DBUG> Re: The Cloud

[Debbie at Sun Plans]

Love the idea in concept, but last year I taught an entry class in CAD to
high school students and did not get a response from DataCAD when I enquired
about student licenses so I don't know if the kid/student is in their
marketing plan(I was not persistent either though), but sure seems like it
should be. I was also involved a bit with the Robotics team and they also
use whatever they can get free or inexpensively. I guess it's similar to
getting people hooked on drugs - a little bit free....wow, I love this
stuff! Google SketchUp made is so easy with their free version and AutoDesk
did too with their free student licenses even though only some students
could load Revit due to the computer requirements. If there could be another
DataCAD light version with some simple 3d features, seems like it could be
marketable. Then maybe you could also view more detailed AEC files from it
too.

And related, did anyone look at the post that I referenced earlier this week
in the forum about inexpensive CAD programs on the AIA knowledge based site?
http://network.aia.org/AIA/Discussions/ViewThread/?GroupId=187&MessageKey=a7
83045a-3527-47f9-b02c-a39c6ee4a307

<I know an easy way for DataCAD to make money, by adding cloud features to
the program. It's kind of like solar power and electric cars, wonderful in
theory, but limited in practice. All this consist of really, is saving all
of your settings, drawings, etc. out there in "the cloud" which can really
just be servers through DataCAD's company of choice, giving people some free
space (I think UdderCAD 360 has 3gig for free) and charging a lot for
anything more and kids love the sound of it and with DataCAD being a not so
intensive, bloated program, it just might work to gain new customers since
young people move around from device to device." DataCloud" J What does
everyone think about that? Regards, David Ramey

Sun Plans Inc.
Debbie Coleman, Architect, AIA, LEED Green Assoc.
deb...@sunplans.com



*******************************
To Join or view DBUG Bulletin Bd: http://www.tinyurl.com/DBUGforum
NewPosts->dataca...@googlegroups.com OR dataca...@world.std.com

[David Ramey]

The easiest way to do this is to unlock everything except the interoperability features and have a watermark on anything that is printed for school use. I also believe the PDF's can be locked so they can't change it with another program there to remove the watermark. I do think DataCAD has a 30 day trial, but they need a student version.

OR just sell them the full blown copy of 14 with the soft lock IF they can prove they are a student. Would that cost anything at all?


Regards,

David Ramey

Chief Draftsman
Old Virginia Log Homes
http://www.handhewnloghomes.com/
http://www.facebook.com/oldvaloghomes/

[Paul Nida]

You people do realize that Datacad has a student version available, don't
you?

Per the Datacad website:

DataCAD 14 Pro Student
One Year License - $50

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "DataCAD-DBUG" group.
To post to this group, send email to dataca...@googlegroups.com
OR dataca...@world.std.com (not BOTH)
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
datacad-dbug...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://tinyurl.com/DBUGforum

[Debbie at Sun Plans]

Yes, I had asked DataCAD about a free one though since the school could get
the others like Revit for free, but DataCAD did not respond. In hind sight,
was really glad we used SketchUp since the class was really basic - the
DataCAD user-unfriendly layout would have made it harder. Few got to Revit
either. Once I get the 3d part of DataCAD down a bit more, I might pursue it
for teaching if I do it again. Thanks Paul.

Sun Plans Inc.
Debbie Coleman, Architect, AIA, LEED Green Assoc.
deb...@sunplans.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Nida [mailto:prn...@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:58 PM
To: David Ramey; deb...@sunplans.com; dataca...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: DBUG> RE: The Cloud

You people do realize that Datacad has a student version available, don't
you?

Per the Datacad website:

DataCAD 14 Pro Student
One Year License - $50

[David Ramey]

I realize they do but the last time we had to donate one of our licenses over for school use, but no not like what we were talking about. If so, it needs to be pretty close to the top on page one.

http://www.datacad.com/products/index.html

And this don't count. Trial versions are not student versions.

http://www.datacad.com/demo/index.html

I finally found it but it's hard to find. I actually had to use Google search since it is not under "Products". It's not even under "Online Store".

http://www.datacad.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?key=DCDE-1400&preadd=action

So, no I didn't, but it should be easier to find on their site IMO.

