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| CAD, CAM, CAE, design, technical drawing, drafting, delineation, visualization, manufacturing | ISSN 1442-2255 : <%= Date()%> - <%= Time()%> |
ConceptDraw World Conference
Report |
ConceptDraw World Conference ReportPart I ConceptDraw World Conference, held on March 28-30, 2002 in Odessa, Ukraine, is the first software-related international event organized in Eastern Europe.CS-Odessa, the maker of the conference, welcomed guests from all over the world to Odessa and ConceptDraw World an event devoted to ConceptDraw and the solutions it can provide to various organizations. This conference focused on the rich technical capabilities and hundreds of case studies that CS-Odessa has received from individuals and organizations around the world that everyday creatively solve a broad range of graphic, presentation and development needs with ConceptDraw. ConceptDraw World Conference Report will provide you with precise information on its announcements and events. March 28, 2002On Friday 28, March 2002 ConceptDraw World Conference held in Odessa, Ukraine, was opened with the speech of Gregory Zhukov, the President & CEO of Computer Systems Odessa. In his address at the Conference opening Gregory Zhukov warmly welcomed the participants of the first Conference in the history of ConceptDraw Product Line and stressed the importance of this event in the 3 years' history of ConceptDraw.
Who is Behind ConceptDraw?The report devoted to the history and realities of Computer Systems Odessa, the producer of a powerful diagramming and flowcharting software package ConceptDraw, was presented by the PR manager Irina Nazarova. CSO historyThe company was founded in 1993. Initially it worked as a provider of complex software and hardware solutions for corporate businesses and small offices. The first project of CS-Odessa was MacPublisher published by MacSoft in 1994. Until 1997 CS-Odessa acted mostly as developer of customized software for Macintosh, Windows and Unix platforms. The software ranged from 3D and CAD products to games. In 1997 the idea of creating ConceptDraw a multi-purpose tool for common use, which would be developed, introduced and distributed independently by CSOdessa, was born. A talented, creative and purposeful leader Gregory Zhukov is at the head of the unanimous team. The flagship product ConceptDraw was successfully published on the 19th of November, 1999. It developed into 5 related editions: ConceptDraw Standard and Professional, ConceptDraw MEDICAL and ConceptDraw MINDMAP Standard and Professional are available now. Currently Computer Systems Odessa team has grown from 8 to 57 people. In spite of growth of the number of employees, all of us stay good friends. Birthdays are traditionally celebrated together. We visit swimming pool and sauna, play basketball, and jog near the sea. Walkingtours and trips are frequently launched. CSO offers a rich library and frequently holds colorful seminars, so the proficiency of workers is taken into account. During its history CS-Odessa has participated in international computer exhibitions: MacWorld SF, NY 2001 and MacExpo UK, London 2001. At MacExpo in San Francisco Apple particularly emphasized ConceptDraw as one of the first products for OS X. Special presentations and lectures on ConceptDraw technology were organized. The flagship product ConceptDraw can boast awards of famous printed and Internet Computer editions, such as ZDNet, Version Tracker, MacAddict. Our users frequently address us their special thanks. Thus we, the creators, find out that our product and we ourselves are working not in vain. ConceptDraw Product Line OverviewThe keynote speech of Stanislav Sedashov, the head of Product Planning Department, uncovered the history of how the ConceptDraw Line grew from a single diagramming application to the suite of productivity software and revealed the current strategies and plans for further development of ConceptDraw Line. Stanislav touched upon the first projects carried out by CS Odessa team and how the previous extensive experience in developing 2D and 3D applications prepared the ground for the release of the company's flagship product ConceptDraw in 1999. The desire to make ConceptDraw a really convenient and powerful tool stretched out the development terms for ConceptDraw, still after its release CS-Odessa team had to make a way from the idea to produce powerful software to the good understanding of actual customer problems and needs and the importance of correct positioning and promotion of its products. That brought to life the line of specialized editions targeted to specialists in particular spheres. The ideas of some of the products like ConceptDraw