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Autodesk Signs Agreement to Acquire Alias

remonio
trace™

whoa!!

first Adobe buys Macromedia, which we have no idea what it'll mean and probably won't for a while. Hopefully they'll combine things and make great products.

same for this...a combo of Max and Maya? I doubt it, but it would be potentially great. One product with several versions for different people could be what they need.


of course, this all smells like a Microsoftesque monopoly, don't it? Scary, but could be good too.

very interesting, to say the least.

Oct 4, 05 8:15 pm  · 
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manamana

welcome to bizzaro world.

so much for competition leading to cheaper 3d software... and I'm guessing that $2k version on maya is going to disappear real fast.

maybe something went horribly wrong with the 3d max core rewrite and they needed some serious help?

Oct 4, 05 9:12 pm  · 
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sameolddoctor

actually this move might be very good for architects

though i hate AutoCAD and everything to do with autodesk, i think this move will lead to a greater integration between autocad & Maya & 3dsmax.

On the other hand, lets just hope autodesk does not drive Alias into the ground with their stupid management.

Oct 4, 05 9:29 pm  · 
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adso

Forget Microsoft, as far as I'm concerned AutoDesk is the true Evil Empire.

Oct 4, 05 10:41 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)
Cross-Platform Issues

Best case scenario: AutoCAD and Studio Max are magically and instantaneously ported to Mac because Autodesk are now cross-platform.

Worst case scenario: Maya for Mac is deprecated and left to rot because Autodesk is a PC-only outfit.

What will probably happen: Maya stays on Mac. AutoCAD and Max stay on PC. Autodesk somewhat improves interoperatbility.

Oct 4, 05 10:48 pm  · 
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ret

i dont think they will fuck with taking maya out of mac OS, they will have to retain maya for the PC, linux, max and irix....there are too many studios running maya on macs for them to kill that.
this is coming surprisingly close to macs using intel chips ... so i guess the days of autocad on the mac are very very close

Oct 5, 05 1:48 am  · 
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Janosh

To hell with them both. To assert dwindling freedom of choice, all my construction documents are now going to be done by hand.

Oct 5, 05 2:22 am  · 
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4arch

There are still other options out there, especially if all you need is software for doing CDs. In fact, ACAD is starting to look like a real POS compared to some its competitiors. I kicked the ACAD habit and haven't looked back.

The only thing I miss (and it's something that people are so used to it's probably a large factor in keeping them from dropping ACAD) is that other cad and 3d programs don't let you type in commands. For all the work their competitors have done in catching up in the past few years, I'm surprised this one hasn't been immitated. I guess the companies see it as a "legacy" thing kept around for old time sake, but a lot of people, myself included, really do like it.

Oct 5, 05 11:38 am  · 
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This "lot of people" you talk about includes me... but for the future of CDs, it depends on what the Chinese and Indians want.

Oct 5, 05 1:15 pm  · 
 · 
A

I'm with Janosh. 3D modeling is starting to get tired. Colleges are churning out computer science people with a few design classes under their belts. What's wrong with going back to doing some of this by hand...at least our renderings.

Oct 5, 05 1:24 pm  · 
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JohnProlly

Yeah I really could care less. VW and Cin4d seem to work fine with me for now.

Oct 5, 05 5:12 pm  · 
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JohnProlly

and, as always, lot of hand rendering and drawing.

Oct 5, 05 5:12 pm  · 
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gibberish

In June, all new Macs will be running Intel chips. Theoretically (and likely), this means that we'll all be able to run Windows, and thus AutoCAD and Ma-x/ya on PCs or Macs.

On another note, if we relegate 3D modelling to visualization only, then I don't think we're maximizing the potential of the power of computation. But if we use it for generative design or BIM I see value in it.

Oct 5, 05 7:38 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

gibberish: when we have intel macs, it is likely that we will be able to dual boot to windows and run AutoCAD/Max, but that clearly isn't the same as running AutoCAD/Max in OSX. Even if Intel Macs make for big improvements in Virtual PC, it's still not that same as an OSX-native version.

