AutoCAD WS: in the cloud and for iOS

I was surprised to learn today about the recent appearance of AutoCAD WS - and with even greater surprise I found out that only a couple of lines in a post on a different topic are devoted to him. Honestly, I don’t use CAD programs myself, but I think that the appearance of AutoCAD WS is a milestone not only for CAD, but in general for web services, software and our cloudless future for the future, so I still thought it necessary to fill in the habr gap. What is AutoCAD WS (working title - Project Butterfly)? At the moment, it consists of three components:

1. Online service autocadws.com. In it, anyone, just having an account, gets access to a flash application that replaces the usual "desktop" AutoCAD: you can view and edit DWG files. It is clear that the web service is significantly inferior to the desktop option in terms of capabilities (especially considering that it has appeared recently). However, its appearance means, for example, that AutoCAD is no longer so attached to the operating system: the flash version works the same in Linux, where there has never been a “real” AutoCAD. And it also means that DWG files can now be shown to someone who does not have AutoCAD on the computer, without forcing him to install anything at all. And that they can be easily accessed by other users (there is a “share” button in the corner) - both for viewing and editing (it is possible to edit a file at the same time as someone, both sides immediately see the other changes made). And what if the working computer suddenly died the death of the brave, but the project was saved online, it can be completed on any computer connected to the Internet. Relatively speaking, it turns out the CAD version of Google Docs.

2. Application for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch . It is clear that nobody will fully work in AutoCAD on iPod: this application is used primarily to showcase your projects to others at meetings and negotiations. However, some editing features are present. Now the application works only online (downloading files from an account on the same autocadws.com), but they promise to add offline mode. It became available on the iTunes Store on September 29, after which it was downloaded over 150,000 times in two days. Autodesk also said that work is already underway on the Android version.

3. Plugin for desktop AutoCAD 2011 . Adds the “online” tab to the menu, with which you can synchronize files with the same account (at least manually, at least automatically) and share them with others.

Why is the emergence of AutoCAD WS so significant if services like Google Docs have been around for a long time? As far as I understand (correct, if I’m mistaken), this is the first case when the cloud came not just an application, but so specialized (for the sake of entertainment they don’t put it) and at the same time widespread, complex, “heavy” and critical for users application . An application whose developers do not pursue fashion, but independently set conditions for users, because there is really no competition at the moment. An application that determines the choice of an operating system for people: many are sitting under Windows precisely because of the lack of AutoCAD versions for other systems (soon, however, for the first time in many years, a full-fledged Mac version will be released). I think this is a significant moment. Yes, of course, it was logical to expect such a step over time, but I thought that it will happen much later. Glad I was wrong.

official blog
official presentation video