Cadalyst - July 2008 - (Page 26)

cadalystlabsreview By Jerry Laiserin Vico Virtual Construction Suite 2008 Multidimensional analysis and control capabilities transform the building process. t’s been said that everyone remembers his or her ﬁrst time — especially the ﬁrst time working with a new tool or technology that awakens new perceptions and opens new doors to what is possible. Perhaps it was a ﬁrst-time exposure to CAD, spreadsheets, interactive graphics for gaming, e-mail, Web browsing, texting, instant messaging, wikis, or even YouTube. We think we’ve seen it all, then along comes a brand new way of interacting with the familiar that magically (and easily) transforms that familiar into a different way of seeing and doing. That’s the reaction many folks have had after their ﬁrst exposure to the full capabilities of Vico Software’s Virtual Construction Suite 2008, a software suite that represents the latest generation of software thinking. In the beginning of the computer age, highly technical and scientific vertical applications were available for analysis, accounting, process control, and so on, and general- I Figure 1. Although based on the ArchiCAD model-authoring engine, Vico Constructor adds extensive structural and MEP tools for complete construction modeling, plus the capability to import models from any IFC-compatible design tool. (All images courtesy of Vico Software) Vico Virtual Construction Suite 2008 Integrated BIM Software This version: . . . . Ease of use: . . . . . Features:. . . . . . . Installation: . . . . . Customization: . . . Interoperability: . . Third-party add-ons: Help: . . . . . . . . . Innovation: . . . . . Value: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A+ A A+ A+ A+ A A A A+ A A+ Pros: Most comprehensive, integrated, and highly evolved applications for virtual construction. Cons: Deployment requires significant shifts in existing workflows and user experience. Price: Vico Constructor and Estimator, $8,000 plus $1,440 annual subscription; Vico Control, $3,000 plus $540 annual subscription; Vico Change Manager, $2,500 plus $490 annual subscription; all prices per seat with named user license, each additional seat license, $895 plus $140 annual subscription. Vico Software 978.882.0170 www.vicosoftware.com function, horizontal applications that cut across all disciplines could be used for tasks such as text-processing. Whether vertical or horizontal, earlier generations of software tended to mimic the manual processes they were replacing (corporate re-engineering guru Michael Hammer called this “paving the cowpaths.”) Accounting software mimicked double-entry bookkeeping; word or text processing mimicked typewriters and physical cut-and-paste editing; and computer-aided drafting mimicked the various manual drawing, pin-bar drafting, and reprographic methods that preceded it. Making Change Over the past few years, a shift has occurred as each new generation of software better reflects the process transformations made possible by a primarily digital workflow. For example, desktop publishing and Web publishing represent new forms of media communication that need not mimic print media. Blogs threaten to replace magazines and newsletters. Where e-mail by its very name connotes a digital simulacrum of physical mail, newer media (instant messaging, online chatting, and social networking) represent www.cadalyst.com cadalyst July 2008 26 http://www.vicosoftware.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - July 2008

Cadalyst - July 2008 Editor’s Window CAD Central FIRST Robotic Beasts Draw Students to Engineering Power! Speed! Action! — Mighty Mobile Workstations are Packed and Ready for Adventure! Vico Virtual Construction Suite 2008 AMD ATI FireGL V8600 and FireGL V8650 — 1-GB and 2-GB Graphics Cards Gaining Independence and Influence The Current State of MCAD Rewriting the Rules of PDM BIM Goes Residential CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Pleasures of Customization

Cadalyst - July 2008

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