AutoCAD 2013 LT - Mac

[enquires]

I doubt if anybody from AutoDesk really reads or more so responds to threads on the Discussion Groups that relate to thorny issues with support for the new MAX OS X, but here goes my moan!

I was looking to purchase LT 2013 for the MAC (because of the £250 rebate offered - ending October 29th),so I downloaded the trail version and have been testing with Mountain Lion. This is a big investment for my mirco small business.

All seems stable and have not had any visible issues 🙂 I was hoping that AutoDesk would before the trail period runs out provide support for Mountain Lion? But alas only a Beta Patch for the very expensive full version of AutoCAD has been made available:(, with the caveat of not using in a commercial environment!

Whilst I understand that the full package warrants the main focus, AutoDesk if you are reading this, you are now in my humble view effectively prohibiting (sorry if that's a little strong) the LT users whom have a MAC platform with the new OS from taking advantage of the rebate and upgrading, and thus losing out on potential sales.

I have no way of extending my trail period, worth the risk with unsupported OS X and no way of taking advantage of the rebate without taking a massive risk to my mirco small business. I need an industry standard CAD program to compete but simply cannot afford to take the risk just to secure the rebate.

I have spoken to your pre-sales team and the general comment seems to be wait, thanks, I therefore miss out on the rebate, miss out on using the software now and have to wait (fingers crossed) that your next version 2014, due I understand March 2014 is supported on Mountain Lion and stable.

Without wishing to moan further what happens with the next release of the next OS X around June / July 2014, same situation!!!!!!

Vectorworks now appears the only viable alternative!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry AutoDesk but as a long time AutoCAD LT user (approx 10 years) I was very happy that you had decided to release AutoCAD for the MAC, you have the lions share of the market but have somewhat missed the mark on the MAC, which is a product that is now getting a greater and greater share of the professional market.

Thank you for taking the time to read this thread

[enquires]

All seems to have gone quiet on the AUTODESK support front 

[pendean]

This is peer support, and I suspect all 78 peers who've looked at your post would help if there was an option.

It appears you already talked to "autodesk" and received the company response: I doubt any other staffer around here, if they posted, would tell you any differently.

Good points in your original post BTW.

[jmartinarch]

I have a micro small business too and face the same dilema. 

Vectorworks is an option, but it is not an  equivalent.  It is fully immersed in 3-d and BIM.  I'm not sure about its basic 2D, drafting tools.  But it is twice as expensive as acad lt.  For down and dirty drafting, I think acad is still the best or among them.  As a huge corp., why would autodesk care about you and I?  If we were buying 50 or 100 seats, might get their attention. 

I looked at powercad.  It is awesome, and you can contact and even speak with the engineers.  It is a little more than acad, but a very different approach to drawing.  Workflow very different.  And none of my collegues use it so sharing files would be tricky.  Now I am experimenting with HighDesign.  Native mac 2D software.  Inexpensive and many times shows that it  is.  We are kinda hooped it seems.

Hmmm., just more moaning I guess.

[enquires]

It is a shame, having reviewed other posts Autodesk do seem to  monitor the discussion groups but it appears to have gone very quiet of late and the responces from AutoDesk seem patchy at best???

On the good note the support offered via the discussion groups is very good, again something which AutoDesk really need to take note of.

[enquires]

Can only concure with you JMartinarch, but AutoDesk really could capture the market if they started to consider the influence of the many small users, because these are the people that drive the take up of the software.

It is a shame that AutoDesk have lost the focus, and I must say that if a different plaform came up I would not be the first, and like yourself, to take a long hard look at the viability of the new platform.

But alas AutoDesk has the market share!!!

With the every growing influence of the MAC on the general PC market, the choice over the type of plaform is now being driven by the OS and its ability to provide cross-platform support.

If AutoDesk really wanted to they could and should have made the Mac version very similar to the Windows version and achived cross platform continutiy.

From a small business point of view the cost of just getting LT is crippling but a must if we are to compete.