Microsoft really shot themselves in the foot with Vista, and I think their stupid decision to keep flogging that dead horse for so long will have long-lasting consequences for them. With Vista having left a real bad taste in many peoples mouths, it’s inevitable that Apple will gain more market share.

I don’t know enough about programming to opine about whether it will be easy, difficult or disastrous to make a Mac version of AutoCAD, but I do know that Autodesk would be stupid not to seriously consider a Mac version at this stage. If they don’t, they run a large risk of losing considerable market-share.

Ask any company man or shareholder whether they’d prefer to lose market share or get some bad rep about a less than perfect product. I think 99% would rather have large market share and a little bit of bad publicity any day.

One final comment for all the Windows die-hards out there: Yes, it was irritating learning a new operating system having been a Win user for so long, but it’s really been worth it. Macs just work better.

The best solution for users of every other CAD application on the planet would be if AutoDesk played good citizen and made their COMPLETE file format specifications available so other CAD apps could seamlessly import and export to AutoCAD. I’m sure AutoDesk has no interest in supporting a mass exodus from their flagship application, which I have little doubt would occur.

As a 20 year MiniCAD/Vectorworks user and trainer, AutoCAD translations have improved tremendously over the years, especially since Nemetschek acquired Diehl Graphsoft (the original MiniCAD/Vectorworks developer), but more could be done.

Autodesk is not going to start from scratch to write a Mac version of AutoCAD. It’s going to keep as much common code as it possibly can, for obvious reasons. Any new Mac version is going to have to be generated at the same time that the Windows code is being developed into the next release, so it’s going to be a moving target. The core AutoCAD code will be done in Windows and OS X will be an offshoot, and it will likely remain that way for at least as long as Windows remains the dominant OS. Yes, I made an assumption, but it’s really the only reasonable one that can be made.

You mention that Autodesk does not have experience writing in OSX software, yet some of thier most complext stuff is on Mac already. How do you support that argument?

It used to be Mac and Windows but became Windows-only after 2002.

In the last two version it became Mac and Windows again.

Apple computers are selling very well these days and so many software projects have released a Mac version in the last few years.

Also programming tools are not how they used to be. Programmers are assisted by great tools these days so some things are not as difficult as you would think.

At any rate, the desktop operating system landscape may not be as stable as Microsoft would like people to believe. Autodesk must be prepared for the unthinkable…that someday Windows will not be the predominate desktop operating system in use.

Other companies are already targeting the growing Mac user base with design software. If one of these companies were to establish a beachhead, coupled with a desktop operating system upheaval, then Autodesk would find itself in a losing situation.

I sure many will laugh at my post, but stranger things have happened.
Never say never.

The Mac OS has equal (yet) different API’s to Microsoft’s. Getting an application to do what it does on Windows on the Mac is not impossible.

Learning to write in Cocoa (Objective-C) isn’t as hard as you would think. The people writing the programs are trained in computer languages, probably more tha you are trained in CAD. Learning a new one that is based off of the C programming language wouldn’t be that hard. I recently went to a week long training for Cocoa and understood it fine after.

Having multiple platforms opens more doors for developers and users. Having people only use one platform is fine, but as you said, AutoDesk is up to their neck in the Windows API. Having a new set of API’s to play with might make AutoDesk redesign their Windows versions, because they found a better way of doing when they were developing for the Mac side.

The number of clients to buy it might not be enough to sustain a Mac version, time will tell (if they do release a Mac version for it). But with more and more people and CEO’s going to the Mac, more and more applications will need to be written for them. If AutoDesk wants to stay ahead of the curve they will need to make a Mac version, or someone else may.

Just my thoughts on this. I’m hoping they do make a Mac version. Options, good. Monopolies, bad.

As an example, look at Mathematica. A massive program that is far more complicated than AutoCAD, yet runs nicely on Mac and Windows.

“Sean, is this your opinion or a fact?” This is my opinion of many of those who have commented here and my opinion of many who have been in the AEC industry in general. The FACT is most of the comments here, regardless of what they claim, are based on the fear of change; because their claims make no sense. I even posted on ‘20′ that they were being ‘less than honest and and really Microsoft fanboys.’

I’m glad to hear that colleges and universities will ultimately bring change to this. (its been sometime sense I have been to school.)

I’m only replying to your comment because you seem to lump me in with the rest of those who don’t want Autocad on Mac OS. If this is the case then you should read my comments more carefully…

1) “The performance is likely to be poor, because all the Windows-specific stuff will have to be redirected, recreated or emulated.” You also go on to say that the developer have little or no experience with Mac coding. While that may be true, in recent years Apple has develops methods for seamless code integration, of any kind really, to a Mac platform. It’s called Xcode, http://developer.apple.com/tools/. Additionally, this software also comes with debuggers, so that the software can be tested and tweaked before finalized. How much does this software cost? Oh, how about NOTHING. It cost’s nothing because this benefits Apple directly as well as software companies alike. Software companies love it because they don’t have to hire or train current developers to learn Mac OS coding and since it’s free they can expand their software to reach new users on the Mac platform. Since Xcode is free, and not to mention easy to use, the company can only profit from sales they make from Mac users purchases. Apple loves it because they can generate a greater software base (something that has plagued them for years, and been a huge deterrent in people switching over from PC) in a shorter amount of time. Why do you think the iPhone is so popular compared to all the other touch screen phones? It’s because of the App Store. Developers from Maxis, AOL, and even Nintendo and Sega offer applications on Mac now!

