On Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:59:01 -0800, Winston
wrote:

Joseph Gwinn wrote:

(...)

I stared out using Draftsight, but found the learning curve far too
difficult. There isn't enough Draftsight documentation for a new user
to figure it out, so I started reading the AutoCAD documentation, as
Draftsight speaks perfect AutoCAD.

Ouch. I found Autocad to have a vertical learning curve.

El Capitan should be so lucky. (For the unwashed, that's a sheer 3k'
vertical cliff in Yosemite. )


(...)

What the MEs used and recommended for home use was Alibre, which is 3D
from the start, and is a fairly clean new design. So I bought a
personal-use copy for $200 or so, and made more progress in two weeks
than I had made with DraftSight in many months. So, I abandoned
Draftsight, and stopped reading the thick AutoCAD books.

I feel your pain.

After attempting Autocad and n+1 no-cost 'cad' programs,
I stumbled across Generic CADD (Later Visual CADD).
Suddenly, I could draw and print!

Cool.


That experience flattened the learning curve with Rhino3D.

That leaves just one other vertical cliff: the cost.

--
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplacable spark.

In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and
the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish
and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but
never have been able to reach.

The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real,
it is possible, it is yours.
-- Ayn Rand