It is Alive in the Lab

Dacor.com site allows "What if" scenarios using Project Showroom

I was looking at the Project Showroom integration on Dacor.com. Recently we remodeled the kitchen in our townhome. Although ours is smaller than the traditional kitchen depicted on the web site, I couldn't help but notice that I could approximate the before and after pictures of our remodel.

BEFORE

AFTER

As part of remodeling we replaced the cabinets and counter tops but kept the appliances from the previous homeowner. The Dacor site makes it easy to see what new appliances would look like:

WHAT IF?

Shopping this way is easy and informative.

I will test the http://dlvrit.com service for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Despite repeated attempts, I cannot get Twitterfeed to work properly.

"Eating our own dog food" is alive in the lab.

Dacor.com site allows "What if" scenarios using Project Showroom

BEFORE

AFTER

As part of remodeling we replaced the cabinets and counter tops but kept the appliances from the previous homeowner. The Dacor site makes it easy to see what new appliances would look like:

WHAT IF?

Shopping this way is easy and informative.

I will test the http://dlvrit.com service for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Despite repeated attempts, I cannot get Twitterfeed to work properly.

"Eating our own dog food" is alive in the lab.

Revised Labs Autodesk Showroom Page

Most technologies on Labs have a Try it button so you can try the technology preview of the service. Others have a Download Now button so you can download the installer for technology preview of the utility. Project Showroom is an interesting situation that requires more than one button:

We have the original technology preview of the service at http://showroom.labs.autodesk.com that allowed us to simulate a shopping experence where images required 4 seconds to generate.
We have the Kitchen/Bathroom Industry Show mockup of what Showroom would look like if it were embedded in the Jenn-Air manufacturer site at http://jennair.showroom.labs.autdoesk.com.
We have the live integration on the Dacor site. The integration appears in two places - a style viewer where you can see combinations of appliances in a traditional kitchen at http://www.dacor.com/StyleViewerHost.aspx and the ability to see individual appliances at http://www.dacor.com/ProductSelectorHost.aspx.

With this in mind, I have updated the Showroom page on the Autodesk Labs site.

Thanks to Senior Product Marketing Manager, Jim Wilson, who provided the text for the page and helped me work it out.

Presenting the "still there" and "graduated" versions of technology previews is alive in the lab.

Revised Labs Autodesk Showroom Page

We have the original technology preview of the service at http://showroom.labs.autodesk.com that allowed us to simulate a shopping experence where images required 4 seconds to generate.
We have the Kitchen/Bathroom Industry Show mockup of what Showroom would look like if it were embedded in the Jenn-Air manufacturer site at http://jennair.showroom.labs.autdoesk.com.
We have the live integration on the Dacor site. The integration appears in two places - a style viewer where you can see combinations of appliances in a traditional kitchen at http://www.dacor.com/StyleViewerHost.aspx and the ability to see individual appliances at http://www.dacor.com/ProductSelectorHost.aspx.

With this in mind, I have updated the Showroom page on the Autodesk Labs site.

Thanks to Senior Product Marketing Manager, Jim Wilson, who provided the text for the page and helped me work it out.

Presenting the "still there" and "graduated" versions of technology previews is alive in the lab.

Doug Look's Dissertation on Apple Genius

Apple support is as easy as pie.

Senior Strategic Designer, Doug Look, filed this report.

What a compelling, wonderful experience that I had this weekend in my quest for Apple product support.

The situation: our high school student son has been complaining that his Mac laptop has seriously slowed down in the past week -- what's going on? Is it time for a new laptop? Is there a virus or too much crap loaded on the hard drive?

I do a Google search (the standard first step of any research process) for Mac laptop slowing down. I find some tips and tricks from a few sites that correlate some basics around things to check first -- remove extraneous software, clear cache, turn off fully and reboot, and a few other things to try. Son tries free optimization software downloaded from the net.

After the optimization seemed to only help a little, I finally get a first hand look at the problem laptop -- and immediately I hear that sound that sends shivers up your spine, the shudder and ehhh…ehhhh….ehhhh…sound of a problem hard drive.

Now what? Back to Google of course to start searching for ways to deal with the hard drive problem. Get pointed to Genius Bar support page… and here's how the story unfolded.

Though the Apple web site seemed very slow (perhaps too much traffic due to the iPad launch?), I found my way to an Apple store locator, found available stores in the San Francisco area, selected a time slot from a listing of available openings, and made a reservation for a fifteen minute time slot on Sunday morning at 10:00 am.

I called the SF store to make sure that it would be open at 10:00 am, since the mall hours were listed as opening at noon. I actually got through to a real person at the local store who informed me that in fact the store is open at 8:00 am EVERY DAY for support and training. He checked my reservation and confirmed it over the phone. I couldn't quite believe that after I dialed the store phone number, I navigated through a quick phone tree and was assisted by a real person who knew what they were doing -- amazing! I received an email confirmation as well, with detailed information on how to get to the store.

Arriving at 9:55 am Sunday morning at the Apple store, I was greeted with smiles and confirmed by the maitre d', who assured me that the geniuses would be arriving soon. I waited at the counter, and promptly at 10:00 am the genii burst through the side door and made their entrance.

I looked up at my genius, who had a badge that identified him as Jeremy Genius. Then I noticed Adam Genius next to him, and Bert Genius next to him -- very cool that they even have a nice sense of humor as part of the experience. Jeremy confirmed my reservation and asked, "What's up?"

So, I flipped open the laptop, pressed the on button, and Jeremy put his ear close to hear that tell-tale whirring, crunching sound of a hard drive in the throes of its last days as part of the team. Yup, it's a bad hard-drive. "Yikes" I say, "Now what?".

Jeremy punches in some information on his laptop while explaining that the laptop is out of warranty, that they can replace the hard drive (but not with an upgraded one) for about $300 including labor. They can also replace the keyboard, which has been missing its right Shift key for months, for another $75 or so. Hmmm…I'm thinking, well at least we can fix it for not too much.

Then Jeremy lobs a surprise grenade -- he explains that most of the work done through Apple is for work that's covered by warranty. For stuff outside of warranty, perhaps I might be better off going to a third party specialist, who can perform the work faster, cheaper, and upgrade the hard drive to a larger faster one. I'm a bit stunned when Jeremy even hands me a business card for a recommended outside vendor.

Did I walk into Nordstrom by mistake? Is the official Apple Genius guy really telling me that I'd be better off going to an outside vendor? He goes on to tell me about Carbon Copy Cloner, a free download product that clones an image of your laptop to make it easy to get back up and running after you've replaced your hard drive.

I have to say I was impressed, by a series of cumulative, small but important aspects of this customer experience:

The online experience of reserving time with a live person in San Francisco who could help me with my problem.
That someone actually answered a direct phone call to the store and assisted me with good information AND was nice and courteous.
That I could have made an online reservation for any day at 8:00 am to meet with an Apple Genius.
That the Geniuses had clever name tags that identified them as part of the Apple Genius family/brand.
That I received a nice greeting upon entering the store, that the Genius was on time.
That the Genius was audacious enough to offer information that included suggesting someone else, other than Apple, might be most appropriate for my needs -- mouth agape here, and jaw dropped.
I was in and out of the Apple store genius meet up within fifteen minutes, had my questions answered, received quotes on servicing my laptop, learned how much it might be to replace with a new laptop, got advice on best ways to access discounts with education vs. corporate pricing, and left this experience thoroughly satisfied.

It definitely seems like there are valuable lessons to be learned from this experience that can be applied to creating compelling customer experiences. I was impressed, especially after thinking about how many aspects of the overall experience were done so well. Wow.

Back in the day, quality guru, Tom Peters, used to tell a story about how poorly he was treated when he ordered a part from his local auto store and how well he was treated when an airline lost his luggage. His point was that each customer issue is an opportunity -- not a problem. Apple gets this. The other day my daughter tweeted:

Apple's Genius Bar pulled through for me two days in a row! They sure know how to make people happy.

Thanks Doug.

Doug Look's Dissertation on Apple Genius

Apple support is as easy as pie.

Senior Strategic Designer, Doug Look, filed this report.

What a compelling, wonderful experience that I had this weekend in my quest for Apple product support.

Now what? Back to Google of course to start searching for ways to deal with the hard drive problem. Get pointed to Genius Bar support page… and here's how the story unfolded.

I have to say I was impressed, by a series of cumulative, small but important aspects of this customer experience:

The online experience of reserving time with a live person in San Francisco who could help me with my problem.
That someone actually answered a direct phone call to the store and assisted me with good information AND was nice and courteous.
That I could have made an online reservation for any day at 8:00 am to meet with an Apple Genius.
That the Geniuses had clever name tags that identified them as part of the Apple Genius family/brand.
That I received a nice greeting upon entering the store, that the Genius was on time.
That the Genius was audacious enough to offer information that included suggesting someone else, other than Apple, might be most appropriate for my needs -- mouth agape here, and jaw dropped.
I was in and out of the Apple store genius meet up within fifteen minutes, had my questions answered, received quotes on servicing my laptop, learned how much it might be to replace with a new laptop, got advice on best ways to access discounts with education vs. corporate pricing, and left this experience thoroughly satisfied.

Apple's Genius Bar pulled through for me two days in a row! They sure know how to make people happy.

Thanks Doug.

Updated Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month Now Available

Senior Manager, Worldwide DevTech, Kean Walmsley, provided me with an update for the Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD ADN plugin. In direct response to your feedback at labs.plugins@autodesk.com, Kean noted:

"The code wasn’t distinguishing between the clipboard formats for a full AutoCAD object and a partial MText object (and there clearly is a difference in the way they need to be treated). The new version now handles this correctly by filtering out partial MText. The code change stops the plugin from attempting to intercept partial MText copy/paste operations (which can cause a crash), letting AutoCAD handle the operations properly."

You can download the plugin from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free Download of Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

Check out the source code changes by diffing your original download against this one.

Keeping the plugin of the month train current is alive in the lab.

ADN Plugin of the Month: Screenshot for Inventor Now Available

Yesterday we released an update to the Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD. Today in keeping with our long-standing tradition (OK it's only been 6 months), we have released the ADN plugin of the month for February:

Free download of Screenshot for Inventor on Autodesk Labs

From its read me: "The Screenshot plugin can be used with Inventor [2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)] to simplify the process of capturing images of parts of documents, or the entire document or application windows. It optionally allows you to remap the background to white and the foreground to black, and convert the entire image to grayscale, as well as sending the capture image directly to a printer."

The plugin was written by Xiaodong Liang based on a plugin for AutoCAD developed by Kean Walmsley. I guess the Inventor developers had clipboard envy. Alex Fielder and Fenton Webb provided helpful input during the design and testing of this plugin. So please try this out, look at the source code, and see how to program your own add-ons for Autodesk Inventor. Let us know your thoughts at labs.plugins@autodesk.com.

Demonstrating that plugins are not just for AutoCAD is alive in the lab.

Updated Alias Sketch for 64-bit AutoCAD Now Available

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the technology preview of Alias Sketch for AutoCAD. We are happy to see that you want to paint, work with images, and illustrate as part of your AutoCAD drawings. In fact some of you were downright angry that we limited the technology preview to vanilla AutoCAD. We may expand to the vertical applications in the future, but for our first take, we wanted to stick our toe in the AutoCAD water.

Many of you have sent great feedback to labs.acad.aliassketch@autodesk.com and autodesk.labs.aliassketchforautocad discussion forum:

Burns: There is a feature offered by stand alone sketching programs, which I did not find in this preliminary test version of Alias Sketch, and that is a method of ruling straight and elliptical or varying radius curves. This feature is pretty much indispensable to my way of working. I am very glad to have had a chance to check out this pre-release program, and I sure wish you guys all the best with it!
Ron: I found that Alias Sketch for AutoCAD does not install anything in the "Classic AutoCAD" Work Space" - just the New Ribbon! I am still hanging on to the classic....much faster!
Nick: The palettes need to be dock-able like the rest of AutoCAD's palettes. I am getting some strange things happening when Alias Sketch is open and I am using it on my secondary screen (some pop-ups momentarily pop-up on my primary monitor before appearing where they should). Also the undo/redo buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar should work in Alias Sketch while performing Alias Sketch operations.
Betli: Wow. Amazing! I didn't know you could sketch in AutoCAD.

One or two of you noted that you had an unhandled exception crash with the 64-bit version on Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Windows 7. This new version corrects that. So for you 64-bit users, please uninstall, download the new installer, and reinstall. We appreciate your time and assistance with this. After all, this is exactly what technology previews are all about. In addition, if you are running AutoCAD using a network license, please send an email to labs.acad.aliassketch@autodesk.com with a subject reading “Require Network License”.

Rounding out the corners early in the process is alive in the lab.

Autodesk Gallery IDEA Studio Grant Program

Attention Students: Get involved!

I sit right across from Senior Marketing Manager, Kimberly Whinna. Kimberly manages many aspects of our One Market Gallery. She's actually training me to be an Autodesk One Market Gallery Ambassador. I thought we'd use the term docent, but Senior Manager, Customer Briefing Program, Jason Medal-Katz, informed me that if your title is ambassador, people have to refer to you as "your excellency." Yeah right, I look forward to that. Kimberly wanted everyone to know that

Check out the IDEA Studio, Autodesk's new residency program in San Francisco! Includes grant and temporary relocation. Submit a proposal: http://bit.ly/axa1sP

Celebrating that I work in one of the coolest buildings in the world is alive in the lab.

Autodesk Gallery IDEA Studio Grant Program

Attention Students: Get involved!

Check out the IDEA Studio, Autodesk's new residency program in San Francisco! Includes grant and temporary relocation. Submit a proposal: http://bit.ly/axa1sP

Celebrating that I work in one of the coolest buildings in the world is alive in the lab.

Updated Alias Sketch for 64-bit AutoCAD Now Available

Many of you have sent great feedback to labs.acad.aliassketch@autodesk.com and autodesk.labs.aliassketchforautocad discussion forum:

Burns: There is a feature offered by stand alone sketching programs, which I did not find in this preliminary test version of Alias Sketch, and that is a method of ruling straight and elliptical or varying radius curves. This feature is pretty much indispensable to my way of working. I am very glad to have had a chance to check out this pre-release program, and I sure wish you guys all the best with it!
Ron: I found that Alias Sketch for AutoCAD does not install anything in the "Classic AutoCAD" Work Space" - just the New Ribbon! I am still hanging on to the classic....much faster!
Nick: The palettes need to be dock-able like the rest of AutoCAD's palettes. I am getting some strange things happening when Alias Sketch is open and I am using it on my secondary screen (some pop-ups momentarily pop-up on my primary monitor before appearing where they should). Also the undo/redo buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar should work in Alias Sketch while performing Alias Sketch operations.
Betli: Wow. Amazing! I didn't know you could sketch in AutoCAD.

Rounding out the corners early in the process is alive in the lab.

ADN Plugin of the Month: Screenshot for Inventor Now Available

Free download of Screenshot for Inventor on Autodesk Labs

Demonstrating that plugins are not just for AutoCAD is alive in the lab.

Updated Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month Now Available

You can download the plugin from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free Download of Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

Check out the source code changes by diffing your original download against this one.

Keeping the plugin of the month train current is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly Update Now Available

Software Development Manager, Tal Weiss, let me know that the team updated Project Butterfly yesterday.

Free Project Butterfly Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

The update included new features and fixes requested by the community. As a service offering, the team updates the servers on Amazon EC2, and you have the new release - no download, no install, no nothing.The new topics are: AEC walls and objects, draw and edit arcs, snapping, "P" for pan, open in same window, middle mouse button, and right click menus. You can read the details about what's in this latest update:

Project Butterfly Blog - New Version Up

Revving our newest technology preview is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly Update Now Available

Software Development Manager, Tal Weiss, let me know that the team updated Project Butterfly yesterday.

Free Project Butterfly Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

Project Butterfly Blog - New Version Up

Revving our newest technology preview is alive in the lab.

Program Manager - going to the dark side?

I have been a software development manager for many years. I have been fortunate to work as part of teams that brought you HOOPS, Heidi, AutoCAD R14, WHIP!, Volo View, Buzzsaw, Design Review, Project Freewheel, Autodesk Freewheel, Project Draw, Boomless Chameleon, Wiimote Navigation, Project Showroom, and Project Twitch. Effective February 1, I have a new title: Program Manager.

At Autodesk, Program Managers are responsible for achieving the goals and objectives of one or more strategic business programs. A Program Manager develops and implements marketing and business strategies and tactics related to the program. Think of Autodesk Labs as a program instead of a product. A software development project is a balance between how difficult something is to build and how much value it provides a customer. Over the years as a software development manager, I have had lively debates with Program and Product Managers over the feasibility of satisfying customers. So now I feel like I have gone over to the dark side. I kid. I kid. Actually for the past two years one of my Labs duties has been to work with the various divisions in Autodesk to bring you technology previews like Inventor Fusion, Inventor Publisher, Project Butterfly, etc. So now I am taking one aspect of my work and focusing on it full time.

Towards this end, I am contemplating:

Reaching out to the Autodesk community to learn who you are, what you do, and where you work to get a better sense of your experience with Autodesk. Right now many of you are anonymous in that you visit the Autodesk Labs web site, try a service or download a utility, and I have no idea what makes you tick.
Publishing a monthly newsletter for people who opt in. This would peel back the covers on Autodesk Labs for those who are interested. I could share conflicting feedback we get, lessons learned, and what's on the roadmap down the road for Labs. Let me know if you hate this idea at thelabs@autodesk.com. I'd rather you tell me now that you wouldn't read it instead of after I take the time to write it.
Using social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn) more regularly to help keep you abreast of what's going on with Autodesk Labs in addition to this daily blog.

Looking forward to sharing technology in the coming year is alive in the lab.

Program Manager - going to the dark side?

Towards this end, I am contemplating:

Reaching out to the Autodesk community to learn who you are, what you do, and where you work to get a better sense of your experience with Autodesk. Right now many of you are anonymous in that you visit the Autodesk Labs web site, try a service or download a utility, and I have no idea what makes you tick.
Publishing a monthly newsletter for people who opt in. This would peel back the covers on Autodesk Labs for those who are interested. I could share conflicting feedback we get, lessons learned, and what's on the roadmap down the road for Labs. Let me know if you hate this idea at thelabs@autodesk.com. I'd rather you tell me now that you wouldn't read it instead of after I take the time to write it.
Using social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn) more regularly to help keep you abreast of what's going on with Autodesk Labs in addition to this daily blog.

Looking forward to sharing technology in the coming year is alive in the lab.

Where Y'at?

I was born in New Orleans and raised with a Catholic upbringing. I have known my lifelong friend, Tim Barrios, since I was 5. We attended Catholic grade school, Catholic high school, and college together. Recently he and his wife sent me a book The Joy of Y'at Catholicism by Earl J. Higgins. I gave this a read and thought I would share some interesting tid bits.

"Where y'at?" is a common salutation in New Orleans that means "How are you?" instead of "Where are you?"
The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne who is more commonly known by his title of Sieur de Bienville. Based on misinformation from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, many people mistakenly believe that Louisiana is broken into parishes instead of counties due to the Napoleonic code. The truth is that when Louisiana became a state, the church parish boundaries were already established so the government just used them instead of redrawing new boundaries.
Lent is a 40 day period of personal sacrifice before Easter. Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday," marks the last chance to celebrate before Lent. The word carnival comes from Latin for "goodbye to meat." There is debate as to whether turtle is considered meat (not allowed) or seafood (allowed).
King cakes are sold between January 6 and Mardi Gras. New Orleans tradition dictates that king cakes are consumed at king cake parties. Each king cake contains a plastic baby (represents baby Jesus) that is hidden in the cake. The person who randomly receives the slice with the baby has the honor of hosting the next king cake party.
Revelation is the final book of the New Testament of the Bible. According to Revelation, exactly 144,000 (no more, no less) will ascend to heaven as part of final judgement. That's why the famous New Orleans song "When the Saints Go Marching In" contains the line "I want to be in that number."

Reading this book was like a walk down memory lane in New Orleans.

Where Y'at?

"Where y'at?" is a common salutation in New Orleans that means "How are you?" instead of "Where are you?"
The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne who is more commonly known by his title of Sieur de Bienville. Based on misinformation from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, many people mistakenly believe that Louisiana is broken into parishes instead of counties due to the Napoleonic code. The truth is that when Louisiana became a state, the church parish boundaries were already established so the government just used them instead of redrawing new boundaries.
Lent is a 40 day period of personal sacrifice before Easter. Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday," marks the last chance to celebrate before Lent. The word carnival comes from Latin for "goodbye to meat." There is debate as to whether turtle is considered meat (not allowed) or seafood (allowed).
King cakes are sold between January 6 and Mardi Gras. New Orleans tradition dictates that king cakes are consumed at king cake parties. Each king cake contains a plastic baby (represents baby Jesus) that is hidden in the cake. The person who randomly receives the slice with the baby has the honor of hosting the next king cake party.
Revelation is the final book of the New Testament of the Bible. According to Revelation, exactly 144,000 (no more, no less) will ascend to heaven as part of final judgement. That's why the famous New Orleans song "When the Saints Go Marching In" contains the line "I want to be in that number."

Reading this book was like a walk down memory lane in New Orleans.

Project Butterfly Design Reviews and more - See How

Project Butterfly videos are available on my YouTube channel.

Got 2 minutes and 51 seconds? If you want to see how design reviews work in Project Butterfly, check out this video:

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Review
non-YouTube: Download Butterfly_Review.flv (134451.1K)

Actually there is more to Project Butterfly than reviewing. Here are some of the other videos. For those without YouTube access, you can download them from my Buzzsaw site one at a time using Firefox or more than one at a time using Internet Explorer.

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Overvew
non-YouTube: Overview.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly File Management
non-YouTube: File Management.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Edit
non-YouTube: Edit.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Co-Edit
non-YouTube: Co-Edit.flv

Reviewing designs via the web and more are alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly Design Reviews and more - See How

Project Butterfly videos are available on my YouTube channel.

Got 2 minutes and 51 seconds? If you want to see how design reviews work in Project Butterfly, check out this video:

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Review
non-YouTube: Download Butterfly_Review.flv (134451.1K)

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Overvew
non-YouTube: Overview.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly File Management
non-YouTube: File Management.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Edit
non-YouTube: Edit.flv

YouTube: Autodesk Labs Project Butterfly Co-Edit
non-YouTube: Co-Edit.flv

Reviewing designs via the web and more are alive in the lab.

Alias Sketch Add-in for AutoCAD Now Available

Product Line Manager, Thomas Heermann, contacted me about making a technology preview available on Autodesk Labs. He wants to get feedback on the Alias Sketch experience from the AutoCAD user base.

