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AutoCAD Returning to Mac?

I remember taking this survey. I don't remember where I got the link though. One of the big problems that I can think of with a direct port, though, is how tightly it has been integrated with the .net framework on Windows. Replacing that functionality isn't important for me, as I never got much into the collaboration and online sharing aspects in AutoCAD, but I would love to see it.

R14 was my first time, after cutting teeth w/ Microstation J (**shudders**), and 2002 was my first love (I think 2002 was OS X.1 to 2000's OS X.0). But I think 2008 was the best. Oh, and I loved using AutoCAD 2009 (with the classic workspace ;))

Unfortunately, I'm stuck using Microstation V8. At least the FAA just upgraded to XM, so it's marginally tolerable because of the keyboard mapping and being able to use the mouse wheel button for pan (come on, seriously). But I'm just glad to have a job in this economy, so I keep my rantings online or under my breath.
 
gescom said:
(MicroStation tangent) XM? No chance of V8i for you in the near future? It is definitely better than XM!
Click to expand...

Nope, unfortunately not. :( It's not under my control whatsoever. Like I said, we just got the upgrade about 3 weeks ago to XM. US Government bureaucracy at it's finest. :rolleyes: Even still, some of the custom menus we have break stuff so I've had to do some of my own tweaks to get it (somewhat more) functional, and there are things, like batch plotting, that still don't work.

Course, there are several of us who are crossing our fingers that we move back to AutoCAD, but we're not holding our collective breath. I would do a happy dance if we did.
 
CAD in window is very hopeless

I am using AutoCAD and lots of CAD apps on Window everyday, I found most of the CAD apps commands in Windows are still using one core of CPU. Only rendering is really using multi-core. I see Revit running so slow in a very latest multi-core computer. ArchiCAD is saying it work with multi core, but I tried it. It is bull-****, it is still very slow, and not really using every brain in a CPU.

It is just too hard for the App vendors to rewrite their software to multi core, I believe. There is no hope for CAD apps to stay with the unstable and slow Platform (Window), but on the other hand, the best OS today for CAD is possibly OSX, which support much better graphic, and the Grand Central idea is awesome for CAD Vendors to turn their apps to multicore.

I think Apple should take a gamble. just sell their OSX to work with PC hard ware . it might killing their hard ware sales, but why worry so much, Steven Job, you have the best OS on the market. Window is just a piece of ****. This way, all the apps will move to OSX because they know their competitor will move for much better performance. it is going to take many years for Window to catch up OSX's perfomance and stability. that time, all the apps have moved to OSX. and say good bye to Window and no more MicroSoft. hahaha :>

Steven Job, everybody saying you have vision. Well, sorry, I dont really think so. you set apple computers too expensive in 1980's and Apple computer cannot reach to the cheap market, on the other hand, all the Apps run away from Apple OS. You might be making good money on hardware that time. but this was so killing Apple, Today, many people are locked up to Window, because all the Apps stay with the popular Window. not OSX. like all the games and CADs.

I think Apple should take a gamble. just sell their OSX to work with PC hard ware . it might killing their hard ware sales, but why worry so much, Steven Job, you have the best OS on the market. Window is just a piece of ****. This way, all the apps will move to OSX because they know their competitor will move for much better performance. it is going to take many years for Window to catch up OSX's perfomance and stability. that time, all the apps have moved to OSX. and say good bye to Window and no more MicroSoft. hahaha :>

It is possibly the best timing for OSX go to PC while window is doing pretty **** with multi core CPU. come on. Steven Job. do it, just do it. We know you want to do it.
 
I would like to see something for electrical engineers come to the mac. I'm going into a EET program this Fall.
 
The webs went quiet on this. Nothing much even on the AutoDesk forums. If anything, they're being hush about it.
 
AutoCad not a graphic artist's tool

In my experience with AutoCad I found it to be very fast for 2-D linework, but very difficult to make attractive looking drawings with it.
For more attractive drawings, I would recommend one of the more modern apps like Vectorworks.
 
Fizzzzzle...

AutoDesk partnered with Parallels. That is their solution. Virtualization, so they don't have to spend any of their money on a mac version. Instead, we all get to spend hundreds more per install, as every seat of acad requires it's very own resource-sucking operating system and virtualization environment.

And parallels? We try parallels and vmware with every new release, and VMware blows parallels away every time. Just what I've come to expect from them. Talk about devoting a sliver of that mountain of resources to doing something great, and then halfarse it in the end and give your customers the dry shove.

Nice.

Autodesk is too cheap, Solidworks is too lazy, ProE & Catia are too high-end, archicad, vectorworks etc are toys...

Siemens NX is the only decent cad program for the mac, and no one's ever heard of it. Apple should buy it, and incorporate it in their Pro Applications lineup.


...The first company that writes a decent cad app for the ipad is going to change everything.
 
ThunderSkunk said:
Fizzzzzle...

AutoDesk partnered with Parallels. That is their solution. Virtualization, so they don't have to spend any of their money on a mac version. Instead, we all get to spend hundreds more per install, as every seat of acad requires it's very own resource-sucking operating system and virtualization environment.

And parallels? We try parallels and vmware with every new release, and VMware blows parallels away every time. Just what I've come to expect from them. Talk about devoting a sliver of that mountain of resources to doing something great, and then halfarse it in the end and give your customers the dry shove.

Nice.

Autodesk is too cheap, Solidworks is too lazy, ProE & Catia are too high-end, archicad, vectorworks etc are toys...

