The CAD Insider

PTC Frustrates Out of the Box

The Pro/E "out-of-the-box" experience has got me in a bad mood.

I had never installed Pro/E before. I had been warned that it "takes forever" which had already made me a tad anxious. But a customer sent me a PRT file and I had no choice. I pulled the Wildfire 3.0 box off the shelf and in 5 minutes, came to a screeching halt.

A brief chronology that should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone intent on creating a good out-of-the-box experience:

1. I put in the first CD, but it doesn't do anything. Oh, there's several disks here. I had put in disk 2. What's wrong with a DVD, I wonder?
2. I put in disk 1. Oh oh. The seal is broken. I may have tried this unsuccessfully before.
3. I click past the long winded EULA. I'm jaded and no longer read that, so still only mildly annoyed.
4. I am told there is no FLEXnet license. What the hell is that? I look for a code on the box. Nothing. On the CD envelope. No luck. Maybe it was silly to expect Pro/E install to act like every other installation.
5. I continue but the next screen wants a license serve and host name. Now I'm flipping through the (too thick) installation guide which tells me I should have received or can recieve (I'm not clear on this) a License Pack by email. If I ever did get one, it was hundreds of thousands of emails ago. I have hope of finding that.
6. I go to the URL as recommended by the installation guide, www.ptc.com/olm which initially gives me an error message but after playing with variations of the URL, I get it to say I am not authorized. Maybe, because on this computer, I am not recognized as being part of PTC's club.
7. - I log into PTC.com. It takes me a couple of tries to get it right, because I think it was years ago I had registered. But I must have registered for a press event or for a download (I can't remember), apparently not the right credentials for help with the license so IT STILL WON"T GIVE ME A LICENSE!
8. I look for a phone number. Like most big companies, the phone support is hidden under several layers of web pages. No, I don't want FAQs, or a damn knowledge search,  I don't want to send an email inot a black hole, just a human who I can plead with to let me start using the application.
9. I find a toll free number for tech support in the US and call. I get a voice menu even though the literature gives a firect number for licensing. A recorded message tells me the offices are closed. No time opening time is given (it's Friday night at PTC headquarters). Would I care to leave a message.
10.  stare at the screen entitled "World Wide Support." Ironic, for PTC now seems neither world wide or supportive.

The Toilets Overflow - Autodesk Answers Back

The reporting of the AEC Q&A session held recently at Autodesk University (see Dec 4 post on CAD Insider) seems to have generated a fair amount of controversy. One issue seems to about toilets. More specifically, the issue raised was a follow up remark about overly large model sizes in Revit:

But 500 toilets in Revit is 500 separate copies of the same toilet! There is something wrong with the database structure.

Though not directly addressed at the Q&A session, Autodesk followed up to say:

"That is not accurate. Content, regardless of whether it is 500 toilets, tables or doors are all treated the same in Revit. Once the first piece of content has been added the addition of new instances of the same content has minimal impact on the database. "

It seems like the AUGI blog lit up after the post, with several criticisms of the Autodesk responses at the AU session. This, in turn, raised some hackles at Autodesk. Autodesk has supplied "better" answers to some of questions asked at the AU session.

What about data interoperability? Many Autodesk products cannot read each others' native formats?

"We know that interoperability is very important to the AEC industry and we are actively working on improving it significantly. Our goal is to understand the workflows that customers need supported and insure that they can transfer not only their data but the intelligence behind that data. Even though it will be a long term project we plan to show significant incremental improvements as we work to solve this industry problem."

File size is a big issue in Revit. What are you doing about that?

"BIM by its nature requires larger file sizes to store the wealth of information that is captured during the design and construction of a project. In fact, enabling large distributed team to effectively work on complex projects is one of Revit’s highest priorities. This is a multifaceted issue which we are actively working to solve. We have virtually eliminated the RAM memory limitations associated with large files with the release of Revit 2009 64-bit which is available today through Autodesk Subscription. This has taken memory access from the limit of 3 GB in a 32 bit environment to over  16 GB of memory access in a 64 bit environment. We continue to make strides in performance and usability which address other facets of this question. We have also continued to provide information to our users to help them transition to BIM when structure and approach their large projects."

