Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
(OP)
I run a bare-bones, freelance shop - very part time at the moment. I'm trying to keep costs down, but I think it may be time for a serious upgrade.
I currently have Hydraflow Hydrographs 2004, and I run AutodCAD (not Land Desktop) 2004. No StormCAD, etc. I use a lot of spreadsheets.
Has Autodesk taken over the entire universe in the past few years? Is there any way that I can get a recent version of Hydraflow (would be happy with 2007 version, if it was around), without getting the $7,000+ Autodesk 3d and the Hydraflow Add-on?
Are there any clearing house places to get honest-versions of last-year's software, or are those taken off the market as soon as the new stuff comes out.
Thanks.
I currently have Hydraflow Hydrographs 2004, and I run AutodCAD (not Land Desktop) 2004. No StormCAD, etc. I use a lot of spreadsheets.
Has Autodesk taken over the entire universe in the past few years? Is there any way that I can get a recent version of Hydraflow (would be happy with 2007 version, if it was around), without getting the $7,000+ Autodesk 3d and the Hydraflow Add-on?
Are there any clearing house places to get honest-versions of last-year's software, or are those taken off the market as soon as the new stuff comes out.
Thanks.





RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
For CAD I'm using BricsCAD, which is fantastic, thin, and works just like AutoCAD with a lot of cheap LISPs you can buy to emulate the functions of LDD / Softdesk such as cut/fill calcs and cutting sections off a TIN.
For site hydrology, I use Peter Smart's HydroCAD and am far more pleased with it than I ever was with Hydraflow Hydrographs.
For culverts, I use HY-8, free from the FHWA.
For flood studies, I use HEC-RAS and HEC-HMS, both free obviously.
For pipe and ditch hydraulics, I use custom spreadsheets.
For gutter spread, I use the FHWA Hydraulic Toolbox, also free from FHWA.
For highly fancy time series routing and other such craziness, I use EPA-SWMM, but I'm an old XP-SWMM user so the learning curve isn't particularly steep.
My total software exposure, including *cad*, is less than a thousand bucks, and all of it will run on a cheap laptop.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap
RE: Software Upgrades - Trying to Keep it Cheap