Free Download of Alias Sketch Add-in for AutoCAD

Thomas was keen to note:

The add-in version is for AutoCAD users who have a creative part of their job and will use the Alias Sketch add-in for integrating sketching and image editing capabilities into their current workflow for tasks that they currently user Photoshop or Corel for today.
Since AutoCAD is already vector based, the benefit is that AutoCAD users can now add image manipulation and paint workflows easily to their workflow with an Autodesk product. Alias Sketch is for AutoCAD users that need to integrate hand written annotations, create sketches, modify images, or create composite imagery. They can now communicate via illustrations versus a DWG file. It would not be useful for AutoCAD users who simply create drawings and send out DWG files.
The add-in features: Fully integrated with AutoCAD desktop and interface, color and image processing/manipulation, drawing tools (paint brushes, pencils, must be stated in a way as those who can take advantage of pen based interfaces, take advantage of Alias technology directly in AutoCAD software. Adding value to current AutoCAD customers with new technology.

At this time the technology preview is intended for English vanilla AutoCAD. Vertical AutoCAD applications like Civil 3D or MEP may be supported in a future update. So take this add-in for a spin and let us know what you think at labs.acad.aliassketch@autodesk.com. We would love to see samples of what you create.

Letting our creative juices flow is alive in the lab.

Project Showroom integrated into Dacor.com to help consumers with purchasing decisions

The Project Showroom technology preview has now grown up to be part of Dacor's production site! Check it out:

Dacor: The Life of the Kitchen

You can try the Style Viewer and Product Selector to see Project Showroom in action. And while you are there, do us a favor and buy a few appliances - we get a cut of the action. I kid. I kid. We don't. It is just gratifying to see our technology preview all grown up. Using a "software as a service" approach and the feedback we received along the way, Project Showroom had many updates:

01/26/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.27
01/19/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.26
12/18/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.25
12/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.24
11/30/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.23+
11/20/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.23
11/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.22
08/26/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.21
06/25/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.20 // more
06/05/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.19 // more
05/06/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.18
04/21/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.17
04/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.16 // more
02/13/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.15 // more
02/05/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.14 // more
01/28/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.13 // more
12/17/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.12 // more
11/19/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.11 // more
11/14/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.10 // more
10/28/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.9 // more
10/14/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.8 // more
10/07/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.7 // more
09/30/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.6
09/19/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.5
09/15/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.4 // more
08/21/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.3
08/06/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.2
07/30/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.1 // more

There was also that mock-up we did for K/BIS (Kitchen and Bathroom Industry Show):

Jenn-Air interactive kitchen powered by Autodesk® Showroom

as well as the original prototype. Now you can go to Dacor.com and see it for real.

Celebrating our graduation from preview to service status is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview expands to Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

Welcome aboard Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview home page on Autodesk Labs

As I mentioned in my Hello World post,

There are a variety of complex factors that are considered when selecting which areas have access to the technology previews. In fact there are even country specific legal and other complex factors that are considered.

In this spirit we have expanded the geographies for Inventor Publisher to include Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. I have updated the Hello World post to reflect this change. Monty Python and the Holy Grail comes to mind:

What is your name?

Autodesk Labs

What is your quest?

Feedback

What is the air speed velocity of a sparrow?

African or European?

Expanding our global reach in a quest for more feedback is alive in the lab.

Project Showroom integrated into Dacor.com to help consumers with purchasing decisions

The Project Showroom technology preview has now grown up to be part of Dacor's production site! Check it out:

Dacor: The Life of the Kitchen

01/26/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.27
01/19/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.26
12/18/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.25
12/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.24
11/30/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.23+
11/20/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.23
11/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.22
08/26/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.21
06/25/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.20 // more
06/05/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.19 // more
05/06/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.18
04/21/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.17
04/16/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.16 // more
02/13/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.15 // more
02/05/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.14 // more
01/28/2009: Released Project Showroom 1.0.13 // more
12/17/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.12 // more
11/19/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.11 // more
11/14/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.10 // more
10/28/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.9 // more
10/14/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.8 // more
10/07/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.7 // more
09/30/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.6
09/19/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.5
09/15/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.4 // more
08/21/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.3
08/06/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.2
07/30/2008: Released Project Showroom 1.0.1 // more

There was also that mock-up we did for K/BIS (Kitchen and Bathroom Industry Show):

Jenn-Air interactive kitchen powered by Autodesk® Showroom

as well as the original prototype. Now you can go to Dacor.com and see it for real.

Celebrating our graduation from preview to service status is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview expands to Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

Welcome aboard Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview home page on Autodesk Labs

As I mentioned in my Hello World post,

What is your name?

Autodesk Labs

What is your quest?

Feedback

What is the air speed velocity of a sparrow?

African or European?

Expanding our global reach in a quest for more feedback is alive in the lab.

Alias Sketch Add-in for AutoCAD Now Available

Free Download of Alias Sketch Add-in for AutoCAD

Thomas was keen to note:

The add-in version is for AutoCAD users who have a creative part of their job and will use the Alias Sketch add-in for integrating sketching and image editing capabilities into their current workflow for tasks that they currently user Photoshop or Corel for today.
Since AutoCAD is already vector based, the benefit is that AutoCAD users can now add image manipulation and paint workflows easily to their workflow with an Autodesk product. Alias Sketch is for AutoCAD users that need to integrate hand written annotations, create sketches, modify images, or create composite imagery. They can now communicate via illustrations versus a DWG file. It would not be useful for AutoCAD users who simply create drawings and send out DWG files.
The add-in features: Fully integrated with AutoCAD desktop and interface, color and image processing/manipulation, drawing tools (paint brushes, pencils, must be stated in a way as those who can take advantage of pen based interfaces, take advantage of Alias technology directly in AutoCAD software. Adding value to current AutoCAD customers with new technology.

Letting our creative juices flow is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly - just the latest SaaS installment

At Autodesk Software as a Service (SaaS) is not just a set of buzz words. For over a decade, Autodesk has been a leader in SaaS applications for the design industry, starting with Buzzsaw, the world’s largest project hosting service. Many of you might remember it as ProjectPoint as it was called back in the day when I worked on it. Our Project Butterfly Technology Preview adds to Autodesk’s long tradition of investment and operational experience with SaaS solutions.

As Carl Bass and Jeff Kowalski noted in their AU presentations, our view is that desktop software and online services will interact and that the lines between desktop applications and Web applications will be a blurred continuum over time. We are excited about the possibilities for cloud computing to potentially introduce new users to our software or allow firms to use specific software tools on demand. A cloud computing approach frees companies from installation as well as opens up access to more powerful computing than would be available on a single desktop or laptop.

The Project Butterfly Technology Preview is an on demand software tool aimed at the individual AutoCAD user who wants to view, edit, and collaborate in real-time on his or her DWG files with colleagues and clients over the Web. This is our latest foray into the world of SaaS. Examples of Autodesk’s other SaaS offerings include:

Project Twitch, which began September 18, 2009, offers some of our design applications via remote access over the Internet. It is a user alternative to traditional product trials for AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Maya and the Autodesk Revit Platform. This test marks the first time Autodesk has run its products in the cloud using a new delivery technology. Hosted trials are only available to those with sufficient bandwidth - typically those who are located within 1,000 miles of the Santa Clara data center where the applications are hosted.
As far back as November 1999, Autodesk Buzzsaw was delivered as an on-demand service that helps organizations simplify, centralize, and streamline all project-related documents and information. Although some customers originally used it as "glorified FTP," they soon came to realize its full benefits by taking advantage of its forms based workflow processing for bid collection and analysis, construction administration, and facility management.
Project Freewheel is a technology preview to experiment with the idea of design visualization and collaboration. Customers post 2D and 3D designs as DWF files to an Autodesk server. Project Freewheel then allows users to view and markup the DWF files. This service became so successful that a production version of the viewing portion is available as Autodesk Freewheel.
Project Draw provides a versatile, web-based vector drawing application. It could be used to create simple floor plans, electronic circuit and network diagrams, user interface mock-ups, and more. Diagrams could be saved in a variety of formats on the Autodesk Labs server or locally.
Project Dragonfly is an easy-to-use home design application delivered over the web, providing an intuitive and highly engaging experience that makes home design accessible to anyone. Using Project Dragonfly, homeowners can design, visualize, and experiment with changes to their living space, while building product manufacturers and professional designers can take advantage of the application’s flexible web delivery to engage with this targeted community of potential customers. Whereas our design applications are geared towards design professionals, Project Dragonfly is for the average consumer.
Project Showroom is a web service that provides scalable, on-demand delivery of synthetic photography on home and building product manufacturers’ websites. Using Project Showroom, manufacturers can create immersive photorealistic experiences that allow homeowners and designers to experiment visually with different combinations of products. This type of visual engagement drives sales by boosting customers’ confidence in their product selections. In 6 words, it helps them make purchasing decisions. Model-based synthetic photography is also less expensive for the manufacturer than photography of physical objects in scenes and vignettes - no more constructing a set and swapping appliances in/out as photographs are taken. So Project Showroom is for design professionals and consumers. See Dacor.com for a real life integration.
Project Bluestreak is a relative new kid on the block. Autodesk Project Bluestreak is a web-based collaboration environment for accelerating building information modeling through the open exchange of design information and ideas between desktop applications, web-based services and people. Whereas Buzzsaw users are invited to participate by becoming a member of a Buzzsaw site, Project Bluestreak is different in that individual users sign up for the service and then aggregate as they work together. In one sense, Project Bluestreak is an experiment in community and social media. As such Project Bluestreak is oriented towards design professionals.

These examples show that Autodesk has a long history with SaaS.

Getting SaaSy is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly - just the latest SaaS installment

Project Twitch, which began September 18, 2009, offers some of our design applications via remote access over the Internet. It is a user alternative to traditional product trials for AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Maya and the Autodesk Revit Platform. This test marks the first time Autodesk has run its products in the cloud using a new delivery technology. Hosted trials are only available to those with sufficient bandwidth - typically those who are located within 1,000 miles of the Santa Clara data center where the applications are hosted.
As far back as November 1999, Autodesk Buzzsaw was delivered as an on-demand service that helps organizations simplify, centralize, and streamline all project-related documents and information. Although some customers originally used it as "glorified FTP," they soon came to realize its full benefits by taking advantage of its forms based workflow processing for bid collection and analysis, construction administration, and facility management.
Project Freewheel is a technology preview to experiment with the idea of design visualization and collaboration. Customers post 2D and 3D designs as DWF files to an Autodesk server. Project Freewheel then allows users to view and markup the DWF files. This service became so successful that a production version of the viewing portion is available as Autodesk Freewheel.
Project Draw provides a versatile, web-based vector drawing application. It could be used to create simple floor plans, electronic circuit and network diagrams, user interface mock-ups, and more. Diagrams could be saved in a variety of formats on the Autodesk Labs server or locally.
Project Dragonfly is an easy-to-use home design application delivered over the web, providing an intuitive and highly engaging experience that makes home design accessible to anyone. Using Project Dragonfly, homeowners can design, visualize, and experiment with changes to their living space, while building product manufacturers and professional designers can take advantage of the application’s flexible web delivery to engage with this targeted community of potential customers. Whereas our design applications are geared towards design professionals, Project Dragonfly is for the average consumer.
Project Showroom is a web service that provides scalable, on-demand delivery of synthetic photography on home and building product manufacturers’ websites. Using Project Showroom, manufacturers can create immersive photorealistic experiences that allow homeowners and designers to experiment visually with different combinations of products. This type of visual engagement drives sales by boosting customers’ confidence in their product selections. In 6 words, it helps them make purchasing decisions. Model-based synthetic photography is also less expensive for the manufacturer than photography of physical objects in scenes and vignettes - no more constructing a set and swapping appliances in/out as photographs are taken. So Project Showroom is for design professionals and consumers. See Dacor.com for a real life integration.
Project Bluestreak is a relative new kid on the block. Autodesk Project Bluestreak is a web-based collaboration environment for accelerating building information modeling through the open exchange of design information and ideas between desktop applications, web-based services and people. Whereas Buzzsaw users are invited to participate by becoming a member of a Buzzsaw site, Project Bluestreak is different in that individual users sign up for the service and then aggregate as they work together. In one sense, Project Bluestreak is an experiment in community and social media. As such Project Bluestreak is oriented towards design professionals.

These examples show that Autodesk has a long history with SaaS.

Getting SaaSy is alive in the lab.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D Survey

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is our technology preview of a Civil 3D add-in module that creates a simplified bridge directly from a Civil 3D corridor object.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D on Autodesk Labs

For those who have downloaded and tried it - thank you. For those who have downloaded it, tried it, and sent feedback to labs.civil3d.bridge@autodesk.com, a bigger thank you. For those who have downloaded it and tried it, if you wish to garner our "biggest thank you," please take 5 minutes to complete this short 8 question survey:

Click here to take the Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D survey

The results of this survey will have a significant influence on the next steps we take with this technology. Microsoft has a series of commercials where users who have made suggestions in the past claim responsibility for today's Windows 7 features. Wouldn't you like to claim responsibility for bridge modeling?

Getting input to determine the future of our technology is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly: Z is for Zoom

As our newest and hippest technology preview, Project Butterfly has its own dedicated blog.

Project Butterfly - The Blog

Where do they come up with these names? Today's entry highlights just how hip the Project Butterfly team is. On Tuesday user Bill Gilliss noted in the Project Butterfly discussion forum that the technology preview lacked keyboard shortcuts. As noted in Suggest a Feature entry, in response, keyboard shortcut "Z" for Zoom is available today. And that's how they roll.

Celebrating feedback with speedy response is alive in the lab.

Project Draw Graduated

Web development is always fast and furious.

By any standard Project Draw can be considered a success. The software as a service offering started out as a project in Cumulate Labs. Cumulate Labs was acquired by Autodesk. As a technology preview on Autodesk Labs, we updated Project Draw many times based on your feedback.

07/05/2009: Released Project Draw 0.7.9 update
03/11/2009: Released Project Draw 0.7.9 more
10/21/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.8 via Autodesk Labs // more
09/21/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.7 via Autodesk Labs // more
07/24/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.6 via Autodesk Labs // more
06/26/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.5 via Autodesk Labs // more
05/31/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.4 via Autodesk Labs // more
04/08/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.3.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
04/03/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.3 via Autodesk Labs
03/06/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.2 via Autodesk Labs // more
02/15/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
01/17/2008: Hosted first Autodesk Labs Fair webinar featuring Project Draw // more
01/11/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6.2 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6 via Autodesk Labs // more
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5.2 update via Autodesk Labs
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5.1 update via Autodesk Labs
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5 via Autodesk Labs // more

Cumulate Labs founders Shelly Mujtaba and David Falck are currently working on Project Dragonfly.

Project Dragonfly home page on Autodesk Labs

Many of the things they learned while working on Project Draw have been incorporated into Project Dragonfly. We're not kidding - your experience determines our future direction.

Our most recent offering is Project Butterfly. The software as a service offering started out as a project in PlanPlatform (VisualTao). PlanPlatform was acquired by Autodesk. As a technology preview on Autodesk Labs, the team will update Project Butterfly many times based on your feedback. It's like deja vu all over again.

As we have a loyal following associated with Project Draw, we are leaving the servers up and running for now; however, we will not be actively making any changes to Project Draw at this time. We are grateful to everyone who helped make Project Draw a roaring success. There is now an entry on the Graduates page for Project Draw.

Expressing our gratitude is alive in the lab.

Project Draw Graduated

Web development is always fast and furious.

07/05/2009: Released Project Draw 0.7.9 update
03/11/2009: Released Project Draw 0.7.9 more
10/21/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.8 via Autodesk Labs // more
09/21/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.7 via Autodesk Labs // more
07/24/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.6 via Autodesk Labs // more
06/26/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.5 via Autodesk Labs // more
05/31/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.4 via Autodesk Labs // more
04/08/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.3.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
04/03/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.3 via Autodesk Labs
03/06/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.2 via Autodesk Labs // more
02/15/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
01/17/2008: Hosted first Autodesk Labs Fair webinar featuring Project Draw // more
01/11/2008: Released Project Draw 0.7 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6.2 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6.1 via Autodesk Labs // more
11/2007: Released Project Draw 0.6 via Autodesk Labs // more
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5.2 update via Autodesk Labs
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5.1 update via Autodesk Labs
10/2007: Released Project Draw 0.5 via Autodesk Labs // more

Cumulate Labs founders Shelly Mujtaba and David Falck are currently working on Project Dragonfly.

Project Dragonfly home page on Autodesk Labs

Many of the things they learned while working on Project Draw have been incorporated into Project Dragonfly. We're not kidding - your experience determines our future direction.

Expressing our gratitude is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly: Z is for Zoom

As our newest and hippest technology preview, Project Butterfly has its own dedicated blog.

Project Butterfly - The Blog

Celebrating feedback with speedy response is alive in the lab.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D Survey

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is our technology preview of a Civil 3D add-in module that creates a simplified bridge directly from a Civil 3D corridor object.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D on Autodesk Labs

Click here to take the Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D survey

Getting input to determine the future of our technology is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly has its own login for now

Yesterday we released the technology preview of Project Butterfly which provides the ability to edit DWG files on the web using your browser. Project Butterfly is the result of work done by Autodesk and a company we recently acquired called PlanPlatform (VisualTao). Hence, at this time Project Butterfly has a its own registration system that is separate from the Autodesk Single Sign-on login; however, registering with Project Butterfly is easy.

Navigate your browser to http://butterfly.autodesk.com.
Since you are new to Project Butterfly, click on Try Now.
Click on Architecture & Engineering, Mechanical, or Geospatial to chose your area of interest.
After the sample drawing comes up, click on Register in the upper right.
Simply provide your email and name. Pick a password. Click on Create My Account.

Once registered Project Butterfly can help you securely manage and share your DWG files on the web. We may integrate Project Butterfly with the Autodesk Single Sign-on login at some point in the future. In the mean time we are eager to get your feedback on the functionality of Project Butterfly at labs.butterfly@autodesk.com now.

Clarifying how to tell who's who is alive in the lab.

Project Butterfly has its own login for now

Navigate your browser to http://butterfly.autodesk.com.
Since you are new to Project Butterfly, click on Try Now.
Click on Architecture & Engineering, Mechanical, or Geospatial to chose your area of interest.
After the sample drawing comes up, click on Register in the upper right.
Simply provide your email and name. Pick a password. Click on Create My Account.

Clarifying how to tell who's who is alive in the lab.

CAD on the web: Project Butterfly Now Available

Project Butterfly extends AutoCAD to the web.

I am old enough to remember Iron Butterfly's 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." At the time, it was the longest running rock and roll song - lasting about 19 minutes. Folklore holds that its original title was "In The Garden of Eden" but the lyrics got slurred. I am also old enough to remember a 1972 movie called Butterflies Are Free which is about triumph over challenging circumstances. But enough about the past.

Today we are announcing worldwide availability of Project Butterfly. Project Butterfly allows you to edit, co-edit, and review designs using your browser. Although you can save your design as a local drawing file, as long as you have it via the cloud, you can leave it in the cloud. This opens the door to collaboration with others in distant locations without the need to transmit files around the globe.

Project Butterfly Home Page on Autodesk Labs

Senior Product Manager, Iris Shoor, provided me with a list of what Project Butterfly has to offer.

Feature	Advantage
Edit and store drawings online	No need to back up, no copies, no walking around with data, data integrity (viewed the same from anywhere), works on any machine - regardless of platform and performance
Accessible from anywhere	No need for any software, just a Web browser
Can be used with "non-CAD" users	Helps bridge between designer and client, designer and outside contractors etc.
Participants can also edit	No need to redraw all changes made by participants to original drawing file, easier discussion (because now they don't only annotate)
Timeline	No need to create periodic backups, quickly compare versions, no need to dig up old emails
Email notifications	Keep in touch with activity even if Project Butterfly isn't in your daily routine
Share	No need to send files such as DWG, xref, shx, ctb and more, no need to sync between different DWG files
Review	Easier discussion (on the drawing, no files transferred, not only annotating), saves to timeline, increased security (crop, can't download file)
Co-Edit	Speeds up the completion process of complex parts, can minimize the need to personally meet, no need to redraw changes in original drawing file. Everything is documented.
Track changes	Audit collaborators’ changes, as well as your own. Complete drawing history, automatically generated

We are keen to know how you feel about a software as a service approach to design creation. Whereas Project Twitch is based on running our traditional desktop applications on servers in the cloud, Project Butterfly is a new web application specifically for CAD. Take Project Butterfly for a flight and let us know the experience at labs.butterfly@autodesk.com. At this time you will need to register with Project Butterfly separately as it is not yet hooked into Autdoesk Single Sign-on like the Autodesk Labs site and Project Twitch are.

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, and the software is "cloudy" all day. Editing designs in the cloud is alive in the lab.

CAD on the web: Project Butterfly Now Available

Project Butterfly extends AutoCAD to the web.

Project Butterfly Home Page on Autodesk Labs

Senior Product Manager, Iris Shoor, provided me with a list of what Project Butterfly has to offer.

Feature	Advantage
Edit and store drawings online	No need to back up, no copies, no walking around with data, data integrity (viewed the same from anywhere), works on any machine - regardless of platform and performance
Accessible from anywhere	No need for any software, just a Web browser
Can be used with "non-CAD" users	Helps bridge between designer and client, designer and outside contractors etc.
Participants can also edit	No need to redraw all changes made by participants to original drawing file, easier discussion (because now they don't only annotate)
Timeline	No need to create periodic backups, quickly compare versions, no need to dig up old emails
Email notifications	Keep in touch with activity even if Project Butterfly isn't in your daily routine
Share	No need to send files such as DWG, xref, shx, ctb and more, no need to sync between different DWG files
Review	Easier discussion (on the drawing, no files transferred, not only annotating), saves to timeline, increased security (crop, can't download file)
Co-Edit	Speeds up the completion process of complex parts, can minimize the need to personally meet, no need to redraw changes in original drawing file. Everything is documented.
Track changes	Audit collaborators’ changes, as well as your own. Complete drawing history, automatically generated

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam, and the software is "cloudy" all day. Editing designs in the cloud is alive in the lab.

Where it's at: I got two Freewheels and a mighty Chrome

Testing. Testing 1, 2, 3...

