CADfidential

Behind the scenes in the CAD world

Motion Move

Autodesk acquired Solid Dynamics of Roanne, France, a company that develops kinematics/dynamics technology for motion simulation and analysis. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Autodesk plans to integrate the technology into future releases of its Inventor product line.

Product Preview: Pro/Engineer Wildfire 3

Software Shuffle

Engineering.com acquired the intellectual property rights to Alventive collaboration software from Blue Sky Solutions LLC. The software forms the foundation of Engineering.com's hosted Collaboration Suite product. BlueSky will continue to develop the Alventive software for Engineering.com.

Adding Structure

Bentley Systems entered into an agreement to acquire one of its developer partners, Research Engineers International, and its STAAD structural analysis product lines from netGuru for $23.5 million in cash. REI has more than 19,000 customers with 160,000 installations and 47,000 users in 85 countries.

Media Star

IMSI, developer of TurboCAD and DesignCAD modeling software, is remaking itself into an Internet media company, an area in which it sees great growth opportunity. IMSI will merge with AccessMedia Networks, a platform for delivering real-time interactive media over the Internet. "The convergence of broadband, technology and content is now a reality," said IMSI CEO Martin Wade. Once the deal is final, IMSI will change its name to Broadcaster, Inc. IMSI has also inked letters of intent to acquire two content channels: America's Biggest Hits and Sonic Garden.

HAVE YOU EVER WORKED FOR A COMPANY THAT USED UNAUTHORIZED/ILLEGAL SOFTWARE?

In Court

Pictometry, developer of aerial oblique imaging and measurement technology, is suing Aerial Cartographics of America and Ofek Aerial Photography for patent infringement.

AEC Salaries Soar

CAD managers at architectural firms registered substantial gains in earnings, with an average increase of 25% between 2002 and 2005, according to the 2005 AIA Compensation Report. Average salaries in general at architecture firms increased by more than 10% during that period, for an annual growth rate of 3.3%. The AIA says that's higher than the rate of increase for the average professional salary in the United States—2.5%. The full report is available at www.aia.org.

Retirement Reprieve

Autodesk ended its second quarter with net revenue of $373 million, up 33% from the same period last year. The upcoming retirement of AutoCAD 2002–based products contributed to a 54% increase in upgrade revenues. Autodesk pushed back the retirement date to March 15, 2006, instead of January 15, 2006, to bring the retirement schedule in line with the company's annual product releases in March.

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