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Issue #613 : : July 28, 2009 |
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In this issue: The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia
Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns.
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Write the editor. Make him smile! Through Paypal, consider donating $25 in support of upFront.eZine. Or else... We're trendy. We have a Weblog. WorldCAD Access. |
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Each August, upFront.eZine takes a summer break from publishing. This year, our break starts tomorrow; expect the newsletter sometime in September. In late August, I plan to travel to head office of Dassault Systemes SolidWorks in Massachusetts, USA and to visit with several executives for a preview of SolidWorks 2010. The upFront.eZine Tour of Russia Since childhood I've been fascinated by Russia, the mirror country of Canada -- as big, as northern, as cold, as sparse. In the first half of September, I plan to see the country and visit many of the CAD software companies that operate there -- both native MCAD firms and the regional offices of Western MCAD vendors. The hard work of organizing the trip is being performed by David Levin of LEDAS, but many other companies are also pitching in.
Roundtable on MCAD The highlight of the trip will be the roundtable in Moscow, where MCAD vendors and journalists come together for an afternoon of discussions. Isicad and upFront.eZine are co-sponsoring the topic, "Talking About the Future of MCAD: Which Trends Hold a Place for Our Future? The Nature and Problems of the Russian Market." You can view the details of the roundtable at http://isicad.net/articles.php?article_num=13189 . At time of writing, a dozen Russian and Western MCAD vendors and publications are taking part in the roundtable:
If you have questions you'd like asked of the CAD vendors in Russia, email me at editor@upfrontezine.com by August 31. At this point, the meeting schedule looks like this: Mon Sept 7 - Meetings in St Petersburg
The flights are booked; the visa is being processed; the hotels are reserved. I hope to be able to blog this trip on WorldCAD Access, and then following the trip in-depth coverage is due to appear here in upFront.eZine and in Russian CAD publications. [Disclosure: Some of these firms are providing airfare, accommodation, and ground transportation.] These were some of the news items that were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog < http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com >:
And at the Gizmos Grabowski weblog <http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos >:
Conferences "Talking About the Future of MCAD" Roundtable is Sept 8 in Moscow, Russia. isicad.ru/ru/articles.php?article_num=13181 (Takes place at 2.30 p.m. in the Vladimir conference hall of Sheraton Palace Hotel, 19, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya St., Moscow, Russia.) I will be attending this event.
WorthWhile Web http://www.marco.org/143265621
http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi?pagetosend=/export/home/httpd/htdocs/news/2009/072009-iran-censorship-tools.html&pagename=/news/2009/072009-iran-censorship-tools.html&pageurl=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/072009-iran-censorship-tools.html&site=printpage
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204900904574304283334746634.html
Letters to the Editor Re Inventor Fusion vs Synchronous Technology: What's the Diff "I do not fully agree with Mr. Phelan. Given a foreign .STEP file with the following features: "Importing this into SE by using a non-sync template and using FeatureRecognizer, you end up with a complete feature tree which lists all of the above-mentioned features as separate items "Doing the same but now using a sync-template (the FeatureRecognizer is not available) you end up with one base feature, which is just a collection of faces. Selecting the round will show the radius which might be changeable. Selecting the chamfer will tell you nothing, except that 'it's plane'. The hole will consist of two cylinders and one face which can me manipulated indepedent of each other. "If the latter is now called 'feature recognition' then Mr. Phelan is correct in saying "Synchronous has it because that's the way ST works". But I can't think that someone who often uses the first approach will agree on this to be feature-recognition in the true meaning of the word. "Converting a part that has been modeled the traditional way to synchronous will preserve all features, but after that they are only a collection of faces."
Re: Digital Prototypes Fail Toyota "Mark Middlebrook's comments struck a chord with me. I strongly agree. "Taking this further (chronologically), we're aiming our guns at a bigger dilemma: complete automation. How on earth are we going to reconcile two divergent paths ahead: (1) a growing population, (2) less demand for manual labor? " We're focusing on manufacturing automation, in this case prototyping, but the scope is enormous: concept and design, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, inventory management, point-of-sale, operation, maintenance, lifecycle management. Every one of these aspects is being reduced by computer technology (hardware and software) to require fewer and fewer humans. "Is anyone stepping back to ask what the real goal is? We're designing ourselves out of having anything to do. Welfare?" The editor replies: "To sell more software, of course!" Mr Stein responds: "Doh! I shouldve seen that one coming."
Re: Inventor LT Documentation "You obviously have a good grasp on how much is enough. But here is the root cause of this recent financial crisis, and as well as many of the other problems facing America: unchecked greed."
"It looks like it pays to complain a lot. I complained to the Service Center, my local reseller, another Autodesk contact, and to upFront.eZine. Your newsletter drew the attention of someone at Autodesk, who called and asked for more info. It looks like the someone finally came though. They sent this email: "'Upon verification and approval from Inventor LT 2010 product manager we have added the following books ACADLT 2010 EN CUE CARDS and/or MAN:AIS 2010 EN MANUAL GETTING STARTED on our book request site. You may now submit your request online.' "So, I assume this issue has been taken care of. Provided that MAN:AIS 2010 EN MANUAL GETTING STARTED is for Inventor LT. It's not clear that that's what it is. I'll find out soon. But isn't it odd that the Inventor and Inventor LT Newsgroups are included together. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are separate." The editor replies: "Glad to be of help. Decoding:
Re: SpaceClaim First to Announce Touch Support "The [SpaceClaim touch] video shows 'painting', not serious technical 3D-modeling on accurate dimensions. This kind of user interface could be useful for animations and possibly industrial designers, but not for engineering where millimeters (or actually 1/100 mm) are needed."
"I am intrigued by the SpaceClaim article about multitouch screens. I am skeptical since I go back to the early 80s when IBM had a CAD system called FastDraft that used what they called 'lightpens,' which were pencil-like wands you clicked on the screen to draw. At the time, they were thought to be wonderful systems, but those of us who used it for 8 to 10 hours a day where ecstatic when we switched to AutoCAD and used mice for the first time. "No more bursitis from holding your arm in the air all day long clicking the lightpen. I wonder if this will be a return to those painful days -- or will the workstation screens be tabletop flat screens that not only eliminate arm and shoulder pain, but would also help eliminate neck pain and eye strain?" The editor replies: "Over at the Develop3D blog, a SpaceClaim co-founder says he uses a large touchscreen monitor laid nearly flat. I recall HP's first personal computer, which featured a touch screen. Their logo was a butterfly lightly touching the screen. I presume that during product development, they found that touchscreens were a pain, and needed the butterfly image to spin the problem!"
"Are you kidding? Just watch your local weatherman slide that radar map across the green screen. Now that's revolutionary!"
"Great sarcasms in the beginning, I like the style. Keep it up."
Spin Doctor of the Moment "Bring Betty Broadband will help engage individuals and congregations into meaningful public dialogue about the development and implementation of policies that will help bring broadband to all Americans."
Notable Quotable "The average selling price of ... Windows PCs was $515 [in June 2009]. The average selling price of a Mac was $1,400."
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