WorldCAD Access

In upFront.eZine this week: HP updates us on ePrint

In upFront.eZine #727 this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. An Update on HP ePrint - How to Connect to Remote Printers - ePrinting from iPads 2. The KCL Difference 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns.mns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-727.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: sketching rooms with Orthograph on iPad

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. OrthoGraph Architect for iPad - Tutorial - Getting Drawings to CAD - Future Plans - Q&A 2. PTC Meets With Journalists (Part ii) 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-726.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: We talk with PTC and Siemens PLM

In upFront.eZine this week, we launch a new CAD Tips column for giving advice to lonley drafters, and we have for your reading pleasure... 1. PTC Meets With Journalists (part i) - Looking Back at Creo 1.0 - AnyBOM (Options Modeler) - Conclusion 2. Siemens PLM's Agreement with Boeing 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-725.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: mobileCAD vendor uses gaming engine to display 3D MCAD models

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. Displaying Massive CAD Models Using a Gaming Engine - Q&A - About Unity 2. ZW3D 2012 Press Briefing - User Interface & Translation - Direct Editing - Q&A 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-722.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: mobileCAD is bustin' out all over

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. Introduction to Solid Edge and Synchronous Technology - State of Synchronous Technology - Q&A 2. Two Approaches to Mobile CAD - Geometric Glovius - IMSI/Design TurboViewer for Android 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-721.htm Read more →

CADdigest finds its Twitter account; you get to find its new articles

With some 500 articles added to CADdigest.com each month from editorial sources around the CAD world, it can be hard to find the new material which we are commissioning from well-known writers and bloggers. To help solve the problem, we started a Twitter account today as @CADdigest. This will let you know when new articles are posted -- and more importantly, where! To follow @CADdigest on Twitter: twitter.com/#!/CADdigest To visit the CADdigest Web site, The Reading Room for Computer Aided Design: www.caddigest.com Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: about PTC's immediate future

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. PTC Faces 2012 with Cuts, Reorganization 2. From the PTC Q1 Earnings Call Transcript 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-720.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: about that new CAD webzine launching this week

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. New Webzine Launched 2. KeyCreator Compare - Q&A 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2012/upf-719 Read more →

Imaginit launches its support portal, "Productivity Now"

Imaginit Technologies is one of the largest Autodesk dealers in the world, and late last month they launched a new portal for its customers around the world -- as well as non-customers (or guest users, who get free registration and some content from the site.) Actual customers get support and learning tools. The site is called ProductivityNOW, and the following are available from the front page: Discussion forums Video library (several hundred already) Polls Imaginit on Facebook Also available: blogs, news feeds, Webinar listings, Autodesk resources, downloadable software, and industry links. The eLearning link sends customers to all of Imagint's... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: taking the cloud private

This is the last issue before the annual Christmas break. Look for the next issue of upFront.eZine on January 9, 2012. In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. FirstTrace's Take on Taking the Cloud Private 2. Readers Respond: What the Cloud Really Means 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-716 Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: what the cloud is actually about

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. What the Cloud Really Means - What is the Cloud? - Virtualized Software is A Next Generation - Meanwhile, Back in the CAD World - What Needs to Be Done 2. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-715 Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: The first literal 3D user interface for CAD

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure... 1. Infinite Z's zSpace - zSpace Product and Branding - Q&A 2. The Cloud is Dead? I Respond 3. Out of the Inbox, and other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-714 Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Autodesk's ceo tells customers what to expect at AU

In upFront.eZine this week, we have for your reading pleasure letters from the few readers brave enough to support the cloud! 1. Geomagic Studio and Wrap 2012 2. Carl Bass on the Immediate Future for Autodesk Customers - On PLM - On Cloud - On Software Distribution - On Acquisitions 3. Out of the Inbox, and all the other regular columns. You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-713 Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: readers support and Twitters pounce on "The Cloud is Dead."

