My First Date with Gloria

[impeteperry]

Hi you all.
She is very pretty, well built and very friendly and we are engaged.
That said, her cousin "Amarok" has been enhanced to the point of non-use-ability.
When KDE moved to KDE 9.04 I told him to get lost.

Seriously tho, enhancements are a serious problem.
I'm 83, a structural engineer, wrote my first computer program in 1970. My first Linux was Storm 2000.
My question is "what do you do with the people who wrote a program in the first place?"
The usual answer is of course "Enhance the program". This can lead to the problem of "non-usability"
Look at Microsoft. They abandoned XP and wrote "Vista" just to keep their people busy. Now they are enhancing that.

The most glaring weakness in Linux, is the total lack of a good 3d CAD program. (QCad is a good 2d CAD program).
There are several "solid modeling" programs, Blender, Povray etc, but no 3d CAD. (Computer Aided Drafting)
Even the state of CAD in Windows is a disaster.

When CAD was first introduced, its focus was to computerize hand drafting. It still just does that today. This is a total mis-use of a computer.
Here is a field where Mint can add another feather in its cap rather then just adding bells and whistles to a great program.

Let me here what you think.
I have some great, innovating ideas for you.

pete perry

[Husse]

Welcome to Mint pete perry - it's nice to see that it's not only youngsters that use Mint
Please share your great ideas - you can PM me if you don't want to go public

[Timmi]

The most glaring weakness in Linux, is the total lack of a good 3d CAD program. (QCad is a good 2d CAD program).
There are several "solid modeling" programs, Blender, Povray etc, but no 3d CAD. (Computer Aided Drafting)
Even the state of CAD in Windows is a disaster.
When CAD was first introduced, its focus was to computerize hand drafting. It still just does that today. This is a total mis-use of a computer.
Here is a field where Mint can add another feather in its cap rather then just adding bells and whistles to a great program.
pete perry

Hi Pete, nice to see a fellow draftsman on board here. CAD just gives you tools that you don't have when doing it manually (for example, recreating the drawings in different sizes, reprint just a part of it that is zoomed in - try that by hand. but it's not faster. just a better more versatile tool.)

You need to distinguish between operating system and applications. You wouldn't ask Exxon to build a better car, that is GM's job. Just cause most run on gasoline and not clean diesel or pure ethanol, doesn't make it the fuel processor's mission to introduce more cars that run on biodiesel or ethanol, nor it is the job of the roads department to make different cars. That's what the carmakers are there for, as the applications developers. The folks at Mint have enough on their hands already, with just the operating system, and have no CAD expertise.

Rather, ask Autodesk, or Dassault, why they don't release a Linux version. I think I know the answer: the market share is what, 3%, or lets put it at 5% just to not waste time debating that. It's exactly the same amount of work for an applications developer, to debug, fix, maintain, and support, a program whether it addresses a market with an OS that addresses 90% of the desktop OS market as one that targets an OS having 5% of the market. (no I don't have math problems, cause there is Apple too, with about 5% of the desktop market - and those numbers all have to be revised if you factor in other OSes, but that's beside the point).

I did uncover one program, called BRL CAD. It is free, and they taunt it as being used in the military and all (of course, you need to, as always, sift through all the self-promoting-hype).

I'm new to Linux, not because I'm an idiot (although I feel that as compared to where I once was, in the 80's and 90's, I am quite a neophyte with regards to more recent OSes), but because I've held out for so long, because I like to have my AutoCAD and Inventor on my computer, and I hate booting between OSes depending on the app I want to use - that just doesn't make sense when one can do it all for you, no matter how much yo may hate the OS's developer.

So my question to you would be, have you the interest to explore, and tinker, it would be wonderful if you could report back and maybe give a Linux noob some instructions on how to get install BRL-CAD on Mint - they seem to have versions for all operating systems covered, but there isn't the familiar "repository" or whatever that is, that I can just add to synaptics.

[DrHu]

Seriously tho, enhancements are a serious problem. I'm 83, a structural engineer, wrote my first computer program in 1970. My first Linux was Storm 2000. My question is "what do you do with the people who wrote a program in the first place?"