Professional and ConceptDraw MEDICAL were conceived inside the company, while other, like ConceptDraw MINDMAP, - with the advice of international partners. All these products are ConceptDraw compatible and are based on ConceptDraw powerful engine. Initially targeting to the Windows market ConceptDraw grew more and more popular with Macintosh users and put CS Odessa among the leading developers of office applications on the Macintosh platform. This made the company adapt its further strategies and point them to the Macintosh and cross platforms markets. CS-Odessa gained experience in promoting its products, participated in major events, established relations with partners all over the world. Guided by the commitment to extend its Productivity Line, CS-Odessa plans to release a powerful presentation software ConceptDraw Presenter. At the same time the company launches the program aimed to support the developers of corporate solutions using ConceptDraw as a visualization platform. ConceptDraw & ConceptDraw Pro PresentationThis report by Valeriy Ryazanov, the VP of Marketing for Computer Systems Odessa, provides an overview of ConceptDraw and ConceptDraw Pro the powerful cross-platform application for business and technical drawing, corner stone of ConceptDraw product line. ConceptDraw is the only professional diagramming program that works under Windows, Mac OS and OS X. The product was initially released in November 1999, and was thought to become a lower-priced alternative to MS Visio on the Windows platform. However, it became especially popular on the Macintosh. ConceptDraw was one of the first OS X-ready products presented at MacWorld Expo in SF, 2001. ConceptDraw is used by managers, IT specialists and programmers, network administrators and educators. Apart from single users, many organizations including Apple, NASA, Motorola and others use ConceptDraw in their daily work. ConceptDraw includes powerful drawing tools, coupled with rich object libraries for drag-anddrop diagramming. It allows for programmable objects, and lots of tools for precise drawing. Documents can be exported to HTML, PDF or PowerPoint, for dynamic presentations. ConceptDraw is the major diagramming app on the Mac side, and one of the most powerful on the Windows, with Visio and SmartDraw as main alternatives. The program has yet plans to grow the nearest update will add XML support and Altima NetZoom integration, which brings over 40,000 dedicated networking objects into it. And of course, everyone's waiting for the major upgrade, scheduled by the end of the year, which will include database connectivity and re-worked interface, along with lots of other great features. ConceptDraw MEDICALHelen Nersesova, the Product Manager of ConceptDraw MEDICAL, introduced her product. This software was being thought over since 1997 in CS-Odessa as a set of anatomical images on CD. Released in 2001, ConceptDraw MEDICAL is a powerful graphics program that gives users a quick way to lay out and draw up the necessary medical flowcharts, diagrams, schemes or create presentations. It is the simplest method to share your ideas with other people. And you dont have to be an artist to create a good-looking flowchart or scheme. ConceptDraw MEDICAL lets you draw with symbols any document, from medical reports to orgcharts, flowcharts and illustrations for medical teaching. It can be used for anatomical presentations that might be found in a medical legal nurse consulting. The software includes several hundreds of anatomical images for illustrative example, covering such fields as Human Body, Blood, Cardiovascular, Muscles, Nervous, Sensory, etc. ConceptDraw MEDICAL is a must-have type of program for immunology laboratories, Microbiology, Biology, Chemical, Biochemistry depts., for large percentage of medical workers, clinical personnel, medical managers and more. Here is the list of some ConceptDraw MEDICAL users: Weill Medical College, Vanderbilt University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Internal Medicine Associates, University Hospital Zurich, University of Chicago, Children's Hospital, Medical Center of Cincinnati, UNC-Gene Therapy Center, Physicians Insurance. ConceptDraw PresenterConceptDraw Presenter is a new product for creating presentations, and also Flash animations and interactive Web pages. So, what are those "good mushrooms", the necessary, powerful and user-friendly features? The first is the powerful vector drawing engine. This is a set of drawing tools, lots of smart connectors and dozens of object libraries, enabling users to create all kinds of schemes (orgcharts, network diagrams, Web site maps, timelines, etc.), with all the facilities of ConceptDraw at your disposal!
