X-CAD

Support Other Software
1

Hy,i’d like to tell you or remind you if you already knew abou a CAD software to be released free only if 100,000 registrations are done.I’ll post here some words taken from the X-CAD site.And as we all love free or open source we could give it all a try:

and-err-i’d like to see your opinion,don’t hesitate writing down-

[!] [!] [!] [!]
Current Registrations
39562
Free Offer: X-CAD Parametric 3D CAD Software
Available when 100,000 people register by August 1 at www.x-cad.net
June 1, 2005 — A powerful parametric, solid-modeling 3D CAD program called X-CAD will be made available for free when and if 100,000 people register by August 1, 2005 at www.x-cad.net. In addition to enabling users to create precise 3D mechanical designs equal to well-known mid-range solid modeling brands, X-CAD provides an easy-to-use Windows® interface, integrated Help menus and tutorials.

X-CAD becomes available as a free download as soon as 100,000 people register with their e-mail address on the www.x-cad.net web site. Registrants can check the counter on the web site to chart the progress of the giveaway program, and can direct any inquiries to [email protected].

Not a demo or trial software, X-CAD provides fully-functional, intelligent, parametric sketching with an array of rich features such as “on-the-fly” automatic constraint capture, auto-dimensioning, various sketch tools including lines, circles, arcs, polygons, splines, etc., and a complete set of constraints such as vertical/horizontal, perpendicular, parallel, tangent and more. Rather than creating “dumb” geometry like traditional CAD systems, X-CAD enables users to capture design intent with feature-based modeling including engineering features such as bosses, cuts, holes, fillets, chamfers, lofts, sweeps, shells and helical features.

X-CAD is designed to accommodate easy migration of 2D users to an advanced 3D modeling program for mechanical design and manufacturing applications. To register for your free copy of X-CAD, go to www.x-cad.net.

2

This thread
https://blenderartists.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44853&highlight=xcad
is on the front page. :smiley: Looks like the numbers are still climbing. I’d really like to get a copy of that soft.

3

sorry,didn’t see it.U can dele it if you want…
anyway it isn’t raising that much to be believable the 100,000 on August 1

4

X-CAD is a functionally limited version of Alibre (www.alibre.com). I am an Alibre user and this has been a subject of speculation in the forums there. It has been discovered that any e-mail correspondence has alibre.com somehwere in the header so the jig is up! Alibre is using this as a technique to rope in new users. It actually is very good software, but remember it is devoted to mechanical design - not the the kind of free form modelling that would be of interest to most Blender users. Of couse since it is free, then feel free to try it out for fun!

5

Yea --And it does not run on linux… Why do software devloperment companys insist that i use windows? I don’t want to use windows…

So i told X-Cad to remove my registration.

6

Cool!
Welldone.

7

the registration number is about to reach 70,000

8

Cool? That he decides to ruin it for everyone else, because he can’t have it? Nice logic %| What does it matter if his registration stands? He doesn’t have to download it when the time comes, but he helps other people. Man, the immaturity of some people.

9

I don’t support Bill Gates control of the OS market. And i hate products that make me use it.

Its like buying a T-shirt --but the you can only wear it if you buy a particular brand of underpants.

Any 1/2 decencent devlopment team can make things so that support for other OS is easy.

But insteed of complaining. Why don’t YOU pay for windows for me–Last time i check it was going to be $700. Then i will re-register. otherwise --go away.

YOU are ruiniing it fot the rest of us, that don’t want to be locked into MS’s version of “sofware”.

I dam well alowed to support what ever the hell i want. And supproting mulitplatform apps is what i will do.

Delt0r

10

In the commercial world (you know, where people earn their living and daily bread), things are a bit different.

If you register for this software, you are supporting the company that is making it. In supporting them, they might get enough development resources to eventually make a Linux version (but if it aint free, then you won’t like it I guess). The simple logic is that companies need to sell enough copies to stay financially healthy (so they can pay their personell, so in turn they can buy their food). And to sell enough copies you start with development for the dominant platform. It has nothing to do with supporting Bill Gates and everything to do with gaining enough market-share to survive.

