CAD Insider

PTC: Has the "For Sale" Sign Come Down?

Almost a year ago, it was reported that a few PTC executives would profit big time should the company suffer a "change in control" -- business-speak for an acquisition (see Boston Business Journal, June 27, 2008). Sure enough, a few months later the story broke that PTC was up for sale (see FT.com story, Sep, 6, 2008).

At the PTC World Press and Analyst Days being held in Orlando, PTC is certainly not acting like a company up for sale. On the first day, there was a barrage of press releases, including news of significant enhancements to the core product as Pro/E Wildfire 5.0 was unveiled.  Companies on the block don't typically acquire other companies -- and here was PTC buying Relex.  Late last year, they bought Synapsis (see press release). Other  announcements signified long term investment or at the very least, R&D expenditure. Not exactly "polishing the apple," as it were.

Could it be that PTC has given up looking for a buyer? After all, with this economy, the offers may not be pouring in. Or offers could be for a fraction of the price PTC was asking ($2 billion). Also, PTC may not have wanted to leave the company on sale for too long without attracting a serious buyer. Having a company too long on the block will by itself cause a devaluation as potential buyers think if no one else is interested, why should they be?

So as I meet with PTC's William Berutti on the subject of corporate strategy, I couldn't help but ask if PTC is still up for sale. Bill doesn't bat an eye. "We don't comment on acquisition rumors, however would we be doing the things we're doing if we were up for sale?," he asks rhetorically. He points out R&D has stayed on level spending and there were only minor cuts in personnel (4%, mostly in sales, marketing). We have 70 open job positions, he adds. Business as usual, Bill seems be saying.

What was I expecting? Getting a company executive to admit his company is for sale is as easy as nailing jello to the wall. It would deflate morale among employees. Valuable people would leave. Competitors would have a field day.

It might very well be that PTC is wading through the tough times, operating from a position of relative strength (its quarterly drop in revenue in percentage was much less than Autodesk's) so that it might try once again for a sale later as we come out of a recession. 

Forget the Car -- It's the Building

Most people in the US know that it's environmentally unsound to drive an SUV. Even those who drive them. Drive a Hummer and you might as well be raping Mother Earth.

So, it may come as a surprise that them major energy users are not motorized vehicles. Buildings are the big culprit. How much worse are buildings? I had 2 big software vendors differ on this. One said buildings use up 75% of the energy, another said half. Anyway, it's a lot!

The big 3 software vendors of AEC (Autodesk, Bentley and Graphisoft) each tell me their solutions will make architects more aware of the environmental impact of their designs. More on that later...

I'm reevaluating my dream of a big house with a couple of Priuses in the circular driveway.  Once this news gets out, my dream house may be plastered with "I'm raping the earth, ask me how" stickers courtesy of Marin enviro-radicals. 

Green Theme at AIA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (AIA Convention) - I notice the vendors on the exhibit hall are falling over them selves with green products or initiatives.

• Reclaimed woods from church pews, torn down barns, even bowling alley floors
• Several vendors showing living roofs
• Every page of the classes has several mentions of "sustainability," "green, "carbon-neutral," "solar and wind," etc.

You might take exception at the thick show guide (almost 200 pages) but AIA points out that it is make of "100% post consumer, de-inked fiber without chlorine."

But let's forget for a moment that the biggest fears of the attendees are:

1. swine flu
2. the other kind of green, i.e. greenbacks, and their dwindling commissions due to the economy

And let's also put aside the irony that the entire built-environment industry exists only to modify the earth from its pristine state. For the purpose of show coverage, let us just go with the flow... 

TenLinks Visits Autodesk Customer Research

The Autodesk office in San Francisco's Financial District overlooks the renovated Ferry Terminal and is across the street from the Embarcadero. With all the trendy restaurants, coffee shops and gourmet foods around, I can think of no better place to work in SF. It's no accident that this location is filling up with more Autodeskers. Autodesk had initially taken over the 5th floor around 2001 but less than a year ago added the 2nd floor, bringing the total space used to 90,000 sq ft. The One Market office, as it is known, houses a product gallery, usability labs, is the home of Autodesk Labs, and serves as the office of Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk's CTO.

