Fifteen years is forever on the Internet. That is how long CADdepot.com, in one shape or another, has been the industry leading AutoCAD shareware site. CADepot leads in the number of programs it hosts, the number of CAD users that gather at it, and the care and daily attention that is devoted to it by its founder and editor, David Whynot. There have been other sites that attempted to duplicate CADdepot's success, but none could stay with it all these years. But all good things must come to an end. David is ready to turn over the reins to TenLinks, the company that acquired CADdepot several years ago. Here are David's parting thoughts.

Our readers may be too polite to ask, but is Whynot your real name?
Yes, it is real... though it's not in the original format. Actually, it has a meaning. Those from the east coast of Canada and the Boston area have familiarity with the name. It's of German origin, in my case spelled Wienacht, meaning "holy night." Okay, genealogy lesson over...

Speaking of history, can you tell a little bit about your history?
Twenty-seven years ago I graduated college and worked for a couple of years as an Architectural technician. Twenty-three years prior to that, working as a Structural Engineering technologist. For the past two years I have been working as a Civil Engineering technologist in Ottawa, ON Canada, where I live with Joan, my loving wife, and Jennifer and Michael, my pride and joy offspring.

What was the original name of CADdepot?
The original name for CADdepot was Kanata CAD BBS. It was a home grown bulletin board system residing in the spare room of my house. When first presented on the Internet, the BBS moniker didn't really fit, so it became CADsyst, and after being acquired from TenLinks, Inc.,[April 2000], it finally was renamed CADdepot.

When was KanataCAD (the precursor to CADdepot) launched?
KanataCAD BBS was launched in the spring of 1992. It was one of the few online repositories dedicated to AutoLISP and AutoCAD related materials.

Why did you start a shareware site?
I was, and still am, a utility pack rat. Downloads were expensive in the early days and I saved everything. AutoCAD users were self taught and any extra CAD efficiency was a competitive advantage. I dealt with fellow consulting CAD techs who were struggling and learning this new way of drawing. I took a sort of pity on them -- having suffered myself at one point -- and shared my collection of files. As word spread out about my resources, I needed a way to get the files out with me having to format those floppy discs, copying files and mailing them out. So I bought a copy of Wildcat BBS, added a second phone line in my house, went online with my 2400 baud modem. My first connection came in within six hours of going live.

What have you enjoyed most about CADdepot?
The site overall gives me great satisfaction. Knowing that after 15 years my original concept of helping other CAD users is still working. Ultimately, producing and delivering the weekly newsletter still amazes me. Over 15,000 users want to know each week what new offerings CADdepot has. Simply unbelievable sustained support.

What are your plans now?
My immediate plans right now are to spend a little more time with the family, especially my eldest child, Jennifer, who is on the verge of leaving the nest and Michael is only a couple of years behind. I also need to hunker down and start digging into AutoCAD Civil 3D. Twenty-three years of structural drafting had not prepared me for the underground world of Civil (corridors, daylighting, vertical curves, those silly distorted profiles...ugggh!). But I consider myself an AutoCAD survivor, having gone through plain AutoCAD, ADT and Revit, I'm sure I'll eventually get C3D nailed down. Also, I am planning to be available to TenLinks as a consultant.

Would you like to leave an email so your fans can contact you?
I'd love to hear from anyone who would care to write. I can be contacted at dmwhynot@gmail.com.

Roopinder Tara is the founder of TenLinks, Inc., the worlds largest online CAD, CAM and CAE media company. It's flagship site, TenLinks.com based on the simple principal that ten links picked by experts is far more valuable than ten thousand picked by the typical search engine.

Roopinder has more than 20 years of experience in technology, having held positions of general manager of software, editor in chief of a leading CAD magazine, department chair/professor or engineering and design, CAD manager and senior engineer. He has a master's degree in engineering.