"Leon" wrote in message
So now I am happier than ever with Sketchup. I have no problem admitting
that I have invested a few thousand in CAD programs in the last 20 years
and
have moved up to a free program. It is different than a CAD program but
it
certainly holds it's own in this medium.

I think many people looked to CAD (if only the basics of it) because there
were few really capable graphics programs around and if you learned enough
you could design most anything with it. Now with faster and more affordable
computers around and the plethora of available, cheaper (and free) graphics
programs that abound, we can pick and choose what will do the job with the
least amount of effort. That's not CAD anymore for most people.

Robatoy will chafe (as will many of us) at all the "experts" who suddenly
appear in the design arena solely because of the cheapness and capabilities
of new software. People will have to put in a fraction of the time necessary
to learn more advanced programs than what was originally necessary for any
CAD program. It's exactly that same as the $700 I spent some years ago on my
first 80 meg hard drive. Now all I can do is reminisce about it because hard
drive space is thousands of times cheaper. Life's a bitch sometimes.