Jason Medal-Katz, "curator" of the product design gallery, ready to greet visitors to Autodesk's first customer research open house.

To show itself off, the One Market office had scheduled its first ever design research open house. The guest list filled up fast but Autodesk was kind enough to fit me in at the last minute and even supply me with a personal guide

.

It's not modern art. Jennifer Ha of Autodesk shows a cross section of the suspension cable used to support the self-anchored suspension bridge due to replace part of the old Bay Bridge.

Most impressive is the product gallery, which is as attractive and interestintg as the best industrial design gallery I've seen. Displays include a model of the new self anchored suspension (SAS) bridge across the San Francisco Bay (replacing the hideous truss section damaged by the 1989 earthquake), models of concept cars, a actual size dinosaur made of Lego bricks (Maxine is 62,000 bricks and counting), even a Ford Shelby Mustang (on loan from Ford) which had to brought in by removing glass panels in the wall. A video show how that was done. If you are wondering what relevance all of that has to Autodesk, a placard will describe what software was used in the creation. In a surprisingly magnamanious gesture, Autodesk lists even rival software along with its own.

Author contributes to finishing Maxine, a Lego dinosaur.

About 250 people showed up, with several going gaga for the technology on display, such as the Boom Chameleon. Beer and wine flowed and there were plenty of snacks around.

Autodesk enacted an abbreviated focus group session during the open house. For the initiated, focus groups are how the major league software vendors solicit user input. Think of a cross between a movie screening - where every titter and groan is recorded and analyzed -- and an interrogation room complete with one way glass and closed circuit cameras. Participants are given no money but gifts range from iPods to Amazon gift certificates.

Erin Bradner, User Research Manager, facilitates a focus group session at Autodesk's customer research facility, determining usability -- and willingness to pay -- for a 3D visualization application.

Though most focus group session take longer, I got a good idea in about half an hour how Autodesk elicits user feedback. About a half a dozen of us took turns using an experimental interface that allow movement of buildings in 3D by manipulating coaster-like shapes with checkered patterns. All except two mechanical designers -- who felt the interface was a bit sloppy -- were impressed. "Wow, that's great" was not enough, though. Users were gently probed for specifics. Towards the end, the users were asked what they would pay for such an application. Maximum was a $100. Tough crowd. I was thinking higher.

A second staffer also took notes but Autodesk is not content with pen and paper. The session is recorded and observers can also see the session behind one-way glass. For tonight's session, product managers were present, and I'm sure eager to see real life testing that either confirmed or altered the usability preconceptions they might have had.

Says Erin, "The take away for all of us is the relationship we’ve built local customers who are committed to participate in future studies in San Francisco."

For more information, see http://usa.autodesk.com/company/autodesk-gallery

Are You a Twit?

"Do you Tweet?"

Too many people were asking me that. Was I missing out on something important? As a tech journalist [using that term loosely], I realized I better get a Twitter account. Now that I sit through 2 sessions devoted to social media at COFES, I am glad I have not missed the boat. Yeah, I am part of a hot topic, and if questioned, I may even have some experience to share. At least I will not be wondering what they are talking about.

I also learn that Facebook is most popular in the over-45 crowd. I'm feeling doubly cool now. I had opened a Facebook account a few months ago. I was not about to share that so far I had only used it off topic. Where else was I going to record my finishing marathon times?

I also don't share that despite my occasional Tweet, I am still trying to figure out how Twitter can be useful for me -- and for CAD, CAM and CAE professionals. I was hoping to get some clues during COFES. However, social media is being accepted as a foregone conclusion, even though concrete examples of its usefulness are not forthcoming. Comfort is taken in "being connected," "collaborating," "community," etc. etc.

I want to shrink to the back of the room. The more hip attendees have declared their devotion to Twitter specifically and social media in general. Any last hope I have of sharing my experience and expressing my doubt is finally squashed as one loud Twit asks rhetorically, "Would you have questioned the use of the telephone when it was first introduced? Kids growing up...they don't question it ... they just use it." Many have already found 3rd party apps that enhance their Twitter experience (Twitterdeck, for example). Have you checked out Yammer? It's like Twitter, only for companies.