Will there be Revit for the Mac?

"As you know, currently the Mac is not a platform that is supported by Revit, but we know a number of people who have successfully used Revit on the Mac. Mac is an interesting platform. We are investigating issues around using Revit with virtualization on the Mac. We are also looking at the demand and issues requited to provide a more seamless experience. Currently the majority of our users or PC based and we will continue to concentrate on that market segment."

AEC Round Table w. Jay Bhatt and Jim Lynch

LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University), Dec 4, 2008 - Autodesk invited several AEC industry journalists and held a round table discussion. Representing Autodesk were Sr. VP Jay Bhatt and VP Jim Lynch. Following are highlights. 

LEGEND: In bold are questions from journalists. In "quotes" are statements from Autodesk. [In brackets] are editor comments intended to clarify. Questions and answers are paraphrased.

Upcoming suites/bundles?
"We are more focused on solutions rather than the kitchen sink approach [throwing a lot of different software in a box].  For example, we realize some of our leading customers are using Inventor [so that might be part of an upcoming bundle.]"

"We don't want to be the only software in the market."

"Ease of use is priority #1"

What about data interoperability? Many Autodesk products cannot read each others' native formats?
"This is something that will happen over time."

Autodesk is still selling Architecture but only Revit is on display [at AU].  Can we get any kind of number of seats for each?
"There are 350,000 seats of Revit including educational seats. Legal users, that is."

File size is a big issue in Revit. What are you doing about that?
"Some of our customers have had some challenges. We are working to provide guidance to our customers on how best to segment/approach their large projects as well as supporting things like 64 bit and making performance improvements in the project. With 64 bit Revit, huge data types, huge file sizes can be handled much easier today."

But 500 toilets in Revit is 500 separate copies of the same toilet! There is something wrong with the database structure.

["Not correct," says Autodesk. See later post The Toilets Overflow, Ed.]

Hasn't AutoCAD already solved that problem using instances, XREFs?
[no real answer given]

"Contractors are making their own models to determine constructability. We have thought about a BIM model that might parse differently for the architect than for the contractor."

"All these factions are warring: contractors, architects, owners. AGC mandates differently than AIA"

Will there be Revit for the Mac?
"It would be a major undertaking...we are evaluating."

Even Buzzsaw, an online application, won't work on Mac. Next time, can you make sure a web tool is not just for IE?
"Point taken."

Nobody wants to deal with the IFC. Why are they there?
"IFC was initiated by Autodesk." "But it took on a life of its own."

Are you looking in model servers?
"There's a bunch out there. I don't have anything to report on that."

The process I saw this morning was daunting. Freewheel is dumb to the point of being brilliant.
"We have plans for ShowRoom. That should  be the environment we have for all of our products."

Has Project Chicago moved on?
[Project Chicago was a large screen interface of sustainability intent in design, demoed at Greenbuild show]
"It was concept software. But we were 'assaulted' by people who wanted to buy it."

"96% of people don't even realize buildings are an [environmental] problem." "[It is ironic that] someone can complain about the SUVs on the street from inside a building, when the building has more of an impact on the environment."

"Awareness issue has to do with the public but the implementation of it has to do with the AEC industry. We do have tools now for this."

What about customer certification?
"We used to do Revit certification. Not sure about that at the moment."

Revit can't do free form building.
"That is historically true. Stay tuned for the next release of Revit."

When is the next Revit beta available?
"Let's get back to you on that."

Acquisitions? What are the general areas [that Autodesk is interested in]?
We're still aggressive on acquisitions. Areas will be extensions of the BIM idea. Simulation, analysis, visualization."

Clarizen Manages Projects Inside AutoCAD

LAS VEGAS (Autodesk University), Dec 4, 2008 - Clarizen, creator of online project management software, was hot to tell me of their brand new connection to AutoCAD... but that almost didn't happen. Somehow, they did not get listed as an exhibitor despite having a booth.

When I finally met Clarizen's Guy Shani, VP of Sales, he showed my how exactly Clairizen hooks into AutoCAD. AutoCAD users can share a file with another team member, make notes, update progress and project schedules -- all directly from within the AutoCAD environment

Though MS Project is the leading project management software, I've found it to take considerable time and effort to learn, not worth it for the little I needed to do. Clarizen promises to be less of an effort without comprising on core functionality. 

