“Engineering, which was often lumped into the beat called ‘SciTech,’ once was strong segment for the Macintosh,” Morgenstern reports. “Then in the early 1990s, the platform’s position was weakened and then lost. But now the Mac appears poised for a strong return.”
Morgenstern reports, “One piece of evidence was the release by Computational Engineering International (CEI) of a Mac-native version of the company’s EnSight CFD, software for analyzing and visualizing computational fluid dynamics… In addition, German developer Graebert this week announced its ARES CAD platform for Mac, Windows and Linux, which supports AutoCAD-compatible command line and scripts.”
Full article, including a recounting of how NASA Mac users once got screwed by an idiotic policy of standardizing on Windows, here.
Oh AutoCAD, where art thou?
Would like to see ESRI port their GIS software to OS X.
Actually if ESRI ported arcgis as it is it would be a disaster. I’m not a gis expert but I suffered using arcgis for awhile and that program needs a serious facelift. 14 dialogs to change the attributes of a label? That’s horrible. I will grant you however that their gis ecosystem is pretty good and the rendering is pretty fast considering the size of datasets being used. It could be a lot worse, but they have to clean up that interface to be worthy of a Mac title. They are the leader in their field though so I have to agree it would be nice to have them on board. I don’t think it will happen though. They are deep in bed with Microsoft.
I have been searching for a good 3D and porting to a CNC mill software for months. This could be it!
The Macs are 90% of the high end computers sold and these software developers think that engineers want to develop on cheep spyware virus infested Windows PC only. Idiots!
And, to further cement the fact that the Mac is making big inroads into engineering, SolidWorks is coming!
SolidWorks…. PLEASE…!!!!
I’d say that the article disproves MDN’s assertion that MacWorld is a “snoozefest” that has “outlived its usefulness”, at least in certain sectors.
Eventually the world’s entire work workforce will be populated by the Mac masses that never had to use windows ( ie: use Macs exclusively) and won’t give their Macs up for anything…Businesses will replace the windows productivity bottleneck with Macs because the entire new workforce will be Mac trained and efficient.
This is a great development!
BTW, I’ve read that SolidWorks may be coming to Mac OS X soon.
@chabig…
AutoCAD? EGAD, what a steaming pile of counter-intuitive dog-doo. It should stay in the land of over-priced shitty bloat where it belongs and deserves to be.
There was a Mac version of AutoCAD 12 years ago that was absolutely dreadful. I tried it: HUGE FAIL! Needless to say, Mac users with discerning UI and usability needs scorned the thing and AutoDesk stopped development. In the MacUniverse, one can’t get away with making bad software simply because of the huge percentage of users as in the subterranean realm of Windows. As it is, AutoCAD’s overall marketshare has been steadily deceasing over the years, which is a great development for ALL CAD users, regardless of platform choice.
It’s kind of a bummer that there’s not the breadth of Mac CAD software that there is on the other platform, but we MacCAD users have managed quite nicely over the years with several Mac-friendly CAD apps that are simply BETTER than AutoCAD, like Vectorworks and ArchiCAD and the Ashlar applications.
Yeah, you can translate back and forth to AutoCRAP with little trouble at this point, which I do regularly as necessary, so why support scabby, rip-off bloatware?
Me? I want Vectorworks Lite for the iPad!
I managed to keep my Mac through the Garman era at JSC by avoiding a computer refresh until after he left the CIO position. I had the only Mac left in my organization, and there were quite a few instances over the years during which I was the only person who was not shut down by viruses and could still print to network devices. A few small groups within JSC engineering also managed to hang onto their Macs, but they had to be entirely self sufficient and find work arounds to function within a Microsoft-centric environment. The Mac has been making a strong comeback in many areas of NASA over the past five years, particularly with respect to laptops. At most meetings, Macbook Pros will be present in significant numbers, and are quite often in the majority.
The real incompatibility problem has always been Microsoft, not Macs. Macs have long been quite flexible in terms of cross-platform workflows because Mac users had to function within a WinTel dominated world. But Microsoft has intentionally sought to undermine the Mac in the enterprise workspace for many years through the elimination of the Outlook email client and MS Project for Mac, the removal of VB from Mac Office, the lack of MS Access, and so on. Microsoft intentionally introduced many large and small impediments into the daily work flow of a Mac user in an attempt to drive organizations to PCs and flush Macs out of the enterprise. Microsoft undoubtedly figured that workers would then buy PCs at home, and that was true in many instances. But now the reverse is happening – consumers are buying more Macs and Macbooks than ever along with iPhones and iPods and, soon, iPads. And those people are pushing Apple products back into the enterprise space in a grass roots effort.
But don’t worry Wintel PC users. We won’t try to force you to use a Mac. After all, if you don’t use a Mac by choice, then you don’t deserve one.
I keep telling Analytical Graphics (AGI) every chance I get to work on a Mac version of their flagship software Satellite Toolkit (STK). Don’t know if it’ll happen, but the sad thing is that in the long long ago, STK started as a Unix based tool (which I’m pretty sure could be have been fairly easily ported to OS X), but then migrated to Windows and I’m sure is completely dependent on ActiveX graphics.
@justme2
“I’d say that the article disproves MDN’s assertion that MacWorld is a “snoozefest” that has “outlived its usefulness”, at least in certain sectors.”