I resolve to check out Twitterdeck and Yammer. I type all this into my ThinkPad, which suddenly seems really big and really black, not at all like every one's iPhones, Blackberries, all very small, in chrome and white. Gee, someone needs a tech makeover. 

Freakin' Ribbon Bar

I've been trying to get a Prius started for over 15 minutes. As I bake in the Hertz parking lot in LA, I am trying every possible sequence of brake, ignition something I've never seen on a car: an on switch. Damn car won't budge. When did the turn-the-key-to-start approach go away?

A similar degree of frustration occurred when hunting for the print command in the latest MS Word. The venerable Dr. Joel Orr couldn't find it either, I learn at the COFES session entitled "the Future of the Interface." At least I'm not a total dummy.

After a round of comments, it appears the packed attendees are divided on this issue. On one side, veteran users of software think their software is easy enough to use. One power user seems to be on the verge of saying that if you can't use [MCAD software, name withheld], perhaps you have no business trying. This provokes another user to say, "When I hear someone defending their hard-to-use software, I just want to punch them in the mouth." OMG. Did I hear that correctly!

Example: SolidWorks had changed its interface considerably in version 2008. Its detractors called its use of the ribbon bar a blind allegiance to Microsoft. SolidWorks countered by citing user studies from its [very hardworking and well meaning] usability team. Much virtual ink was spilled on this but, in the end, there was no choice. SolidWorks had burned the bridges. No "classic" menu option was offered. Move forward, SolidWorks was saying to its users. Like parents forcing vegetables down the throats of babies. We know what's good for you.

Eventually, it seems that even the most vocal critics tire and become silent. Bluster from isolated pockets of resistance is no match for the collective might of software vendors who keep rolling forward, changing this and that, often under the flag of ease-of-use. I want to yell "but I already knew how to use it! It was easy to use" But lately I've noticed no one else is complaining. Already too many users who I thought were on my side have sympathetically offered "I didn't like the ribbon bar at first, either, but you know after a while, it's really not so bad."

Is Anyone NOT a Blogger?

If you haven't seen Jon Hirschtick for a while, you may not recognize him. The revitalized founder of SolidWorks has lost his favorite-uncle gray beard and dropped a lot of weight. How much weight? He sizes me up and and declares "I've lost a Roopinder."  Freed from the day to day running of the company, seems to be having the time of his life doing whatever he wants. He is very popular here at COFES -- a star actually -- and as a natural deal maker, he is never short of company. I don't know if he ever has  a moment to himself. Yet, despite a myriad of tasks he assigns himself, Jon is also a blogger.

Jon Hirschtick then and v2.0 (from Facebook). The SolidWorks founder is also a blogger.

The ranks of bloggers have swelled. One journalist joked the number of bloggers is roughly equal to the number of people. With little barrier to entry (no license required, no editor to give the thumbs down, free blog software), anyone with Internet access can blog. I read Jon's post moments after he posts it (he is sitting next to me during a COFES keynote) and see he has picked up on a snippet from the speaker and elaborated on it with a tidbit of interest to CAD historians (It was Dr Joel Orr who introduced Jon to a venture capitalist, giving Jon's first company --not SolidWorks -- its big break). With this post, Jon has added value to his experience and recorded his thoughts. I wonder if this is would be of interest to TenLinks readers?

A couple of years ago I wouldn't have wondered. There are many bloggers amongst the audience. I check out their blogs. This being the 3rd day of the conference, several have already posted about it. Deelip Menezes has been busy, including what he found interesting at a few sessions and a quick onsite interview with Evan Yares. Martyn Day and Al Dean may be posting. COFES throws its own blogs into the mix. There is going to be be no shortage of coverage.

TenLinks has always strived to be comprehensive in its coverage. A couple of years ago, you could bet that if CAD, CAM or CAE was mentioned was mentioned, we'd report on it. But bloggers are changing the game. To be comprehensive now would inundate our readers. But who needs 10 posts about the same presentation? One recording is enough. A thought-provoking analysis might be added. A wry comment may not make the cut.

My job just got a lot harder. But hopefully our readers will benefit as we take care to find the gems, not just any junk that gets posted.

