RobiNZ CAD Blog

Seek and ye old PC shall die, only to be born again

I've been working from home (WFH) for 9± weeks using my old desktop PC to Remote Connect to a CAD workstation in the office with no problems. I purchased it in December 2009, and it has been used for intermittent CAD, gaming and general home computing ever since. I got a big (for the day) 1.5 Terabyte hard drive as it's my 'download everything' local backup for 800GB of OneDrive cloud stored documents, photos etc. On my mobile machines I just have the OneDrive folders I need set to off-line to reduce storage & sync data. It's an old PB... Read more →

Ride/drive distance planning with Windows Map + Ink

Want to plan a ride/drive and just need to know a rough distance for a few options; grab the pen, Map > measure distance, scribble, scribble, scribble, done. The “Pen Directions” option does the same, with turn instructions, between each end of an inked line but tends to be too aggressive enforcing minimum distance between them to plan fun meandering rides. Read more →

BaseQi Ninja Drive - The best Surface Book accessory not made by Microsoft

The Surface Book standard SD memory card slot is a great feature. My SLR & Compact cameras both use them but my phone, bike, and car cameras use Micro-SD. It is easy enough to use an adaptor for them but it sticks out so bagging, travelling, with it in is risky. I noticed PB Tech stocked the “BaseQi Aluminium Micro SD Adapter” which takes a Micro-SD. It fits flush, with a recess to enable easy extraction, so I can leave the adaptor in the slot. It’s a convenient way to always have an adaptor available but in future, should I... Read more →

Revit to (Surface) Go?

You think he'd* be more impressed, Revit 2019 running on a Surface Go! * Surface Pen and (small) dog for scale Read more →

Making my Perfect PC? A peak beneath the Microsoft Surface at Autodesk University #AU2017

It was more by chance, than planning, that I ended up in Jeff Stewart’s session at Autodesk University 2017 (AU2017) last November. I was talking to some Microsoft representatives in the exhibit hall and they mentioned it was on the following day. Somehow, I had overlooked it while setting up my schedule but that was soon rectified. Jeff started his career as an electrical engineer, in avionics, and is now the Senior Director, Product Line Manager for Surface Book at Microsoft. The chance to learn more about the Surface line was not to be missed! Surface & Me At work... Read more →

Wi-Fi may reveal more than you think–Dr Karl

With reality capture becoming an important part of CAD/BIM any advance of this technology should be of interest. Imagine a technology sensing physical geometry, human biometrics, even touch device input and speech remotely. Then imagine it doesn’t require any new hardware installation to generate this information, just to capture it… Have a listen to this BBC podcast from 04:30 through 15:00 about what researchers are finding by analysing Wi-Fi signal interference. This is not device tracking or dependent on beacons, just the ambient Wi-Fi now present in almost every building and lots of public spaces. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p046gpcv BBC 5 live's science... Read more →

Microsoft Surface Book Headed To NZ

Tomorrow is today as the Surface Book is already available for pre-order in New Zealand from $2,749.00 (i5, 128GB SSD, 8GB) to $4,899.00 (i7, 512GB SSD, 16GB) at the Microsoft NZ Store. Surface Book Headed To 10 New Markets, Pre-Orders Starting Tomorrow - Petri “Below is the breakdown of when the devices will be available in each market: China and Hong Kong availability beginning January 15. Australia and New Zealand availability beginning January 28. Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom availability beginning February 18.” Read more →

The return of the drawing board?

I once had a drawing board, I want one again. This one: Ideum’s Multitouch Platform Drafting Table Via arch-student.com Read more →

Real2015 | CAPTURE > COMPUTE > CREATE now view on demand

If, like me, you didn’t get to the reality capture conference Real2015 you can view the sessions on demand. An amazing collection of topics, see a sample in the summary video below. Real2015.com/on-demand/ Get Ready for REAL 2016 by taking a look back at last year’s ground breaking summit. The inaugural year of REAL was an amazing exploration of the convergence of 3d sensing, making & visualization. Relive and experience leading designers, artists, entrepreneurs & educators discussing the latest innovations in this 3D revolution. Read more →

How to get a dual monitor set up at home

It is a multi-step (and quite expensive) process, but worked for me: Get a heat pump installed (nowhere near the PC, not even using the same power circuit) Arrive home and start computer, discover no response from screen No power indication No backlight No video Restart computer, thinking screen may be stuck in sleep mode No sign of life from screen Check power and video connection to screen No sign of life from screen Plug screen into different power source (in case bad outlet on UPS), then directly into another wall plug with no UPS or power strip No sign... Read more →