2) Software simply runs better on a Mac. Yes, it’s true. You can call me bias because I’m on a Mac, but remember I used to be a PC user! Just to show I’m not bias there are things that irritate me about Apple as well. For instance they’re half a** attempt at releasing new products. In one instance, the iPhone. It doesn’t even have MMS yet and they pawn it off as the best media phone ever! But back to my point. It was my experience with better software reliability that I went out and purchased a Mac instead of another PC. Prior to my PC dying after only owning it 3 years, I purchased Adobe CS3 and like most software’s on my PC it crashed often. Obviously, switching to a Mac I had to repurchase my CS3 collection. Guess what? No crashing, ever. Even my Microsoft Office 2008 works better on my Mac that when I had it on a Windows computer. That’s pretty sad for Microsoft. I’ll explain why this is in the next point.

3) Matt! Of course Windows 7 looks awesome. Like previous Window’s versions it’s a blatant rip off of a Mac! But I’m glad you brought that up because you mention, “Then, factor in the hardware side of things. Mac runs only on Apple hardware, which are hardly considered bargains. You can install upgrades, but Apple’s high-end machine lineup is sorely lacking in the high-end stuff required to run AutoCAD and 3D apps well.” Not true. I have a MacBook Pro. Even pimped out to have the fastest hardware, it’s still a laptop. When I used to run Windows Bootcamp so that I could still use AutoCAD it ran at impressively decent speeds for my hardware being the bare essentials. Why? Consider this. When Visa was released it copied the glassy look from Mac. (Yes I did try Visa, it’s horrible.) Unfortunately, because of how Microsoft developed Visa this glassy look was a major drain on memory and processor speed, among other feature Vista came with. Which brings me to my point. Apple develops its OS to be as minimally demanding, and as greatly efficient as it can be on the hardware. So what may be standard hardware requirement for a PC, actually are above standard for a Mac. This is why they have the price tag they do, not because they look pretty. Now with their laptop 5-8 hour battery life span, they’re becoming even more indispensable to workaholics.

4) “It has more to do with people not wanting change.” Sean, is this your opinion or a fact? Most college students own MacBooks or MacBook Pros. I can easily state that having been to two universities and seeing Apple Logo’s galore on just about any campus I’ve been to. I recently went with a friend to tour the University of Michigan. The tour included the computer lab, which has all brand new iMacs, at least 75 of them. With a corner of 4 PC’s.

5) I noticed everyone here is talking about how there aren’t many other CAD programs or that people remain tethered to Windows because of AutoCAD. Yeah, again, a load of crap. Sorry, but I’ve pretty much dumped AutoCAD since I got my Mac. I use Vectorworks now, and most schools are making that transition to. What you need to realize, Matt, is that AutoDesk will file for those licensees, and they will come to a Mac OS. If they don’t, Universities, like UofM, are not going to purchase individual licenses for Windows after they just bought iMacs to run bootcamp for AutoCAD. AutoCAD needs to recognize that consumers are not only looking for quality, but a bargain as well. Forcing their consumers to purchase ANOTHER OS for bootcamp is costly. The consumers, like myself, will seek less costly alternatives. This is currently a list of all the universities that use Vectorworks. http://www.nemetschek.net/training/schools.php.

Times are changing. I won’t say that Macs are more popular than PC but I would definitely say they’re equally as popular now. If AutoCAD doesn’t step up to the plate, they’re going to be phased out.

I personally would like to see companies other than Autodesk and Microsoft gain market share. It will insure that they will produce a better product and keep them in check. We just paid our subscription fees; I don’t relish paying it. What are we suppose to do, the cost will be more if we don’t keep the subscriptions. (On the same token, we just purchased the Windows 7 upgrade at a fair price.) But we are trapped in client/vendor/user relationships where all sides are pushing upgrades to the newest Autodesk product each year. Leaving Autodesk calling the shots (ie: platform and price).

I do not like monopolistic behavior and it is troubling to see people that can’t get past their love of a company or product to recognize it.

So essentially, i don’t see where the limits are.

In fact we should consider the problem from another point of view.

What i’ve read, in simple words is “autocad cannot be adapted from windows to macos”.

> Well of course, it would require to rethink the architecture of the software. So better say “autocad can be redevelopped for macos”. It would be another software, with another structure, responding to the same goals and processes for the user.

You say : autocad’s developpement pushed till the limits of windows capabilities. Well let’s say what is possible with a new platform.

Il all way its a mistake considering that a software can be adapted from one world to another. Just because the rules are different …

NX 6 for the Mac has just been released. And while it’s not a “port” per se (it doesn’t use the Mac OS X UI – it uses a X windows variant) it shows that Mac platform is finally being taken seriously.