Google released the CAD drawings for its Liquid Galaxy set up, eight 55-inch monitors arranged in a semi-circle for viewing Google Earth somewhat immersibly.
You can find the files in RAR format (a type of compressed file that 7zip handles, among other decompressors). The only native file format was SKP, Google's own SketchUp format.
The other CAD drawings were represented by neutral formats, specifically DXF, and STEP, and PDF. But the Properties dialog box of the PDF file gave away its source: Pro/E Wildfire 4.0
Download the files from here: code.google.com/p/liquid-galaxy/downloads/list
The only native file format was SKP, Google's own SketchUp format.
The other CAD drawings were represented by neutral formats, specifically DXF, and STEP, and PDF.
Not to be a quibbling pedant here, but I understand 'native format' to mean whatever the program itself defaults to in opening and saving. I think that you mean 'proprietary'?
(SKP is certainly propietary, DXF is as well - though for a while documented by Autodesk, it's just AutoCAD's exchange format. Arguably PDF is open, dunno about STEP). COLLADA looks interesting as a genuinely open format, as do KML and SVG.
Posted by: DF | Oct 04, 2010 at 08:35 AM
Not existing the possibility to deposit a copyright for a file format, the "proprietary" adjective is not correct. More right by Ralph using "native".
Posted by: L, Italty | Oct 07, 2010 at 07:29 AM
Not existing the possibility to deposit a copyright for a file format, the "proprietary" adjective is not correct. More right by Ralph using "native".
Autodesk would undoubtedly disagree above the legal position you advocate above. And do you really doubt that, say, DOC and DGN aren't 'owned' by Microsoft and Bentley respectively? Really?
Posted by: DF | Oct 08, 2010 at 04:22 PM