When we create the system requirements for an application or service, we do so based on how we have tested the solution. For example, the Autodesk Freewheel system requirements list:

Firefox 1.2 or higher
IE 6 or higher

At the time Freewheel was released we had not tried the Chrome browser. Recently I was alerted to the following page:

Chrome extensions: Autodesk Freewheel 2D/3D Viewer

Since Autodesk Freewheel has a simple HTML interface for embedding your designs within your own web pages (see API documentation), it works easily with Chrome. The same is true with Project Freewheel - our Autodesk Labs version of Project Freewheel that is more experimental in nature. (See a comparison on the documentation page.) Although Chrome currently comprises only 3% of those who use Freewheel, it's nice to know that it works. As Chrome offers a faster browsing experience, it is possible that it may grow in popularity among the performance-oriented user base.

Checking out browser compatibilities is alive in the lab.

Where it's at: I got two Freewheels and a mighty Chrome

Testing. Testing 1, 2, 3...

When we create the system requirements for an application or service, we do so based on how we have tested the solution. For example, the Autodesk Freewheel system requirements list:

Firefox 1.2 or higher
IE 6 or higher

At the time Freewheel was released we had not tried the Chrome browser. Recently I was alerted to the following page:

Chrome extensions: Autodesk Freewheel 2D/3D Viewer

Checking out browser compatibilities is alive in the lab.

Music in the Year 2009

A friend of mine, Roger Linder, commented on his Facebook page:

Roger Linder listened to 9,474 different songs in 2009, according to my iTunes last played statistics.

When I read this, I asked him if he exported his iTunes XML into Excel and computed the result. Actually his process was much simpler than that.

In iTunes select the Music item under Library. Insure that the "Last Played" column is active (right click any header and add if not) order the column by Last Played, select the first played item for the year, scroll, and select the last played item for the year. The number of items selected appears at the bottom of the window.

This did get me to thinking. I wanted to do my own analysis. If you are like me and you use iTunes on a PC instead of a Mac, there is a file called iTunes Music Library.xml in your C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Music\iTunes directory. At first I thought about doing a little bit of programming to extract data from this file. Then I thought to myself - who do I think I am? Kean Walmsley? So I did something much simpler:

In iTunes I did indeed sort my Music Library by the Last Played column. If this column is not visible to you in iTunes, you can add it via the View -> Options for the Column Browser List View.
Just like Roger did, I selected the first song played on 01/01/2009 and scrolled to the last song played on 12/31/2009. I used shift click to select the songs in between. Unlike Roger who listened to 9,474 songs, I only listened to 1,134 different songs as indicated at the bottom of my iTunes window.
I then started Microsoft Excel.
With all of the songs selected, I issued a Control-C command in iTunes, changed windows, and issued a Control-V command in Excel. Voila. All of the relevant data from the iTunes Music Library.xml file was now in Excel.
Once in the workbook, I had the full power of Excel with the ability to create Pivot tables to slice and dice the results in various forms.

Here's what I learned.

Unlike the days of progressive rock which featured long bombastic anthems, the longest song I listened to in 2009 was a three song medley that lasted 14 minutes and 41 seconds.
There are songs I get attached to. Although on average I had listened to each song about 4 times, there was one song, "Courage" by Todd Rundgren, that I had listened to 38 times. Wow - it's no wonder I can't get these lyrics out of my head:
Though my musical formative years of high school and college were in the 70's and 80's, most of what I listen to is new.

The oldest song I listened to last year was "Every Little Thing" from the Beatles For Sale album.
The artists that I listed to most last year were Todd Rundgren, Paul Carrack, Imogen Heap, and Peter Gabriel.
I am a rock 'n' roll kind of guy.

If by some weird tear in the fabric of the universe any of you are inclined to do the same thing, I would love to hear how your data stacks up. My guess is that Jason Pratt is up for his. Shaan Hurley has the know-how, but I am not sure he wants to share that Barry Manilow tops his playlist.

Analyzing personal listening habits by massaging data is alive in the lab.

Music in the Year 2009

A friend of mine, Roger Linder, commented on his Facebook page:

Roger Linder listened to 9,474 different songs in 2009, according to my iTunes last played statistics.

When I read this, I asked him if he exported his iTunes XML into Excel and computed the result. Actually his process was much simpler than that.

In iTunes I did indeed sort my Music Library by the Last Played column. If this column is not visible to you in iTunes, you can add it via the View -> Options for the Column Browser List View.
Just like Roger did, I selected the first song played on 01/01/2009 and scrolled to the last song played on 12/31/2009. I used shift click to select the songs in between. Unlike Roger who listened to 9,474 songs, I only listened to 1,134 different songs as indicated at the bottom of my iTunes window.
I then started Microsoft Excel.
With all of the songs selected, I issued a Control-C command in iTunes, changed windows, and issued a Control-V command in Excel. Voila. All of the relevant data from the iTunes Music Library.xml file was now in Excel.
Once in the workbook, I had the full power of Excel with the ability to create Pivot tables to slice and dice the results in various forms.

Here's what I learned.

Unlike the days of progressive rock which featured long bombastic anthems, the longest song I listened to in 2009 was a three song medley that lasted 14 minutes and 41 seconds.
There are songs I get attached to. Although on average I had listened to each song about 4 times, there was one song, "Courage" by Todd Rundgren, that I had listened to 38 times. Wow - it's no wonder I can't get these lyrics out of my head:
Though my musical formative years of high school and college were in the 70's and 80's, most of what I listen to is new.

The oldest song I listened to last year was "Every Little Thing" from the Beatles For Sale album.
The artists that I listed to most last year were Todd Rundgren, Paul Carrack, Imogen Heap, and Peter Gabriel.
I am a rock 'n' roll kind of guy.

Analyzing personal listening habits by massaging data is alive in the lab.

Project Twitch Application Trials: Maya oh my

We have been getting great feedback on our technology preview of running our applications using the cloud. We want you to be able to try our latest versions of AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit without installing them.

Application Trials on Autodesk Labs

At this point you can work with the sample files provided to see how new features work, but you have asked for the ability to use your own data. We recognize that for a real trial you need to work with your own data. This is on our roadmap for consideration in a future update.

When we first launched we wanted to make sure users had a great experience. We limited usage to those within 1,000 miles of the Bay Area. We did this because proximity to the data center plays a factor. If you get too far away, physics takes over and the amount of time it takes for data to travel becomes a factor. Many of you who have really good internet connectivity but are more than 1,000 miles away asked if you could try it. So we changed the check from measuring distance away to measuring internet latency and packet loss. So now if you are anywhere in Canada or the United States and have enough bandwidth, you can try it.

Though you are all thrilled to try AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit in this way, many of you also wanted to try Maya in this fashion. We heard you. We have added Maya 2010 to the technology preview. So now you have four applications to chose from. Please try them all and let us know what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com. We would also appreciate it you would complete the short survey at the end of your experience. Your feedback is critical to our future efforts regarding application trials via software as a service.

For the case of Maya, we have some tutorial videos available, so we have enabled audio for the technology preview. Since the Project Twitch servers use QuickTime to play the videos on your behalf, you need to accept the QuickTime license agreement as part of the trial. The trial process does not install QuickTime on your computer.

Expanding our technology preview to the media and entertainment world is alive in the lab.

Project Twitch Application Trials: Maya oh my

Application Trials on Autodesk Labs

Expanding our technology preview to the media and entertainment world is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview: Tool for Providing Graphics Diagnostic Information

A graphics display problem can be a real monster.

Most of the time things go well. But every once in a while one of our early adopters has a problem using one of our technology previews. Such is the case with the Inventor Publisher Technology Preview. If you encounter a display problem, Programmer/Software Engineer, Steven Velez, has a set of steps that will provide better information about errors related to the display of Inventor Publisher. Please follow the instructions below:

Download AdskDiagOutput.zip (71.3K) to a known location on your system using your browser of choice.
Extract the contents by double-clicking on the file in explorer and dragging all files to the same directory. Alternatively you can use the "Extract All..." context menu item or your zip program of choice.
Double click Report.bat.
Attach the resulting AdskDiagOutputReport.txt file to a discussion group post or email message describing your problem.

Thanks to Software Engineer, Norbert Jeske, who developed the small, self-contained, command-line utility that makes this trick possible. By all means contact us at labs.iv.publisher@autodesk.com with any feedback you have - praises for what it offers, suggestions for improvements, or reports of difficulties.

Helping users help us is alive in the lab. It's alive, it's alive, it's alive.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview: Tool for Providing Graphics Diagnostic Information

A graphics display problem can be a real monster.

Download AdskDiagOutput.zip (71.3K) to a known location on your system using your browser of choice.
Extract the contents by double-clicking on the file in explorer and dragging all files to the same directory. Alternatively you can use the "Extract All..." context menu item or your zip program of choice.
Double click Report.bat.
Attach the resulting AdskDiagOutputReport.txt file to a discussion group post or email message describing your problem.

Helping users help us is alive in the lab. It's alive, it's alive, it's alive.

Attention Bostonians, Torotonians, and Portlanders: Looking for Feedback

Project Manager, Eric Wright, is helping to recruit AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit (and other Autodesk products) users for focus group research around in-product "community." ' He asked me if I would help get the word out via my blog.

Are you an Autodesk software user in Boston, Toronto, or Portland? If so Autodesk wants your input on improving its products at a focus group or visit to your location. If you’re selected to attend you’ll receive an iPod Nano 8GB.
Research will be conducted in late January/early February. Focus groups will be conducted in a downtown hotel in each city at approximately 6:30pm - 8pm on a weekday evening. Customer visits will be conducted in the day time and will last approximately 1 hour.

If you’re interested in participating and helping us improve Autodesk software let us know by completing this form.

Seeking those for community-related feedback is alive in the lab.

Attention Bostonians, Torotonians, and Portlanders: Looking for Feedback

Are you an Autodesk software user in Boston, Toronto, or Portland? If so Autodesk wants your input on improving its products at a focus group or visit to your location. If you’re selected to attend you’ll receive an iPod Nano 8GB.
Research will be conducted in late January/early February. Focus groups will be conducted in a downtown hotel in each city at approximately 6:30pm - 8pm on a weekday evening. Customer visits will be conducted in the day time and will last approximately 1 hour.

If you’re interested in participating and helping us improve Autodesk software let us know by completing this form.

Seeking those for community-related feedback is alive in the lab.

ADN Plugin of the Month: Facet Curve for AutoCAD Now Available

Senior Manager, Worldwide DevTech, Kean Walmsley, provided me with our next installment of the ADN Plugin of the month. Once again this plugin was written by Kean, inspired by code provided by COINS, an ADN member. The application was first posted on his blog: Through the Interface. This plugin can be used to facet 2D and 3D curves in AutoCAD: to approximate their curvature with a number of straight line segments. The faceted output is in the form of a number of lines or a single polyline, as selected by the user.

Free Download of Facet Curve for AutoCAD

This plugin has been tested with AutoCAD 2007 onwards. It works on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems. Although the plugin has not been tested with all AutoCAD-based products, it should work. Once loaded, the FACETCURVE command can be used to configure the application settings and to run the faceting operation on a particular curve.

Please email us at labs.plugins@autodesk.com with feedback or requests for enhancements.

ADN Plugin of the Month: Facet Curve for AutoCAD Now Available

Free Download of Facet Curve for AutoCAD

Please email us at labs.plugins@autodesk.com with feedback or requests for enhancements.

Recruit Sheppard, S. to Private First Class Sheppard, S.

My wife, Sheryl, and I are in San Diego today. Friends and relatives have joined us. We are here for our son's graduation from United States Marine Corps Boot Camp: 2nd Battalion, Fox Company, Platoon 2125. Naturally for more than just selfish reasons, we hope for peace in the coming years.

Project Cooper Now Available Worldwide

Project Cooper is now available for download worldwide in accordance with United States export restrictions:

Project Cooper home page on Autodesk Labs

I have updated my Hello World blog posting.

Project Cooper Now Available Worldwide

Project Cooper is now available for download worldwide in accordance with United States export restrictions:

Project Cooper home page on Autodesk Labs

I have updated my Hello World blog posting.

Recruit Sheppard, S. to Private First Class Sheppard, S.

Inventor Fusion Videos Now Available for the YouTube-blocked population

Yesterday's post Inventor Publisher Videos Now Available for the YouTube-blocked population got such positive results that I am writing about the same thing I had done for Inventor Fusion. The request for the Inventor Fusion Technology Preview videos in the non-YouTube variety was logged in the Inventor Fusion discussion forum, You can do a right-click Save Target As on the non-YouTube hyperlinks that follow.

You-Tube: Change Manager

Non-YouTube: Fusion Change Manager Final.avi
YouTube: Dimension Driven Body Constraints

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_dimension_driven_body_constraints.wmv
YouTube: Direct Modeling

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_direct_modeling.wmv
YouTube: DWG Interoperability

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_dwg.wmv
YouTube: Feature Finder

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_feature_finder.wmv
YouTube: Flexible Product Structure

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_flexible_product_structure.wmv
YouTube: Heads Up Design Modeling

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_heads_up_design_modeling.wmv
YouTube: Heads Up Sketching

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_heads_up_design_sketching.wmv
YouTube: Imported Data

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_imported_data.wmv
You-Tube: Loft

Non-YouTube: Fusion Loft Final.avi
YouTube: Overview

Non-YouTube: Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview-Overview video.mp4
YouTube: Smart Patterns Holes Fillets

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_smart_patterns_holes_fillets.wmv
YouTube: Unrivaled Ease of Use

Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_unrivaled_ease_of_use.wmv

Continuing to make sure everyone can come to the video party is alive in the lab.

Inventor Fusion Videos Now Available for the YouTube-blocked population

You-Tube: Change Manager
Non-YouTube: Fusion Change Manager Final.avi
YouTube: Dimension Driven Body Constraints
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_dimension_driven_body_constraints.wmv
YouTube: Direct Modeling
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_direct_modeling.wmv
YouTube: DWG Interoperability
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_dwg.wmv
YouTube: Feature Finder
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_feature_finder.wmv
YouTube: Flexible Product Structure
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_flexible_product_structure.wmv
YouTube: Heads Up Design Modeling
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_heads_up_design_modeling.wmv
YouTube: Heads Up Sketching
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_heads_up_design_sketching.wmv
YouTube: Imported Data
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_imported_data.wmv
You-Tube: Loft
Non-YouTube: Fusion Loft Final.avi
YouTube: Overview
Non-YouTube: Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview-Overview video.mp4
YouTube: Smart Patterns Holes Fillets
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_smart_patterns_holes_fillets.wmv
YouTube: Unrivaled Ease of Use
Non-YouTube: inventor_fusion_video_unrivaled_ease_of_use.wmv

Continuing to make sure everyone can come to the video party is alive in the lab.

Bags Fly Free But At What Cost?

On December 7 my wife, Sheryl, returned from Chicago after visiting our daughter Stephanie. Though her plane arrived on time, all was not well. We waited at the Oakland airport for her luggage for what seemed like an eternity. As the minutes seemed to go on and on, I stopped in at the Southwest Airlines customer service counter in the baggage claim area. I asked if the luggage is unloaded by Southwest Airlines employees or is it handled by airport employees who service all of the airlines. The Southwest Airlines representative told me that bags are loaded and unloaded by Southwest Airlines personnel. Eventually bags from her flight started to emerge on the luggage carousel 40 minutes after her flight had landed.

Air travel is becoming less and less enjoyable. Taking a flight requires getting to the airport several hours early to be able to check in and make it through airport security. After waiting at the gate for take-off, one endures the long flight without meals or in-flight movies. Luckily a good book is a great way to pass the time. Once your plane does touch down at your destination, you really are ready to get out of the airport and head home. Waiting another 40 minutes to get your bags only lessens the experience. Though it is possible to fly without checking-in bags, the 3 ounce limitation on liquids makes this impossible for travelers with hygiene products in excess of these minuscule amounts. Purchasing toiletries at your destination or checking in your bags are the two most viable options.

On January 2, Sheryl and I flew from Houston to Oakland. As we were gone 11 days, our travel items were voluminous enough to be larger than small carry-on bags. Once again we seemed to wait for our bags for an eternity. As the wait dragged on, I went over to the Southwest Airlines counter and asked what the expected wait time was for bags to emerge. The representative told me that although times vary based on how much luggage is on each flight, the goal is 20 to 25 minutes. Unfortunately for us, on this day, the luggage carousel had a mechanical problem - a red light was continuously on. Although this light was on at the time we entered the baggage area, no one from Southwest noticed or attempted to use the carousel and remedy the problem until 40 minutes (once again) after the flight landed. The problem took 11 minutes to correct, so bags did not start coming on to the carousel until 51 minutes after the flight. This is hardly near the 20 to 25 minute goal that Southwest Airlines sets for itself.

Southwest Airlines likes to brag that, unlike with other airlines, bags fly free. It's great that bags fly free but maybe they shouldn't? Perhaps they should charge and use the money to hire baggage handlers who could unload airplanes closer to the 20 to 25 minute goal? The sad part is that we fly Southwest Airlines using their web-only lowest fares; however, even if we paid the extra money for "Business Select" tickets, our luggage would not get to us any faster. Maybe this is just a problem at the Oakland airport? What have your baggage claim wait times been at Oakland or other airports? What about other airlines? Comment below and let's see if a pattern of wait times emerges.

Autodesk Labs is about feedback. Maybe we can collect some and send it to Southwest Airlines. They say "time is money" and if that is the case, bags cost a lot.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview Videos for the YouTube-blocked population

I like posting videos to YouTube. It opens the information up to a wide audience - a wider audience than those who might visit the Autodesk Labs web site. Making the videos available via YouTube allows people to view the videos using streaming - downloading bits of the video as it is viewed. On the other hand, some companies block access to YouTube. They want to ensure that employees are not wasting time watch non-work-related videos. So for people in this situation, I have posted the raw videos to my Buzzsaw site. These lack the music provided by YouTube's "audio swap" capability, and you have to download the whole video to watch it, but you can get the information. You can do a right-click Save Target As on the non-YouTube hyperlinks that follow.

Overview Video

YouTube: Overview

Non-YouTube: Publisher_Overview_Video.wmv

How To Videos

YouTube: Auto Annotate and Annotation

Non-YouTube: Auto_Annotate_and_Annotation_Layouts.avi
YouTube: Auto Explode

Non-YouTube: Auto_Explode.avi
YouTube: Callout

Non-YouTube: Callout.avi
YouTube: Creating A New Document

Non-YouTube: Creating_a_new_document.avi
YouTube: Create Custom PowerPoint

Non-YouTube: Creating_custom_powerpoint_template.avi
YouTube: Preview Custom Styles

Non-YouTube: Custom_Styles.avi
YouTube: View Snapshot

Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Snapshot.avi
YouTube: View Storyboard

Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Storyboard.avi
YouTube: View Transition

Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Transition.avi
YouTube: Image Annotation

Non-YouTube: Image_Annotation.avi
YouTube: Label

Non-YouTube: Label.avi
YouTube: Move Tool

Non-YouTube: Move_Tool.avi
YouTube: Play Presentation

Non-YouTube: Play_Presentation.avi
YouTube: Publish PowerPoint

Non-YouTube: Publish_ Powerpoint.avi
YouTube: Publish AVI

Non-YouTube: Publish_AVI.avi
YouTube: Publish DWF

Non-YouTube: Publish_DWF.avi
YouTube: Publish Flash

Non-YouTube: Publish_Flash.avi
YouTube: Publish Image

Non-YouTube: Publish_Image.avi
YouTube: Publish Word

Non-YouTube: Publish_Word.avi
YouTube: Pull Tool

Non-YouTube: Pull_Tool.avi
YouTube: Reverse Storyboard

Non-YouTube: Reverse_Storyboard.avi
YouTube: Scope Edit

Non-YouTube: Scope_Edit.avi
YouTube: Update to Inventor Data

Non-YouTube: Update_to_Inventor_data.avi
YouTube: View Cube

Non-YouTube: View_Cube.avi
YouTube: Visual Modification

Non-YouTube: Visual_Modification.avi
YouTube: Working with DWF Data

Non-YouTube: Working_with_DWF_Data.avi
YouTube: Working with Inventor Data

Non-YouTube: Working_with_Inventor_Data.avi

Making sure everyone can come to the video party is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview Videos for the YouTube-blocked population

Overview Video

YouTube: Overview
Non-YouTube: Publisher_Overview_Video.wmv

How To Videos

YouTube: Auto Annotate and Annotation
Non-YouTube: Auto_Annotate_and_Annotation_Layouts.avi
YouTube: Auto Explode
Non-YouTube: Auto_Explode.avi
YouTube: Callout
Non-YouTube: Callout.avi
YouTube: Creating A New Document
Non-YouTube: Creating_a_new_document.avi
YouTube: Create Custom PowerPoint
Non-YouTube: Creating_custom_powerpoint_template.avi
YouTube: Preview Custom Styles
Non-YouTube: Custom_Styles.avi
YouTube: View Snapshot
Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Snapshot.avi
YouTube: View Storyboard
Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Storyboard.avi
YouTube: View Transition
Non-YouTube: Detail_View-Transition.avi
YouTube: Image Annotation
Non-YouTube: Image_Annotation.avi
YouTube: Label
Non-YouTube: Label.avi
YouTube: Move Tool
Non-YouTube: Move_Tool.avi
YouTube: Play Presentation
Non-YouTube: Play_Presentation.avi
YouTube: Publish PowerPoint
Non-YouTube: Publish_ Powerpoint.avi
YouTube: Publish AVI
Non-YouTube: Publish_AVI.avi
YouTube: Publish DWF
Non-YouTube: Publish_DWF.avi
YouTube: Publish Flash
Non-YouTube: Publish_Flash.avi
YouTube: Publish Image
Non-YouTube: Publish_Image.avi
YouTube: Publish Word
Non-YouTube: Publish_Word.avi
YouTube: Pull Tool
Non-YouTube: Pull_Tool.avi
YouTube: Reverse Storyboard
Non-YouTube: Reverse_Storyboard.avi
YouTube: Scope Edit
Non-YouTube: Scope_Edit.avi
YouTube: Update to Inventor Data
Non-YouTube: Update_to_Inventor_data.avi
YouTube: View Cube
Non-YouTube: View_Cube.avi
YouTube: Visual Modification
Non-YouTube: Visual_Modification.avi
YouTube: Working with DWF Data
Non-YouTube: Working_with_DWF_Data.avi
YouTube: Working with Inventor Data
Non-YouTube: Working_with_Inventor_Data.avi

Making sure everyone can come to the video party is alive in the lab.

Bags Fly Free But At What Cost?

Autodesk Labs is about feedback. Maybe we can collect some and send it to Southwest Airlines. They say "time is money" and if that is the case, bags cost a lot.

Free Webinar: Using Green Building XML for Sustainable Building Design - Part II

Autodesk and the Green Building XML (gbXML) Advisory Board invite you to attend a free webcast titled "Using Green Building XML (gbXML) for Sustainable Building Design - Part II" on January 21, 2010 at 10:00 to 11:00 am PST.

