Re: Microsoft Asleep At The Wheel Again: Missing the New Era of CAD

I have enough expereince in GIS, mapping, architecture and mechanical design
and drafting to think I know what I am watching take place. The concerns you
expressed are certainly relative but are an entirely different focus than
what I think is and should be the focal point. That is, tools nned to be in
the hands of content experts such as architects for example or those that
design and draft furniture or machinery such as automobiles, trucks, boats
and airplanes.

Google has the lead (and the mind share) after acquiring and implementing
SketchUp and SketchUp may very well become the "new AutoCAD" who knows? I
certainly think its more efficient and more useer friendly to use tools such
as SketchUP and ArchiCAD which have features unique to drafting objects that
can be virtualized as simply as using Save As.

I just learned Microsoft acquired Vexcel (photogrammetry) and Massive
(inject ads into video game content) apparently to enhance Virtual Earth.
Its obvious to me what Microsoft intends to do with both acquisitions via
Virtual Earth but IMO Google has the better idea and has already implemented
it and is far and away the smarter and wiser implementation for now...
Google is already having problems with huge datasets over HTTP though and
maybe an XBox on every desktop is going to prove the only way to achieve the
processing power required to implement the virtual realms emerging during
the new era of CAD.

This is the context where Microsoft certainly apears to be failing though or
at least putting the cart before the horse. They acquired photogrammetry so
now Virtual Earth can map "wallpaper" images to what? They acquired ad
injection technology to inject an ad into the wallpape which is pasted to
what? So what am I missing here? Microsoft has no software to help
architects or anybody else draft the virtual representations of buildings
and other objects such as cars, trucks, airplanes, rail roads and other
tangible objects.

<%= Clinton








"Kevin Spencer" <spam@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%239uAIMBAHHA.4740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Clinton,

As someone who has worked with DirectX and Direct3D specifically for a few
years, I can certainly understand your concerns. I have had to work with
ever-changing object models, and a number of 3rd-party tools to enable me
to work with (convert) various 3D file formats, such as Akino PolyTrans,
as well as tools for building meshes, such as 3D Studio. In fact, due to
the nature of the work I've done, which involves Geography to a large
extent, I've had to deal with the vast variety of geographic projections,
as well as lots of different 3rd-party software for working with various
geographic file formats and projections. I've spent hours and days digging
up algorithms and writing code to work with them. It has certainly been
frustrating. But it has also been educational.

From a personal perspective, I believe that this is typical of "new"
technology. Now, 3D graphics programming has been around for more than 20
years, but video cards and graphics adapters that make 3D development on
PCs are relatively new to the market, which means that 3D programming for
PCs is still in its' infancy. As someone who has worked with earlier
versions of HTML, I'm sure you can understand the challenges and
difficulties inherent in the early stages of technology, particularly with
regards to standardization.

Vista, I believe, is a reaction to this emerging market, and the need for
platforms that natively support 3D vector graphics. XNA, the next
generation of DirectX is also a step in the right direction. Now,
companies that develop CAD software can relatively easily create their own
file formats and proprietary software in a relatively short time.
Microsoft's problem is that they are dealing with ubiquitous platform
technology and software. They have in the past been at fault for being too
proprietary, and have suffered as a result of it. Backwards-compatibility
over a decade or more can be a real impediment to new technology when a
company has to ensure that their software and systems work on an
ever-increasing number of systems, with an ever-increasing backlog of
proprietary code to support.

However, in recent years they have been devoted to working with quite a
few standards organizations, and creating less proprietary technologies
that are capable of interoperating with other systems and platforms, and
will not require extensive rewrites over time. Certainly, this has impeded
the swift move forward that we all would hope for. But my guess is that
they are looking at the long haul, refactoring in such a way that this
sort of impedence will be attenuated in the future.

Of course, that's just my guess. But I think I'm a pretty good guesser.
;-)

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Ministry of Software Development
http://unclechutney.blogspot.com

I just flew in from Chicago with
a man with a wooden leg named Smith
who shot an elephant in my pajamas.
So I bit him.


"clintonG" <csgallagher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O2ffCc7$GHA.144@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm aware of XNA. Check this out [1] and note the low-key reference to
Autodesk. Yes I'm also aware of Vista's support for vector graphics.
Months ago I posted comments to Michael Swanson's blog (a Microweenie
involved in the development of the Expression Suite who asked for public
comments about which vector file formats should be supported). Swanson
removed all comments that were calling for support for file formats used
by the technical and licensed professionals, e.g. CAD which has evolved
into 3D modeling applications.

Microsoft already sells several of their rebranded acquisitions into the
technical and licensed professional markets that use CAD but they have
failed to follow through and have no comprehensive "solution." It has
puzzled me why they have avoided applications that are used to create and
manage content that has spatial properties. Visio has certainly been
given short shrift.

<%= Clinton Gallagher
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/
MAP http://wikimapia.org/#y=43038073&x=-88043838&z=17&l=0&m=h

[1]
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9002437&source=NLT_APP&nlid=48



"Kevin Spencer" <spam@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eq3vLR6$GHA.4740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Off the medication are we today, Clinton? ;-)

Have you had a look at Windows Vista, and the Windows Presentation
Foundation?

Yes, Microsoft isn't (exactly) jumping on the latest end-user CAD
application software market, but they have always been more involved in
platforms and development software (with the greatest exception being
Microsoft Office). I don't imagine they could get into *every* lucrative
and emerging end-user technology field. Thankfully, that leaves room for
the rest of us! However, Vista's UI is almost entirely vector graphics
(with some raster graphic support for backwards-compatibility of
course), and includes full support for 3D graphics built into the OS
layer. A few links for your edification:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/01/WindowsPresentationFoundation/
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa663300.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20060504wpfdl/manifest.xml

In addition, the next generation of "DirectX" (XNA) is almost ready to
be released. This is possibly the closest thing to what you are talking
about. Check it out:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/XNA/default.aspx

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Ministry of Software Development
http://unclechutney.blogspot.com

I just flew in from Chicago with
a man with a wooden leg named Smith
who shot an elephant in my pajamas.
So I bit him.


"clintonG" <csgallagher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:%23zTIbo2$GHA.3316@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Google and Second Life have proven there are market$ and economie$ in
the
<snip>
XBox, Virtual Earth and other related virtual realms.

<%= Clinton Gallagher
NET csgallagher AT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://clintongallagher.metromilwaukee.com/
MAP http://wikimapia.org/#y=43038073&x=-88043838&z=17&l=0&m=h









.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Display Settings dont stay set across re-boot
    ... This is NOT Microsoft Tech Support. ... Some of us have done this so much that Microsoft ... > I had this problem while using NVDIA graphics. ... > that chipset upgrade before installing the new hardware/software. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)
  • Re: Some questions about COM
    ... > system must support the COM technology? ... specification language called Microsoft IDL to describe component ... > So does COMsupport heterogeneous plattforms? ...
    (comp.lang.cpp)
  • Re: USB-On-The-Go
    ... spotty upgrade support so we'll all have to buy new ... machines to get the technology. ... "Dick Grier" wrote in message ... > that Microsoft will support it, if and when the industry demands it. ...
    (microsoft.public.pocketpc)
  • Re: Where can I get a replacement Window XP Home CD in UK (OEM gone bu
    ... need to contact Microsoft in the UK. ... Technology) went bust last year, so I can't go to them for support. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: how do you start learning assembly language
    ... compiler technology for decades, and which every compiler author have ... And I have refuted your claim that monofiles are bad idea or "design lack" ... Yes, I said that if an assembler did not support linking, it ...
    (alt.lang.asm)