[KLUG Members] PTC Pro/Engineer MCAD comes to Linux ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

Electrical and Mechanical disciplines and sub-disciplines (e.g.,
Aerospace, etc...) are usually big Pro/E shops, or use equivalent
engineering mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) software (which is
also very good at general electrical/packaging too ;-).  It's nice to
see them finally supporting Linux.  Although I'm sure it has to do with
the economics of scale of the Intel platform, the traditional UNIX-focus
of Pro/E versus the NT ports, among other things.  Same Linux focus is
even more direct over in the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) market. 
One only needs to look at fabless firms like nVidia and ATI where Linux
runs their entire business, period.

I worked at aerospace and fabless semiconductor design firms from
1996-2001.  UNIX/Linux is entrenched in MCAD/EDA, and "full" Windows
products are few and far between -- they are overwhelmingly
"lite"/incomplete ports of the full UNIX apps.  Now that Pro/E is on
Linux, this completes the circle IMHO.

PTC Pro/Engineer announcement at NewsForge: 
http://newsvac.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/06/10/180256&tid=52

<political-advocacy>
On the general CAD/CAM front, often used for civil/public works, a
general design, the outlook is still far bleaker.

Intergraph/Benteley Systems MicroStation was the first ever native NT
app.  It moved them away from UNIX and, other than a small stint with a
Linux educational version through 1996, will _never_ be released for
UNIX again.  I know they miss a lot of things from UNIX that NT _never_
promised, or took _forever_ to officially support (like native support
for dual-monitors, long story), but when your pockets are the same as
Microsoft's, you can afford to put up with little things like that.  I
know, I saw it first hand.

And in the "we don't make our applications read more than one version
back completely so we can charge 5x as much" world (hmmm, who else does
that? ;-), Autodesk's AutoCAD has also moved to 100% Windows in recent
years.  They even dropping AutoLisp in favor of VBScript, making one of
the greatest wealths of existing engineering customization completely
useless in the matter of a year.  Both "events" were coincidental timed
shortly after Microsoft bought Visio who brough a major Autodesk
competitor and killed the product (it's actually still available, but
"Shared Source"-like in not-so-useful pieces).  The MS-Autodesk
relationship is one of similarity more than any other I've ever seen.
</political-advocacy>

-- Bryan

-- 
Many Windows users would rather buy and hunt down dozens of utils
for their Microsoft software than try Freedom Software that not
only includes those same functions inherently, but lacks spyware.
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Bryan J. Smith, SmithConcepts, Inc.     mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org
Engineers and IT Professionals       http://www.SmithConcepts.com