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sah716@hotmail.com · May 20, 2006, 05:56 PM

there's a free 3d cad available called "Graphiteone"
looks really good and is FREE.............
One catch,its linux only.
If we all e-mail them tto port it to Mac they probably will....
long live free software..

eeeaa · May 20, 2006, 08:11 PM

If you have a Mac that's rather new, and PowerPC-based, you could always install a copy of Virtual PC, create a Linux virtual disk, install Linux, and then use the app. I'm not saying that this is a real, long-term solution, but it may work well enough for right now. Once the Intel version of Power PC for Mac is released, you can really get better speeds running Linux for x86 on it. For now, or even instead of Virtual PC, you could check out Parallels, which is already running on the Intel Macs. It also happens to be WAY cheaper than VPC.

MacGallant · May 21, 2006, 01:10 AM

You know that there are PPC native versions of Linux such as a Yellowdog Linux, which would work better than to emulate x86 Linux under Virtual PC. Maybe you could dual boot between Linux and Mac OSX.

sah716@hotmail.com · May 21, 2006, 10:47 AM

i've just switched from windows,i didnt buy a mac to run that platform in emulation.....
i've contacted "graphiteone-cad.com" already and they said they would recompile
if enuf mac users would be interested.......
So Mac cad users, start writing to them...and start the mac "free: cad revolution.
Gwailo

eeeaa · May 21, 2006, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by MacGallant

You know that there are PPC native versions of Linux such as a Yellowdog Linux, which would work better than to emulate x86 Linux under Virtual PC. Maybe you could dual boot between Linux and Mac OSX.

That's a good point that I should have made. My mind wasn't there, however. I, personally, hate the idea of dual booting. If I'm using my Mac, and need access to one app, I shouldn't have to boot into another OS, leaving everything else behind for the time that I'm there. That's why I suggested VPC or Parallels. However, Ubuntu and Yellow Dog are good choices for PPC Linux, and you can install either of them on a new partition. However, you need to create that partition first, which involves backing up your data, partitioning your drive, restoring your data to one of the partitions, and installing Linux on the other partition. All that is a bit of a pain, but, if you really need to do it, it's worth it, I suppose.

To the OP: Have you checked to see if there are any Linux CAD apps available through Darwin Ports or Fink? Both services allow you to run apps that have been ported to Darwin. Google them.

eeeaa · May 21, 2006, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by gwailo

i've just switched from windows,i didnt buy a mac to run that platform in emulation.....
i've contacted "graphiteone-cad.com" already and they said they would recompile
if enuf mac users would be interested.......
So Mac cad users, start writing to them...and start the mac "free: cad revolution.
Gwailo

The only question now is: How many Mac users want access to this specific application? Did they say how many users they wanted to hear from? If they are looking for thousands, that app's never going to be ported. If they are looking for over 10 but less than 50, maybe they'll get the response they need.