<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
,	O
(	O
since	O
2004	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
)	O
is	O
a	O
CAD	B-Application
program	I-Application
used	O
in	O
the	O
areas	O
of	O
mechanical	O
and	O
plant	O
engineering	O
by	O
manufacturers	O
and	O
Engineering	O
,	O
Procurement	O
and	O
Construction	O
(	O
EPC	O
)	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
's	O
history	O
is	O
closely	O
tied	O
to	O
the	O
beginnings	O
of	O
mainstream	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
the	O
research	O
culture	O
fostered	O
by	O
Cambridge	O
University	O
and	O
the	O
UK	O
government	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
resulting	O
transformation	O
of	O
Cambridge	O
into	O
a	O
world-class	O
tech	O
centre	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
platform-independent	O
kernel	O
which	O
,	O
combined	O
with	O
a	O
platform-independent	O
user	O
interface	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Qt	B-Language
(	O
framework	O
)	O
(	O
with	O
XML	B-Protocol
for	O
Administration	O
and	O
Web-based	O
client-server	O
communication	O
for	O
data	O
management	O
)	O
allows	O
for	O
a	O
high	O
degree	O
of	O
systems	O
and	O
platform	O
flexibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
is	O
available	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Solaris	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
4th	O
Generation	O
of	O
the	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
2D	O
and	O
3D	O
CAD	B-Application
product	O
family	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
software	O
modules	O
and	O
packages	O
have	O
been	O
developed	O
,	O
with	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
DRAFTING	O
PLUS	O
,	O
a	O
2D	O
CAD	B-Application
program	I-Application
with	O
all	O
the	O
standard	O
2D	O
design	O
functionality	O
and	O
BACIS1	O
and	O
BACIS2	O
customisation	O
tools	O
as	O
the	O
base	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
has	O
had	O
a	O
checkered	O
history	O
in	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
world	O
,	O
which	O
began	O
in	O
Cambridge	O
,	O
UK	O
in	O
the	O
1970s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
’s	O
history	O
is	O
tied	O
in	O
with	O
the	O
Computer-Aided	B-Application
Design	I-Application
Centre	O
(	O
or	O
CADCentre	O
)	O
which	O
was	O
created	O
in	O
Cambridge	O
in	O
1967	O
by	O
the	O
UK	O
Government	O
to	O
carry	O
out	O
CAD	B-Application
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1977	O
,	O
Dr.	O
Dick	O
Newell	O
together	O
with	O
colleague	O
Tom	O
Sancha	O
,	O
left	O
the	O
CADCentre	O
to	O
form	O
a	O
company	O
called	O
Cambridge	O
Interactive	O
Systems	O
or	O
CIS	O
and	O
primarily	O
concentrated	O
on	O
2D	O
CAD	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
CABLOS	O
soon	O
became	O
known	O
and	O
sold	O
as	O
the	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
drafting	O
system	O
under	O
CIS	O
concentrating	O
initially	O
on	O
schematic	O
drafting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
proprietary	B-Application
programming	O
language	O
with	O
which	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
version	O
1	O
was	O
developed	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
LCIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
also	O
began	O
developing	O
its	O
own	O
3D	O
modelling	O
kernel	O
for	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prime	O
had	O
an	O
option	O
on	O
the	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
source	O
code	O
should	O
CIS	O
ever	O
fail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1983	O
the	O
U.S.	O
CAD	B-Application
company	O
Computervision	O
(	O
CV	O
)	O
purchased	O
CIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computervision	O
already	O
had	O
a	O
legacy	O
CAD	B-Application
product	O
called	O
CADDS4	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
interested	O
in	O
obtaining	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
state-of-the-art	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
was	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
then	O
newly	O
released	O
32bit	O
so-called	O
super	O
mini	O
computers	O
,	O
whose	O
most	O
prominent	O
distributors	O
were	O
DEC	O
(	O
VAX	O
)	O
and	O
Prime	O
Computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
fork	O
in	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
:	O
Prime	O
took	O
its	O
option	O
to	O
keep	O
developing	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
in	O
effect	O
created	O
two	O
different	O
versions	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
:	O
CIS	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
(	O
owned	O
by	O
Computervision	O
,	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
Prime	O
and	O
VAX	O
minicomputers	O
and	O
later	O
on	O
Sun	O
workstations	O
)	O
and	O
Prime	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
(	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
Prime	O
minicomputers	O
and	O
was	O
later	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
Sun	O
workstations	O
as	O
well	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Germany	O
in	O
the	O
mid	O
1980s	O
one	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
workplace	O
with	O
a	O
CV	O
colour	O
graphics	O
terminal	O
and	O
a	O
19inch	O
colour	O
screen	O
including	O
the	O
software	O
license	O
cost	O
around	O
145,000	O
German	O
Marks	O
(	O
DM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
high	O
costs	O
involved	O
,	O
many	O
companies	O
deploying	O
CAD	B-Application
systems	O
reverted	O
to	O
shift	O
work	O
for	O
design	O
staff	O
to	O
make	O
best	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
split	O
in	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
development	O
was	O
merged	O
when	O
Prime	O
Computers	O
bought	O
Computervision	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
promise	O
to	O
CV	O
customers	O
that	O
VAX	O
users	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
forced	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
Prime	O
workstations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
combined	O
effect	O
was	O
that	O
many	O
users	O
changed	O
their	O
CAD	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
when	O
the	O
PC-based	O
AutoCAD	B-Algorithm
software	O
was	O
becoming	O
successful	O
and	O
offered	O
all	O
the	O
basic	O
2D	O
design	O
functionality	O
on	O
a	O
PC	O
at	O
a	O
fraction	O
the	O
cost	O
per	O
workstation	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
super	O
mini	O
"	O
or	O
SUN	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
only	O
those	O
users	O
who	O
used	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
well	O
beyond	O
its	O
2D	O
capabilities	O
and	O
had	O
it	O
well	O
integrated	O
into	O
their	O
manufacturing	O
processes	O
remained	O
with	O
Prime/CV	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
software	O
continued	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
transition	O
from	O
“	O
super	O
minis	O
”	O
