WorldCAD Access

Our Cloud Development for 3D BIM

by Alexey Ershov Viewing 3D models in Web browsers became popular in the mid-2010s with the introduction of WebGL that allowed the display of sophisticated graphics. New Web protocols and JavaScript then made it possible to build 3D Web applications with advanced logic and interactive user interfaces. Cloud-based BIM (building information modeling) became a primary target for development, thanks to the big data volumes that are typically generated by BIM projects. Big data requires big storage. As well, BIM involves collaboration between designers working on specific areas and layers of buildings, bridges, civil, and industrial projects. These requirements correspond well... Read more →

2 men who influenced my professional life

Kneiling and Hirsch Each of us have our ways by which we navigate the world. Sometimes, someone comes along who influences us in a better way. For me, there were two men who I appreciated in my teen years, whose thoughts went on to influence my work in engineering and technical publishing. Neither of them knew me, as I lived in northern Canada and they were columnists in American magazines. Over time, as I read their work, part of their worldview become part of mine. Trains Magazine I was a model railroader during my teen years, and I say that... Read more →

3 amazing functions in Opera Web browser

Nifty I've been using the Opera Web browser since v4, back when its boasts was that it could fit on a 1.44MB floppy disc. In addition to being not-Internet Explorer and not-Firefox (the two browsers with the largest market share back then), it had a developer mode that displayed all the text of a Web site. This was especially useful for reading sites that otherwise required one to sign up. After v12, Opera had a split inside the company, with the founder going off to start up the Vivaldi browser, saying he wanted to return the browser to its Opera... Read more →

People tracking is so insidious

Enuff already It was bad enough to see how many corporations track us by doing something as innocuous reading just the headlines at a government-funded Web site like Deutsche Welle (the German international broadcaster). The list I show below (found at dw.com/en/european-union-general-data-protection-regulationgdpr-valid-may-25-2018/a-18265246) is about 2/3 of the data skimmers DW employs. It got worse when at a trial last week we learned that Google still tracks us when we run its browser in incognito mode -- never mind what it states: It's what Google doesn't say in its incognito statement that's alarming. - - - It is the nice things... Read more →

CAD for ChromeOS is Possible in 2021

More popular than MacOS There are no native CAD applications for ChromeOS. This need not be the case, as proven by Krita, a native Android program meant for tablets that runs as well as a native program on Chromebooks. Here's the point I want to make: Krita for Android is not a reduced-function version of the one that runs on Windows and MacOS. It is full-function. CAD software written for Android, iOS, and Web browsers are all reduced-function versions, even from leaders in this field like Graebert and Autodesk. ChromeOS was originally envisioned as a browser-based operating system, and I... Read more →

I never bought the ZX81

$99 proved too expensive Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Sinclair ZX81, the second generation of the earliest affordable home computer -- and a distance cousin of our smartphones. The computer I never bought (image credit oldcomputer.info) Inventor Clive Sinclair specialized in small devices. I recall picking up a brochure of his diminutive calculator while in England in 1974. He also designed a tiny, unsuccessful automobile. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I watched the personal computer scene with its confusing array of standards -- S-100, CP/M -- making me hesitant to take the plunge. Part of the... Read more →