Buildings Getting Weirder

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2009 - Many years, an architect rationalized the sameness, the boxiness of residences with this lamentation, "House are built around the 4'x8' sheet of plywood." But in the world of modern architecture, such pedestrian design constraints, such as stock sizes of materials, seem to have thrown out the window. In fact, as I sit in the Smart Geometry Conference, one of the buildings being shown has more in common with the runaway blancmange in Woody Allens's Sleeper than the typical office building. Furthermore, its skin, as it were, reacts to the environment, its pores open and close to ensure the comfort of its occupants.

courtesy of smartgeometry.com

Welcome to the new world of modern architecture. Frank Gehry, who first brought curvy buildings to public attentioin, may not have been constrained by sheets of plywood, but was constrained nevertheless by architectural CAD software. He had to resort to CATIA to liberate his design. The concept of organic shapes -- and functions -- seems to now being led by the Smart Geometry organization. Bentley is a big champion of generative components ("GC," as they are being called) and has flow in a bunch of us journalists to make sure word gets out.

picture courtesy of  www.abbeyoffices.com

Curvy buildings have been nothing less than a revolution. Leading architecture firms, freed from the the gravity of convention, seem to be competing to make the most whimsical of shapes for us to work and live in. Of course, the media, which had also become quite bored, has pounced on just about every such building brought to completion, thereby glorifying the art. In fact, London's "Gherkin" threatens to displace even the iconic Tower Bridge as the symbol of the city.

So you can bet that every architecture student or practicing architect drools over pictures of curvy buildings and swoopy shapes, all while completing projects like boxy houses and strip malls. Kinda reminds me of 3D ten years ago. Though solid models were being splashed across covers of all the CAD magazines, the bills were being paid with 2D CAD and paper drawings.

Though most of us have accepted 3D as a standard, it is not clear if curvy buildings are a foregone conclusion. Will it be like with automobiles, once as curvy as a tool shed have scarcely any flat shapes left at all? 

Don't Give Up

See enough gloom and doom forecasts and you may feel like throwing in the towel. Seems like American Machinist has. Their editor in chief opens with his magazine with an editorial titled "The Collapse of Manufacturing." He cites huge drops in industrial production in US, but also in Germany and Asia. He tries to end upbeat saying its no time to quit, but the net effect is demoralizing. If I was an American machinist, I'd just want to retire.

Luckily, I had also picked up Today's Machining World, in which editor Lloyd Graff, recounts drilling for oil in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay. They had drilled 72 exploratory oil wells -- as agreed by management. They found nothing.  Rather than give up, they pieced scrap tubes together to drill one more. Nothing. On the 74th, a gusher. It turned out to be be Amoco's biggest discovery in America.

Micromachining - Dancing on the Head of a Pin

LOS ANGELES, CA (WESTEC), March 30, 2009 - The bright spot in this economy may be really, really small. To be precise, it is smaller than a thousandth of of an inch and goes by the name of micromachining. The market for micro machined medical devices alone is predicted to be $44 billion by 2011, according to Micro Manufacturing magazine.

I've just spent a day at WESTEC in Los Angeles. The isles at the LA Convention center were far from packed. There was not even a line at the inhouse Starbucks -- a sure sign the show is hurting. Most of the show is devoted to the machining market in the US, an industry most have conceded to overseas firms.

I scooped up a bunch of publications for the flight home, including Micro Manufacturing. I was fascinated. Micromanufacturing is a true frontier. When the parts are so small, people can't even figure out how to hold them, much less assemble them. A Timken ball bearing assembly fits into a workspace of 0.025" -- how do you deburr that? How do you hold it down when you machine it? How do you measure to see if it is within spec? Holes in molecular sieves defy even the drills bits that are pictured next to matchheads and dimes that, by comparison, look as big as Jupiter.

So why is working at a such a tiny scale -- orders of magnitude smaller -- so very promising. Because that is the scale in which so many important things are happening. Cells problems, laser surgeries, imbedded drug delivery machines, many such examples are listed -- enough to make you fell like a giant with clumsy tools. A doctor's scalpel looks is now a blunt object.

What's the alternative? It may not yet exist. Is that not a frontier? A place to make a million, or millions, a way turn around your company. We as a country may be dying trying to make good cars, but maybe we're just thinking too big.