This thread probably belongs in the Software forum but since a lot of people use CAD programs when designing their projects, I figure this is just as good. Anyway onto my question, I'm looking for a CAD program for my brother's christmas as he is currently studying Graphics Communication at school, and is very interested in design work/technical drawing. At school he currently uses Vectorworks running on Apple G4/iMacs, so something similar for a PC would be beneficial, but not a requirement. Willing to pay around £100, so I figure we are looking at the equivilent of Adobe Photoshop elements and not Photoshop or MS Paint I guess? Thanks for your help. PS: We had a leaflet around here offering TurboCAD 8(? not sure on exact version but it definitely wasn't the latest) for £9.99 plus postage.
Check out Sketchup. IMHO better then cad. Plus if hes in school him or you can get it for 100 bucks. Its 99 for eud license 399 for everyone else.
*Cough* Sketchup is CAD.. CAD = Computer aided design That basically means everything from photoshop to MS paint to 3ds max to autocad... Personally, sketchup is the easiest... though definitely not the best and most advanced... the rendering features are limited (I do understand that it is for rough sketches, and not complete and final designs)
Whats the interface like? Best if we get him a program that is ate least similar to most others as that will help him the most efficiently.
If you read the manual sketchup specifically says its not CAD. I am perfectly aware of what CAD stands for. People use the terms CAD and AutoCad loosly. If someone asks do you use cad, its clear what they meant. They did not mean do you use any program on the planet. Personally I think its a waste of time to argue a dictionary term. As for the interface www.sketchup.com you can download instructions and the manual there to see what its like. Cnets download has sketchups trial if sketchup site happens to be down.