Siemens NX is the only decent cad program for the mac, and no one's ever heard of it. Apple should buy it, and incorporate it in their Pro Applications lineup.


...The first company that writes a decent cad app for the ipad is going to change everything.
Click to expand...

If I was Apple, I would buy SpaceClaim, which is an ACIS based modeller so the kernel already supports OSX, and it is a direct modeller which would be more applicable to Apple's philosophy. I suspect that the company could be had pretty inexpensively. Unfortunately, there isn't any modeling kernels available for the iPad, yet anyway.

NX is a high end package like Pro/e and Catia. Solidedge is Siemen's midrange package competing with Solidworks and Inventor.
 
ThunderSkunk said:
...The first company that writes a decent cad app for the ipad is going to change everything.
Click to expand...

That's a joke, right? You're gonna do precision CAD on a 1024x768 screen using your fingers???

Actually, the iPad would make it's way into every architect's workflow if someone developed a decent sketching program and some kind of pen input. A 5-megapixel camera would also be nice for any kind of field work.
 
Actually, the iPad would make it's way into every architect's workflow if someone developed a decent sketching program and some kind of pen input. A 5-megapixel camera would also be nice for any kind of field work.
Click to expand...

Hmm...unfortunately, i see the only use of the iPad for Architects will be for presentations (and maybe creating them if Adobe brings Photoshop/Illustrator to the iPad)

I'm hanging out for a 3D modelling program of some sort (even sketchup)...but i doubt it
 
ok, adobe, too late!

autocad works in parallels quite well (maybe just as it was on a slower PC, but it works!) so if it is going to take you time to offer this new osx version, maybe you just could try to make flash a little less buggy and resource eater. And i'm not even talking about an ipad or iphone, its about how a core2duo can get so hot just playing a small flash video!
 
0ld-knight said:
autocad works in parallels quite well (maybe just as it was on a slower PC, but it works!) so if it is going to take you time to offer this new osx version, maybe you just could try to make flash a little less buggy and resource eater. And i'm not even talking about an ipad or iphone, its about how a core2duo can get so hot just playing a small flash video!
Click to expand...

Adobe don't make AutoCAD. :confused:
 
I do it everyday on my 13" macbook

BTW I'm soo sick of Inventor 2010 it's soo buggy even at with it's service pack 2.

Has anyone here spent time with NX6? it's non existent on the net

dongmin said:
That's a joke, right? You're gonna do precision CAD on a 1024x768 screen using your fingers???

Actually, the iPad would make it's way into every architect's workflow if someone developed a decent sketching program and some kind of pen input. A 5-megapixel camera would also be nice for any kind of field work.
Click to expand...
 
dongmin said:
That's a joke, right? You're gonna do precision CAD on a 1024x768 screen using your fingers???

Actually, the iPad would make it's way into every architect's workflow if someone developed a decent sketching program and some kind of pen input. A 5-megapixel camera would also be nice for any kind of field work.
Click to expand...

Nope, no joke. As for sketching or freehand drawing, a stylus is 100% necessary. I've been using tablets since Motion Computing got started, and I still send our Architects and Production engineers at both my companies out into the field with tablets.

However, our senior architect pointed out that he'd really like an iPad so he could "field measure, draw a quick floor plan while he measured, and show the client right on the spot what he has in mind"... my first thought was o roll my eyes as you did, until I gave it another few minutes of thought, and realized, there's probably a lot more potential here than it seems.

Overlay menus like the ones we used on the early tablet digitizer days of CAD... the ability to sketch & even model pretty much anything with just a handful of commands as in Inventor, with no command line... all you'd need is a pop-up keyboard overlay like what was possible in Tablet XP before SP3 screwed up the Input Panel.

If Acad were able to put this all together, and make it available on a device that starts out at $500, is presentation-capable, and has a battery that lasts for a day of working... PLUS has an option for a constant 3G connection for collaboration, we would replace every motion tablet, and every notebook running cad in our offices with an iPad. Possibly even workstations, and just assign every designer one with a docking station.

But hopefully, Apple will someday lose the bug up its butt about a proper wacom penabled digitizer option for its macbook pros, and Autodesk will actually find a way to effectively incorporate pen input. Maybe when I'm dead & gone. I don't know.
 
Its about time!!!! Lets hope Adobe do it justice! I will finally be able to remove my windows partition.
 
ThunderSkunk said:
Fizzzzzle...

[Snip...]

Autodesk is too cheap, Solidworks is too lazy, ProE & Catia are too high-end, archicad, vectorworks etc are toys...
Click to expand...

"archicad, vectorworks are toys"???

Guess I didn't get that memo..... :rolleyes:

As I used both archicad and vectorworks professionally in the past as an architect on real world projects....both allowed me to be extremely productive in turning out high quality design and construction documents...


Siemens NX is the only decent cad program for the mac, and no one's ever heard of it. Apple should buy it, and incorporate it in their Pro Applications lineup.

You're right, never heard of it..... ;)
Click to expand...

:)
 
stridemat said:
Its about time!!!! Lets hope Adobe do it justice! I will finally be able to remove my windows partition.
Click to expand...

Adobe?:confused:

I sometimes get frustrated by how complicated AutoCAD can be some times. But I agree with some posters above: there's nothing near to AutoCAD. I tried out VectorWorks, and even tho it is a very well done program, it just didn't make it for me.

The one thing I disliked the most about VW is that their support for importing AutoCAD files wasn't very good. And at least for me, this breaks the deal completely.
 
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