RE: Is any one out there ?Don't know about movement but would just like to comment on the philosophy of Engineering.com IMHO. Being an engineer myself I can't help but think of the positive spin that a site like Engineering.com puts on the profession. Graduating at a time when computers were just coming of age, I had to rely on textbooks and standalone software packages to do my work. Marry the eagerness of new graduates to learn with their internet savy and the reliance on a site like Engineering.com will be great.
Imagine having to perform structural analysis on a complex beam arrangement, bring up the site, plug in the numbers and there's the solution...or having to balance the water flow in vast watermain network... bring up the software and there you go with the pipe sizing of the network...Need a CAD solution, bring up the software online and get to work... Being of civil background these examples are civil related but I'm sure there are many such situations in other engineering disciplines.
...Or you're about to put a contract to tender and need to know some typical prices from suppliers, ... bring up the site and there they are.
With the advent of online software applications many engineering software makers will be pleased to offer their software exclusively through Engineering.com for a nominal fee. In turn Engineering.com can keep track of hits to the site to determine payouts to software suppliers. This may solve piracy issues that the software manufacturer may have.
How will Engineering.com generate revenue. Charge a fee to be registered to the site.
Why would anyone pay? For an Engineering Consultant a site like Engineering.com would be a cost saving tool(IMHO). No need to dish out large amounts of cash to get standards or software at one time. Having the latest in engineering design tools at your fingertips creates efficiency in the workplace. It makes sense.
A site like Engineering.com can bring the worldwide engineering community together. The principles and theories of engineering are universal as is the internet and the worldwide community can benefit from advancements in technology, products, etc.
Although we are at a time when the bust of dot coms is all but over, the introduction of this dot com is akin to what the calculator was to the engineer as a tool.
IMHO the concept of engineering.com is sound and its up to the management to continually develop the site to encompass the spectrum of the requirements of the engineering community, continually grow its recognition as well as market its viability. This thing can take off.
Just my opinion.
Painter