CAD
First of all, integer vs. FP methods — very viable indeed… 32 bits seems
like a good size (for this machine) to do a CAD system with. That's what
_we're_ using in our architectural system… (RSN… grin) On the new CAD
tools. They look very nice indeed. Of course, I _immediately_ got on the horn
to them and asked about availability and so on, and got a "next week… just
waiting for the manuals" aswer, which is very plausible to me. So we will see
about that. As far as how I feel about them being in the same market, well,
mixed. It's kind of an emotional thing to go from the _only_ entry to one of a
group. Especially when you've been the only one for two years… I feel like a
"pioneer", if you know what I mean. CBM apparently doesn't agree, and treats us
like dirt, but, hey, they treat _everyone_ badly. In a business sense, I'm
pleased. Dynamic CAD was a very poor port of a non-Amiga program with a flimsy
appraoch to PCB work. This new tool looks to me like it's a real approach, and
a serious one at that. Competiton is OK by me… I have a lot of faith in the
skills that I can tap – mine, Waynes, and a couple of other hacker/maniacs.
Also, the more entries there are, the more the machine will be percieved as a
"real" engineering machine. That can only help us. In terms of pure
performance, I don't think that PCLO will be beaten by this new entry, or any
to come after it. And that includes anything written here. Features, sure, you
can add them, but performance, no. We're talking raw speed here. Now, I'll
agree before you even bring it up that a high-performance tool with outdated or
outmoded features isn't worth much to most people, but it's worth something to
me – I'm proud of the program. Paternally. I feel confident that we can address
any challenge that arrives on this machine to some degree… If I'm wrong, OK.
But I can try! Meantime, the best thing that can happen would be for _many_
serious engineering tools to appear on the Amiga. Darwin knows the hardwares
just begging to be used. –Ben–