Presented by gbXML stakeholders, this webcast will demonstrate how tools for Building Information Modeling (BIM) can integrate with various analyses software, using the interoperability of gbXML to help create more sustainable building designs. Presentations and product demos will include the following:

Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Ecotect Analysis with Autodesk Green Building Studio
Graphisoft with Encina plug-in for gbXML
IES VE (Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment)
Trane Trace

Stephen Roth, Administrator of the gbXML Advisory Board and President of Carmelsoft will also discuss the current status of the gbXML and related activities.

Please Attend - Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 10:00 am PST. Registration is not required.

Attendee URL: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/

Conference number: PG1216303

Audio Conference:

Toll: 1-210-795-1099

Toll free: 866-803-2145

Audience passcode: 8302437#

Participants can join the event directly at: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PG1216303&p=8302437&t=c

Be there or be square.

Free Webinar: Using Green Building XML for Sustainable Building Design - Part II

Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Ecotect Analysis with Autodesk Green Building Studio
Graphisoft with Encina plug-in for gbXML
IES VE (Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment)
Trane Trace

Stephen Roth, Administrator of the gbXML Advisory Board and President of Carmelsoft will also discuss the current status of the gbXML and related activities.

Please Attend - Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 10:00 am PST. Registration is not required.

Attendee URL: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/
Conference number: PG1216303
Audio Conference:
Toll: 1-210-795-1099
Toll free: 866-803-2145
Audience passcode: 8302437#
Participants can join the event directly at: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PG1216303&p=8302437&t=c

Be there or be square.

Hello World

Most technology previews on Autodesk Labs are open to the world. For some technology previews we start small and then get bigger based on the feedback we get. There are a variety of complex factors that are considered when selecting which areas have access to the technology previews. In fact there are even country specific legal and other complex factors that are considered.


Technologies Consumers Can Try
Project Bluestreak coordinate, analyze, and review designs with project group members
Project Cooper 2D drawing and sketching to scale
Project Dragonfly create floor plans using just your browser
Project Draw create diagrams using just your browser
Project Freewheel view and collaborate using your designs and just your browser
Project Showroom accessorize a kitchen with real products and see photorealistic results

Tools Any CAD Professional Can Try
Piping Design Technology Preview extend your piping designs
Project Twitch test drive Autodesk design applications without installing

Technologies and Tools Anyone Can Learn About
Multi-touch Human-Computer Interfaces see how to manipulate design data without a mouse
ADN Plugin of the Month learn about how useful utilities are created
Project Newport navigate building information models in a realistic context

Tools for AutoCAD Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD 2010/2009/2008 share your drawings with others with one click
Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 design bridges with this extension
Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month copy and reuse AutoCAD objects
Google Earth Extension for AutoCAD 2010/2009/2008/2007 view your drawings in Google Earth
Layer Reporter for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month analyze layer usage in your drawings
Offset in XREF ADN Plugin of the Month apply OFFSET commands to external references
Screenshot for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month capture images of your drawings

Tools for Autodesk Inventor Users
2D to 3D Tool for Inventor 2010/2009/2008/11/LT convert 2D data to 3D models
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Inventor 2010/2009/2008, Inventor LT share your parts with others with one click
Feature Recognition for Inventor 2010/2009/2008/11 convert STEP, SAT, or IGES solids to Inventor models
iCopy for Inventor 2010/2009 multiple copies that automatically adjust
Inventor Fusion Technology Preview parametric and direct modeling
Inventor Publisher Technology Preview interactive 3D product documentation
Rhino Import Translator Add-in for Inventor import Rhino data into Inventor
Sustainable Materials Assistant for Inventor 2010/2009 assess sustainability of your designs

Tools for Autodesk Moldflow Users
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Adviser 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Communicator 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Insight 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface

Tools for Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Users
Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis 2010 analyze models faster

Tools for Autodesk Revit Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Revit 2010/2009/2008 share your building information models with others with one click
Solar Radiation Add-in for Revit Architecture 2010 and Revit MEP 2010 environmental analysis tool for Revit
STL Exporter for Revit Family 2010 experience building information models with 3D printing

Tools for Autodesk Design Review Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Design Review 2010/2009 share designs being reviewed with others with just one click
Firefox Add-on for Design Review 2010/2009 embed DWF files in HTML pages and view with Firefox

As Autodesk Labs is interested in getting feedback from the widest audience possible, we hope to expand to other geographies in the future.

Thinking globally is alive in the lab.

Hello World


Technologies Consumers Can Try
Project Bluestreak coordinate, analyze, and review designs with project group members
Project Cooper 2D drawing and sketching to scale
Project Dragonfly create floor plans using just your browser
Project Draw create diagrams using just your browser
Project Freewheel view and collaborate using your designs and just your browser
Project Showroom accessorize a kitchen with real products and see photorealistic results

Tools Any CAD Professional Can Try
Piping Design Technology Preview extend your piping designs
Project Twitch test drive Autodesk design applications without installing

Technologies and Tools Anyone Can Learn About
Multi-touch Human-Computer Interfaces see how to manipulate design data without a mouse
ADN Plugin of the Month learn about how useful utilities are created
Project Newport navigate building information models in a realistic context

Tools for AutoCAD Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD 2010/2009/2008 share your drawings with others with one click
Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 design bridges with this extension
Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month copy and reuse AutoCAD objects
Google Earth Extension for AutoCAD 2010/2009/2008/2007 view your drawings in Google Earth
Layer Reporter for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month analyze layer usage in your drawings
Offset in XREF ADN Plugin of the Month apply OFFSET commands to external references
Screenshot for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month capture images of your drawings

Tools for Autodesk Inventor Users
2D to 3D Tool for Inventor 2010/2009/2008/11/LT convert 2D data to 3D models
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Inventor 2010/2009/2008, Inventor LT share your parts with others with one click
Feature Recognition for Inventor 2010/2009/2008/11 convert STEP, SAT, or IGES solids to Inventor models
iCopy for Inventor 2010/2009 multiple copies that automatically adjust
Inventor Fusion Technology Preview parametric and direct modeling
Inventor Publisher Technology Preview interactive 3D product documentation
Rhino Import Translator Add-in for Inventor import Rhino data into Inventor
Sustainable Materials Assistant for Inventor 2010/2009 assess sustainability of your designs

Tools for Autodesk Moldflow Users
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Adviser 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Communicator 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface
UI Technology Preview for Moldflow Insight 2010 R2 test drive the ribbon-based user interface

Tools for Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Users
Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis 2010 analyze models faster

Tools for Autodesk Revit Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Revit 2010/2009/2008 share your building information models with others with one click
Solar Radiation Add-in for Revit Architecture 2010 and Revit MEP 2010 environmental analysis tool for Revit
STL Exporter for Revit Family 2010 experience building information models with 3D printing

Tools for Autodesk Design Review Users
3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for Design Review 2010/2009 share designs being reviewed with others with just one click
Firefox Add-on for Design Review 2010/2009 embed DWF files in HTML pages and view with Firefox

As Autodesk Labs is interested in getting feedback from the widest audience possible, we hope to expand to other geographies in the future.

Thinking globally is alive in the lab.

One Market Fire Alarm

Today our fire alarm went off. It's only our first day back, and already we have the distractions. Luckily it was a false alarm and everyone and everything are in tact.

One Market Fire Alarm

Today our fire alarm went off. It's only our first day back, and already we have the distractions. Luckily it was a false alarm and everyone and everything are in tact.

RDB Link for Revit Graduates to Subscription Center

The technology preview of the RDB Link Tool for Revit has come to an end. The executable expired on January 1. Thanks to everyone who provided encouragement and feedback.

We certainly got some great suggestions. There is an upgraded version of this tool (Revit DB Link) available to Subscription customers who wish to replace the limited Labs trial. Users not on subscription have another alternative. RDB Link started life as a free code sample shipping with every release of Revit and can be found in the Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK is installable from the Tools and Utilities region of Revit’s setup dialog. Anyone with some degree of .NET programming experience in Revit and a Visual Studio compiler (including the free Express version for C#) should be able to set up that alternative.

RDB Link for Revit Graduates to Subscription Center

The technology preview of the RDB Link Tool for Revit has come to an end. The executable expired on January 1. Thanks to everyone who provided encouragement and feedback.

Happy New Year

Here's wishing everyone the best in the coming year.

Happy New Year

Here's wishing everyone the best in the coming year.

Avatar 3D is a good movie

My wife, her sister, her nephew, and her niece saw the Alvin and the chipmunks movie. Our daughter, my wife's brother-in-law, and I saw Avatar. We thought the 3D was OK but believe the story would be equally compelling in 2D. Although it is based on the time honored boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back theme, somehow it all seems so new in the lush virtual environment of Pandora. I guess you could say Autodesk software is one of the heroes of the movie. All three of us gave this movie the thumbs up.

I am blogging this from my iPhone.

Experiencing Autodesk technology in the theater is alive in the lab.

Avatar 3D is a good movie

I am blogging this from my iPhone.

Experiencing Autodesk technology in the theater is alive in the lab.

My HDTV

"I really love my television
I love to sit by television
Can't live without my television
TV is king
You're my everything"
"TV is King," Remote Control, The Tubes, June 1979.

As part of moving into this townhouse, we purchased two new televisions, My friend, Tim Barrios - the first guy I know to have purchased an HDTV compatible TV way back when, is in the market for a new TV. He asked me a few questions about our TV, so I thought would turn it into a blog article. We are off this week, so I won't have much "company news."

Our family room downstairs is adjacent to our dining area. Both the family room and dinette are have large windows.

Our Family Room = LIVING ROOM on this floor plan

With so much light coming into the room, I worried about the picture getting washed out by the natural light. This led me to investigate the Samsung UN55B8500 which has a great contrast ratio. According to the Samsung web site:

For images that are stunningly true to life you need the 3 Cs: contrast, color and clarity. Ultra brilliant Samsung LED TVs have them all. 7,000,000:1 Mega Contrast provides an incredible range of brightness - from pure blacks to pristine whites. Advanced Color Processing enables a wider range of natural colors and provides greater depth for a vibrant, captivating picture - even with subtle colors. Plus our Auto Motion Plus 240Hz technology eliminates virtually all motion blur leaving your picture smooth and crisp - and your jaw dropped.

I purchased it at Best Buy.

Samsung UN55B8500 at Best Buy

I have had the TV for a few months now. Though the Tubes lyrics I quoted are an overstatement, I love it. We also bought a Samsung UN55B8000 HDTV for our bedroom which is upstairs. Through the UN55B8000 is a fine TV, and get me there is nothing wrong with it, the UN55B8500 is just better. The picture is just more stunning.

As part of buying two TVs from Best Buy at the same time, the salesman threw in two Samsung Blu-Ray players. In addition to playing standard DVDs, these players play Blu-Ray DVDs which are the HDTV equivalent of DVDs. Besides playing discs, the players can be connected to the internet. I did this by wiring one directly into my Linksys. I connected the downstairs player by purchasing a wireless adapter for the player. With either player connected to the internet, I can use a built-in user interface to connect to Blockbuster, Netflix, YouTube, and Pandora.

The remote even has color coded buttons to make navigating the user interface easy.

I have a Nextflix account so I can watch movies instantly. Using my computer I add movies to my "Watch Instantly" queue. When using my player, I select a movie from the queue, and Netflix streams it from their servers to my player which then gets displayed on my TV. This includes high definition. The picture looks great and bandwidth does not seem to be a problem.

Not all movies are available to be watched instantly. For some of the new and popular titles, Netflix members need to rent the DVD or Blu-Ray disc.

For YouTube the resolution is lower than HDTV, but it is quite convenient to be able to stay abreast of the latest viral videos without having to log on to the computer.

Moldflow UI Technology Preview

Pandora is a free music service based on a database. Experts listen to a piece of music, rate its characteristic like style, mood, tempo, arrangement, use of instruments, etc., and put this information into a big database. As a Pandora user, I select a seed song or artist that I like and Pandora selects music that is like my selection using the information in the database. It's like having your own personal radio station that only plays music you like.

So there you have it. Some tid bits about our TV and how we use it.

Talking about technology during the holiday season is alive in the lab.

My HDTV

"I really love my television
I love to sit by television
Can't live without my television
TV is king
You're my everything"
"TV is King," Remote Control, The Tubes, June 1979.

Our family room downstairs is adjacent to our dining area. Both the family room and dinette are have large windows.

Our Family Room = LIVING ROOM on this floor plan

I purchased it at Best Buy.

Samsung UN55B8500 at Best Buy

The remote even has color coded buttons to make navigating the user interface easy.

Not all movies are available to be watched instantly. For some of the new and popular titles, Netflix members need to rent the DVD or Blu-Ray disc.

For YouTube the resolution is lower than HDTV, but it is quite convenient to be able to stay abreast of the latest viral videos without having to log on to the computer.

Moldflow UI Technology Preview

So there you have it. Some tid bits about our TV and how we use it.

Talking about technology during the holiday season is alive in the lab.

Holiday Break: December 21 - January 1

Autodesk is observing a company furlough for the next 2 weeks. With the exception of staff dedicated to manning our critical systems, all United States employees will take time off with a combination of holiday and vacation. So although it may seem like something's amiss with the RSS feed for this blog, it really just us relaxing. And if you don't get an immediate response to your Autodesk Labs feedback request like you normally do, fear not, we'll reply as soon as we get back. We will return in 2010 ready for action.

Holiday Break: December 21 - January 1

Facebook Lists Aid in the Personal-Professional Quandry

Originally I was going to use Facebook solely to communicate with my friends and family. Then contacts from my Autodesk blogging started to surface. So my Facebook use became a mix of business and pleasure. I was unsure of where the lines were: Personal Life and Professional Life: Never the Twain Shall Meet?. Ben Cochran had a similar thought when he was guest blogging for me during my sabbatical: Facebook at Work?.

Last week I attended a meeting with Peter Yewell who is a Director for National Accounts at Facebook. Peter covered the new security and privacy features of Facebook. He was keen to note that the Facebook site is not what Facebook considers their product. Instead it's an environment where people feel comfortable sharing information and building a network of relationships. My meeting with Peter got me to look at my Facebook usage more closely. I discovered that I can use the long-standing Facebook Lists feature to segment my social network into Personal and Professional contacts. This way my relatives like my brother Warren in New Orleans don't have to hear about an update to the Inventor Publisher Technology Preview, and journalists like Roopinder Tara don't have to hear about our daughter Stephanie in Chicago learning to scrape ice off of her windshield.

Maybe I am late to the party since lists have been around a while, but I see using Facebook lists is a WIN-WIN. The gist of Peter's talk is that Facebook users can select with whom they want to share information on a piece by piece basis.

Aligning information sharing based on personal and professional bases is alive in the lab.

Project Bluestreak Update Now Available

Project Bluesteak has global reach.

Senior Product Manager, Mark Evans, and Software Architect, Steve Voorhees, report that we released an update to the Project Blustreak technology preview. You can get more information about Project Bluestreak at:

Project Bluestreak home page on Autodesk Labs

The new release includes the following new features and enhancements:

Messages: Users can now send messages to members of their network within Project Bluestreak. Your network includes those users who have accepted your invitation to be contacts or who are co-members of a Bluestreak group. We’ve included a notification setting that controls whether you will receive an email notification when you have a new message in Project Bluestreak.
Open a File from the Activity Stream: Any time a file to which you have access is uploaded or modified, an entry is created in the activity stream on your home page or group page. Now, each such entry includes a link to open (download) the file so that you don’t have to navigate to another page to do so. If you have notifications set to tell you about file changes, you don’t even have to switch to the Bluestreak web site; you can open the designated file from the notification email.
Password Change: From the settings page in Project Bluestreak, you can now change your login password.
Corrections: And, in response to your feedback, we have fixed many defects and polished many elements of the user experience.

Thank you for continuing to be part of the Project Bluestreak community! Keep telling us how we are doing at labs.bluestreak@autodesk.com.

Evolving our BIM social network is alive in the lab.

Project Bluestreak Update Now Available

Project Bluesteak has global reach.

Project Bluestreak home page on Autodesk Labs

The new release includes the following new features and enhancements:

Messages: Users can now send messages to members of their network within Project Bluestreak. Your network includes those users who have accepted your invitation to be contacts or who are co-members of a Bluestreak group. We’ve included a notification setting that controls whether you will receive an email notification when you have a new message in Project Bluestreak.
Open a File from the Activity Stream: Any time a file to which you have access is uploaded or modified, an entry is created in the activity stream on your home page or group page. Now, each such entry includes a link to open (download) the file so that you don’t have to navigate to another page to do so. If you have notifications set to tell you about file changes, you don’t even have to switch to the Bluestreak web site; you can open the designated file from the notification email.
Password Change: From the settings page in Project Bluestreak, you can now change your login password.
Corrections: And, in response to your feedback, we have fixed many defects and polished many elements of the user experience.

Thank you for continuing to be part of the Project Bluestreak community! Keep telling us how we are doing at labs.bluestreak@autodesk.com.

Evolving our BIM social network is alive in the lab.

Facebook Lists Aid in the Personal-Professional Quandry

Aligning information sharing based on personal and professional bases is alive in the lab.

Labs Graduations and Expiration Dates

Feedback: Time is running out!

Over the last two weeks, I have been retiring items from the Autodesk Labs site. I want to shorten the menu pull down to make room for new technology previews next year. Rather than totally remove the old technology previews from the site, I have simply moved them to the graduates page. The exception to this rule is when a technology preview expires. When it expires, it's gone. As it stands now, we do have some that will expire soon.

The RDB Link Tool for Revit expires on January 1, 2010.

Feedback: labs.revit.rdb@autodesk.com
The Solar Radiation Technology Preview expires on January 13, 2010.

Feedback: labs.revit.ecotect@autodesk.com
The Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D expires on March 15, 2010.

Feedback: labs.civil3d.bridge@autodesk.com
The Inventor Publisher Technology Preview expires on April 1, 2010.

Feedback: labs.iv.publisher@autodesk.com
The Inventor Fusion Technology Preview expires on June 1, 2010.

Feedback: labs.iv.fusion@autodesk.com
The Piping Design Technology Preview expires on June 30, 2010.

Feedback: labs.algor.piping@autodesk.com

So be sure to test these out and provide your feedback before they do.

Reminding everyone that time is of the essence is alive in the lab.

Labs Graduations and Expiration Dates

Feedback: Time is running out!

The RDB Link Tool for Revit expires on January 1, 2010.
Feedback: labs.revit.rdb@autodesk.com
The Solar Radiation Technology Preview expires on January 13, 2010.
Feedback: labs.revit.ecotect@autodesk.com
The Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D expires on March 15, 2010.
Feedback: labs.civil3d.bridge@autodesk.com
The Inventor Publisher Technology Preview expires on April 1, 2010.
Feedback: labs.iv.publisher@autodesk.com
The Inventor Fusion Technology Preview expires on June 1, 2010.
Feedback: labs.iv.fusion@autodesk.com
The Piping Design Technology Preview expires on June 30, 2010.
Feedback: labs.algor.piping@autodesk.com

So be sure to test these out and provide your feedback before they do.

Reminding everyone that time is of the essence is alive in the lab.

Shrinkwrap Add-in for Inventor Graduated from Autodesk Labs

This is our fourth and final graduation for the month. It's the end of our year end close out sale. Everything must go. Our prices are insane. We're making room for next year's technology previews. As such the technology preview for the Shrinkwrap Add-in for Inventor has also run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology. For Inventor 2008 or 2009 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Shrinkwrap Add-in for Inventor Graduated from Autodesk Labs

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology. For Inventor 2008 or 2009 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Navigation Tool for AutoCAD Retired from Autodesk Labs

The technology preview for the Navigation Tool for AutoCAD has run its course.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on this technology. For AutoCAD 2008 or 2009 users (or the associated vertical solutions), the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Video: Patrick Aragon Speaks About Project Dragonfly at AU

Product Manager, Patrick Aragon, was interviewed at Autodesk University talking about Project Dragonfly. You can see the video of this interview on one of these sites:

The AEC Café site also features the text of a short question and answer interview with Carl Bass at AU that includes a brief mention of Project Dragonfly:

Carl Bass interview

So check one of these out. You can also get more information about Project Dragonfly in our press release:

Autodesk Launches Expanded Marketing Channel for Building Product Manufacturers

Giving you more than just an Autodesk Labs web page to read is alive in the lab.

Video: Patrick Aragon Speaks About Project Dragonfly at AU

Product Manager, Patrick Aragon, was interviewed at Autodesk University talking about Project Dragonfly. You can see the video of this interview on one of these sites:

The AEC Café site also features the text of a short question and answer interview with Carl Bass at AU that includes a brief mention of Project Dragonfly:

Carl Bass interview

So check one of these out. You can also get more information about Project Dragonfly in our press release:

Autodesk Launches Expanded Marketing Channel for Building Product Manufacturers

Giving you more than just an Autodesk Labs web page to read is alive in the lab.

Navigation Tool for AutoCAD Retired from Autodesk Labs

The technology preview for the Navigation Tool for AutoCAD has run its course.

JT Translator Add-in Graduated from Autodesk Labs

It's our end of the year closeout sale. We're making room for next year's technology previews. The technology preview for the JT Translator Add-in for Inventor has also run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology.

Interoperability is an Inventor 2010 feature. For Inventor 2009 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

JT Translator Add-in Graduated from Autodesk Labs

It's our end of the year closeout sale. We're making room for next year's technology previews. The technology preview for the JT Translator Add-in for Inventor has also run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology.

Interoperability is an Inventor 2010 feature. For Inventor 2009 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Autodesk Design Review Usage and Features Prioritization Survey

Autodesk Labs is all about feedback. Way back when I was the Software Development Manager for Volo View, Jason Pratt was our Marketing Manager. When Jason and I would argue over what features to implement next, Jason would chide me with "Why don't I just post my request in the Autodesk newsgroups - then you actually might do it?" You see I have been a fan of direct user input for a long time. But I digress..

The Design Review team would like to get your insight on Autodesk Design Review. Please take a few minutes to complete their survey. The survey should take about 8-10 minutes. Your answers will be combined with those provided by others to make important business decisions.

Autodesk Design Review Usage and Features Prioritization Survey

Spreading the word about gathering direct customer feedback is alive in the lab.

DWG Export for Maya Graduated from Autodesk Labs

The technology preview for the DWG Export for Maya has run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology. CAD Data Transfer is a feature of Maya 2010. For Maya 2008 or 2009 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

DWG Export for Maya Graduated from Autodesk Labs

The technology preview for the DWG Export for Maya has run its course.

Autodesk Design Review Usage and Features Prioritization Survey

Spreading the word about gathering direct customer feedback is alive in the lab.

