PSAUG and Seattle CAD Camp

I'm off to Seattle.

Tonight is the Puget Sound AutoCAD User Group meeting at Renton Technical College. Shaan Hurley was supposed to be there this evening to give members their first look at AutoCAD 2009. Unfortunately, he had to cancel at the last minute due to a family matter, but Alex Lepeska has stepped forward to take over that presentation.

Tomorrow I'll be attending the AUGI CAD Camp in Seattle, this time as an attendee and official AUGI photographer and videographer. I'll be conducting attendee interviews for next year's AUGI video as well as shooting photos for the CAD Camp website.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Seattle and hope to follow-up with any additional information I glean on the next release of AutoCAD and other Autodesk products.

Autodesk World Press Days 2008—Day 1

It’s that time of year again—time for Autodesk to announce the next release of all of its myriad software products. As it did last year, Autodesk is once again hosting its Autodesk World Press Days event, and I am here in San Francisco at the beautiful Mark Hopkins Hotel at the top of Nob Hill along with 150 other press and analysts from more than 50 countries.

From the looks of the first day’s schedule, it was pretty obvious that we weren’t going to actually see much of the new software. That would happen on day two.

Day one began with an opening presentation by Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, who began by noting that the role of engineering and design is becoming increasingly more important. Autodesk has had a 25-year history of success. The company currently has more than 9 million licensed users worldwide, and Mr. Bass was quick to point out that there are many times more than that when you begin to factor in the unlicensed copies of the company’s software. 98% of the Fortune 500 use Autodesk software, a number that rises to 100% when you narrow it down to just the Fortune 100.

Autodesk’s five year growth has exceeded 20%, with net revenue of more than $2 billion, and the company expects growth over the next five years to continue to exceed 15%.

Mr. Bass says that there are four important macro economic trends that are changing the world:

• Digital Life: Everything has gone from analog to digital. We’re also multitasking in ways that we never could have imagined a few years ago.
  
• Globalization: Digital connectivity has been a large contributor to globalization. Arbitraging of cheap labor has driven globalization in the short term, but this will slow down as the global standard of living improves. There is a much bigger opportunity for those who develop new business models. Commoditization is a much bigger issue. Local protections no longer assures design; there are plenty of people out there trying to copy and improve on what you’ve designed. So companies must focus instead on how to differentiate themselves by continuously doing things better.
  
• Infrastructure Boom: Infrastructure improvements will total $40 trillion. Even in mature economies, half of the buildings we will have in 25 years haven’t been built yet. In developing countries, that number approaches 100%.
  
• Climate Change: If we don’t change our behavior, energy usage over the next 25 years will double. We therefore have to find better ways of producing energy and at the same time become much smarter about consuming it.

These four trends together represent a tremendous challenge. But Autodesk’s software provides many of the means to meet these challenges, such as new building models that let designers experience their designs before they build them and better predict how those buildings will perform in the real world.

Carl Bass was followed by other Autodesk executives as well as a number of customers who described how their companies were using Autodesk software. For example, Peter Horbury, executive director of design for Form Motor Company, explained how Ford is now able to get new cars from design to showroom in 14 months while also recognizing a 25% cost reduction at the same time. He also showed how Ford uses the world’s largest milling machine to create full-scale models of prototype cars, enabling a 25% reduction in design time.

He was followed by Laird Landis, senior technologist at General Motors. GM now uses Building Information Modeling to create, visualize, and analyze the company’s facilities worldwide and has determined that it can save 3% to 5% of total construction cost through the use of BIM technology. All future GM projects will be done entirely in 3D, starting with a 1.5 million square foot facility in Lansing Delta Township. Eventually, GM expect to be able to construct new plants 25% faster while saving 10% to 15% of total construction cost.


The most compelling presentation of the morning came from Brady Nadell, senior engineer at Parsons Brinkerhoff, and Bart Ney, public information office at Caltrans, who showed how they used Autodesk software to create a communications plan to keep the public updated to possible traffic disruptions during construction of the new Bay Bridge linking San Francisco with Oakland. Caltrans plans to keep the existing bridge open throughout construction, and the various images and animations produced clearly explain how this will be done.

They were followed by George Joblove, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Sony Pictures Imageworks, who showed a Sony demo reel and explained how increasingly important visual effects have become to the company’s motion pictures. But more inspiring was Sheena Duggal, a visual effects supervisor, director, and compositor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, who showed her short film showcasing the Chicago Spire, an new residential development designed by architect Santiago Calatrava that is sure to become an iconic addition to the Chicago skyline.

Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk’s chief technology officer, highlighted Autodesk’s focus:

• Experience it before it’s real
• Study design alternatives
• Develop design innovation
• Help customers gain a competitive advantage

Other themes:

• Visualization: Capture the appearance of what the product will look like in the real world
• Simulation: See how the product will behave in the real world
• Analyze: Capture measureable performance in the real world

In a session on how gaming is driving development, it was noted that more than 25% of gamers are over 50 years old. Gaming software sales in the US grew 28% last year. When you include hardware that figure jumps to 40%. Nintendo has the same market cap as Disney. Keys to successful gaming sound a lot like Autodesk's focus: performance, immersion (it seems real), and interaction (making it easy to use). Director James Cameron is working on a project aimed at being able to direct digital characters. Architects are becoming digital directors themselves. As graphics technology goes mainstream, more people are using 3D technology to communicate their ideas and animate those ideas so that they can be experienced over time.

This all led up to the announcement today by Autodek of the launch of Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009, a new version of 3ds Max aimed specifically at architectural visualization.

Phil Bernstein, Autodfesk vice president of industry strategy and relations for the company's AEC Solutions division then took the stage to talk more specifically about Autodesk's vision in the AEC industry. Some of his comments:

Buildings have a very fundamental impact on the environment. Sustainable design is a philosophy to understand how a building's design affects its environment. In order to understand how a building behaves requires that you first create a digital model of it

Buildings have to be visualized and executed in a global context now. Autodesk's AEC customers now need to understand how they practice in a worldwide sense, either to design projects in other areas of the world or to understand how consumption in other areas of the world affect the availability of materials where they are building.

As the developing economies grow, we're going to have to develop a lot of infrastructure. There is going to be a tremedous increase in AEC activities. Processes we use will have to change dramatically.

Bernstein joked, "We are the only industry that builds full-size prototypes (the actual building) and then skip the final step." Technology is changing the way we practice. We're moving from traditional design and bid to collaborative project teams. BIM is the catalyst that is making many of these things possible. We can now create digitally correct prototypes that make it possible to analyze the building and then use the model to deliver the appropriate information to the cliet.

Bernstein was followed by Rick Thoman, corporate BIM integrated practice coordinator for SmithGroup, the sixth largest architecture and engineering firm in the US. He noted that we have operated far too long in a world of design, bid, build, litigate. We draw too much in order to protect ourselves from litigation. Now, all documentation is done using computers. It's no longer an option to not use BIM. The model is now a bridge between the design team and the construction team.

Thoman then handed things back to Bernstein, who announced Autodesk's plans to acquire Carmel Software and Green Building Studio. The Carmel acquisition has been closed and the company is about to close on GBS. As to whether the GBS tools will be folded into Revit Architecture 2009, Bernstein would not comment as to how the tools would be added to Autodesk's current products.

Detailed looks at new releases of Autodesk software will have to wait until individual break out sessions and some of the more product-oriented presentations scheduled for tomorrow.

You can also read additional coverage of Autodesk World Press Days 2008 more specifically targeted at Revit users on my other blog: revit-up.blogspot.com.

AUGI CAD Camp Toronto

I just got back from the first AUGI CAD Camp of 2008. This one was held in Toronto, Canada, in an absolutely beautiful facility in Mississauga, Ontario called the Living Arts Center.

It was a great event and we had a very appreciative crowd of more than 200 attendees. The local dealer did a wonderful job of getting the word out about the event.

I took the opportunity to record another one of my presentations that had not yet been recorded. So I am happy to announce that you can now view a webcast of my AutoCAD 2008 data extraction and tables class, entitled "Keep it Inside AutoCAD – Data Extraction Direct to AutoCAD Tables." That webcast is now available on my website.

I also took lots of photos of the Toronto event and those photos, like those from other CAD Camps, are available on my Flickr site.

Enjoy.

Multi-Room Music Nirvana

When we hosted an open house on New Years Day, I wanted to have music playing in the main area of the main floor of our house, where there is currently no stereo. As a quick makeshift solution, I brought my inexpensive Altec Lansing speakers into the room, placing them in unobtrusive locations and hiding the subwoofer under a coffee table. I put my laptop on the hearth and streamed an iTunes playlist all day. It worked great.

That proof of concept prompted me to come up with a less makeshift solution. After several hours of research, I decided that while solutions like the Sonos and Squeezebox were nice, they also cost more than I was ready to spend for what would effectively be background music. But $99 for an Apple AirPort Express sounded just right.