In upFront.eZine this week for your reading pleasure things like GfxSpeakRSN tweeting, "Scheduling the 'We make RG eat his words' Party" and martynday agreeing, "One of the most utterly utterly bonkers rants I've read." 1. The Cloud is Dead - Part 1: Readers Respond 2. The Cloud is Dead - Part 2: Twitterers Respond 3. Out of the Inbox and our other regular columns You can read all about the business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-710.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Bricsys, Bricscad V12, and Smartphones

upFront.eZine to report on the Bricsys Conference that took place in Brussels last week. 1. upFront.eZine at Bricsys Conference 2011 - An AutoCAD Clone No Longer - They Bought the LEDAS Store - Architecturals as API - It Used to Be Called Vista - Entering Education with a EuroContest - Branching Out 2. Smartphone Strategies for CAD Vendors - Pros and Cons of the Leading OSes - What about HTML5? - Summary on OSes - Pricing - Low Hardware Prices - Low Software Pricing - Other Considerations - Choices for the Future You can read all about the business of... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: report on SIGGRAPH 2011 in Vanvouver, Canada

After this issue, I take the annual summer break. Look for upFront.eZine returning next month with an irregular schedule due to heavy travel plans -- four countries in five weeks! 1. SIGGRAPH 2011 Vancouver - Jon Peddie Research's Press Luncheon - Virtual Moviemaking Panelists 2. Thoughts on the Tablet Biz - Readers React 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-704.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: PTC's ceo tells us what he REALLY thinks of Autodesk's PLM effort

In this week's issue, we have for you... 1. PTC CEO on ADSK's PLM 2. Tailoring AutoCAD eBooks Updated for AutoCAD 2011/12 - Upcoming Releases 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-702.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: we got the details on Spatial's new CGM APIs

In this week's issue, we have for you... 1. Spatial CGM Capabilities Webinar - Q&A 2. Updating Civil B Part 3: CivilB Replies to Autodesk's Response 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-701.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: we do an update on the unique (and innovative) CivilB design software

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Updating CivilB -Locating Utility Conflicts - Designing Irregular Shapes 2. Dassault Reveals V5R21 and V6R2012 Part 2 of an interview with Fabien Fedida - V4-V5-V6 - New Openness in V6 R2012 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Dassault tells us about their design-on-the-cloud

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Dassault Moves 3D Authoring and PLM to the Cloud - Q&A 2. Where is the Anti-Trust in CAD? - Readers React 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: what does the EU think is anti-trust-ful of CAD?

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Where is the Anti-Trust in CAD? - The Problem is Not Pricing, It's... 2. Autodesk Consumer Group - 123D 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: from a centimeter away, we critique TurboViewer

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. IMSI/Design Launches iApps for iTablets - TurboViewer for iOS - iOS Development Challenges - Upcoming Software for Portable Devices 2. How to Use Dropbox with AutoCAD WS and TurboViewer - How to Use iTunes with TurboViewer 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-696.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: from a million miles away, we critique Creo 1.0

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Today is the First Day of the Rest of PTC's Life 2. Autodesk's Inter Suite Interoperability - About FBX 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-695.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: the goods on this Friday's ArchiCAD 15 we've got today

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Graphisoft ArchiCAD 15 - Freeform BIM Tools and Workflow Support - Native 3D Editing - Demo Time 2. Autodesk Homestyler Reviewing the Cloud, Episode 2 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-694.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: we dig up the dirt on think3

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. The Sorry think3 Story Gets Messier 2. Excerpts from Autodesk's Q1 Conference Call 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-693.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: we have reports of pro- and anti-BIM uprisings in Russia

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. BIM Discussion Gets Heated in Russia Guest Editorial by Alexander Bausk 2. Update on the Russian CAD/PLM Market Commentary by David Levin - Space & CAD in Russia: 50 Years since Gagarin's Flight - Which CAD/PLM Topics are Most Popular in Russia? - CAD Companies Operating in Russia 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-692.htm Read more →

Live blogging: PTC intros Windchill (PLM) 10 Webinar

Surely this is some kind of marketing blunder, forcing the West Coast cadre of CAD journalists to be up for a marketing Webinar that begins at 7:00am. But, here we are, gentle reader, fighting to keep our eyes open, sitting in our housecoats, waiting for the 6:55am start signal. First problem: the reminder email doesn't tell me my password. Clicking password retreival doesn't work. Oh, they've sent me a new email with a new password reminder link. Got it. Copy and .... paste does not work. I have to type it in manually. And we're in! In with a room... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Matt Stachoni asks, Just what's a "workstation" anymore, anyhow?