CATIA Import Translator for Inventor Graduated from Labs

The technology preview for the CATIA V5 Import Translator for Inventor has run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology.

Interoperability with other CAD systems is a feature of Inventor 2010. For Inventor 2009 SP1 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Retiring the old to make room for the new is alive in the lab.

CATIA Import Translator for Inventor Graduated from Labs

The technology preview for the CATIA V5 Import Translator for Inventor has run its course.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and provided feedback on this technology.

Interoperability with other CAD systems is a feature of Inventor 2010. For Inventor 2009 SP1 users, the installer can still be downloaded from the Autodesk Labs Graduates page.

Retiring the old to make room for the new is alive in the lab.

Survey: File Formats and Reasons Why

Autodesk is running a brief survey of how users share their designs. Our goal is to understand which formats are commonly used for sharing and why these formats are used. Your input is extremely valuable -- please participate.

Survey of file formats used to share designs

Thanks. Your input shapes the future of our technology.

Survey: File Formats and Reasons Why

Survey of file formats used to share designs

Thanks. Your input shapes the future of our technology.

Retrofits: Building Awareness for Building Performance

When our daughter Stephanie was in 5th grade, she and her classmate Lisa Curtis won a Waste Management essay contest with their story entitled "Bobby and His Composting." Since then Lisa has not given up the fight for a greener world. As part of her college studies, Lisa spent months in Africa helping families replace burning forest wood with use of biogas. This summer as a White House intern, Lisa had a 30 minute conversation with President Obama - in Swahili no less. Lisa is in Copenhagen right now representing her college as world leaders meet to discuss an agreement to reduce greenhouse gasses. Recent polls show that as economic woes persist, public concern for climate change is dwindling.

What if more people knew about the cost-effective opportunity in the building sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with better energy efficiency?
What if decision makers understood how building technology can help accelerate improvements in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry and create a greener, more sustainable economy?

We created RETROFITS for this very purpose: to raise awareness about the benefits of greener, more sustainable buildings. The on-line game is the core of the program. See if you can make the leader board, then share it with your friends! There is also a short video (created in Maya) and an animated banner free for distribution to all. So here's where It's Alive in the Lab readres can help:

Check out the video on YouTube.
Host a banner on your sites.
Follow and retweet our own Twitter feed @Retrofits.
Visit www.autodesk.com/retrofits to play the game or download tools to share the RETROFITS message.

Doing our part to help Lisa in her quest is alive in the lab.

Retrofits: Building Awareness for Building Performance

What if more people knew about the cost-effective opportunity in the building sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with better energy efficiency?
What if decision makers understood how building technology can help accelerate improvements in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry and create a greener, more sustainable economy?

Check out the video on YouTube.
Host a banner on your sites.
Follow and retweet our own Twitter feed @Retrofits.
Visit www.autodesk.com/retrofits to play the game or download tools to share the RETROFITS message.

Doing our part to help Lisa in her quest is alive in the lab.

Personal Choices for Sustainability: A Tankless Job

As part of our townhouse remodel, we had a tankless hot water heater installed. Its predecessor was a gas hot water heater whose life expectancy was 15 years. Ours was 20 years old. So rather than awake one morning to the prospect of a cold shower, we preemptively had a new hot water heater installed.

As a company Autodesk is doing everything it can in terms of sustainable design. The Sustainable Materials Assistant for Autodesk Inventor is available as a technology preview on the Autodesk Labs site. The Autodesk corporate web site has a full section on sustainable design. So it made sense to us to select a tankless hot water heater. The premise behind tankless hot water heaters is that energy is saved by heating the water as needed rather than heating and maintaining hot water at the ready.

The first piece of the puzzle is a new gas line. To heat water quickly and as it flows requires a dedicated line. Our new line is 0.75 inches in diameter.
Our unit is a Noritz N-0751M-DVC. It is an indoor wall-mounted unit that vents to the outside. It has no pilot light using a direct ignition mechanism instead. It operates at 15 to 150 psi. The water holding capacity is only 0.2 gallons. It can increase the water temperature up to 45 degrees with a flow of 7.5 gallons per minute.
The initial factory temperature setting is 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Out of the box, the controls allow you to set a desired temperature between 100 and 120 degrees. At 110, we found that our water was not hot enough and took quite a while to reach a usable temperature. So we tried 120 degrees. That still seemed to take longer than desired. The Noritz unit has override controls that let the owner increase the upper limit to 140 degrees. After setting the override, we have our temperature set at 125 degrees. We do not have young children and the accompanying worry that they might inadvertently scald themselves. With our son at boot camp, we are what they call empty nesters.

Despite having the setting at 125 degrees, it still takes quite a while [1 minute, 11 seconds at full blast or about 3 minutes on normal flow] for hot water to reach our master bathroom faucets. I have resorted to brushing my teeth with the water running, a wasting water no-no taught to us as children, so that I have hot water for shaving by the time I am done with my teeth. Apparently the tankless water heater trades off increased water consumption for lower energy costs. This is a viable strategy until the day comes when the cost of clean water (a scarce commodity) outstrips the cost of energy (e.g. solar). Recall that we installed a solar hot water heater in our first house in 1982. So given the long term prospects, I cannot recommend tankless hot water heaters at this time. Water is predicted to eventually be so scarce that its discovery on the moon is now being celebrated. We could supplement our household unit with a smaller on-demand unit specifically located at the sink where I shave, but that may come at a later day.

Sharing first-hand experiences with sustainable technology is alive in the lab.

Personal Choices for Sustainability: A Tankless Job

The first piece of the puzzle is a new gas line. To heat water quickly and as it flows requires a dedicated line. Our new line is 0.75 inches in diameter.
Our unit is a Noritz N-0751M-DVC. It is an indoor wall-mounted unit that vents to the outside. It has no pilot light using a direct ignition mechanism instead. It operates at 15 to 150 psi. The water holding capacity is only 0.2 gallons. It can increase the water temperature up to 45 degrees with a flow of 7.5 gallons per minute.
The initial factory temperature setting is 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Out of the box, the controls allow you to set a desired temperature between 100 and 120 degrees. At 110, we found that our water was not hot enough and took quite a while to reach a usable temperature. So we tried 120 degrees. That still seemed to take longer than desired. The Noritz unit has override controls that let the owner increase the upper limit to 140 degrees. After setting the override, we have our temperature set at 125 degrees. We do not have young children and the accompanying worry that they might inadvertently scald themselves. With our son at boot camp, we are what they call empty nesters.

Sharing first-hand experiences with sustainable technology is alive in the lab.

New Blog: Civil - Made in France

Now that AU is behind us, and we can breathe again, it's time to welcome Willy Luce to the Autodesk blogosphere. Willy is a pre-sales engineer with the AEC Division of Autodesk France. For the last 4 years, the division has: carried out localization and French standardization of AutoCAD Civil 3D, supported the sales teams, and worked with the network of French retailers.

Civil - Made in France

I guess Willy wants to give Gwenaël Bachelot (Geospatial - Made in France) some company. As Web Marketing Manager, Eric Wright, noted when he alerted us to the creation of the new blog "Test your French." Alternatively French-challenged site visitors can use translators like Babel Fish. Oh my hovercraft is full of eels.¹ Welcome aboard Willy or should I say Bienvenue à bord de Willy.

New Blog: Civil - Made in France

Civil - Made in France

A Confederacy of Dunces

I don't usually read fiction. In fact I never do. I normally read books by scientists like A Brief History of Time, Surely You Must Be Joking Mr. Feynman!, or Uranium. Shortly after moving into our townhouse I met our neighbor, Jeptha Boone, who lives across the street. I told him that I was originally from New Orleans. He had spent a brief moment in time in New Orleans and enjoyed the food and the people. He asked if I had ever read A Confederacy of Dunces. He felt that book captured the spirit of the people of New Orleans.

I was intrigued. Since we had last week off, I read the book. The story chronicles the misadventures of one Ignacius J. Reilly - an overweight, underachieving, and overeducated adult who still lives with his mother. The book takes its title from a Jonathan Swift quotation:

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

The book has many colorful characters but what really held my interest were the authentic references to New Orleans. Street names like Constantinople, Elysian Fields, St. Charles Avenue, and Canal Street bring back sweet memories. Places like D.H. Holmes, the Prytania Theater, and Maison Blanche are places I have been. To this day, although I grew up eating red beans and rice flavored with "pickle meat," I cannot find anyone in Phoenix or the Bay Area that sells it. I had to laugh when "pickle meat" came up in the book not once but twice.

A Confederacy of Dunceswas written by John Kennedy Toole. Among other things he taught at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now called the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, which is my alma mater. Sadly Toole took his own life in 1969 despondent over his inability to get his manuscript published. His mother picked up the cause and brought her son's work to print. A Confederacy of Dunces won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.

Spatial Sustain: Autodesk Labs Aims for True Computer-Aided Design

A cloud of data and infinite computing will be at our beckon call.

Our own Brian Mathews gave a briefing to the press:

Autodesk Labs Aims for True Computer-Aided Design #au2009

Check it out.

Spatial Sustain: Autodesk Labs Aims for True Computer-Aided Design

A cloud of data and infinite computing will be at our beckon call.

Our own Brian Mathews gave a briefing to the press:

Autodesk Labs Aims for True Computer-Aided Design #au2009

Check it out.

A Confederacy of Dunces

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

No news is good news? Well no newsgroups is...

We have scheduled maintenance on our servers that will affect the availability of our discussion forums. The down time will occur from

Friday, December 4, 5:00 PM PST

Saturday, December 5, 3:00 PM PST.

Though this affects all discussion forums, the Labs forums that will be unavailable include:

Thank you for your patience and continued interest in providing us with feedback via these forums. I am old school. I still refer to these forums as newsgroups. I still use the Outlook Express Newsreader.

Moving our discussion forums to a more robust environment is alive in the lab.

No news is good news? Well no newsgroups is...

We have scheduled maintenance on our servers that will affect the availability of our discussion forums. The down time will occur from

Friday, December 4, 5:00 PM PST

Saturday, December 5, 3:00 PM PST.

Though this affects all discussion forums, the Labs forums that will be unavailable include:

Moving our discussion forums to a more robust environment is alive in the lab.

December Plugin of the Month: Layer Reporter for AutoCAD

Q: What do an AutoCAD drawing and a piece of cake have in common? A: They both have layers and are sweet!

The ADN plugin of the month for December is the Layer Reporter for AutoCAD 2007 (and later) that was written by Terry Dotson, from DotSoft, and edited by Kean Walmsley for publishing on his blog: Through the Interface.

Free Download of Layer Reporter for AutoCAD (includes source code too)

The plugin generates a report of the layers used within an AutoCAD drawing. The report formatting can be customized and the customized settings are applied when the tool is used on other drawings. The resulting report can be printed or saved to a web page (HTML or MHT) or plain old text file.

Sweetening the pot to help others to develop their own plugins is alive in the lab.

December Plugin of the Month: Layer Reporter for AutoCAD

Q: What do an AutoCAD drawing and a piece of cake have in common? A: They both have layers and are sweet!

Free Download of Layer Reporter for AutoCAD (includes source code too)

Sweetening the pot to help others to develop their own plugins is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview Now Available

Product Manager, Abhijit Singh, contacted me a while back about a new Inventor Publisher Technology Preview he wanted to get feedback on from the Autodesk Labs community. Autodesk Inventor Publisher Technology Preview is easy-to-use software for creating interactive 3D product documentation - from assembly instructions to operating procedures, repair instructions, and more. You can deliver clearer and more comprehensive technical instructions to your customers. Now that I am back from my sabbatical, I was happy to update the Autodesk Labs site. Having recently released the Piping Design Technology Preview, it's been a busy time:

Free Download of Inventor Publisher Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

Like many of our technology previews that start small and then grow larger, to ensure the best experience for those participating, the download of the technology preview is limited to the following geographical locations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States. We hope to expand to other locations in the future. So if you are in one of these designated locations, please take this for a spin and let us know what you think at labs.iv.publisher@autodesk.com.

It's raining technology previews! Soliciting your feedback is alive in the lab.

Inventor Publisher Technology Preview Now Available

Free Download of Inventor Publisher Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

It's raining technology previews! Soliciting your feedback is alive in the lab.

Get Ready for AUv

Manager of AU Program Development, Joseph Wurcher, shared some information regarding virtual Autodesk University.

Tomorrow AUv will launch at the same time as AU.

The first session will be a live broadcast of the Keynote session with Carl Bass, Jeff Kowalski, and Amory Lovins. Later that afternoon we will broadcast about 20 session with live Q&A. During the conference we will broadcast a total of approximately 150 sessions, some scheduled to be available during regular business hours in EMEA (Europe, Middle east, Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific) which means 6 am and 9 pm PST broadcast times. The AUv experience was built from scratch by the AU team. At this point many It's alive in the lab readers have not seen the AUv Player.

The below link is a 4 minute demo by Lynn Allen of the AUv Player wherein she explains what the AUv experience will be like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6FngK_xiEs

So far we have over 13,000 folks signed up for AUv from 137 countries. You can add to that number.

Thanks Joseph.

Get Ready for AUv

Manager of AU Program Development, Joseph Wurcher, shared some information regarding virtual Autodesk University.

Tomorrow AUv will launch at the same time as AU.

The below link is a 4 minute demo by Lynn Allen of the AUv Player wherein she explains what the AUv experience will be like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6FngK_xiEs

So far we have over 13,000 folks signed up for AUv from 137 countries. You can add to that number.

Thanks Joseph.

Project Bluestreak In Full Swing

When Jon Lovitz was on Saturday Night Live, he had a skit called "Get to Know Me." I can't help but think of that when I think about Project Bluestreak. Project Bluestreak provides members of the architecture, engineering, and construction communities with an easy way to "get to know" each other. Valuable networking connections can be made and sharing of tips related to hardware and software solutions is encouraged. So become one of the cool people and check out:

Information about Project Bluestreak on Autodesk Labs

Help put the social in AEC social networking. You'll be glad you did.

Getting connected is alive in the lab.

Project Bluestreak In Full Swing

Information about Project Bluestreak on Autodesk Labs

Help put the social in AEC social networking. You'll be glad you did.

Getting connected is alive in the lab.

Happy Thanksgiving

On this day we give thanks for the many fortunate things in our lives - family, friends, health, and a great place to work. Enjoy the day.

Happy Thanksgiving

On this day we give thanks for the many fortunate things in our lives - family, friends, health, and a great place to work. Enjoy the day.

Autodesk Labs at Autodesk University 2009

Autodesk Labs will have two exhibits at Autodesk University 2009. Representing our team this year will be: VP Brian Mathews, Software Architect Ben Cochran, and Software Developer Frederic Loranger. Technical Evangelist Brian Pene will also be lending us a hand.

Community Pavilion

Though both exhibits have the same array of Labs technologies that can be demonstrated, the Community Pavilion exhibit will have an AEC focus. Visitors may wish to inquire about and see a demonstration of AutoCAD or Revit via Project Twitch, Project Newport, the Google Earth Extension, Solar Radiation Technology Preview, Project Cooper, Project Dragonfly, or Project Showroom.
Autodesk Pavilion

This exhibit has all of the same items as the Community Pavilion, but will have a manufacturing focus. Visitors may wish to inquire about and see a demonstration of Inventor via Project Twitch, Inventor Fusion, or Project Showroom.

This year our emphasis is on one-on-one contact. Our team would like to know what you do and what challenges you face. A team member can then show you some of the technologies available on Labs that may be related to what you do. You can then come to the site when you get back home, give the technology a try, and let us know what you think via one of our feedback mechanisms.

Please stop by and say hello.

Autodesk Labs at Autodesk University 2009

Community Pavilion
Though both exhibits have the same array of Labs technologies that can be demonstrated, the Community Pavilion exhibit will have an AEC focus. Visitors may wish to inquire about and see a demonstration of AutoCAD or Revit via Project Twitch, Project Newport, the Google Earth Extension, Solar Radiation Technology Preview, Project Cooper, Project Dragonfly, or Project Showroom.
Autodesk Pavilion
This exhibit has all of the same items as the Community Pavilion, but will have a manufacturing focus. Visitors may wish to inquire about and see a demonstration of Inventor via Project Twitch, Inventor Fusion, or Project Showroom.

Please stop by and say hello.

Project Dragonfly Eat Your Own Dog Food Winners

We don't really eat dog food. It's just an expression.

Part of most software development projects is what we call a nightly build. Software developers toil during the day - busily coding their portion of the project. They test their own changes, make sure they work, and then submit them to a code repository. Whereas each developer makes sure his own changes work on hi own machine, sometimes things can go astray because one developer makes a change that conflicts with work done by another developer (normally one the same day). Each developer was unaware of the other's change. To catch this rare occurrence right away, most projects build the project each night from the repository. This way developers start each day with the latest code that has all of the changes from all of the developers. At Autodesk we do this with our design applications. We do this with our Labs technology previews too. Microsoft does this with their operating system updates. In fact, legend has it that Microsoft loads the nightly builds on all of the machines in the company - even the ones for the executives. So if a software developer inadvertently makes a change that conflicts with another, it may turn out that an executive might not be able to give his PowerPoint presentation the next day. Microsoft refers to this process as "eating one's own dog food."

In addition to developers testing their own work, we often have "test fests" (as in festivals) where we invite the company, executives included, to test our software as a service applications. In the case of software as a service we don't have to install the software on all of the computers in the company. We simply update our servers with the nightly build and everyone uses the software via those servers. The Dragonfly team recently released an update of Project Dragonfly. Before we released, the team invited the company to test the nightly build on internal servers. For fun the team made a contest out of it. Two winners would receive $30 Amazon gift certificates.

The results from our recent Design Contest are in and we wanted to share the results with everyone and congratulate our winning designers! We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the design contest by using the pre-release version of Project Dragonfly and providing feedback to the team. So, without further ado, our panel of expert judges unanimously declared the following designs as winners in their respective categories for this design contest.

1963 Atrium Model Eichler

Designer – Susanne Kaufmann (ACN Development Team, SF)

Category – Open Design Category with full extra credit for use of Dacor content, Landscaping and several other new feature areas.
Yongmei's house

Designer - Yongmei Wang (QA Team Lead, ACRD)

Category – Realistic Multi-Level Design with Landscaping

Please join us in congratulating Susanne and Yongmei for their designing ingenuity and creativity!

Working hard but having fun is alive and well in the lab.

Project Dragonfly Eat Your Own Dog Food Winners

We don't really eat dog food. It's just an expression.

1963 Atrium Model Eichler
Designer – Susanne Kaufmann (ACN Development Team, SF)
Category – Open Design Category with full extra credit for use of Dacor content, Landscaping and several other new feature areas.
Yongmei's house
Designer - Yongmei Wang (QA Team Lead, ACRD)
Category – Realistic Multi-Level Design with Landscaping

Please join us in congratulating Susanne and Yongmei for their designing ingenuity and creativity!

Working hard but having fun is alive and well in the lab.

Thanksgiving Week Furlough

Taking some vacation time in 2009

Autodesk is observing a company furlough this week. With the exception of staff dedicated to manning our critical systems, all United States employees will take the week off with our vacation time. So although it may seem like something's amiss with the RSS feed for this blog, it really just us relaxing. And if you don't get an immediate response to your Autodesk Labs feedback request like you normally do, fear not, we'll reply as soon as we get back. We will return ready for action. Autodesk University is just around the corner.

Thanksgiving Week Furlough

Taking some vacation time in 2009

I am making a list and checking it twice

Autodesk is getting more involved with social media. Project Bluestreak is a great example. To try to make some sense of our increased involvement, I updated our social media page on the Autodesk Labs site to list the various social meda resources that Autodesk Labs is involved with:

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/showroom/social_sites/

I will keep this up to date as our running list.

Being sociable is alve in the lab.

I am making a list and checking it twice

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/showroom/social_sites/

I will keep this up to date as our running list.

Being sociable is alve in the lab.

Autodesk Labs Community Login unavailable due to system maintenance tomorrow

Sign In and Registration functionality will not be available for discussion groups due to systems maintenance tied to our Disaster Recovery testing of our Enterprise Applications.

Saturday, Nov 21 from 12:00 AM – 3 PM PST

Creating new threads or replies, and other functionality dependent on sign in will be restricted. This includes saving diagrams on Project Draw, uploading files to Project Freewheel or participating in collaboration sessions, saving room customizations on Project Showroom, and trying our design applications using the cloud (Project Twitch).

Thank you for your patience and continued interest in Autodesk Labs.

Autodesk Labs Community Login unavailable due to system maintenance tomorrow

Sign In and Registration functionality will not be available for discussion groups due to systems maintenance tied to our Disaster Recovery testing of our Enterprise Applications.

Saturday, Nov 21 from 12:00 AM – 3 PM PST

Thank you for your patience and continued interest in Autodesk Labs.

Product Support Subscription Advantage Pack Videos

BYOP - bring your own popcorn and leave the rest to us

Social Media Manager, Brian Kling, shared this with me.

Overview - Product Support has created "deeper dive" videos reviewing the 2010 Subscription Advantage Packs for:

AutoCAD
Civil 3D
Inventor
Map 3D
Revit

These videos cover features/functionality from a different angle than traditional Marketing introduction videos and should provide users with a deeper understanding of how it is useful for them as well as anticipate/answer some questions users may have.

Goal - We are trying to increase visibility of our content to better assist our customers.

Location - The Autodesk YouTube channel collects these videos into a single play list.

So go ahead and join a Technical Lead from Autodesk Product Support as they walk through the features and functions of the new Subscription Advantage Packs, anticipating frequently asked questions and showing you how these features will be useful for you. Not on Subscription? Review the videos and then assess the many benefits of Subscription via the video.

Thanks Brian.

Helping spread the latest Product Support news is alive in the lab.

Product Support Subscription Advantage Pack Videos

BYOP - bring your own popcorn and leave the rest to us

Social Media Manager, Brian Kling, shared this with me.

Overview - Product Support has created "deeper dive" videos reviewing the 2010 Subscription Advantage Packs for:

AutoCAD
Civil 3D
Inventor
Map 3D
Revit

Goal - We are trying to increase visibility of our content to better assist our customers.

Location - The Autodesk YouTube channel collects these videos into a single play list.

Thanks Brian.

Helping spread the latest Product Support news is alive in the lab.

Project Bluestreak Now Available

Up, up, and away with Project Bluestreak

At one time I was the Software Development Manager for Buzzsaw,so I find collaboration in the construction industry very exciting. So I am happy to report that a team in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction division has been thinking about how their customers collaborate on design problems. They have started building Project Bluestreak -- a web-based collaboration environment for accelerating building information modeling through the open exchange of design information and ideas between desktop applications, web-based services, and people. How cool is that?

