I know that there were many of you that have been posting to this newsgroup for years, so I expected to get some lopsided feedback, simply because some of you are the "high end" users who have been using CAD for many years, both
2D and 3D. Some of you, I really respect and know you are much better than I am when using CAD. This note is mainly for those who have tunnel vision and don't understand most countries in this world are dirt poor. There is a lot of difference between $1 and $5, much less $800 and $3000.Cliff, you throw the word "stupid" or "stupidly" around with little regard. We all started out as novices, including you, and made our share of mistakes and budget over runs during our learning process. However, you are the first person that I have seen who uses an "Ecthsketch" to do his 3D work. This must make a big impression on the folks at General Dynamics and GM. Is the cat shown on your Pentium "Ecthsketch" a part of the power train you proposed for the "Oscar Austin"? You must have needed quite a few of them to make the "Oscar Austin" heel to port around the "Doubling Point Light? How many horsepower, or should I say "catpower", did you assure them that each one of these power units would produce? Would these units run "in line" on a rolling stationary track, chasing a mouse, while the track turns a transmission that turns a prop? Or did you proposal to harness the power units up in tandem and then tie them together in line, thus doubling of the horse power from the track to the transmission? Did you give them all the sectional views required, using your "Ecthsketch"? Anyway, it's a nice drawing.
I admit I like the incredible strides and cost decreases that have been made in computer hardware. The $150,000 per seat you quoted was quite steep, although I saw an "Ecthsketch" bring in a couple of hundred dollars on the "Antiques Road Show" on television not too long ago. The drop in cost for all the hardware nowadays is really quite refreshing. Changing from a Pentium I to a Pentium IV was really pleasant. Adding an extra 1 gigabyte of Ram for $75, or changing from a 15"CRT monitor to a 21" LCD unit and things we take for granted now. Not to mention cable or DSL internet service needed to move the monster 3D files you generate around the country.
I still have to admit that I don't like the costs of program upgrades that give me very few improvements in utility, except a change in the software companies drawing formats and interfaces that time and money to buy and then have to train all the staff, novices as well as the seasoned user, how to use the new crap.
It's a grand new world we live >