Opinion
The primary source of CAD information in Russia had been Isicad, which published a magazine (see cover below), hosted a Web site with news and articles, ran conferences, and operated a Telegram chat group. Last year, owner David Levin relocated to Tel Aviv -- from one war zone to another.
Now he's looking to hand the content of the Web site's 2,126 articles to a Russian entity free of charge, provided it promises to maintain it.
More info at https://isicad-ru.translate.goog/ru/articles.php?article_num=22951&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp (translated from Russian to English). Isicad was a offshoot of CAD software developer LEDAS, which was founded in 1999, and continues to operate.
The Retirement Wave
David Levin's move is representative of the first generation of CAD journalists reaching retirement age. I, too, am mostly retired now, although writing still for Design Engineering and WorldCAD Access.
Our first generation of writers was populated by people from engineering and architecture. We went into these careers just as computers were starting to make an impact; I started at the engineering firm in 1981, and saw my first AutoCAD demo in 1983, and that year also bought my first desktop computer.
We were excited to tell others about what we were learning from these new micro-computers and their diskette-based software. And then we found we loved writing more than engineering.
From these tentative beginnings in the 1980s, the entire sub-industry of CAD newsletters, magazines, books, e-books, blogs, and videos emerged -- all based on writers who taught themselves this new tech, which now, sadly, has become mature to the point that most (not all) CAD vendors are grasping at any new whim that comes along seemingly to justify their continued existence.
Our first generation was fortunate to be there when computer-assisted draughting emerged -- to our puzzlement and delight. We had initially become engineers and architects because we liked problem solving, and now we were problem-solving the mysteries behind the most complicated device ever invented -- computer hardware-software.
The sad part, for me, is the loss of a massive amount of institutional knowledge that we collated over the past 40 years, as we slow down, retire, and then die.
Well said Ralph Grabowski. That's exactly how I feel about the way I do my job. Even though I'm a bit younger :)
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It's always a pleasure to read your articles, which aren't just sales blah blah and help us to take a step back from our jobs!
Posted by: FMZ | May 14, 2024 at 12:29 AM