WorldCAD Access

Sold! MSC Software

MSC Software has sold itself to a private equity group for $360 million (about $7.63 per share). Buyers are Symphony Technology Group and Elliott Management Corp. Source. But Lawyers Unhappy Shareholders Foundation is hoping to cash in on the sale by declaring the price too low. The... ...deal appears to be unfair, given the fact that ... as recently as October 2008, was trading above $10.25 a share, substantially higher than the current offer. Solution? Sue 'em -- the surefire way of making unhappy lawyers happy again. Source. Read more →

7RC Worse Than 7Beta

I was pretty pleased with Windows 7 beta running on my netbook (LG X110). The beta ran speedily, especially with the 4GB Class 6 SD card that was used for ReadyBoost. The only problems I experienced were that it tended to forget settings; if I muted the sound, the sound was back on after a reboot. Before leaving on a three-week trip to Europe, I updated to 7RC, because I knew that the beta trial period was coming to an end. I figured it would be as good as the beta, but with fewer annoyances. Big mistake! The "release candidate"... Read more →

Autodesk Loves Lawyers

Even as Autodesk finds it has insufficient funds and chooses to lay off hundreds of employees, it seems to not be lacking for lawyer fees. From a press release posted today by the Open Design Alliance: The Open Design Alliance was subpoenaed by Autodesk, Inc. last month for deposition in the civil case Autodesk filed against SolidWorks Corporation for, among other things, trademark infringement, including use of the term DWG in product names. Arnold van der Weide, President of the ODA, stated, “I am disappointed that the ODA has once again been summoned to deposition. It puts an unnecessary burden... Read more →

The Essential Reader: OpenCAD

OpenCAD: A Step by Step Guide to Developing a Professional CAD Application by Deelip Menezes Once in a while you read of a new author getting a book deal because of his/her blog writings. This is one of them. The OpenCAD book came about when the president and chief technical officer of Open Design Alliance approached Deelip Menezes. From the writings at his www.deelip.com blog, they knew he had the right combination of being able to write and to program. In about two weeks, Mr Menezes churned out this 84-page book that shows you how to write your own CAD... Read more →

More Punishment for Siemens

Since 2000, Siemens spent $1.7 billion on some 4,000 bribes in a dozen countries. Last year, they got fined $1.4 billion by the US and German governments. This week, they got more punishment, this time for bribery involving a World Bank project in Russia. For the next two years, Siemens is banned from doing business with the World Bank, and must pay $100 million to anti-corruption agencies -- albeit, over 15 years. Source. Read more →

Elecom Scope Node Mouse

While in Germany last month, my wife allowed me time in Saturn's Kudamm store -- seven stories of electronics that makes BestBuy look like a 7-Eleven. Generally, I don't buy electronics in Europe, because they're too expensive, there might be warranty problems, and returning a defective product to the store becomes r-e-a-l-l-y difficult once back home in North America. How expensive? Generally, computers and such are priced in Euros what I am used to paying in Canadian dollars -- about 60% more expensive. For instance, my LG netbook was $460 in Canada but e450 in Europe. Now, those prices need... Read more →

Use Task-Appropriate Tools

Next time a vendor tells you to upgrade his software, ask youself if you even need the software -- never mind the upgrade. The US Navy did. Check out the aircraft and bomb databases described in The Nimitz Goes To Home Depot by Kevin Meyer. He told us he was offered a multi-million-dollar touch-screen computer system to replace [the existing manual system]. His answer? How do I fix it in the Persian Gulf under attack, or during a typhoon? Read more →

Happy Birthday, Canada -- older than most

I'm just back from Europe, where 1000-year-old buildings are passe -- and where Germany is celebrating its 60th birthday. No kidding; they're counting the 60 years going back to when a reset button got pressed in 1949. Germany: where everyone is an expert on George Bush, but no one knows about the 2010 Winter Olympics. Today, Canada celebrates its birthday, being nearly three times "older" than Germany at 142 years. To celebrate, here are some self-deprecating Canadian jokes: Q1: How do you get a Canadian to apologize? Q2: How to you get a pool full of Canadians to get out... Read more →

Web 2.0 "4 or 5 Years" Away for AutoCAD

In an interview with Steve Evans of CBR, Amar Hanspal (svp platform solutions and emerging business) said, "It’s possible that in four or five years time the Web 2.0 approach will be a much bigger part of the business." He was referring to Autodesk's desktop software. I think it will be a hybrid between the two, partial cloud delivery and partial traditional desktop software. The design element would be on the desktop with the heavy calculations being done in the cloud. How to make revenues from cloudy software? Mr Hanspal figures on charging customers pay-as-you-go or an ad-like model, where... Read more →