to	O
remote	O
workstations	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
workstations	O
from	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
were	O
a	O
popular	O
option	O
for	O
the	O
CAD	B-Application
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prime	O
was	O
divided	O
into	O
the	O
two	O
main	O
divisions	O
:	O
Prime	O
Hardware	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
proprietary	B-Application
computer	O
hardware	O
,	O
and	O
Prime	O
Computervision	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
CAD/CAM	O
business	O
with	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
and	O
CADDS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
falling	O
hardware	O
sales	O
Prime	O
eventually	O
stopped	O
production	O
of	O
PrimOS	O
computers	O
and	O
transferred	O
its	O
maintenance	O
obligations	O
to	O
another	O
company	O
,	O
thus	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
concentrate	O
on	O
the	O
CAD/CAM	O
software	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computervision	O
’s	O
main	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
centre	O
for	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
was	O
at	O
Harston	O
Mill	O
near	O
Cambridge	O
,	O
where	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
staff	O
had	O
been	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
software	O
since	O
the	O
CIS	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
company	O
retrenched	O
and	O
moved	O
its	O
operations	O
to	O
Boston	O
,	O
USA	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
programming	O
was	O
moved	O
to	O
India	O
,	O
so	O
five	O
former	O
CV	O
staff	O
members	O
with	O
many	O
decades	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
experience	O
between	O
them	O
formed	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
company	O
Quintic	B-Algorithm
Ltd	I-Algorithm
in	O
Cambridge	O
,	O
which	O
continued	O
to	O
provide	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
development	O
services	O
to	O
CV	O
,	O
and	O
consultancy	O
and	O
customisation	O
services	O
to	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
customers	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
years	O
of	O
relative	O
stagnation	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
NG	O
(	O
Next	O
Generation	O
)	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
new	O
push	O
to	O
launch	O
the	O
new	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
NG	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
release	O
to	O
move	O
from	O
tablet-driven	O
design	O
to	O
an	O
icon	O
tray	O
and	O
menu-based	O
graphical	O
user	O
interface	O
;	O
but	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
it	O
was	O
still	O
possible	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
tablet	O
with	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
2D	O
drafting	O
companion	O
for	O
Pro/ENGINEER	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2001	O
,	O
PTC	O
sold	O
all	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
software	O
to	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
,	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
's	O
biggest	O
reseller	O
in	O
Germany	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
started	O
as	O
a	O
drafting	O
bureau	O
in	O
1986	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
active	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
user	O
and	O
had	O
developed	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
add-ons	O
for	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
was	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
a	O
company	O
that	O
had	O
grown	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
partnership	O
with	O
Quintic	O
also	O
transferred	O
to	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
,	O
project	O
Pegasus	O
became	O
the	O
STHENO/PRO	O
software	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
first	O
launched	O
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Fourth	O
generation	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
,	O
known	O
as	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
,	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
included	O
a	O
comprehensive	O
revamp	O
of	O
the	O
functionality	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
Qt-based	O
GUI	O
,	O
extensive	O
interfaces	O
and	O
integrations	O
with	O
third	O
party	O
systems	O
and	O
data	O
formats	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
porting	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
,	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
acquired	O
its	O
software	O
development	O
partner	O
Quintic	O
and	O
founded	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
UK	O
in	O
Cambridge	O
,	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
’s	O
home	O
town	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA4	B-Language
Personal	O
,	O
launched	O
by	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
in	O
2006	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
free	O
2D/3D	O
CAD	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
private	O
use	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
from	O
the	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA4	B-Language
Personal	O
is	O
a	O
fully	O
functional	O
version	O
which	O
includes	O
many	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
ADVANCED	O
package	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
multi-platform	O
system	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
several	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2009	O
,	O
CAD	B-Algorithm
Schroer	I-Algorithm
introduced	O
an	O
eSERVICES	O
portal	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
free	O
version	O
of	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
to	O
convert	O
the	O
sheets	O
created	O
with	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
Personal	O
into	O
PDFs	O
,	O
DXFs	O
or	O
MEDUSA4	B-Language
Professional	O
SHE	O
files	O
on	O
a	O
pay-per-conversion	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
1980s	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
very	O
active	O
community	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
users	O
in	O
Germany	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
MEDUSER	O
Association	O
discussed	O
issues	O
of	O
software	O
use	O
,	O
development	O
,	O
CAD/CAM	O
data	O
integration	O
and	O
database	O
connectivity	O
and	O
developed	O
concepts	O
and	O
demands	O
put	O
forward	O
to	O
the	O
various	O
software	O
owners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MEDUSA	B-Language
forums	O
have	O
recently	O
been	O
revived	O
with	O
growing	O
numbers	O
of	O
new	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
also	O
continues	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
hard	O
core	O
of	O
MEDUSA	B-Language
users	O
who	O
have	O
deployed	O
the	O
system	O
for	O
over	O
two	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
