Autodesk Chews on AutoCAD for Apple

Shouldn't AutoCAD be available on Mac?

It's a question that won't go away. Ever since Autodesk turned its back on the Apple crowd in the 90s (Release 12 was the last Mac version), it keeps popping up with some regularity at user group meetings, discussion forums, and blog posts.

Now, it seems Autodesk is asking the same question too. Autodesk's Apple 2009 Survey suggests the company is evaluating its constituents' interest in AutoCAD for Mac.

If AutoCAD on Mac becomes a reality, Autodesk Inventor (mechanical) and Autodesk Revit (architecture) for Mac might follow.  They complement certain visualization and rendering packages in Autodesk's media and entertainment division, serving the Mac-dominated industries.

Currently, if you want to run AutoCAD on Mac, you can use Apple Boot Camp, a dual-boot application that lets you run Windows within Mac OS.

The survey prompted a trail of comments at Autodesk platform evangelist Shaan Hurley's blog Between the Lines. One visitor wrote, "A little late, should never have removed [AutoCAD from Mac platform] in the first place." Another wrote, "This is great news, really -- it is something that really would be appreciated by many out there."

"I really hope this isn't some crazy April Fools joke," wrote someone.

It's April 2. The survey is still running. I'm guessing it's not a joke.

[Note: Originally, I described Apple Boot Camp as a "virtualization application," but Ryan, a reader, pointed out that's inaccurate. Hence the revision to describe Boot Camp as a "dual-boot" application.]