Wasn't AutoCad on custom hardware for a long time?

Post #324,707 by drook 4/16/10 2:48:40 AM Reply	Wasn't AutoCad on custom hardware for a long time? I won't be shocked if Photoshop/Illustrator et al go in that direction. Get enough happening in cloud-based apps and only the pros will need the high-end stuff. I've seen in-browser photo editing demos that probably couldn't have been done on a workstation 10 years ago. -- Drew
Post #324,710 by folkert 4/16/10 7:44:02 AM Reply	AutoCAD used to be... Exclusively UNIX, hence the "custom hardware". Then it was UNIX (custom hardware) or ANY DOS with a memory extender and a specific Video Card (Matrox ring a bell? How about GLINT?) How is that for a paradox. AutoCAD has become SO Windows centric that they aren't even coming close to looking at a version for OSX or Linux (or any BADs for that matter)
Post #324,737 by altmann 4/16/10 6:46:59 PM 4/16/10 6:47:15 PM Reply	No it didn't It was initially developed to run on CPM and DOS for a few microcomputers of the time (the IBM-PC being the one that survived that era). There was a Unix version or two later, as well as a Mac Classic version, but it was the DOS version that was by far the most used and the other versions were eventually dropped. I don't think it even required a DOS extender until release 9 or 10. Special video cards were also not required for a long time, though cards with special display list drivers were popular for increased performance. It was after the first one or two Windows versions is when they started to go much more Windows specific in the design of the program. Up until then, the entire GUI was driven by scripting, macros and text based menu and dialog and even toolbar definition files. By about R13 or R14 they started hard coding more of the UI to be Windows specific, but I stopped using it not long after that so I don't know how far they went. I know they added support for stuff like VBA. Edited by altmann April 16, 2010, 06:47:15 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #324,746 by folkert 4/16/10 9:09:02 PM Reply	Oh yeah... I'm thinking about the CADCAM stuff I used to use/support... the display was a vector display and a text monitor... geni-something...
Post #324,711 by Another Scott 4/16/10 7:44:54 AM Reply	Don't recall. Given the changes in the industry (multicore, VMs, etc.), I wouldn't be at all surprised if leased package solutions become vogue again. "You want to run Photoshop or AutoCad? We'll take care of you. $2k/seat for a year on our turn-key box." Why spend $5k for a state-of-the-art box to run expensive software when it will be obsolete in 2 years? Why not let the vendor handle all of that? The cell phone companies have been looking at that model too, apparently - e.g. $100 for a netbook if you sign up for a 2 year data plan. I see that MS is looking at ARM for its server farms - http://www.techeye.n...-chips-in-servers Presumably they're not running Windows, but MS knows enough to chase new markets (even if they're often years late). The coming years could be great for breaking MS's Windows stranglehold; or it could be the beginning of the end of "personal" computing with everything locked up on remote servers. We'll see. Cheers, Scott.
Post #324,715 by drook 4/16/10 9:54:09 AM Reply	Whaddaya mean "looking at"? I've been seeing netbook deals like that for at least a year. Radio Shack has had one version or another in the display case under the cash register as long as I can remember, and the price always says, "With 2-year plan." -- Drew
Post #324,717 by Another Scott 4/16/10 11:18:14 AM Reply	Isn't that what I said? :-) By "looking at" I mean they're playing around with that model. They haven't shifted that way in a big way - when was the last time you saw a TV ad for such a netbook package from a phone company? They hoped to ride the netbook wave, but didn't really push it. At least I saw little sign of it. If the 3G iPads take off, they won't have much choice but to try harder. Cheers, Scott.
Post #324,726 by drook 4/16/10 1:04:34 PM Reply	Roger, all clear -- Drew

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