Originally Posted by: jol Tom -- that's all good but I think what's called for is a massive awareness campaign, targetting CAD magazines, blogs, news and computer sites, design & engineering schools and design outfits.
I've heard that Punch! etc have attended MacWorld before, but all I see - if I'm lucky - is an entry in Architosh.
Hell, even Cheetah3D manages to create a buzz - and you can't even make anything with that !
Q. : Go google "Mac 3D Apps" .. tell me what you get !
A. : SketchUp, Cheetah, Blender, VectorDesigner ?, Wings, Pixels, Lightwave etc etc
Marketing such a tool is not rocket science, it's a case of writing a lot of emails and spending a little money !
Jol,
Shark didn't exist for last years MWSF. Shark needs the following to compete in a wide market:
ACIS 19
3D constraint manager
Solidworks part import/export
Sheetmetal
Lightworks update
In the OS X universe, there isn't any MCAD competition at all for Shark. Ashlar hasn't delivered a Universal version of Cobalt, Vectorworks even with Parasolids being incorporated isn't focused on MCAD, and Siemens hasn't delivered NX 6, which is way outside Shark's market. ViaCAD gets exposure in Apple stores against TurboCAD, and ViaCAD Pro might be available throught the Apple store online (I'll have to check that).
In ID, there are a few other packages, Luxology and Think! come to mind, that would be competitors, with Rhino a year out. I'm not in that niche, so I'll defer to you on competitors.
Marketing specific to the Mac market makes a lot of sense at this time, but without the enhancements that I listed, Shark will be competing with Inventor LT, Alibre, Solidworks, SpaceClaim, etc in an open market. Giving V6 the functionalities listed and at the price points of Shark, will make Shark a strong competitor. Otherwise, a major marketing effort might fall on deaf ears.
I would add that we are in a financial crisis and a worldwide recession, and at least here in the U.S., individuals, corporations and educational institutions are paring back spending.
tom