The basic building blocks needed to collaborate with your team -- user profiles, self organized private groups, file sharing, activity streams, notifications and comments -- are available on Autodesk Labs now for your testing and feedback. The team has decided that the best way to build a collaboration environment is to do it collaboratively! So they are asking you to get involved:

They say there's no "I" in team, but it's also true that there's no "U" in apathy. So "you" should get involved. To get started and help build the next generation of AEC collaboration:

Navigate to the Project Bluestreak page on the Autodesk Labs site.
Click on the Try It Now image.
Click on Sign Up icon to create your account and a project group, and try it out!
Use the “Feedback” button within the application to give us your feedback and discuss the application with other members of the Bluestreak user community.
In addition, you can always send comments to labs.bluestreak@autodesk.com.

With this initial release, you can:

Create and join project groups
Communicate with your project group members
Share project designs and documents
Quickly respond to project activities

More incremental releases will come Alive in the Lab as more features are developed, and your feedback is incorporated.

Social networking in the AEC world is alive in the lab.

Project Bluestreak Now Available

Up, up, and away with Project Bluestreak

They say there's no "I" in team, but it's also true that there's no "U" in apathy. So "you" should get involved. To get started and help build the next generation of AEC collaboration:

Navigate to the Project Bluestreak page on the Autodesk Labs site.
Click on the Try It Now image.
Click on Sign Up icon to create your account and a project group, and try it out!
Use the “Feedback” button within the application to give us your feedback and discuss the application with other members of the Bluestreak user community.
In addition, you can always send comments to labs.bluestreak@autodesk.com.

With this initial release, you can:

Create and join project groups
Communicate with your project group members
Share project designs and documents
Quickly respond to project activities

More incremental releases will come Alive in the Lab as more features are developed, and your feedback is incorporated.

Social networking in the AEC world is alive in the lab.

Project Dragonfly Update Now Available

This blog posting is 2 hours late. Boy is my face red.

The Project Dragonfly team has been busy. Today they unveiled an update. Try it now:

Project Dragonfly Information on Autodesk Labs Site

As a software as a service solution, this means the update is available to you right now. No download. No install. No nothing. Some of the big features in this update include:

Landscaping - you can plan your outdoors the same way you plan indoors
Levels - you can create multi-story floor plans
Appliances - you can pick from a multitude of Dacor appliances that were added with this release

So check out Project Dragonfly and engage in a bit of floor planning. Create a design and submit it to the gallery. Your friends will be green with envy.

Extending the functionality in the technology preview of our software as a service offering is alive in the lab

Project Dragonfly Update Now Available

This blog posting is 2 hours late. Boy is my face red.

The Project Dragonfly team has been busy. Today they unveiled an update. Try it now:

Project Dragonfly Information on Autodesk Labs Site

As a software as a service solution, this means the update is available to you right now. No download. No install. No nothing. Some of the big features in this update include:

Landscaping - you can plan your outdoors the same way you plan indoors
Levels - you can create multi-story floor plans
Appliances - you can pick from a multitude of Dacor appliances that were added with this release

So check out Project Dragonfly and engage in a bit of floor planning. Create a design and submit it to the gallery. Your friends will be green with envy.

Extending the functionality in the technology preview of our software as a service offering is alive in the lab

Autodesk University Extension - A Free Training Event

Senior Manager, Corporate and Channel PR, Angela Simoes, shared this with me.

The Autodesk University (AU) conference held each year in Las Vegas is the world’s largest learning and networking event for Autodesk product users. But not everyone can travel to Las Vegas. So this year, Autodesk is extending the benefits of AU by sharing classes and content from the event with Authorized Training Centers (ATC®). The result is a new worldwide initiative called Autodesk University Extension.

From December 4 – 11, 2009, there will be over 100 free training events, held in 35 countries hosted by over 90 Authorized Training Center sites, so chances are there may be an event near you! This is a great new opportunity to upgrade your skills and connect with peers and experts—without the cost of traveling to Las Vegas. Our program is free and we invite you to join us.

The Autodesk University Extension event combines expert-led class content from AU in Las Vegas with face-to-face interaction with local instructors and other users. At the event, you will receive:

Free training, including classes recorded at AU in Las Vegas
90 days of free access to 350 classes recorded at AU, archived on AU Online, and available to you on-demand

Plus, you may purchase additional training and certification (where available) at significant discounts. To find out what’s available, select a participating country and an Authorized Training Center (ATC) to view event details. http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event_autodesk_university_extension.

Thanks Angela.

Revving up for AU is alive in the lab.

Autodesk University Extension - A Free Training Event

Senior Manager, Corporate and Channel PR, Angela Simoes, shared this with me.

The Autodesk University Extension event combines expert-led class content from AU in Las Vegas with face-to-face interaction with local instructors and other users. At the event, you will receive:

Free training, including classes recorded at AU in Las Vegas
90 days of free access to 350 classes recorded at AU, archived on AU Online, and available to you on-demand

Thanks Angela.

Revving up for AU is alive in the lab.

Something new to blog about - Autodesk University Virtual

Sales Programs Contractor, Daniel Teeter, shared this with me.

It’s official, customers from around the world can now attend Autodesk University "virtually"!

While the flagship event (AU 2009 Las Vegas, Dec 1-3, 2009) remains a not-to-be-missed experience, many are not able to physically attend. To that end, Autodesk University Virtual promises travel-challenged customers, "some of the best of AU right to your desktop."

Complete details are on the AU Virtual website, but here are the highlights:

Event date: December 1-4, 2009.
50+ Classes and Sessions- streamed "live" http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_class_listing.
A "Premium Pass" (full access) is only US$99.
All Subscription customers receive a free "Premier Pass".
A "Free Pass" (limited access) is available to anyone.
How AU Virtual compares with AU "On-Site"

Thanks Daniel.

Getting ready to be virtually at AU is alive in the lab.

AU: Register so as not to miss Advanced Design Integration for Radical Energy Efficiency by Amory Lovins

Brian Mathews, VP of Autodesk Labs, shared some cool information with me about Autodesk University.

Autodesk has been very fortunate to sign up Amory Lovins to be the keynote speaker at AU. Autodesk Labs has been involved in his selection. What is great is that beyond the Keynote address at the General Session on main stage, Amory has been gracious enough to teach a 90 minute class before the general session! As his class was added at the last minute, many attendees are unaware of his class and may have signed up for other classes. It's Alive in the Lab readers would be particularly interested to know that we have such an influential person at AU and would want to attend his class.

From the AU web site:

Amory Lovins, cofounder and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute joins Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski at this year's General Session. Lovins, author of Winning the Oil Endgame, is among the world’s leading innovators in energy and its connections to resources, development, security, and the environment. His latest awards include the National Design Award (Design Mind), an Hon. AIA, Foreign Membership of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and selection by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Lovins will also be teaching "Advanced Design Integration for Radical Energy Efficiency," a look at how integrative design—optimizing a whole system for multiple benefits, not isolated components for single benefits—can yield radical energy efficiency, often at lower capital cost, while giving the designers competitive advantage, bigger profits, and more fun.

As a precursor, check out these videos:

Date: Monday, December 1

Time: 8:00 AM (getting up early will be worth it)

Register: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&session_id=5566

Thanks Brian.

AU: Register so as not to miss Advanced Design Integration for Radical Energy Efficiency by Amory Lovins

Brian Mathews, VP of Autodesk Labs, shared some cool information with me about Autodesk University.

From the AU web site:

As a precursor, check out these videos:

Date: Monday, December 1
Time: 8:00 AM (getting up early will be worth it)
Register: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&session_id=5566

Thanks Brian.

Something new to blog about - Autodesk University Virtual

Sales Programs Contractor, Daniel Teeter, shared this with me.

It’s official, customers from around the world can now attend Autodesk University "virtually"!

Complete details are on the AU Virtual website, but here are the highlights:

Event date: December 1-4, 2009.
50+ Classes and Sessions- streamed "live" http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_class_listing.
A "Premium Pass" (full access) is only US$99.
All Subscription customers receive a free "Premier Pass".
A "Free Pass" (limited access) is available to anyone.
How AU Virtual compares with AU "On-Site"

Thanks Daniel.

Getting ready to be virtually at AU is alive in the lab.

Join the Autodesk Seek team for a lively discussion about product content at AU, and earn CE credits along the way

Lively but maybe not this lively

Autodesk Seek Marketing Manager, Jim Wilson, asked me to post this. I was happy to do so.

You’ve heard of BIM. Maybe you’ve even worked with BIM. Now’s your chance to let building product manufacturers know how they can build the product information that you need, when you need it, where you need it. We’ll debate standards, content development best practices and your requirements for how best to deliver manufacturer-specific content for your workflow. This lively and interactive content panel – hosted by the team from Autodesk Seek, a recent “graduate” of Autodesk Labs in 2008 - will be of particular interest to sales and marketing executives for building product manufactures in the AEC industry, and design professionals from top firms who are regular users of Autodesk® Revit® and AutoCAD® in the AEC industry.

We hope to see you at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino for Autodesk University. Please register below to reserve a seat now. Oh, by the way, your attendance at the Autodesk Seek panel discussion qualifies for AIA learning credits.

Customers Are From Venus and Manufacturers Are From Mars: Connecting the Dots with Content

Class ID: AB308-3

Class Type: 90-Minute Panel

http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&session_id=5357

Just like the commercial for Ginsu knives - But wait, there’s more! If you’re interested in learning about how to maximize 3D visualization content for online commerce and web-based services using 3ds Max, Autodesk’s 3D modeling, animation, and rendering solution, you’ve found your class. Register below. We look forward to seeing you.

Best Practices: Using Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design to Build Content for Online Commerce

Class ID: DV318-1

Class Type: 90-minute class

http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&jid=29034&session_id=5199

Thanks Jim.

Join the Autodesk Seek team for a lively discussion about product content at AU, and earn CE credits along the way

Lively but maybe not this lively

Autodesk Seek Marketing Manager, Jim Wilson, asked me to post this. I was happy to do so.

Customers Are From Venus and Manufacturers Are From Mars: Connecting the Dots with Content
Class ID: AB308-3
Class Type: 90-Minute Panel
http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&session_id=5357

Best Practices: Using Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design to Build Content for Online Commerce
Class ID: DV318-1
Class Type: 90-minute class
http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_class&jid=29034&session_id=5199

Thanks Jim.

My first week back

Well it's been my first week back. I would like to thank Amanda Collins, Ben Cochran, Brian Mathews, Douglas Look, and Frederic Loranger who looked after the blog during my sabbatical and guest authored articles. During my six weeks off, my wife and I:

Saw our son off to boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. I helped him get his car ready for sale. He sold it to CarMax - a very disappointing experience in terms of the price he received.
Moved from Scottsdale, Arizona to Alameda, California. We got to go to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As part of registering my car, I asked "Are front plates optional or required?" The clerk's response was "No." (Excuse me but that was not a "yes" or "no" question.) Although Arizona only requires a rear license plate, California requires both front and back. I also had the pleasure of opening new bank accounts, setting up new services, dealing with damage caused by the movers, and becoming familiar with the rules for my Homeowners Association.
Oversaw progress on the remodeling of our town home. We are getting a new kitchen, new shower, organized closets, tankless hot water heater, new fireplace, and painting throughout. This started in September. We're not done yet. The goal is to be done by Thanksgiving. We have made so many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's that the employees know us by name.

The day we drove from Scottsdale to Alameda was October 13. It rained the whole way. In fact, Alameda had its hardest rain since 1962. When we arrived, we saw that our garage had a leak. In addition, the painters had painted the rooms the wrong colors. Welcome to California. It was a very productive time in our lives. I am glad to be back at work.

My first week back

Saw our son off to boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. I helped him get his car ready for sale. He sold it to CarMax - a very disappointing experience in terms of the price he received.
Moved from Scottsdale, Arizona to Alameda, California. We got to go to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As part of registering my car, I asked "Are front plates optional or required?" The clerk's response was "No." (Excuse me but that was not a "yes" or "no" question.) Although Arizona only requires a rear license plate, California requires both front and back. I also had the pleasure of opening new bank accounts, setting up new services, dealing with damage caused by the movers, and becoming familiar with the rules for my Homeowners Association.
Oversaw progress on the remodeling of our town home. We are getting a new kitchen, new shower, organized closets, tankless hot water heater, new fireplace, and painting throughout. This started in September. We're not done yet. The goal is to be done by Thanksgiving. We have made so many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's that the employees know us by name.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D Now Available

When Dave Simeone and Yoshihiko Fukuchi approached me about making a technology preview available on Autodesk Labs, I couldn't help but think about Led Zeppelin's "The Crunge." At the end of the song Robert Plant sings "I'm just trying to find a bridge." to which Jimmy Page retorts "Where's that confounded bridge?" Dave and Yoshihiko have an extension to AutoCAD Civil 3D for bridge modeling:

Free Download of Bridge Modeler Technology Preview for AutoCAD Civil 3D on Autodesk Labs

Please give it a try, create a bridge you'd like to sell me, and let us know how it turns out at labs.civil3d.bridge@autodesk.com. You have until March 15, 2010 to do so.

Building bridges is alive in the lab.

Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D Now Available

Free Download of Bridge Modeler Technology Preview for AutoCAD Civil 3D on Autodesk Labs

Please give it a try, create a bridge you'd like to sell me, and let us know how it turns out at labs.civil3d.bridge@autodesk.com. You have until March 15, 2010 to do so.

Building bridges is alive in the lab.

Piping Design Technology Preview Now Available

Product Manager, Ravi Akella, contacted me a while back about a new Piping Design Technology Preview he wanted to get feedback on from the Autodesk Labs community. Now that I am back from my sabbatical, I was happy to update the Autodesk Labs site:

Free Download of Piping Design Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

Please give this a try and let us know what you think at labs.algor.piping@autodesk.com. You have until June 30, 2010 to do so.

Looking forward to a flurry of feedback regarding this new technology preview is alive in the lab.

Piping Design Technology Preview Now Available

Free Download of Piping Design Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

Please give this a try and let us know what you think at labs.algor.piping@autodesk.com. You have until June 30, 2010 to do so.

Looking forward to a flurry of feedback regarding this new technology preview is alive in the lab.

Try AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit on your Windows 7 system without installing them

Autodesk Labs just released an update of its Application Trials Service. Also known as Project Twitch, this technology preview lets you try our flagship products over the internet without the need to download or install them on your computer. Right now, users can try AutoCAD 2010, Inventor 2010, Revit Architecture 2010, and soon Maya 2010 (stay tuned for the next update of the service).

This update provides the much anticipated support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit) along with some core improvements to the technology. Please give it a try and tell us what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com.

Frederic Loranger, Autodesk Labs

Try AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit on your Windows 7 system without installing them

Project Twitch Down for a small Maintenance Window Today

Project Twitch will be unavailable at 9:30 am Thursday, November 11, 2009 PT for an upgrade to the application service. Stay tuned for more details about the upgrade…

Project Twitch Down for a small Maintenance Window Today

Project Twitch will be unavailable at 9:30 am Thursday, November 11, 2009 PT for an upgrade to the application service. Stay tuned for more details about the upgrade…

Updated Moldflow UI Technology Preview Now Available

AutoCAD has a ribbon interface. Inventor has a ribbon interface, etc. The ribbon interface has become standard for Autodesk design applications. To see how this would apply to the Moldflow product line, we have a technology preview of a ribbon interface. Your feedback (labs.moldflow.ui@autodesk.com) will help determine the final implementation. The technology preview originally allowed you to patch

to have the ribbon interface. Yesterday we updated the technology preview to also include:

Autodesk Moldflow Insight

You can download the UI technology preview from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free download of Moldflow UI Technology Preview

So now if you use any of the Moldflow applications, we invite you to experience the ribbon interface. "Do not fear the ribbon." Let us know how it works or does not work for you.

Expanding technology previews to cover all of the bases is alive in the lab.

Updated Moldflow UI Technology Preview Now Available

to have the ribbon interface. Yesterday we updated the technology preview to also include:

Autodesk Moldflow Insight

You can download the UI technology preview from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free download of Moldflow UI Technology Preview

So now if you use any of the Moldflow applications, we invite you to experience the ribbon interface. "Do not fear the ribbon." Let us know how it works or does not work for you.

Expanding technology previews to cover all of the bases is alive in the lab.

Noble Studios: 2009 Silver Davey Award – Winner for Interactive Multimedia for Corporate Image

What's a Silver Davey? An award. What's a Greek urn? About $9/hour. [old joke as in "earn"]

One of the partners we work with is Noble Studios. For example, they helped us with some of the Autodesk Labs site redesign we completed in August. Jarrod Lopiccolo of Noble Studios recently shared some good news with us. Noble Studios was recently awarded a 2009 Silver Davey Award. Read about it here:

5th Annual Davey Awards

The award gets its name from the story of David versus Goliath. Like the small boy who brought down the big giant with a slingshot and a rock, awards are given to small firms with big ideas.

Congratulations to Noble Studios.

Noble Studios: 2009 Silver Davey Award – Winner for Interactive Multimedia for Corporate Image

What's a Silver Davey? An award. What's a Greek urn? About $9/hour. [old joke as in "earn"]

5th Annual Davey Awards

The award gets its name from the story of David versus Goliath. Like the small boy who brought down the big giant with a slingshot and a rock, awards are given to small firms with big ideas.

Congratulations to Noble Studios.

November Plugin of the Month: Screenshot for AutoCAD Now Available

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - so share your beautiful designs as images.

I was on sabbatical until yesterday, so I am a little bit tardy with the November plugin of the month. This month's Autodesk Developer Network plugin comes to us from our own Kean Walmsley and provides a screenshot capability for AutoCAD.

Free Download of Screenshot for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

From the read me: "This plugin can be used with AutoCAD to simplify the process of capturing images of parts of drawings, or the entire drawing or application windows. It optionally allows you to remap the background to white and the foreground to black, and convert the entire image to grayscale, as well as sending the capture image directly to a printer."

The plugin works with AutoCAD 2007 and later versions. This applies to vanilla AutoCAD as well as AutoCAD-based products. So please give it a shot and let us know what you think at labs.plugins@autodesk.com.

Celebrating the sharing of another plugin (including its source code) is alive in the lab.

November Plugin of the Month: Screenshot for AutoCAD Now Available

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - so share your beautiful designs as images.

Free Download of Screenshot for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

Celebrating the sharing of another plugin (including its source code) is alive in the lab.

2D to 3D Tool and Feature Recognition on Autodesk Labs Compatible with Autodesk Inventor LT 2010

Please pardon my omission

Thanks to Autodesk Inventor Product Manager, Sam Antos, who did the research to let me know that

are compatible with Autodesk Inventor LT 2010. I have updated the Autodesk Labs site pages accordingly. Now Autodesk Inventor LT users are aware that they too can send us suggestions at labs.iv.2dto3d@autodesk.com and labs.iv.feature.recog@autodesk.com.

Looking forward to feedback from Autodesk Inventor LT users is alive in the lab.

2D to 3D Tool and Feature Recognition on Autodesk Labs Compatible with Autodesk Inventor LT 2010

Please pardon my omission

Thanks to Autodesk Inventor Product Manager, Sam Antos, who did the research to let me know that

Looking forward to feedback from Autodesk Inventor LT users is alive in the lab.

Back to Work on Monday

Ducks in a row outside our bedroom window

Today is the last day of my sabbatical. I had better get all of my non-work "ducks in a row" as it is back to work on Monday.

-- Scott Sheppard, Autodesk Labs

Back to Work on Monday

Ducks in a row outside our bedroom window

Today is the last day of my sabbatical. I had better get all of my non-work "ducks in a row" as it is back to work on Monday.

-- Scott Sheppard, Autodesk Labs

What You Can Do With Project Cooper

Using Project Cooper, Autodesk employees have created a host of precise drawings and plans. Every so often, we take a minute to sketch out other, more whimsical subjects. Take a look at what two team members shared with us today. Fun is alive and well in the Labs.

"Woman” by Zushun Zhan

"Sneaker” by Kevin Ke

What You Can Do With Project Cooper

"Woman” by Zushun Zhan

"Sneaker” by Kevin Ke

Cloud Services You Need

[This is Ben Cochran again writing for Scott while he is on Sabbatical.]

For years now, languages, tools and platforms have been making the creation of web-based services easier and more robust. Some of these are IIS, Apache, Tomcat, Java, .NET, WCF, PHP, Ruby on Rails and the list goes on and on and …

Until recently deploying and hosting these services had been difficult and expensive. This is because any service of value needs to be dependable. Otherwise, who would use it? I personally have come to expect web services to be highly available. For example, I love on-line banking, but if my bank had flaky on-line services, I would change banks without thinking twice. Thankfully, that is not the case for my bank.

Cloud based services are generally a collection of connected dependent systems that include storage, databases, security, auditing, monitoring and more. The whole system is only as reliable as the weakest link. Traditionally, making these services reliable required lots and lots of hardware. Each server needs to have redundant power supplies, redundant disks, redundant network, redundant load balancers and redundant storage. Then the data-center that houses all this equipment needs to be redundant. Does this sound a little redundant? With all this equipment, hardware failure is inevitable, requiring teams of IT people to keep everything running smoothly.

The result is that many companies think twice about building scalable reliable services. Companies that do have the needed IT infrastructure are often times not flexible enough to try out new ideas. They require a retooling to support different and out of the box services. All of this makes the cost of exploring new web based services expensive and risky, for many too risky to try the next crazy idea.

This is changing! With cloud hosting services from companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google providing the backend systems on an as-needed bases the initial cost is a fraction of what it was. For example, servers, load balancers, network, reliable backed up storage and databases are rented by the hour or gigabyte. Instead of buying truckloads of expensive redundant hardware in hopes that a new cloud service idea is successful, companies can spend almost nothing to try out new ideas. If the new idea takes off, the backend systems scales up for the demand. Companies need only pay for resources that are actually used.

Labs had been experimenting with new and interesting cloud services like:

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/dragonfly/

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/draw/

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/freewheel/

http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/showroom/

and more recently http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/trials/

What new cloud services are useful to you? What are your crazy ideas?

- Ben Cochran

Cloud Services You Need

[This is Ben Cochran again writing for Scott while he is on Sabbatical.]

Labs had been experimenting with new and interesting cloud services like:
http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/dragonfly/
http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/draw/
http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/freewheel/
http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/showroom/
and more recently http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/trials/

What new cloud services are useful to you? What are your crazy ideas?

- Ben Cochran

Random Bridge Ramblings

Autodesk Labs Software Developer, Gyorgy Ordody, submitted this.