Then comes the "mushroom" for beginners: the Presentation Wizard and the New Slide Assistant. So, you can create a presentation from the task-related template in several clicks, and when adding new slides, you can choose an automatic layout. And for living in harmony with other apps on our user's computer, we offer advanced import/export capabilities, and, what is most important for ConceptDraw Presenter, - the PowerPoint integration (import and export). A separate group of "mushrooms" adds vividness and dynamics to the presentation, with full timing control:
The Macromedia Flash export makes your dynamic show viewable with any Web browser! You can share your shows easily in the compact ConceptDraw Show format viewed by the free ConceptDraw Player utility. In the Windows version the software comes with customizable toolbars and menus, and in the Mac version - more convenience and harmony with the Mac OS X style. These are just the major features of ConceptDraw Presenter. Our team hopes these "mushrooms" will be found nice by all users. ConceptDraw MINDMAP A Mind Map is a tree of ideas radiating from the central theme in all directions, and enhanced by images, code signs, and all kinds of arrows showing the relations between concepts. The ideas can be reinforced by different colors, fonts and figures. The outstanding benefits of Mind Mapping are creativity and the clear view of the whole matter. Recording random ideas in any suitable way, you are not limited by any form of expression (such as sequence of sentences). Then you can organize the ideas, seeing the entire structure of the topic. This saves your time and helps you get the most of the potential of your mind. ConceptDraw MINDMAP has been created to meet the increasing demand for a Mind Mapping program working across the Macintosh and Windows platforms. This is a comprehensive tool which is powerful and at the same time easy-to-use. Besides specific features for Mind Mapping and Brainstorming, the program provides you with an excellent vector drawing engine, enabling you to create all kinds of charts and diagrams (e.g. show the facts supporting your ideas). For professional needs, there is also the Professional version of ConceptDraw MINDMAP, offering more advanced features (such as additional formats and support for multi-paged Mind Maps). ConceptDraw MINDMAP offers you a wide range of convenient features, such as Mind Map Assistant, Brainstorming mode, quick symbols and Text Notes, hundreds of ready-made objects for illustration. The outstanding Web capabilities let you create and use hyperlinks, and obtain a Web-ready document in seconds. Thanks to the Outline support users can save the Mind Maps in text form, and vice versa, generate a Map from text outline. It is easy to set the format, arrangement and style for the whole Mind Map it takes several clicks only. We hope the users enjoy working with this program, and it will help them to increase creativity and efficiency. Prospects. ConceptDraw 2.0 Presentation Besides, ConceptDraw 2.0 includes a host of innovations in comparison to the current project, ConceptDraw v1.x. They can be grouped into 4 major categories:
As for the interface, the toolbars and dialogs have been reworked dramatically. A lot of convenient floating palettes have been added, and toolbar buttons are now customizable. The WYSIWYG concept means that when you edit objects or text, you see them exactly as you get them in the output. New powerful features include optimized resource management, improved text handling, color management, support for over 40 file formats, and more. ConceptDraw 2.0 offers great possibilities to developers - thanks to the built-in scripting language and XML support ConceptDraw becomes a new and prospective environment for developers of cross-platform visualization solutions, and more.
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"This Conference is the crucial landmark in the history of development of ConceptDraw product family, which made the way from a single productivity application to the family of products providing technologies and solutions, said Gregory Zhukov, the President of CS-Odessa. It marks the time when ConceptDraw is getting mature turning into the platform for corporate visualization solutions." 
At the conference it was introduced by the Manager of this project, Pavel Skurtul, in a vivid metaphoric way. He described how this program first began "growing like mushrooms", and how much effort it took to get rid of the "toadstools" (it means extensive but unstable functionality) and make sure to have only good and useful "mushrooms" in the ConceptDraw Presenter "forest glade". 
Aleksandra Ischenko presented ConceptDraw MINDMAP an innovative product in the ConceptDraw line. It is intended for the tasks of Mind Mapping and Brainstorming, and allows for representing ideas or some other information visually in the form of a tree. 
The detailed report by Dmitry Yunchik, Project Manager of ConceptDraw 2.0, sheds light on one of CS-Odessa's most awaited developments. It's the first public presentation of ConceptDraw 2.0; the final product is expected to release by the end of the year. Version 2.0 is a completely different program; it was built virtually from scratch, as the program kernel was re-written in order to make it more powerful, fast and expandable. 