CAD, BIM & 3D

The free alternative to AutoCAD LT, announced by IMSI initially under the name of A/CAD, will be called DoubleCAD. http://www.doublecad.com It is meant to be "better than LT", 2D-CAD including compatibility with all DWG versions, self-healing walls (compatible with AutoCAD Architecture), etc... Windows-only, as usual. The "Pro" version should be about half the price of LT, which bases it somewhere around $500-$700.

Newtek, developer of the popular LightWave 3D modeling, rendering and animation software, will soon release its next generation engine: LightWave CORE. http://www.newtek.com/core It will be more expensive (+/- $1500) than current LightWave (+/- $800), with higher subscription pricing (+/- 500), but more open for customization: CSS-based user interface, same Software Developers Kit as internal Newtek team and cross-platform: Windows, OSX and Linux, in 32 and 64-bit. It uses Qt for the GUI, Python for scripting, C++ for development and Collada as file format (extended, I assume). It looks like a mixture of modern development, but still in the context of traditional desktop applications, which seems appropriate for animation software.

Autodessys, the makers of FormZ, will soon release bonzai3d, a new generation modeling application, for a "low" price ($500). It is meant to be easy to use, accurate and still pretty powerful. I assume it will be positioned as an entry-level program, competing with SketchUp, but more focusing on curved, freeform geometry. And assumably, there will be a migration path to FormZ as a more complete solution. Check the information about the Open Beta on http://www.bonzai3d.com . For Mac OSX and Windows.