Plans to move away from Microsoft?

[awaltersN8VXW]

Hi there,

Look I'm sure everyone has gotten used to using Windows over the years, but with Windows 10 turning into a bit of a basket case forcing apps upon the user etc I was wondering if there are any plans to move AutoDesk products away from Microsoft reliance? 

If it weren't for the need to run Autodesk I would switch over to Linux to be frank. I know Autodesk Products can be run through a Virtual Machine but that doesn't escape from the horrible setup that is Windows 10 (who knows how much more clunky 11 with be, or how much more of a tablet style OS)

Basically I'm asking is it possible for Autodesk to find a way to run it's suite without tying itself to one  OS style?

[Thegreatrandino]

Have you looked at Fusion?  It runs on Apple and Windows, I think they now have a version for chrome. I don't want to over simplify or denigrate Fusion, or started a heated discussion on Fusion v Inventor. Fusion is like Autodesk took  inventor and are rewriting it to work in the cloud. Fusion is constantly adding features and improvement.

[SharkDesign]

No, I don't think this will ever happen. As said above, fusion will because it's more of a web based product. 

As far as I know there are no serious competitors with parametric modellers that work on other platforms. 

[SharkDesign]

I suppose you also have to remember that companies aren't going to pay the sort of money apple want for their computers when you can get a completely customised PC workstation for less and it integrates with all their network and security stuff. It's just not worth the development time to port it. 

[JDMather]

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@SharkDesign wrote:

 As said above, fusion will because it's more of a web based product. 

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I don't know what this statement means?

[leowarren34]

Hi @awaltersN8VXW,

It's not just a case of Autodesk, most if not all apps if they're not coded for the cloud have to be coded for a specific platform as each OS has different commands and ways of doing things which either means using a translator or porting over the code. Whilst CAD can be done on the cloud the hardware demands and the need for low latency (for larger models) almost necessitate the hardware to be as close to you as possible. Which is easiest done by putting the hardware on your desk. I know Maya can be run on certain distros as well as some other Autodesk products but since Windows has the highest market share, don't expect changes any time soon.

The easiest thing that you can change would be windows as there's usually a way to remove things or at least make them less in your face.

[awaltersN8VXW]

@SharkDesign I wasn't referring to Apple products either. As I stated in the OP I'd prefer to run a Linux version. The whole point of my Post is that PC's are no longer as customizable as they once were. There are numerous poor programs and add ons that are required and built into Modern Windows OS. Hell a friend of mine recently had a rant about a security breech someone found with Windows 10 when a Razer mouse was installed. Microsoft wanted to ignore it until old mate published it on Twitter.

[awaltersN8VXW]

I haven't had too much of a look at Fusion, simply because I'm working with Inventor and that's what the company uses, I have installed it on my PC but haven't really run it yet. I'm more just wondering if Autodesk can more so go a standalone program and avoid Windows and the rest of Microsoft's nonsense.

[awaltersN8VXW]

I can understand where you are coming from, Microsoft has just turned into an absolute turd of late, I found quite a few apps and widgets that are really not necessary embedded in the OS, with Command prompt being the only way to delete them and having to go through Registry to stop them redownloading.

That doesn't even account for Excel and it's use for iParts etc. There are many other Office like suites out there which work just as well if not better. LibreOffice comes to mind straight away. Yet we MUST pay for a local copy of Excel, can't even use Microsofts cloud based version.

I'm not a programmer/coder, I'm what I'd call intermediate in terms of using a computer, hell I built my tower and can install software and deal with issues within it. But I can't right software from scratch. Hence I thought I'd ask/submit the idea.

[JDMather]

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@awaltersN8VXW wrote:

 As I stated in the OP I'd prefer to run a Linux version. 

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@awaltersN8VXW wrote:
I haven't had too much of a look at Fusion....

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There is no Linux version of Fusion 360.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Just to add to what experts already mentioned, if you are looking for a mechanical design tool on a platform other than Windows, you want to look into Fusion 360. It offers native Mac OS support and a browser version.

I am not aware of a plan to offer a non-Windows version of Inventor.

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

To borrow from an old (and occasionally foul-mouthed; his opinions on Mac are humorous, in a South Park kind of way...) forum dev on another board, Linux has two primary use cases.  The first is users who use a computer for web browsing and a bit of 'office productivity' software, and nothing more.   The second is extremely high-end users who are frequently down deep into the guts of their operating system, spending most of their time as a system administrator rather than engineer/designer, with the knowledge to use it and abuse it to the best advantage.

However, the vast majority of office users in an engineering/design context are in between, doing more than a Chromebook can accomplish but not full out computer geeks either, with most of them on Windows.  And despite the very loud shouting over the superiority of Linux based systems (and it is, within the above two use cases), there are more quietly operating sysadmins who are basing their system preferences on requirements and actual capability.  Not just for the availability of required software but also for not having to deal with frequent low-level frustrations like GPU drivers.