Clarizen also distinguishes itself by being totally online application (SaaS-- software as a service), whereas MS Project is a desktop application.

But what if you are on an airplane, I ask, which I seem to be working from more than ever? Clarizen hopes to meet the offline need in some future version, but there "are issues" to consider in synchronizing data.

How does it compare to Basecamp, the popular online project management and collaboration application? That is more of a consumer application, says Guy disdainfully. Of course, you can't expect Basecamp to have any kind of CAD tie in.

Clarizen also ties into SolidWorks, Guy whispers, conscious of his venue.

Clarizen is available for a free trial, then $50/month but substantial discounts are available for multiple users and for a long term commitment.

More information at www.clarizen.com.

George Davis Turns Avatech Around

LAS VEGAS (Autodesk University), Dec 4, 2008 - Those watching the gathering clouds over our economy would have done well to have followed the example of Avatech CEO George Davis.

I first met George last year at AU. He had inherited Avatech, a company that was losing money (over half a million in FY07). This year when I ran into him in the same venue, I asked what's new? "Oh, nothing," he said but a smile gave him away. You see, George had been quite busy.

For the last year, even though revenue stayed flat, George has been able to guide Avatech through several straight profitable quarters. Avatech finished FY2008 over $3 million in the black. It was not without pain, as happens with cost cutting. Managers were first to go. Avatech's head count was reduced from 240 to 210. That by itself accounted for most of the savings, though George adds he also pursued business with higher margins.

Now, with approximately $5 million in the bank and a lean workforce, Avatech is in an enviable position of being able to ride out the storm. "Our competition will not be as lucky," he adds.

Carl Bass Takes On A Roomful of Journalists

LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University), December 2, 2008 - Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk, addressed the press in a Q&A session at Autodesk University. Though Autodesk now seems to be favoring separate "press events" for journalists, several seemed to make it to AU anyway and Carl was not afraid to face a room full of them by himself, rather than being flanked by senior management as is the norm in the industry.

Overall, Carl put came across as comfortable, casual yet candid. By the end of the session, he had proved himself as someone who is where he wants to be: a visionary in a position to have his vision turned into product.

Highlights of the session, paraphrased:

• The economy
  "It's going to get worse. It will be 12-18 months before there is a turnaround."
  "A friend who is charge of Singapore's money and who has access to the best economic advice explained the problem this way 'banks lent money to people who could not afford to pay them back' "
• Which segment is most affected?
  "It's not so much a segment but has more to do with geography.  AEC, manufacturing, entertainment are all equally affected, all being affected by credit crunch."
• How is the economy going to affect Autodesk internally?
  "Some of the things we would rush to market we can take our time with."
• What about GPUs?
  "I'm skeptical of their general acceptability...despite our sponsors." [NVIDIA is a big sponsor of AU]
  "Still , why should a $5000 application look worse than a $50 game."
• Why the revival of AutoSketch?
  "People  needed a low end product"
• Then why was it ever discontinued?
  "We lost interest. Corporate AD [attention deficit, a new meaning of CAD is coined]
• Is there going to be a brand new AutoCAD?
  "You're going to see some brand new products, new bundles of products. There's going to be interoperability of data between our products."
• Interoperability
  "Data needs to be exchanged freely. We'll gladly share our file libraries with anyone, no matter their size, as we did with Bentley. We said 'You give us the rights to your files, we'll give you rights to our files.'
  "We should compete on the basis of the usefulness of our applications [not on proprietary formats]."
• Is Autodesk going to get into the hardware of cloud computing
  "I prefer to leave it to others."
• Acquisitions
  On Revit, "The ratio [of acquisition cost/customers] was infinity."
• Interoperability within Autodesk applications:
  "Some of the things in this building can be best made in Inventor whereas Revit is best for the building itself." [suggesting how all Autodesk applications need to be able to share data]
• Sustainable design:"We need to more green in our operations, we are doing more green education (sponsoring programs on PBS), we are making it easier to be green when using our products (making autos more aerodynamic or buildings more energy conserving.) [It was the first mention of sustainability, the main topic of last year's press conference]