Who? X-CAD Mystifies

The new X-CAD Web site mysteriously keeps its owners' identity hidden.

The owners want you and 99,999 other CAD users to register. Once the number is reached, every one receives a free copy of the 3D CAD software. The catches are that (1) 100,000 must register and (2) all must register before August 1 -- for the give-away to take effect. A counter on the site reports the number of registrants, 4998 at time of writing this.

I predict the software will be given away 1 Aug even if the 100,000 goal is not reached. Perhaps the odometer will need adjusting. (A check of the HTML source shows the number is hard-coded.)

Who is X?

There are some clues:

- the software is a 3D parametric solid modeler.
- there is an hint of low-cost, noting that competitors "range from $5K - $30K on the market today."
- the site is registered to xcad_webmaster in Austin TX.
- one of the Web page's meta keywords is "autoCAD alternative".
- and, the owners have a sense of humour, as illustrated by this Q&A item:

Q: How is X-CAD able to be given away free?
A: Yes, we are spending indordinate amounts of money, but we think it is worth it.

Ha, ha. It costs almost nothing to give away software. The real $$$ benefits come later, with (1) hoped-for upgrades and (2) hoped-for word-of-mouth recommendations. Guesses?

There is some parallel with Bentley Systems' V8Ball.com Web site that claimed to be updated by a rogue employee, but was an attempt by Bentley to whip-up pre-rrelease hysteria in anticipation of MicroStation V8. The difference here is that you get software free, whatever it is.

Who Was X?

This is not the first X-CAD on the market. XCAD is the name of another 3D mcad pkg that came from Xitron Software in southeast Asia, but died about a decade ago. Their aim was to have one million customers by selling it for US$495. The dream did not materialize.

XCAD-01 is a 3D CAD/ CAM program from Excalibur Design.

And then there is XCAD Corp, which develops software for modeling signal processing systems.

Update

I've had my suspicions confirmed, but have decided to not spill the beans, proverbial and otherwise. Responds the CEO of X-CAD: "I suppose we expected to be outed -- although not quite this soon."

In the meantime, I signed up -- for research purposes -- and am #5000. A confirmation email requires a confirmation link to be clicked, claiming that "Unverified registrations will not count towards the 100,000 needed to release the free X-CAD software" -- even though the counter updated after I registered, but not after I confirmed.

Comments

[yipster]

when i'm in the first 100.000 i like to see your software, thanks yipster

( adres and more on my site http://members.chello.nl/jadressh/ )

:D

[Sean]

When I first saw this my first guess was Alibre. Reasons for my guess can be found here

http://www.mcadforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=23054#23054

[Manoj Agarwal]

Looking for the S/W download and evaluate the sftware

[Vinodh Kumar M.]

See:
http://www.whois.sc/x-cad.net