As we now know in the Bay Area, it’s not easy to maintain and build bridges. We have the Bay Bridge (or James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Bridge) trouble going on as this is being written (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/30/BAU91ACT27.DTL&tsp=1), while the new eastern span is being built. In fact, the Autodesk Gallery (http://usa.autodesk.com/company/autodesk-gallery) has a model of the new span, as you could see in a previous post (http://labs.blogs.com/photos/autodesk_gallery_at_one_m/bay_bridge_jpg.html). For more about the new eastern span, you can check out http://baybridge360.org/ while you can see a panoramic view of the actual Bay Bridge here: http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/sf-oak-bay.htm.

The Golden Gate Bridge is also continuously maintained, painted and the lane configuration are changed several times a day to accommodate the traffic. In fact there are plans to implement a “zipper-like” solution for that problem (http://www.goldengatebridge.org/projects/mmb_aug08.php).

Other bridges are also being earthquake retrofitted (http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/transactions/ta1205-0106/rsr.htm, were widened (http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/sm-hayward.htm) added to (http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/ben-mar.htm) replaced (http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/carquinez.htm).

To learn about these bridges, check out the Bay Area Toll Authority page: http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/bridges/index.htm and the homepage of the Golden Gate Bridge: http://goldengatebridge.org/ (which is under different jurisdiction from the previous ones.)

To build bridges is not easy. To start to warm up to the idea, you can just play (highly addictive) games. The grandfather of all bridge building games is Bridge Builder. You can learn more about this game/download it from a fan page, check out: http://www.bridgebuilder-game.com/ or http://www.stopgeek.com/featured-download-bridge-building-game.html You can also buy it its (3D) sequels at the source: http://www.chroniclogic.com/

The popularity and addictivity might be due to the (mostly) realistic physics, and the ability to test the bridges with actual traffic on them. In fact, there is even a wiki page about them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_Builder, where you can learn that among many others, the equally addictive and physics based Word of Goo (http://www.2dboy.com/games.php) and Armadillo Run (http://www.armadillorun.com/). And while you’re sitting in traffic, waiting for the Bay Bridge-related traffic jams to clear, you can play a Bridge Builder clone on your phone! (Actually, please don’t do that.)

After playing these games, only a few years of college and practice separates you from designing real bridges! And if you do so, maybe you’ll use Civil 3D. And maybe there will be an add-on to Civil 3D that will help to model those bridges. So, check back to the labs webpage at http://labs.autodesk.com to see if there are any new tools in the coming weeks.

Thanks Gyorgy.

Random Bridge Ramblings

Autodesk Labs Software Developer, Gyorgy Ordody, submitted this.

Thanks Gyorgy.

Project Cooper: You Name It!

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

Have you tried Project Cooper with Win 7, Vista or even XP? Be sure to email labs.cooper@autodesk.com with any comments you might have.

What do you think it should be called? Help us give Project Cooper a permanent name! Take this short, multiple-choice survey. Should take less than 2 minutes, and we appreciate your input.

SurveyMonkey survey link is live at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=sDjZfumZmi14Uu4E2e3VWA_3d_3d

Project Cooper: You Name It!

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

Have you tried Project Cooper with Win 7, Vista or even XP? Be sure to email labs.cooper@autodesk.com with any comments you might have.

What do you think it should be called? Help us give Project Cooper a permanent name! Take this short, multiple-choice survey. Should take less than 2 minutes, and we appreciate your input.

SurveyMonkey survey link is live at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=sDjZfumZmi14Uu4E2e3VWA_3d_3d

MFG Community Wiki Help Beta

[Ben Cochran here, while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

On Monday, the Manufacturing (MFG) Wiki Help went live. The MFG Wiki Helps enable community collaboration by enhancing and extending Autodesk Help content. You can share and edit videos, add instructions, add tips, ratings, tags, comments, and much more.

Users can use their profile information from autodesk.com and login using single sign-on. If you don’t have an autodesk.com profile, now is a good time to register. All autodesk.com users will have “contribute” access by default.

The first MFG Wiki Help project is Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview 2. After trying out Fusion, check out the MFG Wiki Help.

Personally, I love Wiki’s. Traditional documentation becomes stale fast. Regardless of how much effort is put into traditional documentation it can always be improved and added to, it is never done. New samples and workflows always enhance existing documentation. Check it out!

-Ben Cochran, Autodesk Labs

MFG Community Wiki Help Beta

[Ben Cochran here, while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

The first MFG Wiki Help project is Autodesk Inventor Fusion Technology Preview 2. After trying out Fusion, check out the MFG Wiki Help.

-Ben Cochran, Autodesk Labs

More on Project Cooper

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

One of the divisions at Autodesk is named Platform Solutions & Emerging Business (PSEB). Autodesk Labs is part of the “emerging” area. Another Emerging Business team in PSEB, led by Product Manager Lisa Crounse, has been working on technology to make it easier for the average person to create polished drawings. Not technical drawings like those produced from AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT, but drawings that are to scale, and accurate enough to hand off to an engineer or architect or city planning office.

Get a jump-start with sample

drawings and symbols in Project Cooper.

Today Lisa’s team released a technology preview of Project Cooper, an easy-to-use drawing application that lets you create quick designs without sacrificing quality. Now contractors and ordinary people like me, who don’t necessarily “speak CAD”, can create accurate, detailed plans and layouts to scale. It’s a godsend to those of us with a great idea (like that dream kitchen) but lack the ability to pencil it out. With the sample drawings and library of content included in Project Cooper, I don’t even have to start from scratch. I can take a sample drawing and use that as a first step toward building the customized layout I have in mind.

Project Cooper is great for architects and engineers too, because they can include original sketches in their technical drawing sets. Architects tell us that omission errors resulting from misunderstood conversations are one of the key challenges to getting projects in on time and on budget. Project Cooper can help in those situations. Better communication; less rework.

Use Project Cooper to get ideas on paper,

then save the drawing as a DWG and

share it with your architect or designer.

You can sketch a host of different things with this software. So far, my best effort has been a porch-to-sidewalk ramp, but this is from a person who has trouble drawing a simple stick figure, so it’s quite an accomplishment! Hats off to the Project Cooper team for taking rough sketches to a higher level. And thanks for developing an application that can help an average person like me get what’s in my “mind’s eye” … down on paper for the rest of the world to see.

Project Cooper is available at no charge. Try it! And watch for exciting news to come.

Building for tomorrow is alive in the Labs today.

Amanda Collins, Senior Marketing Manager, Autodesk Labs

More on Project Cooper

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

Get a jump-start with sample
drawings and symbols in Project Cooper.

Use Project Cooper to get ideas on paper,
then save the drawing as a DWG and
share it with your architect or designer.

Project Cooper is available at no charge. Try it! And watch for exciting news to come.

Building for tomorrow is alive in the Labs today.
Amanda Collins, Senior Marketing Manager, Autodesk Labs

Inventor Fusion Update

[Ben Cochran here, while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

I wanted to let you know the Autodesk® Inventor® Fusion Technology Preview has been updated. It now includes Inventor Fusion change manager functionality. I am excited about Fusion because the preview enables direct manipulation of 3D models in Inventor. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Inventor Fusion Update

[Ben Cochran here, while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

Project Cooper evaluated on CNET

Rafe Needleman from CNET evaluates Project Cooper on Win7 with multi-touch. If you remember a few years ago, multi-touch on the desktop was obscure and unsupported. Now you can see how multi-touch is entering the desktop environment. Check it out!

Project Cooper evaluated on CNET

Looking for programs to install with Windows 7? How about Autodesk Project Cooper?

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

As you probably know, Microsoft launched Windows 7 on Thursday with a big event in New York City. Autodesk announced its support for Windows 7 here.

If you have a chance to read through the press release, you’ll see that Project Cooper, now on Autodesk Labs and on Autodesk.com, was part of Autodesk’s announcement. Project Cooper was demo’d at the Win 7 launch. Rafe Needleman, at CNET, covered Project Cooper last night: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10380845-12.html

Project Cooper is a simple, hassle-free software that lets you create polished drawings, layouts, and plans. We hope you’ll install the Project Cooper tech preview with your other Win 7 applications. Take it for a test-drive and let us know what you think. Gathering feedback is alive in the Labs.

Looking for programs to install with Windows 7? How about Autodesk Project Cooper?

Introducing the Project Cooper Technology Preview

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

In an earlier blogpost, Scott hinted about an exciting new technology preview coming your way: Autodesk Project Cooper. Drum roll, please .. it has arrived! Check out this easy-to-use drawing application and let us know what you think.

Download Project Cooper from Autodesk.com

Find out more about Project Cooper on Autodesk Labs

Read the announcement

Introducing the Project Cooper Technology Preview

[Amanda Collins writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

Download Project Cooper from Autodesk.com
Find out more about Project Cooper on Autodesk Labs
Read the announcement

Project Twitch now runs on Windows XP x64 and Vista x64

[Frederic Loranger here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical] ®

Project Twitch is a technology preview that lets you try AutoCAD® 2010, Inventor® 2010, Revit® Architecture 2010, and soon Maya® 2010 over the internet without the need to install these applications on your computer. A small application called the Autodesk Trials takes care of the communication between our servers and your computer. This small client originally supported only Windows® XP and Windows Vista™.

Since we first launched Project Twitch, many of you have asked our team to consider adding support for other flavors of the Windows Operating Systems. After doing some preliminary testing, we are happy to announce that we have now added Windows XP x64 and Windows Vista x64 on the list of available platforms.

Please give it a try and tell us what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com

Frederic Loranger, Autodesk Labs

Project Twitch now runs on Windows XP x64 and Vista x64

[Frederic Loranger here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical] ®

Please give it a try and tell us what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com

Frederic Loranger, Autodesk Labs

Solar Radiation Technology Preview Update

[Ben Cochran writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

People using Revit® Architecture 2010 Update 2 and Revit® MEP 2010 Update 2 have been asking about the Solar Radiation Technology Preview on Labs. The previous preview supported Revit® Architecture 2010 Update 1, but not Update 2. Based on feedback received, the Solar Radiation Technology Preview has been updated to support Update 2. So if you have Revit® Architecture 2010 Update 1 or Update 2 and are interested in Solar Radiation Technology Preview, visit Solar Radiation Technology Preview

Keep the feedback coming,

Ben Cochran, Autodesk Labs

Solar Radiation Technology Preview Update

[Ben Cochran writing for Scott Sheppard while he is on sabbatical]

Keep the feedback coming,

Ben Cochran, Autodesk Labs

Project Twitch Coverage – Update

[Frederic Loranger here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

When we first launched Project Twitch – an internet delivery of application trials – we enforced that participants be within 1000 miles from our data center located in Santa Clara, California.

We recently relaxed our pre-screening to include the entire USA and Canada to allow more people to download and try the Autodesk Trials Service. We are still making sure that your connection to our data center is fast enough and won’t let you in if your network connection is flaky or slow. The closer you are to Santa Clara, California, the better your chance of trying this new technology preview.

If you are not able to use the service from an Enterprise Network (LAN), make sure to read the FAQ to find out if your IT department is blocking access to specific traffic and/or ports our service is using.

Please give it a whirl (I feel twitchy) and tell us what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com

Frederic Loranger, Autodesk Labs

Project Twitch Coverage – Update

[Frederic Loranger here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

When we first launched Project Twitch – an internet delivery of application trials – we enforced that participants be within 1000 miles from our data center located in Santa Clara, California.

Please give it a whirl (I feel twitchy) and tell us what you think at labs.trials@autodesk.com

Frederic Loranger, Autodesk Labs

Interview With An Idea

Diagram: State Transition of an Idea

IDEA
AS ARTIFACT: Interview with an Idea

This exercise
comprised tracking an idea as an artifact, from its initial inception and over
the course of a few weeks, its transformation and journey through life. As a method for thinking from the point of
view of the artifact, I "interviewed" the artifact with ethnographic
interview techniques to gain a unique perspective.

Q:
Mr. Idea, could you tell us a bit about yourself, how you got started in life?

A: Well, I guess you could say that the seed of
me, as an idea, started before I was born.
A team of video ethnographers captured some observations of a family
shopping experience as part of their research project. This video tape eventually found its way back
to a design research company, where a project manager and a designer viewed the
tapes.

Q:
So, when were you born exactly?

A:
That's kind of hard to say, but I believe I came into the world as the
project manager and the designer were coding the video--looking for bytes of
information in the observation data. It
may have happened simultaneously, but I do recall showing up in at least two
forms in the beginning: as a thought in
the project manager's head, and also in the designer's imagination.

Q: What did you look like at the time?

A: Well,
I didn't actually have physical form yet, at least not until I felt myself
being expressed as some handwritten notes in a notebook, and then soon after, I
also took the form of a quick sketch on a small, square piece of paper that had
a semi-sticky surface on the back. Very
soon after, I remember that I also took form as words in a discussion about me
between the designer and project manager.

Q: That sounds pretty exciting, could you
describe your journey from there?

A:
Sure. I sat there in the notebook
and on that square note pad for a while, then I remember someone else coming in
the room and documenting me as words on another sticky note--I think they
called them post-its. I was part of a
general discussion for a while.

The designer took me
and kind of repositioned the post-it note that I was on, kind of forming the
notes into a grid--so I guess I was sitting on the table alongside another
bunch of ideas. I'm pretty sure there
were some relatives of mine, related ideas who were residing in the notebook
and also on adjacent post-its.

Then the designer took
the post-its and placed me on a big wall surface, and started moving us around
in relation to one another. There were a
few other people in the room who stared at me, made comments, and sometimes
suggested that perhaps I be moved to another location.

Q: Did you stay there on the wall for long?

A: Not
really. After the meeting was over, the
part of me on the notebook was carried to the project manager's desk, where a
bunch of stuff was piled on top of the notebook (with me inside). The part of me on the post-it note was
carried by the designer back to their team area, where I was transferred to
another wall. I think I remember seeing
a bunch of other pictures, print outs, schedules also on the wall.

Q: Could you describe what happened next at the
project manager's desk?

A: Well,
eventually the project manager opened up the notebook and looked at me
again--but this time he started to scribble some additional notes in the
margins and he also started typing me into his laptop computer--so I really
transformed again, this time into bits in computer word processing
program. I'm not sure I remember all the
places I traveled, because I was starting to exist in so many places all at the
same time. I do recall being sent off as
bits in a digital file to be saved in a centralized computer server.

Q: How about the activities as the post-it
board?

A: After
the designer posted me up there, he just kind of left and didn't really take
much notice of me for awhile. In fact,
no one really noticed me again for a few days--it was pretty interesting
though, as there was a constant influx of new pieces of information being
posted, and new ideas were being generated all the time. Well, except between the hours of 9pm and
about 8:30am--though once I think I popped up as a part of another thought,
linked together with another idea in the designer's imagination--he may have
been home at the time.

Q: Any other exciting activities?

A: Well,
I guess I was pretty excited when one day I popped out on an 8-1/2x11 sheet of
paper--turns out the project manager printed me out as part of a
storyboard. Then I was posted alongside
other print outs in the project team space.

Eventually, I was
included with some other ideas into a digital slideshow and was projected on a
wall. Designers, researchers, and some
other folks sat around and made comments about me--some were nice, some were not
so nice. In fact, some folks didn't
think I should exist at all! I did see
some other ideas rejected and thrown away--that was scary. I guess I was lucky that the project manager
and the designer felt I still played a role in the overall project.

Q: So far, what's been the highlight of your
life as an idea?

A: I
guess I'd have to say I'm most proud of the role I played as part of a
presentation to a group of about a dozen clients. I was formatted nicely, accompanied by some
great looking pictures, and the project manager talked about me in very
positive ways--that was fun, especially when the clients seemed to appreciate
me for what I believe I am, a great idea.

Q:
What happened after the meeting?

A: Well,
it was back to the project space again.
This time I got moved around on the post-it sheet a bit. New ideas joined in as well. I think somebody even scrawled some
additional information on me with a thick black pen.

Q: Thanks so much. Is there anything else that you'd like to
tell us? Did we forget to ask about
anything important?

A: I
think we've covered it pretty well. I
would say that it's pretty exciting and yet sometimes frustrating to be an
idea. I think it's particularly hard to
have to be part of so many people's thoughts, taking so many forms, and even
sometimes getting lost in with a bunch of other (bad) ideas. Anyway, it's fun being an idea, especially in
this environment, where ideas are accepted, nurtured, and developed.

Thinking about ideas from multiple points of view, it's what we do at Labs--Douglas Look, Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Labs.

Interview With An Idea

Diagram: State Transition of an Idea

IDEA
AS ARTIFACT: Interview with an Idea

Q:
Mr. Idea, could you tell us a bit about yourself, how you got started in life?

Q:
So, when were you born exactly?

Q: What did you look like at the time?

Q: That sounds pretty exciting, could you
describe your journey from there?

Q: Did you stay there on the wall for long?

Q: Could you describe what happened next at the
project manager's desk?

Q: How about the activities as the post-it
board?

Q: Any other exciting activities?

Q: So far, what's been the highlight of your
life as an idea?

Q:
What happened after the meeting?

Q: Thanks so much. Is there anything else that you'd like to
tell us? Did we forget to ask about
anything important?

Thinking about ideas from multiple points of view, it's what we do at Labs--Douglas Look, Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Labs.

We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: An OK Book

Scott prepares to attend a friend's surprise 50th birthday party that has a Beatles theme

With time on my hands during my sabbatical, I was able to read Paul Shaffer's book We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives in practically one sitting. As someone who grew up watching Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman, I could personally remember much of the content contained in this book. I am also the right age to read this book as I have an appreciation for celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Buddy Hackett. Some interesting tidbits from the book include:

When Paul met Bob Dylan, IMHO he said all of the wrong things. When I meet famous people, I separate the person from their work by saying "I enjoy your work" instead of "I love you man." After Paul gushed all over the place, Dylan's retort was "Paul, do you think you could introduce me to Larry 'Bud' Melman?" Larry "Bud" Melman was a minor character on the Letterman show played by Calvert Deforest.
When Ray Charles hosted SNL, he had to memorize all of his lines. Unlike all of the other hosts, he could not read them off of the cue cards.
Jerry Lewis is fascinated by the show Law & Order: SVU.
James Brown got the idea for his famous cape routine by watching the wrestler Gorgeous George.
Paul cowrote "It's Raining Men" with Ron Dante.

Though I enjoyed the book, I wish it would have contained more anecdotes about musical guests who appeared on SNL or Letterman. Surely interesting things happened during rehearsal or on-air.

Relaxing with a good book is alive in the lab.

-- Scott Sheppard

We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: An OK Book

Scott prepares to attend a friend's surprise 50th birthday party that has a Beatles theme

When Paul met Bob Dylan, IMHO he said all of the wrong things. When I meet famous people, I separate the person from their work by saying "I enjoy your work" instead of "I love you man." After Paul gushed all over the place, Dylan's retort was "Paul, do you think you could introduce me to Larry 'Bud' Melman?" Larry "Bud" Melman was a minor character on the Letterman show played by Calvert Deforest.
When Ray Charles hosted SNL, he had to memorize all of his lines. Unlike all of the other hosts, he could not read them off of the cue cards.
Jerry Lewis is fascinated by the show Law & Order: SVU.
James Brown got the idea for his famous cape routine by watching the wrestler Gorgeous George.
Paul cowrote "It's Raining Men" with Ron Dante.

Though I enjoyed the book, I wish it would have contained more anecdotes about musical guests who appeared on SNL or Letterman. Surely interesting things happened during rehearsal or on-air.

Relaxing with a good book is alive in the lab.

-- Scott Sheppard

Facebook at Work?

This is Ben Cochran. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

Facebook is great! If you are like me, you have multiple e-mail addresses. One for work, one for personal things and the one you use when signing up for some new on line service. The result is lots and lots of e-mail. Yuck! Along came Facebook, now with Facebook I keep in touch with my friends without writing yet another e-mail. It is a community of friends, many of whom I see when I am not at work. Some of my Facebook friends are also people I work with, but we never talk about work related things on Facebook. I still like to use e-mail for work related communication, but I prefer to use Facebook for personal communication.

Due to the popularity and connectivity of Facebook many new applications and ideas are floating around the Internet attempting to leverage Facebook for work related activities.

Is integrating Facebook at work a good thing? What Facebook applications do you use? What Facebook applications would you like to see?

- Ben Cochran

Facebook at Work?

This is Ben Cochran. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

Due to the popularity and connectivity of Facebook many new applications and ideas are floating around the Internet attempting to leverage Facebook for work related activities.

Is integrating Facebook at work a good thing? What Facebook applications do you use? What Facebook applications would you like to see?

- Ben Cochran

Technology, Business, and Design

Entropy carpet tile from Interface, Inc.

Last week I attended the Rocky Mountain Institute 2009 Conference in San Francisco, where I saw some great examples of how technology, business, and design can be combined to yield effective sustainability solutions.

Technology: Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk, Inc. described his vision for software solutions that can enable designers and engineers to visualize, simulate, and analyze different options before they're real--to be able to optimize and make selections of types of materials, window-wall components, and building orientation early in the design process. In this way, Autodesk can potentially have a profound effect on the way things are designed, created, and manufactured in the quest for a sustainable future.

Business: Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc. inspired the audience by recounting how he had an epiphany after reading Paul Hawken's book The Ecology of Commerce, then set out to completely change how his company Interface did business, striving to embed sustainable ways of doing business into their corporate culture. Dispelling the notion that sustainable practices cost more, Interface has been able to use fewer resources and be more profitable--in other words, sustainable practices make good business sense.

Design: Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute shared his thoughts around the power of Integrative Design--taking a multi-disciplinary approach to design and engineering. RMI has used this integrative approach with their consulting engagements to create effective solutions like the Empire State Building Retrofit, that is expected to achieve up to 40% energy cost savings. Janine Benyus, Co-Founder of the Biomimicry Guild, pointed out the power of applying principles from biology, from the world around us, to creating sustainable solutions. Inspired by principles of random, non-repeating patterns found in forest floors in nature, the design team at Interface developed the successful Entropy line of carpet tiles. Good design makes good business sense as well.

I came away from the RMI Conference inspired and motivated to continue working on the technology parts of the solution--finding ways to enable designers and engineers to optimize their designs with better tools, more robust digital content, and supporting services.

Continuing to explore new approaches to design technology, it's what we do at Autodesk Labs.

Guest Contributor: Douglas Look, Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Labs

Technology, Business, and Design

Entropy carpet tile from Interface, Inc.

Continuing to explore new approaches to design technology, it's what we do at Autodesk Labs.

Guest Contributor: Douglas Look, Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Labs

Got a design challenge? Ask Nature, Thank a Genius!

