One moment Dorothy was in Kansas, next time she looked up it was Oz. That’s a bit how I felt walking the floor at the A/E/C Systems 2000 trade show in Washington the first week of June. It bore little resemblance to the last one I visited in Chicago several years ago.
A/E/C Systems is the computer industry’s chance to show off its construction- and design-related wares. The annual event used to be CAD heaven, dominated by packaged software exhibitors. This year’s spectacle in Washington, dubbed “From Bricks to Clicks: e-Solutions for the AEC Industry,” was built around dot.com firms that host various construction services over the Web.