A few other points On Thursday 22 November 2001 00:27, Doug McGarrett wrote:
Yes, there is that. I use AutoCad (Lite), and I will continue to do so for as long as I need drafting software. Why learn something else? It's too bad they haven't ported it to Linux. If it was no good, that would be different.
Have you told them that if they ported it, you would become a customer? Companies won't ever port software unless they see a market.
For instance, there is no GUI version of any kind of SPICE, that I'm aware of, whether free or at a reasonable price, or even at ANY price. There is a very nice freebie (limited size circuits) for Windows. I wish I could think of the name, but it's on my machine at work.
Don't say "any" until you've searched freshmeat for "spice". I got 9 hits, at least some of them GUI. I have no idea about their quality, but they do exist. One of them made by Berkely, even.
I don't believe there's a version of Agilent EESof RF and microwave simulation/ analysis/synthesis software for Linux, even tho it exists on other Unix platforms--or at least on one, I think it's Sun. This is a very expensive program, but if Linux was the only thing I had at work, I couldn't use it. And I DO use it, and I NEED it. There are perhaps one or two other programs that do much the same thing, but I don't believe they're available for Linux either.
Have you told them that if they ported it, you would become a customer? Companies won't ever port software unless they see a market.
Our mechanical designers use something called Pro-E. I would be surprised to find a version of that for Linux. It's a 3-d drafting tool, with provision for BOM's, material specs, etc.
Same answer, but with a link. Sign up: http://homepages.internet-montblanc.fr/prolinux/index.html
There is quite simple software out there that a lot of Linux-likers would use if they could figure out how to make it work right--I'm thinking of FONTS. When Linux automatically looks on a Windows drive, and uses it for the fonts, and they work right in all the W/P programs, and on-screen, then we will have one more leg up, but just a leg. The other, technical programs have to come along.
Not really. The goal should be to have free fonts available, so we don't have to get them from a win-partition. I don't even have a win-partition, for that matter. If you're a graphical designer, here's your chance to make an impact on the OSS world: create a really smashing TT-font that's free to use (can fonts be covered by the GPL?)
I'm certain that there are all sorts of programs for the machine-design industry, for architecture, for chemistry and biochemistry, all written and compiled for Windows. It's not a question of how much they cost, industry can pay that bill, and will; it's a question of whether they exist at all, or ever will.
I'm (almost) certain that these programs are much more readily available for Unix platforms like Solaris or SGI. These platforms have a very high usage with CAD people, but since programs can be very easily ported from these platforms to linux (often little more than a recompile is needed). Ref for instance the movie world, where companies moved with little or no trouble from SGI to linux, and reports state that they are more than pleased with the result. Even Bill Gates' DreamWorks run linux now (does he know? :) regards Anders