RMI 2009

This past weekend I [Brian Mathews] attended the excellent RMI 2009 Conference. RMI is the Rocky Mountain Institute, which is a non-profit think-tank formed in 1982 concerned with promoting an economically favorable path towards sustainable design and energy efficiency. As founder Amory Lovins puts it: "It is cheaper to save fuel than to buy fuel, and your investment returns are guaranteed."

Autodesk's CEO, Carl Bass, was on an all-star panel with Amory Lovins, and several other luminaries I'll blog about later.

Asknature.org

One panelist was Janine Benyus, a founder of the Biomimicry Institute (third from the right in the picture). What is Biomimicry? it is the idea that many of the design challenges you face every day have already been solved by 3.8 Billion years of evolution. Janine's great idea is that while biologists have tons of information about organisms, that information was organized by organism rather than by function. She started the non-proffit Ask Nature to organize the biology world's data in a form more useful to designers, engineers, and architects: by function for industry.

Need a non-toxic way to color the outside of your home? Need a way to deal with rainwater? How do I keep pipes from clogging? What's the most lightweight shape for a car that is still strong? All these questions can be answered by gaining inspiration from organisms who have field tested the approach for 3.8 billion years. So if you have a design challenge, why not Ask Nature? And if you find a solution, be sure to thank a Genius (a living organism who gave you the inspiration).

After the panel, I got to spend 90 minutes talking to Janine and hearing the most incredible examples of how vairous organisms have solved industrial problems. One client of theirs had industrial pipes that were eventually clogging due to scale that formed inside. She helped them learn how seashells form, and more importantly how organisms stop their shells from growing once the desired shape is realized. The chemistry in pipes is almost the same, and now there is a natural protein that keeps the pipes clear.

Every time I meet Janine I come away energized and inspired. Check out her TED videos too.

Project Twitch Range Expanded: can YOU connect?

[Brian Mathews here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

Originally when we launched Project Twitch (internet delivery of Application Trials), we had a requirement that participants be within 1,000 miles of our Santa Clara data center. Our intent was to provide a desktop-like experience of doing a product trial of AutoCAD, Inventor, or Revit.

Now we have eliminated the 1,000 mile limit and replaced it with a network latency limit. We have found that some people up to 2,500 miles away had network latencies that were better than people only 900 miles away. So rather than base our requirement on distance, we are now using a more useful network test to measure your actual network latency to our data center. The further you are from Santa Clara, the less likely the system will allow you in: but some of you will succeed.

This is the reason for Autodesk Labs: we want your feedback to help us improve the service for you!

If you haven't been able to try Project Twitch before, take 2 minutes out of your day and see if it lets you connect. Take it for a spin. Let us know what you think and send us an email at labs.trials@autodesk.com Thanks!

[Update: ...and the answer is "no", you can't connect because I typed in the wrong URL! I've now fixed it, sorry.]

Project Twitch Range Expanded: can YOU connect?

[Brian Mathews here as a guest writer while Scott Sheppard is on sabbatical]

This is the reason for Autodesk Labs: we want your feedback to help us improve the service for you!

[Update: ...and the answer is "no", you can't connect because I typed in the wrong URL! I've now fixed it, sorry.]

Got a design challenge? Ask Nature, Thank a Genius!

RMI 2009

Autodesk's CEO, Carl Bass, was on an all-star panel with Amory Lovins, and several other luminaries I'll blog about later.

Asknature.org

Every time I meet Janine I come away energized and inspired. Check out her TED videos too.

Solar Radition Technology Preview Not Compatible with Revit Service Pack 2

The Solar Radiation Technology Preview for Revit is available for download from:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/ecotect/

With the recent release of Service Pack 2 for Revit, the combination of the technology preview and the service pack results in:

Since I am on sabbatical right now, my participation is limited; however, rest assured that I did pass this information on to the Solar Radiation Technology Preview team. For the moment, you may wish to complete your evaluation of the technology preview and send resulting feedback to labs.revit.ecotect@autodesk.com before applying Service Pack 2. Ideally the team would provide an update, but I am not sure of their plans (since I am out of the office).

-- Scott Sheppard

Solar Radition Technology Preview Not Compatible with Revit Service Pack 2

The Solar Radiation Technology Preview for Revit is available for download from:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/ecotect/

With the recent release of Service Pack 2 for Revit, the combination of the technology preview and the service pack results in:

-- Scott Sheppard

The Informant Is a Bad Movie

Yesterday my daughter and I saw the new Matt Damon movie The Informant. This could be the most uninteresting movie both of us have ever seen. It's not that the acting was bad. Although the film looked like a film from the 1970's based on its cinematography (on purpose), that was only a minor distraction. The real kiss of death was that the plot was just completely unengaging. So if your are still a theater-goer in this DVD-multimedia age, save your money and go see something else.

-- Scott Sheppard

The Informant Is a Bad Movie

-- Scott Sheppard

The Latest Labs News

Hello - this is Ben Cochran. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

I wanted to let you know the latest additions and changes to Autodesk Labs.

I just learned that the RDB Link Tool for Revit Family technology preview, originally set to expire on September 30, 2009 has been extended until January 1, 2010. Keep the feedback coming.

UI Technology Preview for Autodesk® Moldflow® just posted to Autodesk Labs Today. Check out this streamlined UI.

The Multi-threaded Solver helps Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis take full advantage of multi-core systems.

- Ben Cochran

The Latest Labs News

Hello - this is Ben Cochran. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

I wanted to let you know the latest additions and changes to Autodesk Labs.

I just learned that the RDB Link Tool for Revit Family technology preview, originally set to expire on September 30, 2009 has been extended until January 1, 2010. Keep the feedback coming.

UI Technology Preview for Autodesk® Moldflow® just posted to Autodesk Labs Today. Check out this streamlined UI.

The Multi-threaded Solver helps Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis take full advantage of multi-core systems.

- Ben Cochran

Moldflow UI Technology Preview Now Available

"Seasons don't fear the [ribbon], nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain. We can be like they are. Come on baby, don't fear the [ribbon].

"The Reaper," Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune, 1976.

We learned a great deal when we gathered your thoughts on the Autodesk Inventor UI Technology Preview. Your feedback shaped the implementation that made its way into Inventor 2010. The process was so valuable to us that we decided to do it again.

Free Download of Autodesk Moldflow UI Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

The Moldflow User Interface Preview provides an updated interface that highlights the work flow required to run Moldflow products. For each of the products a central Home tab guides you on the functionality available, whether it’s to display results in Autodesk Moldflow Communicator or run a filling simulation in Autodesk Moldflow Adviser or Autodesk Moldflow Insight. It also groups commands based on your current task allowing you to enter as much information as you wish. In the case of Adviser, it allows novice users just interested in a filling pattern to do everything they need from the Home tab so aren't presented with unwanted options, while more advanced users can delve in to access relevant functions in a logical location. It makes many of the standard Autodesk functionalities available to the Moldflow products so users familiar to Inventor should be able to pick it up quickly.

If you have Autodesk Moldflow Communicator 2010 or Autodesk Moldflow Adviser 2010, you can take the ribbon interface for a test drive and let us know your thoughts at labs.moldflow.ui@autodesk.com. Perhaps the process can repeat itself? We are looking forward to your feedback.

Collecting user feedback to shape the future of our technology is alive in the lab.

Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis Now Available

Doing things in parallel is faster than doing them serially. So with this in mind, the Robot Structural Analysis team has provided an add-in that leverages the multicore architecture of computers to allow your analyses to proceed with more concurrency. In other words, more happens in parallel, so the end result should be determined sooner. We'd like you to test this theory:

Free Download of Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis on Autodesk Labs

This add-in soups up your Autodesk RobotTM Structural Analysis 2010 or Autodesk® RobotTM Structural Analysis Professional 2010. You must have already installed Service Pack 2 to be able to give this technology preview a try. Please let us know your results at labs.revit.rsa@autodesk.com. We look forward to your feedback.

Stomping on the accelerator is alive in the lab.

Moldflow UI Technology Preview Now Available

"Seasons don't fear the [ribbon], nor do the wind, the sun, and the rain. We can be like they are. Come on baby, don't fear the [ribbon].
"The Reaper," Blue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune, 1976.

Free Download of Autodesk Moldflow UI Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs

Collecting user feedback to shape the future of our technology is alive in the lab.

Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis Now Available

Free Download of Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis on Autodesk Labs

Stomping on the accelerator is alive in the lab.

TR2N: December 2010

Hello - this is Brian Mathews. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

Sorry for the long post, future posts will be short. This topic involves childhood passions.

The Under-appreciated TRON

I've always been interested in computers and electronics since I was a little kid. I remember being small enough to sit on my Dad's back while he was laying on the floor studying for an exam. He was busy but wanted to spend time with me, so he read his college level physics textbooks out loud to me. I wasn't really paying any attention, I was probably 4 years old, and was just happy to be with Dad. But I do remember about protons and photons and neutrons and electrons. Lots of -trons. Those -trons got into my blood and shaped my interests: electronics, computers, etc.

Fast forward to high school where I was interested in computer graphics: a relatively new field with lots to discover and invent. I spent hours after school programming a DEC VAX 750 (probably the only public high school to have one) that was hooked to a primitive VT102 terminal with a raster graphics attachment. I was able to draw shapes like epicycloid's and hypocycloids. Such fun.

At that time all the technical magazines were writing about a new Disney movie: TRON. Way beyond my VAX line art, the articles showed fantastic computer graphic images based on something amazing called Ray Casting. TRON was the first movie containing mostly computer graphics renderings. One frame of TRON animation could take days to compute on the machines available then.

In 1982 the movie released, and I was blown away. For others, the movie was a flop: most people had no appreciation of the computer imagery or understanding of the symbolize. Many critics dinged it for a light plot and some bad acting by supporting actors. Not everyone hated it: years later Roger Ebert, bless him, selected TRON as his first pick in the Overlooked Film Festival and the movie attracted a cult following in computer graphics circles.

The main character was played by none other than "The Dude": Jeff Bridges! Mr. Bad Ass himself. Back then Jeff wasn't the Big Labowski star he is today, but he was great in TRON. [An aside: it's interesting that my high school classmate Philip Seymour Hoffmanended up in The Big Labowski along side my favorite TRON actor Jeff Bridges. Phil thought I was a nerd in high school, and he ends up acting along side the nerd's idol! Ha!]

TRON Legacy (aka TR2N)

Fast forward again to the present day. After a decade of rumors, Disney wowed a crowd at the COMI-CON conference with a conceptual trailer of TR2N, later renamed to Tron Legacy. The release date is December 2010 and I don't know how I'm going to be able to wait over a year to see it. I'll be in a sleeping bag outside waiting to buy the first ticket.

Check out the Movie Trailer, and see the surprise actor playing a lead role...

Looking at that trailer I'm convinced that Autodesk software is playing a big role in the production. The motorcycle characters are rendered (not real actors) and my guess is that Autodesk Motion Builder is being used with a bunch of motion capture technology (mo-cap). Looking at the explosion it sure looks like the Maya particle solver from the Autodesk two-time Oscar winning scientist Jos Stam.

Best of all, Disney announced that the new TR2N vehicles are being created by the amazingly talented designer Daniel Simon. [There are a lot of hyperlinks in this article, but make sure you follow the one on Daniel Simon: you've never seen a vehicle designed like his!]. Daniel uses Autodesk AliasStudio and Autodesk Maya in a lot of his work.

Any other TRON fans out there? Leave a comment on the blog...

-Brian Mathews (guest writer while Scott's on sabbatical)

TR2N: December 2010

Hello - this is Brian Mathews. Scott is on sabbatical, and I've been invited to be a guest writer while he is out.

Sorry for the long post, future posts will be short. This topic involves childhood passions.

The Under-appreciated TRON

TRON Legacy (aka TR2N)

Check out the Movie Trailer, and see the surprise actor playing a lead role...

Any other TRON fans out there? Leave a comment on the blog...

-Brian Mathews (guest writer while Scott's on sabbatical)

Be our guest, be our guest...

Today is day 1 of my sabbatical. As I mentioned on Thursday, there will some guest authors on this blog during my absence. As a way of introduction, I thought I would tell you who they are.

Brian Mathews	Vice President, Autodesk Labs	I have known Brian since July of 1990. I was employee 13 at Ithaca Software after it relocated to Alameda. I had no prior association with the company when it was at Cornell University. As "the new guy," I knew the least about computer graphics and specifically our product HOOPS (Hierarchical Object Oriented Picture System). Brian came on as employee 14. I thought to myself "Great - I will no longer be the new guy." To my dismay, Brian had worked with HOOPS during his years at Cornell. Though no longer the newest employee, I was still the dumbest guy in the room. Many years later our daughter, Stephanie, babysat all of the guests' children at a hotel in Napa for Brian and Lauren's wedding.
Ben Cochran	Software Architect, Autodesk Labs	Ben Cochran is the reason I am an Autodesk employee today. While working as a software development manager for Océ Reprographic Technologies on Océ Plan Center, our solution processed DWF files. Ben was our technical contact back to Autodesk regarding DWF files. As I found developing software for a hardware company less fun than developing software for a software company, I asked Ben if Autodesk had any openings. He told me that Brian needed another DWF Technical Evangelist. I subsequently interviewed and got the job. Brian was working for me when he invented DWF. Does anyone remember *WHIP!*? I was an evangelist for a year before moving on to project manager and then back to software development mangaer.
Douglas Look	Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Content Network	Doug Look almost needs no introduction. You've seen him on many of our multitouch videos and other Labs items. When I was a software developer for Ithaca Software in Alameda, I wrote graphics drivers for the DOS and HP Unix platforms. As a platform-independent graphics solution, HOOPS had drivers for everything conceivable, e.g. DOS, Windows, AIX, VAX/VMS, HP-UX, X11, PEX, Apple, Sony, Sun, etc. There were more drivers to be written than we had developers. As such we contracted some of the driver development out. A programmer named Anh Look previously worked for Ithaca Software when it was still in Ithaca, New York with its close association to Cornell University. I worked with Anh on a 3D driver for a Matrox graphics card. In those days, DOS had no standard - a different driver was needed for every device. Years later when Doug returned to Autodesk after getting another degree from the Institute of Design in Chicago, he knew about me from my work with his wife.

These are 3 of the smartest peopel I know. Autodesk has many like them. I am looking forward to their posts. Gazing out on the horizon of pending journalistic variety is alive in the lab.

Be our guest, be our guest...

Today is day 1 of my sabbatical. As I mentioned on Thursday, there will some guest authors on this blog during my absence. As a way of introduction, I thought I would tell you who they are.

Brian Mathews	Vice President, Autodesk Labs	I have known Brian since July of 1990. I was employee 13 at Ithaca Software after it relocated to Alameda. I had no prior association with the company when it was at Cornell University. As "the new guy," I knew the least about computer graphics and specifically our product HOOPS (Hierarchical Object Oriented Picture System). Brian came on as employee 14. I thought to myself "Great - I will no longer be the new guy." To my dismay, Brian had worked with HOOPS during his years at Cornell. Though no longer the newest employee, I was still the dumbest guy in the room. Many years later our daughter, Stephanie, babysat all of the guests' children at a hotel in Napa for Brian and Lauren's wedding.
Ben Cochran	Software Architect, Autodesk Labs	Ben Cochran is the reason I am an Autodesk employee today. While working as a software development manager for Océ Reprographic Technologies on Océ Plan Center, our solution processed DWF files. Ben was our technical contact back to Autodesk regarding DWF files. As I found developing software for a hardware company less fun than developing software for a software company, I asked Ben if Autodesk had any openings. He told me that Brian needed another DWF Technical Evangelist. I subsequently interviewed and got the job. Brian was working for me when he invented DWF. Does anyone remember *WHIP!*? I was an evangelist for a year before moving on to project manager and then back to software development mangaer.
Douglas Look	Senior Strategic Designer, Autodesk Content Network	Doug Look almost needs no introduction. You've seen him on many of our multitouch videos and other Labs items. When I was a software developer for Ithaca Software in Alameda, I wrote graphics drivers for the DOS and HP Unix platforms. As a platform-independent graphics solution, HOOPS had drivers for everything conceivable, e.g. DOS, Windows, AIX, VAX/VMS, HP-UX, X11, PEX, Apple, Sony, Sun, etc. There were more drivers to be written than we had developers. As such we contracted some of the driver development out. A programmer named Anh Look previously worked for Ithaca Software when it was still in Ithaca, New York with its close association to Cornell University. I worked with Anh on a 3D driver for a Matrox graphics card. In those days, DOS had no standard - a different driver was needed for every device. Years later when Doug returned to Autodesk after getting another degree from the Institute of Design in Chicago, he knew about me from my work with his wife.

These are 3 of the smartest peopel I know. Autodesk has many like them. I am looking forward to their posts. Gazing out on the horizon of pending journalistic variety is alive in the lab.

Look for Guest Authors on It's Alive in th Lab

We will fully relocate during my six weeks off.

Autodesk has a sabbatical program where employees earn a 6-week sabbatical for every four years of continuous service. In turn, our vacation remains at two weeks per year regardless of years of service with the company. In other companies, weeks of vacation grow with seniority. We get to enjoy a long break! It's a great company benefit. We come back recharged and ready to work twice as hard.

I start my sabbatical on Monday and will return to work on November 9. I may post a blog article here and there about my time off. There is an old Cheech and Chong routine about a student who had to write an essay about how he spent his summer vacation:

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

The first day, I got up. I went downtown to look for a job. There were no jobs, so I hung out at the drug store. The second day, I got up. I went downtown to look for a job. There were no jobs, so I hung out at the drug store. The third day...

I will try to avoid that. In the mean time, other members of the Autodesk Labs team will be posting here as guest authors. It will be great to get their perspectives on the world of Autodesk Labs.

Two More Blogs enter the Autodesk Blogosphere

Two new blogs launched this week:

Vault customization/development blog by Doug Redmond:

It’s All Just Ones and Zeros

Northern Europe (German) geospatial blog by Matthias Liechti and Marcus Briglmeir:

The Geospatial Navigator

Check them out.

For an alphabetical listing of Autodesk blogs, see http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/autodesk-blogs.html.

October Plugin of the Month: Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD Now Available

We have our second plug-in of the month. Following in the footsteps of the Offset in XRef plugin, this month we bring you the Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD. This plugin was written by Mark Dubbelaar and edited by Kean Walmsley for publishing on his Through the Interface blog. The plugin can be used with AutoCAD to manage multiple clipboard entries, storing and renaming them for later use. Once loaded, the CLIPBOARD command displays the Clipboard Manager palette. When using Ctrl-C (or COPYCLIP) inside AutoCAD, this palette displays each new set of AutoCAD objects added to the clipboard.

You can download the plugin from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free Download of Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

For those who wish to download last month's plugin, the Offset in XRef plugin, you can find a download link to this plugin on the Plugin of the Month Updates page under the HISTORY section. As we add a new plugin to the main page each month, we will move the link to the previous plugin to that page. This way the main page features the plugin of the month, but you can still access all of the previous plugins if you need to. That's how we roll.

So please try out the Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD and let us know what you think at labs.plugins@autodesk.com. We're particularly keen on hearing about development of other plugins that were inspired by looking at the source code for the plugins we've supplied.

Keeping the plugin of the month train rolling is alive in the lab.

Two More Blogs enter the Autodesk Blogosphere

Two new blogs launched this week:

Vault customization/development blog by Doug Redmond:

It’s All Just Ones and Zeros

Northern Europe (German) geospatial blog by Matthias Liechti and Marcus Briglmeir:

The Geospatial Navigator

Check them out.

For an alphabetical listing of Autodesk blogs, see http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/autodesk-blogs.html.

October Plugin of the Month: Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD Now Available

You can download the plugin from the Autodesk Labs site:

Free Download of Clipboard Manager for AutoCAD on Autodesk Labs

Keeping the plugin of the month train rolling is alive in the lab.

Look for Guest Authors on It's Alive in th Lab

We will fully relocate during my six weeks off.

Facebook Nexus Site is Fun

My Facebook friend network depicted as a constellation

Are you a Facebook user? If so, you might want to spend 5 minutes and play with a neat little tool I read about. Its called Nexus. If I recall my 6th grade vocabulary correctly, the word nexus means touch point or common ground. This site shows a map of your Facebook friends and their friends. Clicking on a node highlights the friend name.

Example of how I am connected to blogger Deelip Menezes

It's simple to generate, fun, and shows who knows whom.

Facebook Nexus Site is Fun

My Facebook friend network depicted as a constellation

Example of how I am connected to blogger Deelip Menezes

It's simple to generate, fun, and shows who knows whom.

Football is a game of inches; SaaS is a game of miles

You too can help us test AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit in the cloud.

On Saturday my undergraduate alma mater, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), played its rival school, Louisiana State University (LSU), in college football. LSU defeated ULL 31 to 3. That was to be expected since LSU is a larger school and is nationally ranked. What was unexpected is that ULL had the ball on the LSU 4 yard line with a first and goal and failed to score. ULL ran four plays up the middle and was stopped on the last play just inches from the goal. They say football is a game of inches, and I guess they are correct.

Re: system requirements for Project Twitch

I have seen many blog postings about the 1,000 mile limit for Project Twitch. The goal of Project Twitch is to let you run applications like AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, and Maya remotely using the internet. In responding to some of the feedback we have received at labs.trials@autodesk.com, Autodesk Labs VP, Brian Mathews, has pointed out:

The only reason for the distance requirement is to make sure you have a good user experience: you are dealing with the laws of physics on network latency with distance. Other services often use more bandwidth than our solution, have more latency, have lower frame rates, and therefore might not give the same immersive experience. Other services work at any distance but have a degraded user experience that is more of a “remote desktop” experience rather than feeling like you are running locally. We believe (and are testing with customers) that our Project Twitch experience is much more like the real deal: higher frame rates, lower latency, more realism, less bandwidth. Rather than aiming at the convenience of remote access for occasional file access, we are shooting for a high quality experience. Thus the 1,000 mile limit essentially keeps your network latency around 35ms.

By the way, when I drew the green circle around the Bay Area to show the radius of allowable connections, it was not to scale. It was only to make a point. So yes I don't really expect anyone to test Project Twitch from a boat in the Pacific 999 miles off the coast of the Bay Area.

Keep that feedback coming in. We're learning a lot. As Shaan Hurley says "Are you twitching to try it?"

Evaluating internet latency while running design applications remotely is alive in the lab.

Football is a game of inches; SaaS is a game of miles

You too can help us test AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit in the cloud.

Re: system requirements for Project Twitch

Keep that feedback coming in. We're learning a lot. As Shaan Hurley says "Are you twitching to try it?"

Evaluating internet latency while running design applications remotely is alive in the lab.