
 
Inside AutoCAD  ------ http://www.zdjournals.com/iac
AutoCAD tips, techniques

CADalyst Magazine  ---- http://www.cadonline.com
Articles, reviews

CAD Forum  -------   http://www.cad-forum.com
AutoCAD R13 Windows - Tutorial  -----  http://www.arch.unsw.edu.au/subjects/arch/comsem3/tut4/acadtut4.htm
Autodesk Training Center (at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston) ----  http://www.wit.edu/ATC.HTM
AutoCAD Tutorials   ----   http://www.wit.edu/ACADtut.htm
Autodesk Training Center at UNH/TSAS -------  http://www.atc.unh.edu/default.htm

Complete list of AutoCAD Books  ------  http://www.architecturalcadd.com/books2.html

"AutoCAD for Architectural Drawing" by Beverly and James Kirkpatrick
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0130802638/architecturalcad/

CADsyst - AutoCAD Shareware ---- http://www.cadsyst.com
The purpose of CADsyst is to make AutoCAD work for you by the use of the hundreds of shareware, freeware and public domain files available as well as interact with users like you through the use of newsgroups, usergroups and message boards.

AutoCAD Utilities ----  http://www.cad-forum.com/shareware/index.asp

CAD Blocks -----  http://www.cadblocks.com

ObjectsOnline -----  http://www.objectsonline.com

Mon, 10 May 1999

AutoCAD became popular with personal computer users (as they were called in the mid-80s) because they could customize the then-new CAD software. Many little third-party software companies sprang up take advantage of the relatively open CAD software.

Corporations were less sure about these little ISVs (independent software vendors). As one corporate buyer asked me over lunch at A/E/C Systems '86, "What happens if we buy AutoCAD with an add-on, then that little vendor goes under?" He prefered to stick with the safe names of the day, like Computervision and Intergraph. These CAD vendors sold the core CAD product, and the vertical market add-on, and all the hardware to run the software on.

That corporate buyer's prediction came true -- at least partially. Many of those early "little" vendors went under, particularly those selling customized digitizer overlays. A small number of ISVs became large and powerful: Cyco, SoftDesk, Eagle Point, and others.

Autodesk itself dabbled in selling add-on software, products that had names like CAD/camera and AutoCAD AEC. The problem was that the programmers were external to Autodesk, which meant it could not control its development; Autodesk simply marketed the products. By the early 90s, Autodesk changed it focus to become _the_ graphics company. It shed its add-on products, and instead went on a purchasing spree of all software graphical: educational, presentation, low-cost CAD, clip art, animation, etc.

By the mid-90s, Autodesk changed its focus back to its core competency: CAD, and the notable exception of 3D Studio. With CAD, Autodesk began to get back into the add-on business. This time, Autodesk purchased the technology so that it could control the development: drawing management, mechanical, architectural, civil, etc.

Throughout the life of AutoCAD Release 14, Autodesk tacked on more and more add-ons. By the time AutoCAD 2000 was announced, Autodesk had put together a master plan called "Design 2000." Press releases describe the Design 2000 strategy this way:

"Under the Design 2000 initiative, Autodesk is introducing AutoCAD [insert vertical product name here] 2000 software as part of a new series of products based on the AutoCAD 2000 platform for the architecture, land development, GIS, and mechanical marketplaces. Many of the new features in AutoCAD [vertical product] 2000 extend the power of AutoCAD 2000 to make tedious and repetitive tasks much simpler and easier."

Last Wednesday, the Autodesk share price fell 17% to 23 9/16, within a couple of dollars of its 52-week low. The cause? Autodesk had told financial analysts that expected earnings for its first quarter would be 10 to 15 cents per share, instead of the expected 40 cents per share. (A year ago, earnings were 55 cents a share; final financial results for the first quarter will be announced on May 27, 1999.) Autodesk shares have since risen to an even 26. A number of financial analysts immediately downgraded Autodesk shares.

What is causing the lower than expected earnings? Brenon Daly of CBS MarketWatch said Autodesk's lowered profits were due to "a tepid reception to the company's new flagship product [AutoCAD 2000]." Tim Klasell, analyst at Dain Rauscher Wessels, said, "the expected upgrades to AutoCAD 2000 did not occur. Autodesk also blamed Year 2000 concerns on the delay of some purchases in North America."

