RobiNZ CAD Blog

2010 Blogging Highlights

At about this time I do a Blog related review of the year so here goes…

Best Blog Discovery:

Last year it was Twitter & TweetDeck, This year it’s Twitter Lists. Lists allow you to group and see tweeps tweets without “following them”. Using this I went from following 1200+ to about 200 but still see all their tweets in subject based lists.

I had used lists but not realised the impact of listing without following until I tried to DM @noozeeland. I couldn’t as he wasn’t following me (the only downside) yet obviously saw and responded to my tweets. That's when I found how he used lists as later detailed in his post: Twitter Tip: Lists - How to & why

Best Comment:

Often the inspiration for a post is getting stuck, finding a solution and hoping it it will help someone else (or me as web searches occasionally lead back to my own blog!). That’s why this recent comment on an old ADT/ACA post made me smile:

“omg omg omg omg thankyou so much. i am just at the last plot of a hellish day, it's 10:30pm and i'm still at work. i couldnt plot or save and it was THE last thing i had to do before i go home. just type save and enter. THANKS”

Biggest Surprise?

I booked and paid to attend Autodesk University in September. Work sent me last year so this trip was on me. In November, a few weeks before the event, a media invite arrived from Autodesk which effectively credited the AU fee portion of my costs. Thanks Autodesk as it also means I’m ahead of budget saving for AU 2011!

Best Blog Event(s):

Autodesk University is always an awesome event, a chance to meet fellow bloggers and readers. However, this year it had stiff competition this year from another meeting which lived up to it’s AMAZ!NG title. For me the highlight of The Amaz!ng Meeting Australia was James Randi (below left). I’d read his books, seen him on video (TV and via the net) but the chance to hear his TAMOz sessions and meet him more than justified the trip to Sydney. However, TAMOz also meant meeting a fantastic bunch of people, social events (both official & fringe) and several days of fascinating sessions. My “Science Skeptic” Twitter list has 200+ tweeps and I met many of them on twitter, via the #TAMOZ tag, and at The Amaz!ng Meeting Australia.

An example of worlds overlapping was learning a fellow Kiwi at TAMOZ uses Autodesk Maya/Max for TV production!

  

Best Podcast(s):

Two tie for a recognition this year and both relate to TAMOZ. I first learnt of the event via The Skeptic Zone - - The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason. They were also instrumental in organising TAMOz and recorded a podcast live on stage.

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe is a (mostly) US based podcast and they travelled down under to appear, and record a podcast at TAMOz. I listen to both regularly and it was great to see/meet the people who create them and be in the audience at a recording.

Blog Related Concern:

Say media, by which I mean SAYmedia.com. Videoegg acquired TypePad’s parent company Six Apart recently forming “SAY Media”. The concern is Say seem to be more focused on blogging as a business and this one isn’t. While they promise to maintain and enhance TypePad for non-commercial blogs it’s a bit unsettling.

Best New Blog Tool:

It isn’t exactly new but last year I had to switch from BlogJet to Live Writer. Although BlogJet has been fixed I haven’t gone back. Live Writer has been good and the 2011 update gave me another ribbon to love  

“Doh!” of the year:

Trusting QANTAS to get me to Autodesk University 2010 on time: They didn’t.

You think I’d have learnt after the same thing happened going to AU 2009.

Thanks!

Thanks to all who visit, read, comment & write. Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year.

Taking notes, from Autodesk University 2004 to #AU2010

I’ve been using the notebook (right) for meetings since Autodesk University 2004. It’s apparent that I don’t take many analog notes as, seven years later, I have only just filled it! One reason it survived is I like the size and ring binding which allows pages to be torn out and filed/scanned.

Was that my last paper notebook?

An IT colleague noticed the old AU 2004 logo on that book recently and thanks to him I already have a replacement – from another conference - in the same format. Thanks Amit!

It will last even longer as I typically use a computer (laptop or tablet) or my iPhone for notes. For Autodesk University 2010 I didn’t take any paper documents as packed the company Convertible Tablet PC* and my iPhone. All my class resources were available on both – maintained using Dropbox cloud sync - and I used Mindjet applications for my notes.

When small is good

For sessions like the main stage & keynotes I prefer Mindjet iPhone (left), especially with a black map theme. It is discreet, easy to handle and was able to keep up with the information flow for key info. I especially like being able to tap in rich info like URL’s and use them immediately if needed. I saw quite a few notebooks and iPads in the general session but think iPhone is better in tight theatre/stadium seating. I use the dark scheme as find a bright white screen in a dark room quite annoying (and imagine others do too).

