Architosh Staff (info@architosh.com)

11 May 2001

StudioDESK: Is Autodesk looking at the Mac Again?

For those who are unaware of the CAD world and the Mac's place in it it might surprise you to learn that the world's largest CAD developer doesn't hold a special place in its heart for the Macintosh. Or does it?

The Mac at Autodesk: Yesterday and Tomorrow

In the good ole days Autodesk and Apple actually collaborated to bring the CAD standard Autocad to the Macintosh. Unfortunately, the timing was bad. The major work was done way before the transition to PowerPC microprocessors and when Apple made the big transition it appeared too much to bear for Autodesk to move the code to PPC. Autocad for Mac remained a non-PowerPC software while the Mac world went full steam ahead to PowerPC land.

In the wake of that decision by Autodesk, major CAD rivals have pushed forward with aggressive cross-platform programming initiatives. These developers—many of whom were Macintosh developers originally—have gained substaintial ground on Autodesk over the past five years. Notable among them in the architectural space are Graphisoft (ArchiCAD) and Nemetschek North American (VectorWorks). Further complicating matters for Autodesk are the new tide of 3D parametric CAD newcomers like the currently Windows-only Revit and the Mac-first BOA CAD.

Autodesk is Warming Up to Other Platform: StudioDESK

StudioDESK is one of the latest initiatives by Autodesk to reinvent the way architectural and related-design professionals work. The Idea, as they call it, is based on a metaphor of the old-world physical tools of designers. Pictured are a drawing board, trace paper, ink sketching pen, scale, stickies, template, and a calendar. Just some of the things that used to (and still do) clutter the traditional architect's desk.

The concept is to make a simple and yet powerful digital equivalent of that old way of working and to make the data Web-centric so you can access your information and work anywhere and on any device.

What is really interesting about their approach is that Autodesk says their new StudioDESK environment is both scalable (from workstations to PDA's) and cross-platform interoperable. In their words:

Our goal is to provide ideas for browser-based applications that run well under multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

That sounds very interesting coming from a company that has turned its back on all those who were not aligned with the Microsoft empire. Could this change mean other new initiatives of a cross-platform nature? Could more Autodesk software be coming to the Mac?

Autocad on Mac OS X Initiative

As many know Architosh has been collecting petition signatures for an Autocad version for Mac OS X. We have collected well over 3500 petition so far (as noted in previous reports) but since that time we have gathered a substantial amount more.

Next week Architosh will be delivering a full feature on the status of Autocad on Mac OS X and our petition efforts.

Reference Articles:

Autocad on Mac OS X: 2500+ petitions and counting!

To Take the Autocad on Mac OS X Petition