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. T-Splines 3 for Rhino 2. What's a Workstation, Anymore? Guest editorial by Matt Stachoni - Comparing E3 and i7 Specs - Regarding AVX You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-689.htm - - - PS: It's the Annual Fund Drive If you like to support upFront.eZine and can afford to contribute, then this is the one time each year I make an appeal for donations. No subscription fee, but a donation of $25 is appreciated. The donation can be made by cheque, money order, cash, or PayPal.... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Intel tells us about their cheapest workstation CPUp in graphics boards

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Intel's New Xeon E3 Gets Built-in Graphics - Q&A 2. Programming Languages and AutoCAD, Part 4 by Patrick Emin 3. Out of the Inbox and other regular columns You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-687.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Jon Peddie tells us what's coming up in graphics boards

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. The Future in Graphics Boards for CAD Users An interview with Jon Peddie - Introduction to GPUs -HPUs Combine CPUs and GPUs -Q&A 2. Programming Languages and AutoCAD, Part 3 by Patrick Emin 3. Out of the Inbox You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-686.htm Read more →

Plagiarism killed the future of a minister of defense; don't let it kill your's

After Owen Wengerd's article on AutoCAD 2012's EULA appeared here on WorldCAD Access, he noticed that another blogger had copy-and-pasted the article in its entirety, without permission and without credit. Mr Wengerd asked me if there was anything I could do about it. First thing I did was write a nasty comment, calling the blogger a thief. Then I used Google's complaint form to alert them that the entry had been plagerized from the original source. This action can lead to Google shutting down the blog. The offending blogger at first replied in the comments section, defending his action. Later,... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Autodesk's 2012 launch fest

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. Autodesk Software 2012 Webcast - MCAD - Simulation - Infrastructure - AEC - Bundles - Q&A 2. Autodesk Manufacturing 2011 Investor Webcast - New Opportunities - Q&A 3. Out of the Inbox You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-684.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: searching for BetterCAD

This week, upFront.eZine has for your reading pleasure: 1. IntegrityWare Bridges Soft and Hard Design - SubD vs NURBS - About the Company - Q&A 2. Looking for BetterCAD - Guest Editorial by Gerald Davis 3. Out of the Inbox You can read all about this week's business of CAD at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-682.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Now with more BIM and more MCAD

Other editors tell me that CAD vendors get confused about upFront.eZine. For example, Dassault Systemes thinks the newsletter apparently is all about AEC. Others think it is all about AutoCAD. A very few readers complain about the lack of tips. [Tips? - Ed.] Bentley Systems doesn't think it exists at all. It does pay to read the newsletter's tagline, "The Business of CAD." Which is why this week's issue has one article about changing business with BIM and another on the changing business of MCAD. Hopefully these can clear up misconceptions for some. 1. PTC Virtual Corporate Visit - Creo... Read more →

Open source, multilingual AutoCAD q&a site

Patrick Emin writes: I am experimenting with the open source multilingual Shapado questions and answers system. I find this quite interesting and well suited for a Q&A site: http://autocad.shapado.com/ It's not just on a Web page; Mr Emin has also written an Android app to do the same thing. It can be downloaded from Android Market. Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: This is where Dassault Systemes is going; also, SpaceClaim 2011

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you... 1. SpaceClaim 2011 Interview with co-founder Blake Couter 2. This is Where Dassault Systemes is Going Bernard Charles talks strategy 3. And in Other News You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-678.htm Read more →

Jeff Ray: A Gentleman Walks Off the Stage

by Roopinder Tara, Tenlinks.com Jeff Ray introduced the new CEO in front of thousands gathered in San Antonio, Texas, at SolidWorks' big annual bash. Until recently, Jeff had been CEO. This was the last time Jeff would address the users this way. He is moving on to a new position at Dassault Systemes, the mother ship, as EVP of Global Operations, a position that is still to be defined. SolidWorks World, which bills itself as the biggest gathering of MCAD users in the world, will miss Jeff, who may be its best emcee ever. Jeff was a natural on the... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: BIM is great for CAD vendors, but how about for architects?

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you... 1. BIM is Mainstream; Are Architects Better Off? Guest Editorial by Mark Chaney 2. Understanding Hybrid Workflows between CAD and BIM Part 2: Practical Applications 3. And in Other News You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-677.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: What PCT tells Wall Street about Creo

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you... 1. PTC Talks About Creo to Financial Analysts - Litigation Settled 2. Understanding Hybrid Workflows between CAD and BIM Part 2: Practical Applications 3. And in Other News You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-676.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: SolidWorks World transitions to DassaultWorks World

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you... SolidWorks World 2011: - N!fuse - Post3D - Live Buildings - DraftSight - SolidWorks 2012 - Local Motors - The DSication of SW You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-675.htm Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: Dreams of the universalists dashed. And IronCAD

In this week's upFront.eZine, we have for you... 1. Universalism Not So Universal - What's a CAD Vendor to Do? 2. IronCAD 2011 Collaboration Suite 3. And in Other News Plus lots of letters from readers. You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2011/upf-673.htm Read more →

eBook pirate alert!