Oct 5, 05 8:18 pm  · 
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Pacific

I once bought a student version of autocad for mac like 11 years ago because 1) i thought i would be able to afford a mac after school, and 2) i thought it would actually work. neither came true, and here we are 11 years later, and autocad still doesn't work on macs. what he hell.

p.s. i actually like pc's...

Oct 5, 05 11:54 pm  · 
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gibberish

AutoCAD/Max OSx or whatever they'll call it, is a pipedream. So you think they'll still need to run Virtual PC to run Windows? Won't Windows be able to run natively if the chipsets are Intel based? PentiumG6? Or is it a totally new type of chipset they're designing for Macs?

Oct 7, 05 7:56 pm  · 
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momentum

personally autocad sucks balls no matter if they put it on macs or pcs. i'll take microstation any day of the week.

i sure as hell hope this doesn't affect the price of max though. i love that program.

Oct 7, 05 8:21 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

gibberish: I agree. It is extremely unlikely we will see AutoCAD on OSX, although I quite like AutoCAD, so I think it's a shame.

As it stands, you will probably be able to install Windows on an Intel Mac. To do this you will need to partition your HDD and dual-boot. This means every time you reboot your computer will ask whether to boot OSX or Windows; and to go from one to the other you will need to reboot. You can't run two operating systems at once, and you can't run Windows programs on OSX.

Oct 7, 05 8:52 pm  · 
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manamana

although if apple makes use of the new chips featureing virtualization technology, you might be able to run both at once (depends on how they implement the chipsets)

Oct 7, 05 8:56 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

that's pretty futuristic technology right there... there aren't any currently functioning implementations of it AFAIK.

Oct 8, 05 1:01 am  · 
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mnesikles

just because Intel will be making apple processors doesn't mean they will be PC-adaptable chips.....IBM used to be apple's chip maker.

Oct 8, 05 9:48 am  · 
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manamana

agfa8x: intel will be shipping two P4s (66x and 67x) with virtualization tech. before the end of the year, and virtually all of the higher end chips will have it by the time the mactels come out. My money's on it being possible.

intel isn't producing a new line of chips just for apple, we know that already. Hell, there's a leaked version of OSX floating around that will run on any SSE2 or SSE3 intel/amd box. someone at apple also said they would stop people from installig other OSes on mactel hardware.

Oct 8, 05 12:50 pm  · 
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trace™

yeah, but from what I've read it won't be hard for someone to hack a solution.
Apple will really shoot itself in the foot if they artificially limit the compatibility.

Personally, I think Jobs wants more of the market. 5% is nothing. If a Mac can run PC apps, he's basically given everyone a choice and I'd be surprised if it didn't stir up the entire industry.

I'd buy an apple if there was no OSX, ran windows, and the price came down, which, in quantity, could. Then all the PC manufacturers would have to step up to the plate and make PCs that were built better and looked nice.

It'll be interesting.

Oct 8, 05 2:10 pm  · 
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manamana

edit: change "would" to wouldn't in my last post. oops.

you will almost certainly be able to dual boot windows and OSX on a mactel, and you will very likely be able to run OSX and windows at the same time, even rebooting one while the other stays up.

the question is how viable the cracked OSX-x86 builds will be, allowing the OS to run on any dell or other 3rtd party box. it will likely be possible, but driver issues could make it more trouble than it's worth.

if you're really into the looks of your computer, check out the custom builds from monarch. there's a few lian-li cases you can opt for that are very well made and look an awful lot like g5s.

Oct 8, 05 4:44 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

I suspect Intel's virtualisation implementation involves conspicuous overhead for the VM Monitor.

I think while Apple won't be actively preventing Windows from running on an Intel Mac, they won't be promoting that capability in any way, shape, or form. Nor do I think they will promote virtualisation. They want people using OSX on Apple hardware. They don't want to become just a software company, nor do they want to become just a pretty-case-maker.

having just checked, it looks like yonah, merom and conroe (the chips Apple are most likely to use) all include Intel's virtualization technology, though.

Oct 8, 05 8:58 pm  · 
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