Dragging Bill Gates into this is Bozo-economics :-? %|

11

I signed up. Its pushing well past 8000 now so I predict 4/5 days

12

In the commercial world (you know, where people earn their living and daily bread), things are a bit different.

is 10 years comercial programming count as working in the real world? … I mean what do you think i feed my familly. I have a job and i work hard… So go “real world” someone else

But yes you partly right and i did not quite say things right… They only support windows. Not OSX or sun or anything… Lots of cad tools are like this --but not all…

I do pay for software… But if i pay I want to be able to have a choice on what i use it on… Plenty of products provide that choice.

Any this is decending into a flame war… I am alowed to supprot the software i want to support. This is a blender Forum, so letting ppl know that its not as “free” as they claim seemed relavent.

Delt0r

13

Would the people who signed up please tell it if they notice a sudden increase in spam in their mailbox? I simply can not believe this is not vaporware, a trap to get 100,000 active e-mail addresses.
If you have received your free copy of the software, could you also post a screenshot?

:o

If I would have found this site by myself I wouldn’t give it a second look. People in this thread were immediately sceptical; why aren’t you? Marty? Bellorum?

14

Well, if it is an e-mail harvesting site, then they certainly have done a great job covering their tracks and getting media coverage. I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time a major scam could have been initiated this way, but by some of the articles professional CAD sites have posted, it would seem to be legit.

However, I do agree with you that if I had just found this site, not seeing it posted here, I would not have even given it a second look.

The reason those people in News and Chat were immediately weary were that the person posting the link, had 3 posts, all in that thread. It seems very suspicious, more like a viral marketing campaign, which is definitely not a good image. Its possible it was a member of the X-CAD team making these posts, with no intention of ever being useful to the community.

15

As was mentioned the company behind the software is Alibre (alibre.com). If you go to their site you’ll see they are legitimate.

If you’re concerned just give them a throw-away address from Yahoo or something. Then if they do start sending a ton of advertising around they get black holed. That’s what I always do anyway. :slight_smile:

16

Hmmm, that didn’t clear all my suspicion. You based it off two words in an email? Though Google results make this link too…

Yup, yup.
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.graphics.rendering.renderman/browse_thread/thread/c4ddc047507f42c4/87b3e04ed03da267?q=pixelbox+academy&rnum=4&hl=en#87b3e04ed03da267

Anyway, I’m glad you gave a junk-address :wink:

17

Yah, email is notorious. We’ve been getting some toxic cheap medicinal ads that aren’t even addressed to the recipient. Headers are totally missing.

So I did some digging.

At http://www.sdotson.com/index.php SeanDotson has made a list of the high points

  1. They are both in Texas (Alibre in Richardson and X-CAD in Austin)
  2. Both Alibre and X-CAD.net use the same registrar. Most companies tend to stick with the same registrar. While not a smoking gun it is interesting.
  3. The mention of low cost. Alibre had always claimed this.
  4. Free copy. Alibre is very good about giving away free copies. They are time limited however.
  5. The mention of “AutoCAD alternative”. This is phrasing Alibre has used in the past and in their meta data on their site…
  6. We haven’t seen a Alibre campaign in a while. This sounds like something they’d do.

At http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2005/06/xcad_trackomete.html Ken writes

The one press release says this company wants the price point to be $995, which is what Albire 8.2 sells for, hmmmm. Draw your own conclusions, but I agree with Albire.

At any rate, if one were to be brutally honest you’re probably right. There is no real evidence beyond the email message id. Personally, at best I would only use the program to build geometry for export to blender any way. And if it isn’t anything like Rhino I’ll be disappointed at that.

Parametric solid modeling though! For the cost of a junk address it’s worth the risk.

Cheers.

18

I got spam… But from them. And when i told them to take me of the list, They did and i now receice no spam

delt0r

19

X-CAD Unmasked!

It turns out that indeed Alibre was behind it. Look at the x-cad site for all the info.

20

heh heh. Thought so.

They’re at 98,000 and more right now. Hope this was all worth it. :wink: