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In our July 1998 issue, we printed an article called LinuxCAD Impressions by Robert Wuest. In the interest of fair play, here is the official response to that review from Software Forge, Inc.


Official Reaction of Software Forge Inc. to "LinuxCAD Review"

By Robert Weaver, President Software Forge Inc.


To put this in context let us briefly answer the question "What is LinuxCAD?":

LinuxCAD, http://www.linuxcad.com/, is an AutoCAD for Linux for all practical purposes it implements all major features of ACAD in such a way that new users (who had ACAD experience before) do not need any additional training to start working with LinuxCAD).

But more then that LinuxCAD is a general purpose visual modelling system that runs on all Unix platforms (Linux, LinuxPPC, Solaris x86, RS/6000, BSDI, FreeBSD, Solaris SPARC, SCO UNIX) and on Windows NT.

LinuxCAD can be used in:

LinuxCAD as general purpose CAD and Visual Modelling System directly competes with CAD system AutoCAD by Autodesk which currently approaching status of complete monopoly in CAD marketplace as Microsoeft is in Operating Systems.

Do the math yourself:

To do typical CAD works you need to install so called "AutoCAD for PCs" on Windows NT workstation:

You can replace all of the above to:

You have at the least $500 in savings per one drafters workstation, if you are new user you will save $3000 in comparison to AutoCAD!

LinuxCAD indirectly competes with Microsoft as well, although we support Windows NT. We do not distinguish it as main or dominant platform and we trying to level the platforms as it relates to LinuxCAD with emphasize to Linux for Intel as main platform for LinuxCAD.

LinuxCAD captures the most important aspects of ACAD as: entity selection mechanism, same dialog in the command line, object snaps (as intersect, mid, center , tangent, perpend and others), LinuxCAD allows to use SHX formats and can exchange data to ACAD and many other systems.


LinuxCAD imposes tremendous threat to Autodesk, as it provides all the features the AutoCAD provides including programable AutoCAD's architecture. More then that LinuxCAD allows smooth transition from AutoCAD to LinuxCAD without additional training.

In any case: about 70% of 2D drafting works and 50% at least of 3D works may be done in $99 LinuxCAD on Linux instead of $3000 Acad on Ms-NT. Every sale of LinuxCAD translates to automatic $3000 loss to Autodesk, THAT IS WHY MR ROBERT WUEST is out there trying to discredit us. They are afraid of the LinuxCAD, the product that has achieved that kind of major market impact and user support as LinuxCAD has achieved, just in one year!

They want not to allow us to grow, now when we are small, and they have used that review to do it. Autodesk wants again to rob the consumer from his right to choose as they did it with Generic CADD and many other small CAD packages! But they are not succeding this time!


Our official responce to LinuxCAD review is long overdue and here it is:

We are hard working, good guys! Disregard that "anti-Linux" lie you may have seen in that review!

Robert Weaver, President
Software Forge Inc. (makers of the leading CAD product for UNIX and X/Windows), http://www.linuxcad.com


Copyright © 1999, Robert Weaver
Published in Issue 41 of Linux Gazette, May 1999


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