Architosh Staff ([email protected])

27 Nov 2002

 

TidBits: CAD and 3D News around the Web

Autodesk Revenues Plummet in Quarter 3

AutoCAD maker Autodesk Inc. lost US $3.9 million in the last 3rd quarter of 2002, down from a net profit of $21.5 million a year ago. Revenue plummeted to $188.7 million from prior projections of $250 million. The CAD maker said reasons for the decline include customers waiting for the recession to end and customers sitting on 2D systems rather than upgrading to 3D systems.

Architosh Opinion: In addition to standard reasons for the decline, the company reported that part of the fall came from deferred income from subscriptions. The company is trying to persuade customers to move to an annual subscription model and away from the "upgrade" model. This would give the company predictable and steady revenue.

In order to put more pressure on customers to move to a subscription model, the company is raising the AutoCAD upgrade price from $395 to $495, while a one-year subscription stays at $395. Most customers are resisting subscription models because it forces them into upgrades regardless of their company's internal financial situation, rather than allowing them to upgrade when it makes sense operationally and financially.

Macintosh Construction Forum Info

Greg Conyngham of Integrated CADD Services wrote in to tell us that Craig Savage did run the now defunct Mac Construction Forum newsletter and annual software guide for Mac contractors. He also mentioned that he wrote a number of books for architects and contractors and suggested a try on Amazon.com.

Sure enough, Craig Savage has written a number of books, especially with Karen Mitchell, on software and contracting. His latest book with Karen is Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro 2002. As for the software guide for Mac contractors? Check out our Digital Practice Guide and Apple Computer's Made4Mac link.

Alias/Wavefront Personal Learning Edition

Alias has come out with a $10 Personal Learning Edition of Alias Studio Tools, the high-end computer-aided industrial design (CAID) software used by major design studios worldwide. Unfortunately, this software is only available for Windows platforms. The full version of Studio Tools runs on SGI IRIX, and Unix systems in addition to Windows platforms. It has been a hope that Studio Tools would come to OS X. The Apple Computer Industrial Design Group is a Studio Tools user.

To learn more visit Alias/Wavefront on the Web at: http://www.aliaswavefront.com

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