Referring to the IntelliCAD thread below, I just sent this to my dealer's representative, at whom I snapped a bit (I said "This is bull****, just cancel the whole thing!" and hung up) yesterday morning:
> First, I want to apologize for my behavior on the phone. It was unprofessional, and I regret any stress it may have caused. I was angry about being asked to pay another 10% because I missed an obscure deadline by 1 day. I understand the Autodesk policy, and I understand that my little operation is too small for them to consider making exceptions.
> Second, I'm making lemonade out of lemons. I've been interested in getting away from Autodesk for some time, as their attitude toward small customers has been getting worse and worse over the years. I've been using AutoCAD since R9, but it's clear that the company has become primarily interested in multi-seat customers; the little guy doesn't mean much to them anymore. So I'm taking advantage of this unexpected inflection point in my relationship with Autodesk. I've downloaded and installed CMS IntelliCAD v7.2, and initial tests indicate that it works well with the many AutoLISP functions that I've developed and come to rely on over the years. I plan to run Icad in parallel with AutoCAD 2013 until I'm comfortable with Icad alone, at which time I'll bid adieu to AutoCAD entirely.
> It's been a long ride -- sometimes fun, sometimes not -- but the ride is coming to an end.
> Thanks for your patience with us sometimes-ornery customers, and best of luck with the business!
Well, that was certainly nice enough. It's a crying shame that they don't give a rip about the little guy. I think they've got too big for their britches.
I, too, am trying to wean off of Autodesk. Carlson is working on the Intellicad platform, and it's getting better all the time. I'm hoping by the time they release 2014 it will be stable enough. But hey, a lot of guys have been using it for some time now. Autodesk may be glad someday to get some of us little fellers back.
Hey Jim,
I use Microsurvey 2013 at my private practice. It is running on the intellicad CAD engine. For the most part I like it, though it does not have some of the bells and whistles of ACAD.
At Parks we have Carlson Survey running on ACAD MAP 2013. Carlson also has a version that runs on intellicad. I think you can download demos for both Carlson and Microsurvey.
Take care and have a nice weekend! Awesome survey weather out there!!!
Nick
> Take care and have a nice weekend! Awesome survey weather out there!!!
It's even better vacation weather -- tomorrow we're off to Boston and NYC for a week. For us self-employed types, it's a double whammy: spending money instead of making money. But this may be one of the last out-of-state vacations we can take with our son for a few years, since high school baseball has essentially become a year-round sport. He may endure some minor repercussions for missing two freshman games over spring break, but we've been warned that if he does it in JV or varsity, he'll be benched for some multiple of the games he misses.
Jim. I quit because I got talked into Civil3d and really didn't need that version. Land Development was just (with its problems) fine. I was told when I switched to C3D that subscription was to be with a local dealer. I had been dealing with Cad Masters out of California, which to me was a great experience. Now I had to deal with one out of Little Rock. And those guys turned out to be worthless. I canceled my subscription. (They didn't care) and started using Microsurvey. I really don't like Microsurvey but it is what I got now (that's gonna change). If I had a problem, Cad Masters always answered it within 10 minutes. Local Company, maybe just maybe would call me back the next day. I would figure out my problem before I would get a call back.
After reading your letter. I would bet the farm they are going to call you back. You have no problem with the program but you do have a problems with the pay structure. I guarantee you will get a phone call. That is one of the most greedy companies out today. Reminds me of Trimble.
Good luck with whatever happens.
The bean counters at my former community college place of employment complained loudly about the almost 12 grand per year for 39 seats of their software. It is good stuff, but too expensive.
I like it, Jim. You took the high road.
We're using intellicad 7.2 now. For me, it was a migration from Acad 2002, so the move was definitely upward in terms of features. That might not be the case for those using the latest flavor of Acad. However, with MicroSurvey (Leica/Hexagon) in partnership with Icad and Carlson as well, improvements are happening rapidly, as both are now heavily invested in the market success of Icad. It's not so obscure anymore.
I have the Carlson Intelicad Civil and the standalone Survey with the cad2013 engine. There really is not that much difference between Autocad/Intelicad anymore but I do notice some sluggishness in response times in the intelicad engine. There was a huge improvement in both when I upgraded to a better graphics card but still the icad is a tad slower. 2 years ago, intelicad was not ready IMHO but today I think it can be a solid platform.