AutoCAD makes its Mac return, after nearly two decades in the wildnerness

By on Oct 17, 2010 at 3:42 PM
Software October 17, 2010

Mac OS engineers, architects, and designers can rejoice; AutoCAD, the popular 3D visualization package is now available for the Mac once again. AutoCAD left the Mac platform 18 years ago and has since been a Windows PC exclusive. To put things in perspective, AutoCAD is to engineers what Photoshop is to designers. This news, however, didn’t come as much of a shocker. Last month, Autodesk, the developers of AutoCAD released its free AutoCAD WS app for the iPad and iPhone.

The transition from the Windows to the Mac variant is supposedly a smooth one. The GUI’s are near identical on both platforms, and AutoCAD’s .dwg files from Windows are fully supported on the Mac. AutoCAD on the Mac will additionally support Cover Flow for browsing designs, multi-touch, and Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad support. Nifty, eh?

Students and educators can now download their copy for free, as for the rest of you — after a free 30-day trial — be prepared to shell out $3975.

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29 Comments

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  • Nokia N900

    Great news for all the Drafters with MACs

    • JustSayIn

      What do Media Access Controllers have to do with anything?

  • Mike

    Mac not having autoCAD is why I have always bought pc’s as I am an engineering student (mechanical). If CAD works seamlessly I may take the plunge past hackintosh and invest in a 17inch MacBook pro when the Co-Op checks start flowing.

    • milrtime83

      As a mechanical engineer, the only time you will use AutoCAD is if you have to work with old drawings that haven’t been converted over to 3D yet, or possibly if you are doing HVAC stuff, but that is closer to civil engineering. Otherwise you will most likely be using Solidworks, Pro/E, Autodesk Inventor, or another 3D parametric modeling program.

  • sirpaul

    Since Norm didn’t hit this page yet….

    DROID DOES!

    • Norm

      It really DOES. Thanks for picking up where I left off. I should add that a DROID app for this would be great. DROID tablets such as the upcoming Moto DROIDpad would really compliment this app.

      • Goofan (Apple Hater)

        And norm, as you an I know, android phones have the power of a so called iMac with an i7 processor in a little phone. You could run autocad 10 times faster on a droid phone than one of these crappy macs.

      • Peter F

        LOL you are such a loser.

      • Goofan (Apple Hater)

        I agree. Apple is such a loser organization. They should give up and close the company down. There’s no way in hell or any company for that matter can compete against google. Remember google is sponsored by the lord.

      • bonesb

        And you’re the spawn of Lucifer. Norm’s your bitch.

      • Goofan (aka Apple hater)

        Hi bones… I thought you knew who was my bitch, son…

  • tech junkie for life

    Pah Solidworks is where its at

    • yaya

      although me and you both know that is true, you are gonna have a bunch of die-hards downrank you soon. stop living in the past people. embrace the new age!

    • YeaBoy!

      BoyGenius writers are such morons. Since when is “AutoCAD, the popular 3D visualization package”? AutoCAD has NEVER been a popular 3D anything. AutoCAD is all over 2D drafting though.

      Solidworks or Pro/E FTW!

  • derek

    “AutoCAD is to engineers what Photoshop is to designers”

    AutoCAD is to engineers what Photoshop *Elements* is to designers, i.e. not for professional use. Fine for designing hair dryers and iPhone cases, maybe.

    Grown-up engineers – who need to design cars, airplanes, and whatnot – use CATIA.

    Solidworks somewhere in between.

    • Greg

      That’s why 90% of civil engineers (myself included) use AutoCAD to design the subdivision you live in, roads you drive on to get there, and the systems that bring you clean water…

      • YeaBoy!

        AutoCAD is still a dinosaur program. Real engineers use real 3D CAD packages!

      • Flavio

        Civil engineers draw glorified floorplans. That’s the only thing AutoCAD is used for these days.

        I hate AutoCAD with a passion, and I can’t wait for it to die.

      • Shanghai Dan

        Mechanical and Electrical engineers make weapon systems.

        Civil engineers make targets.

        Carry on…

      • Bill

        And because civil engineers design the roads, they are constantly under construction, broken, or about to fall down…

  • Soapinmouth

    Microstations where its at

  • Mark B

    It’s about time… I’m perfectly happy with Vectorworks though.

  • Goofan (Apple Hater)

    Why would autodesk make their products available for such terrible computers. As we all goofan aka apple haters know, macs are perhaps the worse computers in the world. Apple, as us apple haters know, doesn’t build a single good product.

    • bonesb

      Norm’s still your bitch, bitch.

      • Goofan (aka Apple hater)

        Nope… Your mom is, son…

  • guyfeller

    “WildNerness.”

  • Shanghai Dan

    Big deal… VERY few people outside architects still rely on AutoCAD. It’s 3D parametric any more for anything. Pro/E, Solidworks, Alibre, CATIA, those are the platforms used by engineers.

    • RealDeal

      Not all drawings need to be in 3D, there is still a huge market for AutoCAD in the Civil and Electrical space. Not everyone is Mechanical.

    • David

      Autocad is to CAD as Windows is to computing. A pain. But still the standard. Engineers stick with autocad because they fear the autocad learning curve is typical of all other CAD programs.

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