So this afternoon I went to a local computer store and purchased an AirPort Express with AirTunes. I also bought a cheap set of powered speakers, but that's another story (which I'll get to at the end).

After plugging in the AirPort Express and letting it boot up, it's indicator light blinked amber, indicating that it was not connecting to my existing wireless network. Since I have an existing Linksys wireless router, the AirPort would not connect automatically. It took a few minutes to sort that out, but by going into the AirPort Utility and manually configuring the AirPort Express so that it was simply a client on the existing network, I soon had that problem sorted out.

I think it's a bit miraculous that after simply adding the AirPort Express, iTunes now has a new selection in the lower-right that lets me select where I want to stream my music.



The whole thing works so well, and the experience was so satisfying, that I'm ready to go out and purchase a few more of these things so that I can stream music to additional rooms. AirPort Express is perfect.

Now, the speakers, unfortunately, are another story. Years ago I picked up a set of Altec Lansing 221 speakers for my office. They consist of two small satellite speakers with a hefty subwoofer. While they're certainly not audiophile quality by any stretch of the imagination, they cost me $49.99 at Costco and have a nice clean sound through the entire frequency range, and a full but balanced bass. But these speakers apparently are no longer available.

I purchased a set of Edifier speakers from the same place that I purchased the AirPort Express. I had never heard of them before (it's a Canadian brand) but they were all that the store carried and since I could easily return them, what did I have to loose. They were, in a word, terrible—incredibly weak in the middle frequencies and almost no bass response in spite of the subwoofer. So I drove over to another store and picked up a set of Logitech X-240 speakers. The frequency response was much better, with nice clear treble and substantial bass that I could easily adjust thanks to a control knob on the subwoofer (something my Altec Lansing speakers lack). But when no music was playing, these speakers have a very noticeable hum. So they're going back tomorrow as well.

So while I've found nirvana in terms of streaming music to any room in the house, I am still searching for a decent set of inexpensive (under $100) powered speakers. Like I said, this is for background music when we entertain. When I want to really listen to music, I'll turn on the stereo. I'll probably add an AirPort Express to the stereo as well. Why not? But if anyone has a good recommendation for some inexpensive powered speakers, please pass it along, because I'm still searching.

Webcast of AU Design Review Presentation

Autodesk recorded three out of the four presentations that I did at Autodesk University. Those videos will eventually become available on the AU website.

The one class that was not recorded was my class on Autodesk Design Review. This turned out to be a very popular and informative class, all the more so thanks to the presence of several people from Autodesk's Design Review development and marketing teams.

Although Autodesk didn't record my Design Review class, I did. I was able to get Camtasia Studio up and running before the start of the class and worked with one of the on-site AV guys to grab an audio feed (I had forgotten to bring my own wireless microphone to AU). The sound quality leaves a bit to be desired, but those who missed this class or want to view it again can now do so by visiting my my website:

http://www.dscohn.com/speaking/design_review.htm

Autodesk University - Day Four

As I noted yesterday, this morning all I had left was what turned out to be an excellent 3-hour lab on Revit. Then, with AU officially over, it was finally time to relax.

In what has become something of a tradition, a small group of AU regulars got together for a well deserved post AU lunch.

From left to right: J.C. Malitzke, Tom Conte, J.C.'s wife Susan, Karen Miletsky, Lynn Allen, me, and Lynn's husband Craig.

On Friday night, an even smaller group of us went downtown to the Golden Nugget to see impressionist Rich Little.

And then on Saturday night I took my friends David and Rhonda Shapiro, who live just outside of Las Vegas (and with whom I spent the rest of the weekend) to see Penn & Teller. That's me with Penn Jillette.

Autodesk University - Day Three

I started my day with a 8am lab and then I had one more class to teach this morning, and then I could finally relax a bit and enjoy the rest of the courses for which I had registered. So far, I had attended every class that I had signed up to take. In my opinion, all of the classes at this year's AU were excellent.

Of course, Thursday night is also the night for the headline entertainment at Autodesk University. This year, the entertainment selection had been kept secret until Thursday, when Lynn Allen finally told me that it would be a comedy night.

Lynn served as master of ceremonies. I didn't record the opening act nor the headliner, but I did capture a few minutes of comedy juggler Mad Chad.

When the comedy show was over, the band Tainted Love took over, playing cover versions of hits from the 80s.


Matt Murphy let his hair down.


We partied until the very end with Lynn and her husband Craig.


And even after the party officially ended, Shaan Hurley, Lynn, and a few others hung out for a while longer.

AU ends at noon tomorrow. I'll spend the morning taking a 3-hour hands-on Revit lab class.