I like the MacWorld Expo & have been attending for years – but what I saw yesterday was very disheartening. I’d love to see the Expo reinvent itself and get back to more of these kinds of announcements – instead of the iPhone/iPod show that it’s become.
Unfortunately, w/out Apple or Adobe I don’t know how it’s going to work. Heck – Micro$oft was the biggest booth – which was really, really sad.
AutoCAD… stay away- SolidWorks baby!
As mentioned in an earlier thread, Dassault Systemes are not bringing SolidWorks to Mac. It’s a cloud based solution that they are working on which will be accessible to any and all, including, hopefully, the Macs.
I’ve worked on CFD and have published a paper on AIAA on that subject. IMHO, CFD and Mac OS X will have a brilliant future ahead, if and only if, the future solutions incorporate Apple’s GrandCentral.
Until then, comparing EnSight CFD to Gambit and Fluent is akin to comparing Elements to Photoshop.
@ MacMental – Agree with Magin. The Windows UI design is so embedded in ESRI ArcGIS it will take almost a complete UI rewrite just to make it not ugly, not to mention the fundamental differences in .NET Framework and Cocoa Framework regarding desktop software.
ESRI spent the late 90s to early 2000s porting ArcGIS into MSFT COM/DCOM, and then up to now into a complete .NET replacement, and they’re hardly done. Now they also have to support Google/Bing like online map services and REST API. I very much doubt ESRI currently has the resources to make a Mac port. Unless, of course, iPad turns out to be a HUGE hit and advancements in telecom/GPS makes iPhone/iPad the most desirable field equipment/executive toy.
IMHO nothing is more emblematic regarding US’s engineering/manufacturing trend than the move to Windows and Dell. Luckily, in fundamental scientific research Macs are still popular. Since the current ArcGIS scripting language is Python, very popular tool among scientific computing, it’d be nice if ESRI would port the old Unix ArcInfo code to a command line centric Mac GIS and add in Python support.
@botoncandy: Sorry to hear that…though there have been complaints from the Mac community that the event was turning more into “iPod World” or “iPhone World” even before Apple pulled out. (I’d planned to go but ended up with both parents-in-law needing me close to home.) I just hate the fact that now the rollout of new products is limited to the chosen media elite and those fortunate enough to have an Apple Store in their backyard.
Oddly, most architects seem happy with AutoCad. But then, architects are largely not the renaissance visionaries of art and engineering we imagine them to be. Most of them are hacks.
ArcGIS is a P.O.S.! If it gets ported (correctly) to the Mac it could be a game-changer in it’s own right. Let me reiterate: ArcGIS is a P.O.S. The interface is the epitome of counterintuitive. Has anyone mentioned color matching yet? Uggghhhh
Lol look at all these pathethic MACTARDS
http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide
OK by me if AutoCAD stays away, I have been avoiding those headaches for years. I dumped AutoCAD and the PC for ClarisCAD a couple decades ago and immediately became far more productive?
Vectorworks and ArchiCAD are far better packages in terms of pure productivity than AC as proven in competitive faceoffs and other studies. Add to that the fact that the Mac platform boosts worker productivity and the only reason AC survives is because IT guys and “managers” have made it a “standard”. That and fear, the fear some CAD users have for learning a new program.
I would also love to see SolidWorks on Mac….. Please!
For those into serious modeling using FEA, CFD, and Multiphysics, check out the Mac native software “Comsol Multiphysics”. The price is scarry, but the capabilities are really incredible (at least to me).
@KingMel
On the PBS show NOVA, I’ve often noticed how many Mac laptops are at NASA, particularly JPL. On one episode about the Mars rovers, I counted like 4 Macs to one of every other brand. I only counted those that seemed to be actively in use by an individual, i.e. not those just sitting unattended. And I suspect the Dell was running Linux.
On NOVA, Macs are more common at many other scientific research institutions.
C@Mr. Reeee
“Me? I want Vectorworks Lite for the iPad!”
Me too! At the very least, a VW reader. Send your request to NNA. They are one company that truly listens to customer requests. Vote early, vote often!
@qka
A few of my colleagues here in France are from JPL, and we are Aerospace engineers, and we all use MBP. I’ll be interning at JAXA this summer on Space Robotics, mainly the Rovers, and yes, I’m planning to use my MBP there as well.
😮 )
@ET… Very true about the Vectorworks folks actually LISTENING to their user base.
I mentioned an iPhone/iPod touch version to my rep at Nemetschek back at the end of October when I upgraded to Vectorworks 2010:
“I had a thought. You guys should produce an iPhone/iPod touch version of Vectorworks.
There are NO decent vector-based drawing apps for the platform. Almost every VW user I know has either an iPhone or iPod touch, so it would be a no-brainer. I bet it would help sell more copies of Vectorworks, too.
It would only need a few very basic 2D tools (rectangle, circle, arc, lines, simple snaps and dimensioning, etc.). I could see using it in the field or when brainstorming away from my Mac. As a nod to MacHistory, it could even be called MiniCAD. :^)
And with a the mythical Apple iSlate or iPad on the horizon, who knows, it could be a premier app for the platform.”
He thought it was a great idea and promised to mention it at a meeting. Maybe it’s time for a follow-up.
Apple’s emerging iMac / laptop / ipad strategy takes a lot of pressure off what the Mac Pro is supposed to be. I hope Apple will continue to fine-tune it as the machine especially for software development and media production. A reasonable price premium is fine for these smaller segments, but the machine must remain at the top of Apple’s performance range.