SolidWorks and Vista

If you read blogs, you already know that SolidWorks has a Vista version in the works. It has been in beta for some time. I was lucky enough to get an evaluation copy of Vista along with a dvd with the SW Vista disk.

There are bunches of Vista evaluations on websites and blogs everywhere. I will link to a few of these later, but I”m not going to add to those, I just want to chime in on what this all means to SolidWorks users.

There is no denying that the Vista interface looks good. Everything has a glossy, transparent look to it. Even the word “Vista” means “look” or “see” in Spanish, and that really kind of sums it all up. Windows Vista is all about visual appeal. There are some functional interface improvements thrown in there, and some security improvements that you will get tired of quickly, but this version is all about how it looks.

Does that mean good things for SolidWorks users? Not necessarily. The system requirements for all versions except the base Vista is going to be 1 GB RAM, bumping the SolidWorks min requirements to 1.5 or 2 GB. That”s a lot for just the operating system. The Vista OS itself has more overhead than its predecessors, and relies on hardware improvements to stay even with previous versions. Still, there are some improvements which enable performance gains, such as the ability to use a flash thumb drive as additional RAM/swap space, and the ability of the OS to learn your software usage habits and pre-load some applications in memory so that they start faster.

\nAdd to this the fact that video driver support for Vista sounds like it has not yet been worked out yet by ATI and nVidia. Depending on what reports you read, the video landscape of Vista seems to be either a complete disaster or simply incomplete at this time. Windows is sticking to its support for their own (gaming) video in DirectX, and leaving the technical computing OpenGL standard with little support. For more detailed information on this you will want to read some of the links below.

So with SolidWorks so heavily reliant on OpenGL, and the graphics cards that we buy for SolidWorks also reliant on OpenGL, there must be a positive resolution for this in the short term. In my test installation, I didn”t do anything that was incredibly taxing, but everything did seem to work. I did not check to see if it installed by default with the “use software openGL” switch enabled, but from what I have heard, it is using the software OpenGL (which is far slower than hardware OGL). I heard one report that a user was able to turn off software OGL and even use RealView.

I”m not part of the “Chicken Little” crowd that claims that technical computing as we know it is going to come to an end every time potentially bad news about Microsoft hits the stands. Nor am I a rabid leftist Macintosh user. Nor am I an anarchist Linux zealot. Nor a Unix neo-con. I wish I didn”t have to worry about stuff like this because being good at an operating system doesn”t make me any money, although it does sometimes prevent me from losing it.

I do, however, find myself hoping that Microsoft has finally used enough rope badly enough that they wind up hanging themselves. I hope that SolidWorks sees that they are not the tail to wag this dog, and give up on this Microsoft only track. SolidWorks is not going to change the direction of development in Microsoft, and if Microsoft is really heading where it seems to be heading – toward mass appeal, visual based interface, and leaving technical computing graphics and hardware needs largely unaddressed or even further back than before – then SolidWorks is going to need to examine its options for operating system platforms.

When SolidWorks was a simple desktop design tool, it made sense to use it on consumer grade hardware and operating system, but those days are gone. SolidWorks is now a massive design leviathan. Although it is still easy to use for basic functionality, the software runs very deep and encompasses an immense range of functionality. It doesn”t make as much sense to be limited to consumer grade OS any longer. In days of yore (way way back, say 10-15 years) Unix was the professional operating system, but it was too expensive to become a true business standard. SolidWorks became one of the nails in the coffin for this approach. Now we are seeing the need to swing back the other way. What we need now is a low-cost technical computing operating system. This immediately calls to mind the words OSX (Mac”s Unix based OS) and Linux (low cost open source OS).

Can all of this rely on Microsoft”s decided bent toward the casual computer-consumer? Without answering the question, I think the Vista release starts to indicate that Microsoft is focussed on two sets of large volume yet relatively unsophisticated users: casual home multimedia users and simple (non-technical) business users. Gamers aren”t even particularly excited about Vista. Possibly Microsoft is trying to push gamers to X Box because (like Apple) there Microsoft gets both hardware and software revenue.

 

At some point this mess created by Microsoft begins to have a business impact, and what looks like either utter greed or megalomania starts to scare people away. Is it really that much worse than other releases of Windows? I think each release of Windows has become progressively more aggressive, and this one is even more so. I think its so much more aggressive that the average user will even start to notice. Read the Vista End User License Agreement for a bit of a wake up: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/29/microsoft_vista_eula_analysis/

 

So what makes sense? Does (“should”) SolidWorks port to Mac? Does it package a free Linux distro with the software? Does it keep slogging along the current track, trying to shoehorn an immense and technically sophisticated application into a consumer grade OS? I don”t think any of these is a good option. With Mac, you are forced into a combined hardware and software solution, and the support for OpenGL is even worse than with Vista. There is a little, but not much pent up demand for Macs in technical computing. OSX is truly a “people”s” operating system, a believable desktop tool with a track record in the mass market with the credibility of Unix behind it, but trading Microsoft”s dirty marketing techniques for forcing users to buy Mac hardware in order to get the Mac OS sounds a lot like going from the frying pan into the fire.

