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Once upon a time there was a general, an arms merchant, and a samurai. This is the story of how fate—with a little help from The CAD Society—brought them together.

Our story starts with a band of merchant-monks known as The Hungry Rats. They wanted to build a weapon that would offer 90% of the firepower of existing weapons at 10% of the price and would work on the new generation of weapon platforms just coming on the market. They did so, and as a result they created a grand army the likes of which had never before been seen.

The Merchant-Monks practicing their levitation.
The founders of Autodesk.

The General was a tall, likeable fellow who could be as nice or as mean as required by circumstances. He became known in his younger years as one who would speak his mind. Once when he was a young lieutenant he was fired for offering constructive criticism when none was requested. Not long after, the general who fired him brought him back, and he rose through the ranks to become general of a large army which built the weapons preferred by most soldiers, the army founded by the merchant-monks.

The General, testing new hardware.
Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, winner of the 2008 CAD Society Leadership Award.

The Arms Merchant never thought of himself as such. He preferred to think of himself as an entrepreneur who worked to enable a level playing field in times of war. The General once tried to bring shame upon this humble entrepreneur by naming him The Arms Merchant, who in turn accepted the new name as a badge of honor. For years The Arms Merchant supplied keys to all The General’s opponents. When the key was placed into the weapon built by the enemies, it allowed the weapon to use the same bullets as used in The General’s weapons. This was a wonderful benefit because millions of bullet makers were all creating bullets that worked in The General’s weapons, but few were making bullets that would work in each of the opponent’s weapons.

The Arms Merchant on a fishing trip.
Consultant Evan Yares, winner of The CAD Society’s 2008 Joe Greco Community Award.

The Samurai was a wise and gentle soul who only wielded his sword when his guitar could not solve a problem. Years ago, when the General was fresh out of military school and The Arms Merchant was an itinerant peddler, the Hungry Rats mentioned above asked The Samurai to solve a problem they had trying to build the weapon.

The Samurai went into hiding for weeks, meditating on the problem. When he came out, he spoke to them the code that answered all their problems. The merchant-monks became wealthy. They asked The Samurai to join their band, but he preferred life in the desert. After several years of disagreements over fees, a judge told the merchant-monks to pay The Samurai a handsome settlement, allowing him to continue to craft codes for other weapons and to play his guitar more often.

The Samurai, notoriously camera-shy, is spotted receiving guests in his desert hideaway.
Evolution Computing Chief Software Architect Mike Riddle, winner of the 2008 CAD Society Lifetime Achievement Award.

Years passed. The General turned his attention to building new weapons that would be nicer to the environment. The Arms Merchant was forced by his clients to stop selling keys after a thief was found in his camp. He found other ways to help small weapons builders and started to write his memoirs. The Samurai continued to meditate on codes and play his guitar. In time their work became known to The CAD Society, who decided they were as worthy as any to receive honor for their past exploits.

So, on the night of April 12, 2008, The General, The Arms Merchant, and The Samurai will gather under a tent in a desert oasis. Each will receive a trophy for their accomplishments, courtesy of The CAD Society, and they will set aside any thoughts of past animosity. All three owe a debt of gratitude to those merchant-monks.

The moral of the story is simple: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. You never know when the roles may change.

At a crowded kick-off keynote session today at Autodesk University, Lynn Allen and then Carl Bass wowed a crowd of almost 10,000 attendees.

Using a new stage set that was in the middle of the room, with the audience surrounding the stage, the company presented itself, and its products, across an hour and a half general session. A number of key points were made.

8 million users
A long-debated number, the amount of users of AutoCAD, which has been prominently described as 6 million in the company’s press releases this year, was amended to 8 million registered users during Lynn Allen’s ice breaker presentation this morning.

Carl Bass Takes Control
In a relaxed, confident style, Carl Bass gave the keynote address, presenting his views about what the future holds – globalization, competition, energy issues and climate change – and how engineers of every kind can address the problem. Interestingly, his keynote did not simply talk about Autodesk software. It talked to issues and problems that we are all somewhat aware of, but maybe don’t really want to admit. Things like the explosion in global population, the corresponding increase in energy use, and the need for yet more infrastructure as developing countries develop into advanced countries.

An interesting statistic, according to Bass, is that apparently half of the buildings we will work in within 25 years have yet to be built. This means continued huge growth in construction and infrastructure.

Bass also noted that we can design more cleverly, using ingenuity to protect infrastructure, for example with sensors to detect structural issues in bridges, and so on.

Bass’ biggest issue is with sustainability of the world in which we live. He made the point that there are intelligent ways that energy can be conserved, that designs can be environmentally friendly, and that the 10,000 people sat in that auditorium are the ones who will make the difference. It was a point well-taken.

Carl Bass comes across as confident and intelligent – sometimes a surprise with a CEO of any company. He didn’t obsess about AutoCAD software. Instead he obsessed about how we can all make a difference… and that Autodesk will be there to help. It makes sense for many of the attendees who simply want to use software better, and in the process not adversely affect the world in which we live.
(Image courtesy: David Cohn)

Highlights from Carl Bass’ keynote are available at CADCAMNETtv tonight.

For once I have arrived early to Autodesk University, and have spent some of the afternoon hiding behind fake Italian Renaissance columns, spending time watching out for AU attendees at the beautiful Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

They start off not that easy to spot, looking like any other business traveller arriving at a destination. But soon it becomes obvious: between the flocks of Asian tourists all dressed in black, the feathers of cocktail waitresses, and the baseball hats of 23 year-olds who flew here to get married but prefer hanging out at the Craps table, you can see them start to appear. The button-down shirts are the first giveaway. The odd bowtie appears and flits off (an architect more easily scared by the crowd), the sensible shoes also start to make an appearance, a determined walk towards the poker room, and the glimpse of thousands of red name badges… yes. We have not just infiltrated a busy and attractive public place. The AutoCAD users are starting to take it over.

An anticipated crowd of more than 8,000 is gathering, and becoming evident. Rumor has it they have filled the host hotel and also taken over four more along the Vegas strip. Boasting the biggest user base, and user event, in the CAD industry, Autodesk is poised and ready to wow the crowd with a strong message about environmental sustainability and how its software can help.

Tuesday kicks off with the keynote by Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, followed by classes and the much anticipatd AUGI beer bust. By Tuesday evening, you will be able to view video highlights at CADCAMNETtv, sponsored by G10, as well as follow up posts on this blog.

Don’t miss out!

R