If anyone’s interested in developing or learning about free CAD software, someone in the FSF Latin America list has posted a call for participation: Proyecto: CAD LIBRE. Right now the information is in spanish but I thought I would take the opportunity to ask other Ubuntu users what is the current status of free, open source solutions for CAD ?
I know the Open Design Alliance reverse engineered the DWG format, and their own version of its specification is a restricted copyright document. I am a bit surprised there aren’t that many packages that provide any support for DXF / DWG files manipulation and viewing (or even editing). Or maybe my level of ignorance on the subject is such I shouldn’t be writing about this in the first place 🙂
I remember a few years ago I went to a tradeshow and I was speaking to an Autodesk rep who laughed at my 5-minute pitch about freing Autocad, while explaining their strategy to copy-protect and enforce licence restrictions on customers. He summarized their position saying « just like accounting and games, free/open-source won’t ever touch our niche ».
I went to Jeff’s this week and saw the mover’s packing after math – I am jealous! It’s always nice to get a new job, city and home all at once! Well, personally I hope I won’t be moving anytime soon but for the next week I am off to Cuba for some non-tech retreat and all-inclusive do-nothing time 🙂
Burning an ISO image of your favorite Gnu/Linux distribution to a CD or DVD is often one of the first steps one goes through when switching from another operating systems or simply wanting to try a Live CD.
If you are ever in a situation where you need to burn an ISO image on Windows, or if you’re providing someone with information on how to do so, you may want to consider adding InfraRecorder (released under GPL) to your toolbox. Infrarecorder will be featured in one of the upcoming self-learning videos from ILearnLinux.com.
From the website:
InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration. Features:
Create custom data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images.
Supports recording to dual-layer DVDs.
Blank (erase) rewritable discs using four different methods.
Record disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE).
Fixate discs (write lead-out information to prevent further data from being added to the disc).
Scan the SCSI/IDE bus for devices and collect information about their capabilities.
Create disc copies, on the fly and using a temporary disc image.
Import session data from multi-session discs and add more sessions to them.
Display disc information.
Save audio and data tracks to files (.wav, .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and .iso).
Consultant et conférencier en logiciels libres et GNU/Linux basé à Montréal, Québec (Canada)