Why are customers delaying their purchase of AutoCAD 2000? Autodesk ceo Carol Bartz provides this answer: "Autodesk customers are in a transition throughout our product line, whether it's purchasing the recently shipped AutoCAD 2000 or anticipating the upcoming new vertical market product offerings in mechanical, GIS, and AEC." Translation: customers won't upgrade to AutoCAD 2000 until their vertical market product becomes available. Here is a road map of when some add-on products will be ready for AutoCAD 2000:

May 3: AutoCAD Map 2000 software for CAD-based mapping and geographic

information system (GIS) software.

May 28: Volo View Express (a free product).

Summer: AutoCAD Architectural Desktop.

Summer: AutoCAD Mechanical Desktop.

Late summer: CAD Overlay 2000, raster editing software for AutoCAD.

Early fall: Volo Explorer and Volo View (currently in alpha testing).

Early fall: AutoCAD LT 2000

Autodesk is suffering from linking too closely its add-on products with its core product. The tie-in occurs in three areas: (1) AutoCAD is typically sold with the add-on software as a single product; (2) the add-on product makes use of AutoCAD's proprietary Proxy objects; and (3) the add-on requires AutoCAD's proprietary ObjectARX programming interface.

This means that customers could upgrade to AutoCAD 2000, but they won't because their vertical app is not yet ready. (The R14 version of their vertical app does not work with AutoCAD 2000's specialized features.) So, the customer waits until the "full" upgrade (AutoCAD + add-on) becomes available. Some of Autodesk's vertical apps will ship as much as six months after AutoCAD 2000. At that point, customers may decide to wait a few months longer, to confirm the effect of 1 Jan '00 on their software systems.

This drawback to the Design 2000 strategy is not unexpected. A year ago, a similar thing happened to PTC. Share prices fell in half when PTC "didn't make the numbers" because of customers waiting for its late WindChill product to ship.

Autodesk states that their software cannot compete in the Designers 3D CAD Shootout for Architectural CADD Systems. In interviews with the developers at the AIA Conference in Dallas May 6, 1999, they acknologed that their software is simply not ready for architects to use and that participating again in this year's Design Shootout would accomplish nothing but embarrass everyone again. The plan is to release a fixed AutoCAD ArchitecturalDesktop sometime in the fall of 1999. This future version, while still using proxy objects (which the company believes is the best approach) will finally be compatible with MechanicalDesktop, LandscapeDesktop, and AutoCAD2000.

AutoCAD 2000 emphasizes: (1) heads-up design and ease of use; (2) communication with the Web and plotted output; and (3) the completion of the 4-5 year effort to make AutoCAD 2000 the platform for the 21st century, including upgrading the graphics pipeline, DWG database, customization API, and user interface.

"AutoCAD 2000 is easy enough for a marketing person to operate."
AutoCAD now has 2.3 million users, with nearly 1 million using Release 14.
In 1997, 7% of AutoCAD users in the U.S published drawings to the Web; in 1998, 25%.
Just about every file access allows Web access. This means, for example, that AutoCAD 2000 can access hatch pattern files (*.pat) over an intranet.
VLISP becomes the core LISP engine; LISP can now access ActiveX.
The display used to be 2D integer; it is now 3D floating-point, accelerated by OpenGL.
The ship date of AutoCAD 2000 is "not predetermined" and is not 15 March, as I previously reported. Autodesk says they are continuing to incorporate comments from beta testers.

Thank you as always for creating the best source of news in the CAD industry.

While you are delving into your new AutoCAD 2000, when you have a chance just look if they have finally fixed the two glitches that bother architects the most, which have been missing from all versions 1 through 14.01 ADT :

1) lack of a glue or weldline to repair a line gap
(without having to go a clumsy external autolisp routine)

2) lack of ability to see the size of a rectangle while drawing it
(without going to an absurd 11 extra keystrokes to change UCS origin)

Architect users of other CADD softwares use these two features so constantly, that they are really puzzled on these two AutoCAD glitches when they must use AutoCAD.

Note :     ArchitecturalDesktop "fixes" neither of these AutoCAD problems.  It does, however, introduce "walls" which heal themselves (similar to a "glue"), and introduces "Space Planning" which has rectangles you can see the size, and area, of while drawing them.

<<< 1) lack of a glue or weldline to repair a line gap (without having to go a clumsy external autolisp routine) >>>
No.
<<< 2) lack of ability to see the size of a rectangle while drawing it (without going to an absurd 11 extra keystrokes to change UCS origin) >>>
No. In fact, I was cursing this one earlier today, when I needed to use the Rectang command.