AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

Murphy: A little bird told me that you have met John Walker recently. Hurley: Yes, that’s right, Matt. I tracked down many of the Autodesk founders to compile historical details. The trail for the truth took me to Switzerland, where I interviewed John Walker, the main Autodesk founder. I really enjoyed my conversation with him in beautiful surroundings. He has to be one of the smartest people I have ever met. Yet he was incredibly humble about his actions that started such a monumental change in the design industry. I, for one, am grateful, because I am hopeless at drafting and designing with a pencil. Murphy: AutoCAD has become the industry standard. What would you attribute this (non-block related, of course) to? Hurley: Well, compared to manual drafting, the ability to revise without erasing and redrawing is a huge benefit. I think the second reason was the price. AutoCAD allowed you to do with a PC what you would previously have been able to achieve only with a system that was hundreds of times more expensive. Murphy: I’d like you to think back in the mists of time. At some point, Autodesk must have fully embraced the idea of AutoCAD and put everything it had into developing it. What release do you think that was and why? Hurley: Hmm, that’s not an easy question. (He considers for a few seconds.) I would have to say Release 12, because there was a major push in terms of expanding the customer base and market penetration. Also, AutoCAD was now being taught in most colleges and universities and had a larger reseller channel, so those things didn’t hurt either. Murphy: You’re always jetting off somewhere for Autodesk, talking to people all over the world. In your opinion, what release was a true turning point for the product in terms of the greatest adoption? Hurley: I would have to say it is a tie between Releases 12 and 14. There were both hugely successful and encouraged many people to jump from manual drafting to CAD. Murphy: Time to put on our technical hats. I remember when you could only rotate an object by making it into a Block. Then there was no Trim command, we only had Break. What do you think is the greatest command of all time? Hurley: That’s an easy one: UNDO! It’s almost unbelievable now, but the first releases didn’t even have UNDO. I know 16 Shaan Hurley with John Walker this sounds like a joke answer, but it’s true. Personally, I could have never been as productive without UNDO. I would have to say OSNAPS also ranked pretty high on the great Command-o-meter. I really liked OFFSET as well, because I created a ton of geometry by offsetting it. Murphy: Do you think AutoCAD is still in step with today’s design industry, considering all the other vertical products that Autodesk offers? Hurley: Absolutely. It’s true that we have many more customers and serve multiple disciplines. But we’re all about getting feedback from customers, and learning about the specific design challenges they face. That’s what keeps AutoCAD at the top of its game, making sure it helps people with their real-world design problems. Murphy: I know you work closely with the beta teams in reviewing customer feedw w w. A U G I . c o m http://www.AUGI.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007 Table of Contents The CAD Manager Education & Training Finance Training Google Earth: Now Showing in AutoCAD Civil 3D Get Your Input Here A Good First Impression, Part 2 Share and Share Alike Who's Using Revit MEP? Ready… Get Set… Properties! On the Back Page: The Brazilian Model

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