I’d like this to be an application theme which applied to all parts of the Mindjet iPhone UI, not just the map document. I’d also prefer Mindjet iPhone to use the same .mmap format as MindManager but it has it’s own (compatible) format.

Or scrawl & scribble

For lectures I used MindManager on the Tablet PC in tablet/pen mode. As I detailed last year the MindManager structure, text recognition for search and ability to mix sketches and hand written text is awesome for lecture notes. The browser pane in MindManager allowed me to have reference session notes and my working note map side by side without fiddling with window layouts (or maximise/minimise).

Open, but not, Office

The Tablet had Open Office loaded and I found it poor at rendering anything other than basic Office documents. Some reference documents, especially presentations, were illegible as Open Office failed to resolve so much content or formatting. Lesson learnt for next time, take a real Office!

I don’t miss the dreaded post match “notes write up”!

One thing that I love is how IPhone Mindjet notes export to MindManager (right is the iPhone map seen above). I leave all my hand scrawled, can’t call it writing, maps in ink format. It’s OK for me to read and MindManager does background recognition which makes them searchable without conversion.

Apart from a simple file transfer from the iPhone there is no need to “process” notes or “write up” after a meeting. It is one aspect of analog note taking I don’t miss!

Tablet + Smartphone does not equal iPad?

This trip confirmed I don’t want a Tablet I can’t write on especially if it means losing half an - already small - screen for a virtual keyboard. For me the “gap” between smartphone and real computer is too small to justify investing in another platform.

* Although getting on the old HP was recently updated from Vista to Windows 7. The change has been rather remarkable as it almost feels like a new machine, especially the speed at which it wakes up from sleeping.

Media Q&A with Carl Bass #AU2010

I took a lot of technically ok photos of Carl Bass, Autodesk President and Chief Executive Officer, addressing the media Q&A but thought, although blurred, this one captured him best.

It was soon after the AU General session and Carl seemed pretty relaxed, with a coffee in hand. Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk CTO, was also on present to elaborate on his General Session theme of “Infinite Computing”.

Hazy on “The Cloud”

Questions about “Autodesk & The Cloud” resulted in as many questions as answers. Rather than direct customers to a single solution, or platform, it seems Autodesk are getting more agnostic. Support for OS and “cloudiness” is by merit, or market share, and appropriateness rather than dogma.

There certainly seems to be a more modular approach to applications. The recent launch, in US, of AutoCAD for Mac was said to be the result of OS independent core application code with only the specifics of user interface/OS interaction being matched to the platform.

Although the cloud featured, as in the general session, it seems a flexible approach being adopted. For instance, AutoCAD WS was released as a Cloud only browser/iOS platform application but its latest 1.1 update supports off-line use. This makes it more viable in New Zealand where mobile data is expensive and connectivity a challenge at times.

Carl emphasised, as last year*, Autodesk is not getting into the cloud/server hardware game (maybe any further considering they have Buzzsaw) and will use external data centres for it’s cloud storage. With cloud space & processing costs quoted in cents/unit there seems little business imperative to join that race.

Jeff mentioned that the most realistic model will likely be a mix of local/cloud storage and processing with the task and location determining which you use. It was something he covered in more detail in the Technology Main stage which I’ll cover in a future post. Given Autodesk sites range from one to thousands of users I suspect they will see very different cloud adoption rates in their customer base.

I much prefer the hybrid cloud approach but maybe that’s more a comment on NZ web performance and my desire to have the data on my drive for local backup. This blog has been authored using Live Mesh file storage/sync (for draft files & Images) for several years and I happily used Dropbox for my AU travel documents and notes.

The consumer focus, or is Autodesk getting “Cool”?

It was mentioned, in spite of two million free downloads and five hundred thousand sales, the Sketchbook Mobile consumer applications were not generating significant ROI: “not even enough to pay for AU”.

While they may not contribute to today’s bottom line I suspect if this is more about re-imaging Autodesk from “stodgy corporate desktop” to “mobile cool”. The desktop software is cool but the next generation of Autodesk customers, users, clients are growing up with smart mobile devices. It makes sense to meet and win them over on their turf.

SketchBook Mobile for Android was announced at AU bringing this popular app to even more users. One aspect Sketchbook I wasn’t aware of, mentioned by Carl, is the Sketchbook Flickr Group community. There was also some awesome Sketchbook work exhibited (photo right) at AU.

