nothing new, but it's always good to make the press. forwarded from upFront.eZine NEWS #301 Inside this Issue .. . . . . * It is Linux Time for CAD? * The Fractured Value Chain: Readers Respond, Part 2 * "Learn General CADD" * Under the Radar, and other regular departments It is Linux Time for CAD? .. . . . . There hasn't been much interest in Linux versions of major CAD products. Over the years, a few independent CAD systems have been developed for Linux; Bentley Systems had ported an older version of MicroStation to Linux for education customers only; and a few specialized CAD vendors have a version of their software for Linux. In the next months or years, a breakthrough may occur. Consider these recent items: * The new release of Pro/Engineer Wildfire is available for Linux. * In order to cut costs, the automobile manufacturers are interested in switching to the lower-cost Linux operating system. They may demand Linux versions of the CAD software they use -- Unigraphics, CATIA, SolidWorks, Inventor, Pro/E, and so on. * A rumor has it that Dassault has a Linux version of CATIA "on the back burner" but isn't selling it as long as it can continue to sell the product on more dominant operating systems. IBM is the worldwide distributor of CATIA, and is spending $1 billion a year on converting its software and hardware to run Linux. As IBM targets other markets with its Linux offerings, CAD could be next. * HP is helping out, too, calling itself "the No. 1 provider of Linux systems in the world". In particular, HP's press release coyly presents its "strategy to provide powerful yet economical solutions for customers using the combination of an open- sourced operating system, industry standard 32- and 64-bit systems and market-leading ... applications." In this particular case, HP is helping Cadence run one of its electronics-design CAD packages on Linux and the Itanium CPU. ===== phrostie Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of DOS and danced the skies on Linux silvered wings. http://pfrostie.freeservers.com/cad-tastrafy/ //www.freelists.org/webpage/cad-linux __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com