Archicad Marketing

[KeesW]

What a disappointment. Went to the annual RAIA conference and associated design exhibition in Sydney a few weeks ago. It is the largest building product exhibition in Australia. Autocad and Revit were prominant but guess who was missing? No prizes here - no ArchiCad! Was chasing building material information on the net and came accross companies producing details for about 6 CAD packages - even for DataCad would you believe. But --you guessed it --- not ArchiCad.

I think Graphisoft is taking its users for granted. I like seeing my software of choice prominantly displayed and used in our industry. I don't like being reminded that Revit is probably as good and are trying much harder to get market share. When was the last time Graphisoft made an irresistable offer to entice other CAD users? When did they last make existing users an offer they couldn't refuse? Instead, those of us on a subscription in Aus get access to 'freebies' that are mostly out of date, going back to version 6.5 that we can't even open!

But I am wasting my breath and indignation. Graphisoft is not interested. If I change to Revit (and I have considered it) it is because of Graphisoft's indifference to its competition, its complacency, and its habit of producing upgrades with ragged edges, that never quite work as promised.

[Erich]

Here is a small story...

Years ago architects all used pencils and paper. Then like apes around the obelisk we discovered computers and a thing called CAD and began to evolve. For awhile there was some confusion about what to do with either but then a giant emerged banging its drum and told us all that if we consumed it's product we could talk the same language as our engineers and we could make better living than we did with pencils. The giant beat its drum long and loud until the architects all believe it and started to consume the product. Indeed life was generally good and the engineers and architects could talk to each other and we continued to make our living now with computers and CAD in place of pencils and paper.

Meanwhile in the small and dusty corners of the world small groups of outcasts that were too deaf to hear the drum tried to make a living without the fodder of the giant. Some of these solutions failed and left the outcasts scrabbling and starving. But some of these products worked and were better than that of the giant and the outcasts thrived.

Now years later the giant has awoken and realized that it's subjects have seen the work and tools of the outcasts and are eyeing them with envy. The giant looked around and found a group of outcasts that were vulnerable and bought them and brought them into the fold and out of the dust and shadows. Now the giant is again banging its drum in a call for conformity and dominion. Many will hear this call and come running the the giant's fodder again. But again there are the outcasts still too deaf to hear.

May they long be inventive; may they long be productive; may they long be deaf to the drum of the giant.

[Dwight]

Erich wrote:
Here is a small story...

may they long be deaf to the drum of the giant.

But have enough hearing to get out of the way when he falls from the beanstalk.

"Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!??
I smell the blood of a Hungarian man.
Be he 'live, or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my quarterly earnings projection."