Some time ago, I was spouting off on a cross-posted flame-war thread on the usenet. The title was "Which is Better, MicroStation or AutoCAD?" In one (of many) posts, I implied something to the effect that one could not do decent design work with AutoCAD because of it's inferior 3-D drawing capabilities. Vern wrote me a little reply that he thought I would find otherwise. I wrote back saying that I doubted it since I didn't intend to use that software any more, but that I would like to "compare notes" about our experiences with the two packages as I intended to have a section about them on my web site which, at the time, was but a gleam in my eye.

Anyway, we have exchanged quite a few drawings, spreadsheets, stories, etc. over the last several months. Turns out Vern is a really cool guy, and very talented in a number of fields. He has taught himself how to use CAD software and done some very impressive drawings.

Here is the type of thing people generally expect to see from a CAD drawing (or from the traditional drafters desk)...Vern's friend's porch...Traditional. 63k .gif

Here is what is possible now-a-days provided one has the software and talent...Vern's Friend's porch...Rendered. 73k .jpg
(Note: Vern is waiting to get the non-demo version of his new rendering software...Accurender v. 2.0. The pic I have here now has ugly lines so users will buy the full version.)

I believe that most people find it difficult to draw a mental image of what a traditional drafting style picture will look like in "real life", paticularly if they don't do it every day. As the above demonstrates, Computer Aided Design &/or Drafting can really help eliviate this problem!

I find it very ironic that I had intended to have this site demonstrate how much better MicroStation is than AutoCAD, then have his drawings completely put mine to shame. Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles!

PS: I still think MicroStation is better, but I appreciate operator talent more now ...What this guy could do with MicroStation...! ;-)