Regards,

David Ramey

Chief Draftsman
Old Virginia Log Homes

http://www.handhewnloghomes.com/

http://www.facebook.com/oldvaloghomes/











-----Original Message-----

From: Paul Nida [mailto:prn...@verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 10:58 PM
To: David Ramey; deb...@sunplans.com; dataca...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: DBUG> RE: The Cloud

[Larry Gray]

On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 6:58 AM, David Ramey <DRa...@oldvirginialoghomes.com> wrote:

I finally found it but it's hard to find. I actually had to use Google search since it is not under "Products". It's not even under "Online Store".

Yes it is.  Look again.

--

Larry Gray, Associate
Lambert Ezell Durham
Architecture + Interior Design

[Paul Nida]

It is in their online store and it took me less than 2 min. to find it,
copy it the text and paste it into my original post. I don't know how much
easier that could be.

Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[David Ramey]

Anyhow, it is there but still hard to find IMO. Apparently no one knows about it. Maybe there should be another tab called “Students”. One thing I did notice is that it said “new” under products and I sure didn’t see it last time I looked. Maybe I’m going blind? It should help sales eventually.

Regards,

 

David Ramey

 

Chief Draftsman

Old Virginia Log Homes

http://www.handhewnloghomes.com/

http://www.facebook.com/oldvaloghomes/

 

 

 

From: Larry Gray [mailto:lg...@ledarchitecture.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 9:46 AM
To: David Ramey
Cc: Paul Nida; dataca...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: DBUG> RE: The Cloud

 

On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 6:58 AM, David Ramey <DRa...@oldvirginialoghomes.com> wrote:

[David Ramey]

It could be on the first page. In any case it I do see also where it says "new". How long have they been doing such a thing and why don't more schools take advantage of it?

[Paul Nida]

It is problably not a leader for them so that would be my guess as to why
it is not on the first page, but I didn't design their web site so I don't
know. I believe they started it with the release of 14 but I am not
positive. I remember receiving a notice about it, but since it didn't
affect me, I didn't pay too much attention to it. I am not a teacher and I
am about as far away from being a student as I can be.

As to why more schools don't take advantage of it, who knows. Why do so
many people use Autocad?

And since Debbie wanted a free, I can understand why she didn't get much
response from Datacad. In these economic times they are struggling to stay
alive like the rest of us. And $50 is damned near giving it away.

I want to point out that these are my personal observations and have
nothing to do with Datacad and I have no intention of trying to speak for
them.


On Tue, 22 May 2012 09:01:51 -0500, David Ramey

[David Ramey]

--Why do so many people use Autocad?--

Simple when they went after copyright violators, they went after companies and pretty much every drafting student that had a PC had a pirate copy for free that they didn't care about. So later on that becomes the program that they want to use at work which pays for it. At the that time AutoCAD had no copy protection and there wasn't CAD classes in school. In 1986 if you had a PC you were a beginner and computer classes were still time sharing, main frame based

Yeah, why not give it away with certain limitations. That's what everyone else does. Then you may, in the future, end up with more paying customers. It's a long term marketing thing and it has worked well for many small companies that later became large. It' not like they would be losing money for something they aren't going to sell anyhow.

When DataCAD's current user base all dies off or retires, who is going to buy from them when no one even knows they exist all that much beyond this forum? Everything else you can learn to use for free and take as long as you want. There is just a large watermark on the printouts that won't let you make money off of them. Do you thing a kid is going to pay $40 for something he will never get hired to use? He/she is not going to waste time with that.

If someone has a better idea on how to spread the word that DataCAD IS capable of doing architectural drawings faster than plain Jane AutoCAD for less than 1/3rd the price, I'm sure DataCAD LLC would like to hear it. It's also not like they have to send disks either. If so then, yes, $50 is break even at best. Since Avon is so close to many Ivy league schools, you would think DataCAD LLC would be trying to give this stuff away to architectural professors and such to get people hooked.

[Dana Smith]

Simple:  Start inserting publicity that DataCAD is BIM.  Most of BIM is in the modeling, everything else is inuendo of things to come.  No article I have read about BIM shows much more than a 3D model being used for collaboration and conflict resolution (MECH, ELEC, etc.)  I do not see much benefit in embedding links and spreadsheets with object information about fixtures, model numbers, etc. because you would have to have plans in digital form for everyone to use.  Too easily modified by anyone with a little knowledge.  Then you end up with job sites with six different variants of the construction plans, and no controls.  Law suit city.