New Markets : The Designers Clients

It’s not just designers who need design data. Although not new several Labs projects have moved beyond providing Designer tools to supporting their clients and suppliers. Labs projects like Showroom, graduates like Autodesk Homestyler, have led this while also allowing Autodesk to experiment with cloud based render & server technologies.

Technology to the core, or the cloud?

A question about multi-core technology in desktop applications prompted some interesting responses. Although there are some multi-core tasks implemented (like render) Jeff mentioned the impact of extending that further may be less than commonly expected.

It will be interesting to see how applications develop on the local processor and use cloud processing. One area shown in the Technology General session was outsourcing of rendering (Labs Project Neon) and Point Cloud/Mesh model generation from photographs (Labs Photofly) using cloud processing. Couple that with the emerging GPU processing and the way our computing is processed could radically change in the near future.

Revit for Mac?

The question was if/when we’d see a native Revit for Mac? The answer was along the lines of “I can’t say” (but wasn’t never!). I really don’t care about Revit on Mac but would love to see Revit WS to allow browser and mobile access to Revit models (see this post to have your say about that).

The lasting impression

Although he is President and Chief Executive Officer of a large corporation – with it’s undoubted pressures -  it was great to see Carl still loves the technology, design & creating. Quite how he gets time for projects like the Cheek-to-Cheek Bench I don’t know!

* I wasn’t at AU2009 but saw the press Q&A on web video.     See AU 2010 Disclosure

I feel old; remember when Lego had printed assembly guides?

Check out the YouTube below or download the free app & data to your iOS device here. Design tech meets the new consumer generation. There is more to Inventor & Publisher Mobile than Industrial design & documentation.

Check out Autodesk 3D Instructions for LEGO® Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Castle
To celebrate the season, we're spreading Holiday cheer – Autodesk style! The LEGO® Harry Potter™ Hogwarts™ Castle Set #4842 is flying off the shelf and to add to the fun we've created 3D interactive instructions for the Inventor® Publisher Mobile Viewer…

AutoCAD User Research, Tardis or Grid Portal? #AU2010

While users come to Autodesk University to learn it’s also a great opportunity for Autodesk to hear from their customers. There are exhibit hall conversations, user interviews and usability sessions.

There are lots of AutoCAD users and I wonder how they all fit into the little AutoCAD User Research Booth.

Perhaps it uses Dr Who’s Tardis technology or is it just a portal to the TRON Grid?

Sporked By Betsy at Autodesk University #AU2010

It was great to meet the lovely Betsy Weber from Techsmith, think Snagit and Camtasia Studio, and I was delighted when she presented me with a legendary Techsmith Titanium Spork*.

* Its a spoon and a fork so may be a Foon? No it’s a Spork!

 

 @betsyweber Betsy Weber

Welcome the newest members of the @techsmith #sporkclub! @robincapper and @thecadgeek  #au2010

I want to ride my Pi Cycle? #AU2010

Inventor helped the Pi Cycle designers optimise the size of it’s dominant physical feature, the arching main frame, and featured in the Manufacturing Keynote. The Pi Cycle main tube is important as in addition to usual bicycle frame duties it houses the battery & controls which make the Pi Cycle more than your average bike.

It’s also the first, that I know of, Wi-Fi enabled bike and can communicate with the Pi Service network should service or repair be required.

I’m not entirely convinced about the need for electric bikes but Pi Cycle may be the machine to change that. I noticed they do a pedal power only one so you need not have the battery overhead to Pi Cycle

Autodesk University General Session Keynote #AU2010

Lynn Allen opened the AU General Session and mentioning the new 60 minute AU session format. She also announced a repeat of last years challenge when the person who passes the most Certification Exams at AU2010 will get a free ticket to AU2011.

Carl Bass, Autodesk CEO, focused on “Innovation” as “Invention + Application”. This set the stage for a series of speakers who are applying design technology for this.

Examples ranged from Student Education Project H Design, Microwave ground powered space shuttles from Escape Dynamics, Civil Transport Project Simulations from San Francisco & Seattle, the Tesla Model S and some amazing “Bespoke Innovations” prosthetic legs made with 3D scanning, manufacturing and personal design. Then there was the prototype which became TRON Legacy. The real movie appears later today, in 3D & Surround, in a strict “no camera” session.

Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk CTO, introduced the concept of Infinite Computing. I suspect it will be the memorable theme of Autodesk University 2010 as Autodesk applications & the design industry embrace the cloud. It is already seen in Labs (like Homestyler, Showroom) and products like AutoCAD WS. Perhaps the only obstacle to unlimited processing and simultaneous design & analysis will be concerns around data security.