A number of ebook distributors this morning received a purchase request from . The name seemed suspicious and a search discovered the related Web site bookforalls.blogspot.com This site shows covers of CAD books, and then links to another site where electronic versions of the books can be downloaded free. Fortunately, most of the download links are broken. The site is hosted by Google, who makes it difficult to report copyright violators. If you sell ebooks, a warning: do not accept orders from BookForAlls. Read more →

USA celebrates Thanksgiving; WorldCAD Access celebrates two million page-views

As of 5am this morning, the stats for WorldCAD Access looked like this: 2,001,332 page-views since December, 2003 2,605 posts 4,022 comments 5,421 daily readers (RSS+direct, yesterday) Two million page-views is a big number, but it does not tell the full story. The number represents those who read this blog directly (at worldcadaccess.typepad.com) -- about a thousand people a day. Another 4,100-4,500 read this blog through RSS readers, and so aren't counted by TypePad. If they were, then the page-view count would be bumped up by an additional 1.5 million page-views a year. So, roughly five million might be more... Read more →

"Why You Should Consider Turning Your Back On Social Media"

Blog readers and twitterers scoffed at my suggestion that CAD vendors spend less time on social media. Yesterday Silicon Alley Insider presented a number of business cases where marketing through social media made no sense in Why You Should Consider Turning Your Back On Social Media. As with any technology, you should embrace it when it makes sense, and keep a bit of distance when it does not. Too often, people and corporations embrace technology because it is new, not because it is useful. Calculate the ROI. Or, as one person put it in the SAI article: That's because, as... Read more →

In upFront.eZine this week: All about Creo (part i) and the CAD Mac market

It's just past Hallowe'en and this is issue #6-6-6 of upFront.eZine: 1. Project Lightning = Creo - Creo Is "Any" - Common Data Model - From CAD Prison to PTC Prison - Creo Add-ons - Impact on Existing PTC Software 2. Determining Mac Demand for CAD - Guest Editorial by Anthony Frausto-Robledo You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2010/upf-666.htm Read more →

Emin's apps for Android

Patrik Emin has written lots of apps for Android, as you can see by searching for "Emin" among the 100,000 apps at Android Market using your Android device. Most are one of general interest and/or are in French, such as "Mark Twain Quotes" and "Quotes Cafe du Coin." Some, however, are of interest to AutoCAD users: Autodesk Blogs -- reports latest entries from Autodesk's many official blogs as a full-screen app and in a widget. Autodesk AutoCAD Forums -- as above, but for Autodesk's AutoCAD forum. AutoCAD VarSys -- displays in English a different AutoCAD system variable in a widget... Read more →

This new blog in Switzerland has a catchy name-pun

No More CADsualties is run by Jose De Jesus from Bern Switzerland, offering up AutoCAD tips in German -- like "Einfache Symmetrie in einem dynamischen Block" (simple symmetries in a dynamic block). Read more →

upFront.eZine delayed until Wednesday

This week's upFront.eZine newsletter comes out on Wednesday morning, because I will be in New York City Monday to see HP roll out its new line of DesignJet plotters. I hope to blog the event live right here on WorldCAD Access. Tuesday I look forward to seeing the sights and sites of Manhattan Island. [Disclosure: HP is providing the flight, ground transportation, accomodation, and some meals.] (To subscribe to upFront.eZine, click here.) Read more →

New this week in the upFront.eZine: QuadriSpace and Autodesk

In this week's issue of upFront.eZine: 1. QuadriSpace Products 2011 2. Why Did Autodesk Buy Visual Tau? You can read all about the business of CAD this week at www.upfrontezine.com/2010/upf-659.htm Read more →

upFront.eZine returns Monday from annual summer vacation

A panicked reader asks, I received an email from a colleague who has not seen your newsletter recently and was just wondering if you're all out on vacation for a bit. - G. K. Yep! Every August and early September, upFront.eZine takes a vacation so that its staff does not suffer burnout. Back next Monday! Subscribe here. Read more →