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Software Vault: The Gold Collection
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Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO
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FASTCAD.TXT
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1993-05-30
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FastCad 2.72
by Davis Tepper
FastCAD Version 2.72; Evolution Computing, 437 S. 48th Street, Tempe,
AZ 85281-9936; (602) 967-8633, (800) 874-4028, fax (602) 968-4325;
system requirements: IBM XT, AT, 386, or 486 and compatibles, hard
disk with recommended 2 megs free (but will run from floppies), math
coprocessor, mouse or digitizer; monitors: Hercules, CGA, MCGA, EGA,
MCGA, or VGA; printers/plotters: more than 100 dot matrix, inkjets,
lasers, and plotters; list price $795, street $420
Historical background information on FastCAD shows some elements in
common with other CAD programs. Its creator was Michael Riddle, who
had earlier created what came to be known as AutoCAD in 1981 and
which FastCAD's makers now view as their principal competitor.
AutoCAD had been purchased by Autodesk, an office products firm, as
one in a collection of business automation routines; it took off to
fill a perceived and largely unmet need. Riddle then developed
EasyCAD about 1982 as a lighter and simpler CAD program, a sort of
VolksCAD. He realized that more power and sophistication were
needed for commercial applications and in 1987, FastCAD evolved from
his EasyCAD. Both of these are written in assembly lanuage, which
gives them lightning speed. AutoCAD is written in C language. The
compact assembly language base also means that FastCAD needs a bit
less than 2 megs on a hard disk.
In July 1991, an associate and I attended the Computer Graphics Show
held at McCormick Place. Our intention was to find a reasonably
priced and well rounded CAD program for some of our firm's
architectural needs. My friend had been using a CAD program for a
few years and had a lot of advice for a novice CAD user like me. He
was familiar with most of the many CAD programs on display. We saw
all sorts of systems, software, plotters, books, and lots of
accessories dealing with computer graphics. We saw some very
sophisticated and powerful CAD packages. We scoured the various
display booths in search of a moderate program suitable for my
hardware: a 386SX laptop with an external VGA monitor, mouse, and a
Hewlett Packard DeskJet printer.
With all the choices I saw, it was very difficult to make a decision.
The fastest program on display that day was FastCAD. It was
blindingly fast; don't blink or you will miss the redrawing of a
floor plan by this amazing program. I was definitely impressed. The
people who staffed the booth were very good at their job, showing
what FastCAD can do. They convinced me that this was the program
for me to try.
Installing FastCAD on my hard drive was easy; the process is
menu-driven. It loaded without a hitch and I was able to draw
immediately, though not so well as the representatives at the
FastCAD booth at McCormick Place. I went through the tutorials and
learned the basics in short order. My computer allows me to use 16
colors and in a couple of days I was using all of them effectively.
Line weight (thickness) was also very easy to master. All of the
basic commands were relatively simple to use.
Now feeling a bit more experienced, I decided to switch to the 3-D
portion of this program. I had no trouble understanding the
well-organized manuals; I went back to them, poured over them, and
went to work. I found a few problems in trying to dimension
drawings, e.g., trying to add dimensions to a wall that I had
previously drawn as equal to six feet. There is a helpful grid on
the screen for reference, if desired, but it was still difficult.
FastCAD is relatively inexpensive, and can be run in any type of
DOS environment. FastCAD is a little too fast for me, but it does
live up to its name. All in all, I would recommend this program to
anyone wanting a quick CAD program. An extension module is
available from the vendor which provides icon tablets and additional
drawing aids.
Author Information: David Tepper works for Mayes-Vostel, an
architectural firm specializing in designing banks. He sells
temporary custom bank facilities for use during the construction of
new or expanded facilities.