 

Linux, regardless of what the educational world fanatics like to argue, is going nowhere fast on the desktop. There is little commercial incentive to develop Linux into a real desktop OS. There is no marketing engine to push it at this time of vulnerability for Microsoft. If someone is going to make something of Linux, they should be started already and have a window of the next two years to do it, while Microsoft is still fumbling the Vista ball. I personally don”t see that happening.
Vista for SolidWorks? I would hold off. There is no compelling reason at this time to make the change other than sheer curiosity. If you have the money and time to blow on that kind of curiosity, then let us all know what you find. XP is reasonably stable, the licensing is not insane, the hardware and drivers work, and it is familiar. I think the next two years will be a telling time for the computer industry.

 

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0 Replies to “SolidWorks and Vista”

  1. You say “Wow Laptop” I would like your and any one else opinion of what if anything I am giving up.

    What I am asking is, except for money, is there any reason to use a desk top instead of a lap top? Long winded explanation below.

    I am at my desk all but about one day every two weeks. I could use a desk top and did for years, but I have found that when I am at a customer site epically if it is over night it is wonderful to have everything with me. I check my mail, get a question from a different customer, bring up his design, tweak it, make a PDF or edrawing, and email it to him. That way he doesn’t feel like he is second best. That is worth an extra $1000 per computer, but if I am losing out on speed or reliability every day then It is not worth it. I made the switch from a old tower to a new laptop so I have never been able to A-B test them.

    Thanks for your opinion.

    Frank
    ****

    The one thing you give up is hard drive speed. 7200 rpm is half of what is available. You are also giving up some video functionality, but it is not clear how much of a difference exists between the 1600 and 1700. You also give up a possible very large monitor to settle for a 17″, although you can connect the big monitor when in the office. Other than that, the power supply for the laptop is big and heavy, and the bag to take the laptop somewhere will be about 40 lbs.

    If what you want is a portable desktop replacement, what you’re talking about is perfect. If you need mainly something to help you look svelte in a coach airline seat, you may not even be able to open this up in an airplane.

    Reply

  2. ” I can recommend both the experience and the hardware. They also have a notebook… It’s not time for me to replace a notebook yet, but when I do, I want to have a look at the Xi offering. ”

    I have been watching for your reaction, I have come to like notebooks, they work with my disorganized life style. Grab and go, and when I get there I have all my stuff. Anyway, I put together a Xbox. on screen. what do you think? It is either this or a Dell something.

    Intel® Core® 2 Duo w/PCIe 16x NVIDIA® Laptop!
    l Xi® PowerGo™ XT (Base Configuration)
    Upgrades And Options:

    l Intel® Core®2 Duo E8600 3.33GHz 45nm 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache Dual-Core VT EM64T
    l 4096MB DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400 – 2 x 2GB SO-DIMM
    l nVidia® Quadro® FX 1600M 512MB Graphic Engine
    l 17″ 1680×1050 WSXGA+ LCD, Super-Wide Viewing Angles Glass View
    l 160GB 7200 RPM SATA-150
    l 8X DVD±R/RW Burner with 4X Double Layer Write Capability
    l Genuine Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Business Edition 64Bit on DVD

    Frank
    ****
    Wow, laptop?! Those are decent desktop specs, aside from the relatively slow hard drive, and the relatively low resolution display. Personally, I would get the higher resolution display. I’ll bet the power supply for this thing is huge, and that it’s pretty heavy, like my old notebookzilla, but a couple generations more powerful.

    This would be even nicer if it is less than $3k.

    Reply

  3. Now that you’ve had a month to work with it, how is the machine working for you? Any important caveats (or kudows) with Vista that need mentioning?
    I’m buying an Xi machine right now, and was just wondering what kinds of headaches or happiness await me.

    Jeff Fine
    Carson City, NV

    ****
    The machine is great. It’s fast, and I’m keeping the installation clean.

    The combination of Vista and new versions of Solidworks produce some affects that are less than optimal, though. I tend to get a strange combination of SW icons and small preview thumbnails, and it appears you no longer have control over this behavior. I used to like the fact that I could turn off the thumbnail display inside SW, and use the controls in Windows Explorer to either see part, assy and drw icons or the larger thumbnail previews. In vista you no longer have a choice. You just get either icons (for older versions of the software) or tiny invisible thumbnails (as the new and improved version).

    Sorry, but this is USELESS. Why does SW need users to tell them this? They are 10X smarter than any of us. Functionality randomly seems to just get yanked or regressed into oblivion. I hardly know what to think. The same people that do some really nice enhancements are also doing head-up-their-@$$ stuff like this. I really don’t understand.

    Reply

  4. Nice writeup. Out of all the upgrades I’ve made over the years the one upgrade that you really notice a difference in is the 10k rpm drives. Next would be processor, although you most notice that when doing renderings.

    Reply

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