Robatoy wrote:

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I've been drilling deeper into
the net and there sure are a lot of options I wasn't aware of.

I have been a happy Vectorworks user for a looong time. Now that
Leopard is out for the Mac, they have decided not to support older
versions ( not THAT old either). That disturbs me as I have been
paying for upgrades since Version 1 (MiniCad)
As Leopard and my MacPro, allow me to run XP-Pro or Linux via
Parallels at no loss of speed (Intel chips now), the whole CAD
business can be evaluated rather than dropping a $ 1000.00 for an
upgrade to a company which only seem to understand loyalty in one
direction only.

For $ 1000.00 US (That's about $ 950.00 Can) what are my other
options?


Given your budget, VariCAD is certainly worth a look. You may also want
to seriously investigate PRO-E Wildfire (the PTC link on the link page that
was previously posted). PRO-E is an industry standard and used in multiple
applications. However, I'm not sure what the going price for a low-end
(most likely sufficient for woodworking needs) is.

Whatever you decide, please post your findings. Others of us who have
leapt from the jaws of MSoft are looking at our alternatives. At this
time, there are two applications for which I have not found good
substitutes:

1. CAD -- I was using TurboCAD. It doesn't run under WINE and they aren't
going to Linux anytime soon

2. MindManager -- a truly remarkable organizational and task
planning/tracking tool (with Results Manager, it really rocks). Again,
doesn't even load under WINE and looks like no hope of a linux version.



It is obvious from all the replies, that there's a whole lot more
going on in CAD for other platforms that simple DAGS will cough up.
(Us Mac users sometimes have our head up our snob-asses.)

Some people wonder why I just don't go to an Intel box...well.. I did
and I have a lot of money and learning in Mac software already
invested. 7 years of MYOB for instance and Strata, PS, Illustrator and
so on... not to mention Logic music stuff.

Yep, when you are invested in the platform, changing everything would be
painful. Not that Windows has much to offer other than more restrictive
Digital Restrictions Management and phone-home software as MSoft tightens
the screws.
--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough