Autodesk Inc, hailing from Sausalito, the artists’ colony overlooking Alcatraz and across the bay from San Francisco, has announced updates to its core mechanical design and drafting products, AutoCAD Designer and AutoSurf software. Both products will feature AutoCAD Release 13-compatibility and a Windows interface. The AutoCAD Designer update will also include user-requested features and more documentation and training materials designed to make it easier to learn and use. AutoCAD Designer 1.1 and 1.2 will have 14 new commands and a new Windows graphical user interface. Autodesk says product performance, in particular with large files, has been increased significantly. AutoCAD Designer 1.2, which works within both AutoCAD Release 13 for Windows and MS-DOS, is expected to ship in February 1995. AutoCAD Designer 1.1, which is compatible with Release 12, will be available for MS-DOS in December and for Sun Solaris, HP-UX and Irix in February. Current AutoCAD Designer customers can upgrade free of charge; the price for new users is $1,500. The AutoSurf Release 2.1, Autodesk’s NURBS, non-uniform rational B-splines-based surface-modelling tool, update, called AutoSurf Release 2.1, has improved performance, enhanced wire-framing capabilities, built-in solid modeling, and enhanced rendering capabilities. Current AutoSurf customers can upgrade free of charge; the price for new users is $1,500. Autodesk has also launched AutoCAD Release 13: this version includes more major drafting and design capabilities enabling users to create and edit drawings and three dimensional models more quickly and easily. It has a new customisable Windows interface which should make learning the product significantly easier for new users.