I could agree with you that the quality of software engineering (?computer programming) might have fallen, as assembler code has been almost abandoned in favor of more expedient methods, like using C or C++ for almost all base programming..
--and that an organization such as NASA, before the age of microcomputers and COTS were very engineer oriented, and become less so over time due to budget constraints and operational requirements; safety and engineering no doubt slipped.
--also that a lot of so called enhancements are just advertising puffery, simply done to keep the name of that software on the publics' mind..
--there is also a place for programming craftsmanship (hand built), and some proponents of that process do exist; Steve Gibson considers himself to be one such
http://www.grc.com/stevegibson.htm

The most glaring weakness in Linux, is the total lack of a good 3d CAD program. (QCad is a good 2d CAD program). There are several "solid modeling" programs, Blender, Povray etc, but no 3d CAD. (Computer Aided Drafting) Even the state of CAD in Windows is a disaster.

When CAD was first introduced, its focus was to computerize hand drafting. It still just does that today. This is a total mis-use of a computer. Here is a field where Mint can add another feather in its cap rather then just adding bells and whistles to a great program.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm? ... 703&page=1
The most glaring weakness in Linux, is the total lack of a good 3d CAD...
Are you looking for a free version (foss software)
--since CAD is a rather complicated piece of software, expecting it to be done as a hobby project is probably asking too much

..to computerize hand drafting.... This is a total mis-use of a computer.
That is exactly what a computer should be used for, to minimize the work needed to produce a result
--its called automation; it is why almost all aircraft or automobile or bridge or apartment or other larger or even smaller engineering projects make extensive use of computers

It is also why illustrators today do almost all of their work using a computer; some well known illustrators/artists totally on a computer, using either a graphics tablet or scanner + graphics tablet & of course graphics software, whether it is 3d like or not
--probably with the idea that time is money; and that doesn't only apply to financiers.

[vrkalak]

Welcome to LinuxMint fellow drafters!!

I am a Registered Architect (AIA) I am relatively new to Linux myself.
Going from Windows (and a Mac, for a short while) to Ubuntu, and finally settled here.

I bought my first PC computer at Radio Shack in 1984, for $1500.
I have been using AutoCAD for several years now. Have you priced the new versions of AutoCAD lately? $3500!! for a computer program.
( I still have a nice drawing board and Drafting Machine in the corner of my office )

I have checked out the Open Source versions of CAD ... ie: QCad and SagCAD (and something else?)
But, as you mentioned they are lacking in 3D design and performance.
We could use a great CAD program in Open Source, both 2D and 3D capabilities.
Presently, I can do a 3D 'walk-through' of a finished building design, for the client before the building is even approved. Much less built.
And send them a 8, 16 or 32 Gb flash-drive with the final plans. We, Linux, can match that if we try.

I am now, using AutoCAD for Linux 2009. Expensive but still the best.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My computer has a 1 Tb hard-drive with 4 Gb of RAM (I need all that memory)
And the total hard-drive is dedicated to LinuxMint-7 . . . Gloria rocks!!

[linuxviolin]

My computer has a 1 Tb hard-drive with 4 Gb of RAM (I need all that memory)
And the total hard-drive is dedicated to LinuxMint-7 . . .

vrkalak, there is an error somewhere... In a post in the "In the future" thread you said : "My home PC has a Terabyte of memory", it's because of this I wrote my post after but here you say "4 GB of RAM" and "1 TB hard-drive", not memory! It's not exactly the same thing. Probably in the first post you have done a common confusion between hard disks and RAM...

[phil]

I missed this thread because of the title and posted another called Binary Programs on Linux.

I also am 83 years old and still working part time as a structural engineer. My first engineering job was for Ideal Cement Company (now Holcim of Switzerland) and it involved designing logic programs to automate cement factory production. Lots of relays. Got my license as a PE in Colorado in 1955. Then in 1956 I went to Martin Co. (now Lockheed Martin) and ended up also designing logic systems to launch the Titan missile. In 1960 I went on my own and contracted with US National Bureau of standards to transistorize some of their old vacuum tube gadgets called Riometers. Have been self unemployed doing mostly structural engineering, managing several businesses and farming. I moved to Belize from Colorado in 1998.

See my other post for comments on CAD.

[marcdilnutt]

I am a land surveyor and site engineer and use AutoCAD daily for drafting topographical surveys and interrogating design drawings for information. I run Mint7 on my Acer Aspire One 531h and am going to try BRL-CAD out as soon as I get it downloaded. Keep your fingers crossed!