RobiNZ CAD Blog

Curing 'phantom screen touches' on an old Surface Book?

My Surface Book 2 is old, well out of any warranty, but still performs really well for my own needs. It's a home machine but can still run CAD, Revit, even (just) Microsoft Flight Sim, well enough to not consider a replacement. It was a little tight for storage (only 500GB on board) but a card in the SD slot doubled that for storing Flight Sim (about 450GB on its own)! The then phantom touch arrived... I didn't get a screen shot (below is my reproduction) but the other day on start-up it looked like a phantom finger was permanently... Read more →

Well, that's saved me a fortune! | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

As a Surface Book 2 (SB2) owner I watched the launch of its replacement, the Surface Laptop Studio (SLS), this morning with some interest. Although the specification mostly impressed* the new form factor doesn't really appeal. It looses the iconic Surface Book hinge and ability to detach the display that is, for me, a great feature of the current design. Detaching the display means the SB2 loses access to its graphics card, left in the base with secondary battery, but becomes a light weight high powered large tablet as the i7 chip, integrated Intel Graphics and storage are all in... Read more →

Enthusiasts can upgrade non-compliant older PCs to Windows 11?

Update: Mary Jo Foley reports: Microsoft leaves a loophole for those wanting to run Windows 11 on 'unsupported' hardware An "unsupported state," in this case, means your PC won't be entitled to receive updates via Windows Update. These may (or may not) include security and driver updates... It seems Microsoft are relaxing their security hardware requirements for Windows 11 a little: Microsoft Keeps Windows 11 Hardware Requirements, But Will Placate Enthusiasts | www.thurrott.com Microsoft said that it will not step back from its stringent Windows 11 hardware requirements, but it will make concessions to enthusiasts…. Behind the scenes, Microsoft will... Read more →

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 →

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 →

My perfect computer - Did Microsoft just reinvent the design office?

Way back in 2009 I wrote a spec for a design PC. It was inspired by the discovery of my 1980s design toolkit in the back of a wardrobe. + + + Long made obsolete by computers there are still some aspects of these tools I miss. Today Microsoft released a new Surface device which met or (far) exceeded most of those 2009 requirements: So what is My Perfect PC (for now)? Based on technology that's available today, or nearly here, I'd like: Powerful processor, memory, disk spec for CAD, BIM, Engineering Modelling. [Yes] High quality separate graphics [Yes] Touch,... 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 →

2013 Blogging Highlights

Another year has flown by and it is 2014. Time to look back at 2013 from a bloggy (not just CAD) perspective: Best Blog Event: For me the event of the year, blog’wise, was the Revit Technology Conference. It was an inspiring mix of education, inspiration, meeting new folks (many Kiwis from out of town) and reunions. I didn’t get to Autodesk University this year but RTC meant some of the notable AU speakers came to me. Also notable that it was ‘at home’, Auckland, but also a new experience. The evening dinner was in an Auckland venue I’ve known... Read more →

My Samsung ATIV Smart PC: I love it, but returned it…

UPDATE 03/22/2013: I have my replacement Samsung #ATIV keyboard dock and all is good. No more wobbly power connection so far! After a couple of weeks with my Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro I have returned it. I hope to get it, or another, back but am currently waiting for ‘the verdict’. After a couple of weeks home use this is how I found life with a Windows 8 hybrid tablet/ultra-book. What’s right – The ATIV as a Tablet The ATIV, and the Windows 8 Modern User Interface (formerly Metro ), worked beautifully as a tablet. Start-up from sleep took... Read more →