In the design/collaboration phases, BIM (model sharing) can be a powerful tool and especially helpful in getting key players working together to solve joint problems.  DataCAD can supply 3D models in several formats (for those AutoCAD houses) so it can share structural information.  With Mikogo or other desktop sharing, with live interactive discussion, the 3D models can be jointly evaluated without having to re-format the models.

Letting AutoCAD(Revit) control the constraints of BIM is a big mistake.  They are a decade behind DataCAD in the most important functions.

Dana Smith
DSCS, Santa Fe

[Paul Nida]

That was a rhetorical question, I did not need or want an answer. The fact
is, I already know the answer. But thanks anyway.

On Tue, 22 May 2012 09:53:22 -0500, David Ramey

[David Ramey]

Yep, I figured that just about everyone knew the answer to that, but regardless, the new way that this is handled works just fine. Bandwidth would be just about the only cost. Remember a lot of people with 2 year drafting degrees never heard of SketchUp either. You would think everyone would have heard of that, but not so. They all have heard of AutoCAD and maybe Solid Works or Solid Edge. Very few are even being taught architectural stuff at all since there is so little work in that compared to engineering these days.

I think DataCAD LLC, could do a little more to market their product. It's a good product at a good price. The problem is no one knows it's out there. I think many small companies have this same problem.

[Dean Buckeridge]

I think the telling comment in a previous post was "when the current DataCad user base dies off", - what is the average age? I don't know anybody else under 50 using it and if you are not getting the kids onto it then you don't have a future because very few people change CAD software once they learn 1 program.


Dean Buckeridge
NZCD(Arch) LBP Design

1 Stonehaven Terrace
Hillsborough
Christchurch 8022
p: +64 (0)3 337 1713
m: +64 (0)27 227 7637
e: de...@dbarc.co.nz
w: www.dbarc.co.nz

[John Rowan]

56!

I also feel the marketing is less than adequet, they could and should do
more! Without marketing every business will die and if that happens it will
be a real shame that OUR choice of preference goes with it.
I doubt that they have more than a dozen seats in the UK. If they have, the
users are very quiet or very satisfied? Come on DataCAD get your finger out
and start pushing to survive. It's not the students you need it's the
professionals who need it.

John Rowan
Lincoln UK

[Ted Blockley]

In my mind, the shame of it is that the Architect market is one that has
been very easily manipulated (we are by no means the only such example).
So, it follows that what seems simple and natural might not work out
like we hope.

Ted

[Clayton]

49.....

Hi John,

You look so much younger from here in sunny South Devon from where I'm
situated.

I must have missed this thread as I didn't get the link of the subject
matter of "The cloud" in reference to DC marketing etc.

Anyway, the power's that be at DC & SPIRIT HQ don't seem to think the
UK is an important market to invest in. However you'd think they would
at least both give their websites a more inviting face lift to get
professionals or even students more interested in their own products &
subsequently local re-sellers to buy from.

In an ideal world it would be cool if we had good representation of DC
or SPIRIT in the UK, but times are hard I gather in the IT world, even
though some such as Autodesk & Nemetschek seem to make fat profits
whatever the climate. Perhaps with the Internet & broadband we don't
need a local face..??? but a good balance should be still available.

Matt recent videos' in my humble opinion may have generated more
interest in DC & SPIRIT than the main websites, however this was only
targeted at us "forummers", if U-TUBED, then who knows..!!! SU started
this way, can't be a bad thing, it worked for them. Lets hope the
penny will drop before the plug is pulled.

Anyway I fear DC's development is getting even slower than first
thought & I'm not getting any younger, so I thought I would give
SPIRIT PRO 2012 a go & have to added this purchase to my CAD armory,
as it does appear to have better investment & a clearer path of
development. I won't be "jumping ship" so to speak, (short term that
is) just adding more power tools to my Architectural Tool Box.

Over & out,

Clayton.

****************************************************

I think your comment is correct as it the one you answered

-----

56!

I also feel the marketing is less than adequet, they could and should
do more! Without marketing every business will die and if that happens
it will be a real shame that OUR choice of preference goes with it.
I doubt that they have more than a dozen seats in the UK. If they
have, the users are very quiet or very satisfied? Come on DataCAD get

your finger out and start pushing to survive. It's not the students

you need it's the professionals who need it.

-----

I think the telling comment in a previous post was "when the current
DataCad user base dies off", - what is the average age? I don't know
anybody else under 50 using it and if you are not getting the kids
onto it then you don't have a future because very few people change
CAD software once they learn 1 program.