Between the Lines

Gas Prices in the Bay Area are Soaring...

The photo was taken while I was filling up in Marin County near Novato.

$2.32 Regular Unleaded
$2.43 Regular Plus Unleaded
$2.53 Premium Unleaded

-Shaan

Enthusiasts call Web feed "RSS" next big thing

Read the Article.

This blog also has a RSS feed you can use your RSS feed aggregator to read. Find out more about my RSS feed and how to use it Here.

Cheers,
-Shaan

What's up with blogging, and why should you care?

What's up with blogging, and why should you care?
By Dan Farber of ZDNet

This is a pretty interesting take on blogging and its future.

Quotes:

"Are blog tools and the art of blogging revolutionary? No, but they are clearly superior to antecedent tools for online expression. "

"In the "classic" sense, however, blogging is more personality than application driven. Outing cites personality as the most important attribute of a blogs, followed by insight, humor, serendipity, a narrow focus and great writing. He suggests that local newspapers, for example, could improve their online city guides by cranking up "the trendiness meter" with more edgy, raw, opinionated blogger talk.

Edgy and subjective are in opposition to the more staid, objective leanings of traditional journalism or the needs of corporate communications. It's a culture clash that will require some compromises on both ends of the spectrum."

This article also mentions my fellow blogging geek friend from Microsoft Robert Scoble.
"Microsoft's most well known blogger, Robert Scoble, is a technical evangelist for Longhorn, the next version of Windows. His popular blog is not vetted by Microsoft's guardians of the faith, but he admits to consulting occasionally with public relations to make sure he isn't leaking non-disclosure information. "

Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Tip: Ignoring Hatch objects with running Object snaps from Lee of Hyperics.com

Ignoring Hatch objects when using running Object snaps
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/osnaphatch.htm

Cheers,
-Shaan

Any Los Angeles AutoCAD 2002 Users want to Participate in Productivity Studies?

Dates: March 15th-19th
Length:
Mon-Wed 9:00-4:30, Lunch 1:00-2:30
or
Wed-Fri 9:00-4:30, Lunch 1:00-2:30
Location:

El Segundo, CA

Info:
Autodesk is looking for a group of experienced AutoCAD 2002 users to participate in a productivity study that will focus on moving from your current software to a new version of AutoCAD. The study is being funded by Autodesk but will be performed by a team from the UC Berkeley School of Architecture. The location of the study will be determined by interest however we are targeting the Los Angeles area.

The study will require approximately 30 hours of time from each participant. This will include a day of training in the use of the new version of AutoCAD. The basic study group will be a team of three people, working through a standard set of industry tasks during the course of a day. In addition to the training, each participant will receive a Not For Resale (NFR) copy of an Autodesk product*, and the chance to interact directly with the study team and the AutoCAD Product Management group. The results of the study will be published by the UCB team, and will be incorporated into an Autodesk white paper.

Please pass this invite on to any interested colleagues.

Please contact Traci Van Patten (traci.van.patten@autodesk.com) if you are interested in participating.

My New HP Tablet PC TC1100 & AutoCAD 2005

I now have a new Tablet PC the HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1100 . This is a real nice unit. I took it home last night and had to beg to get it back from my 2 year old daughter. I am using AutoCAD 2005 on this unit and intend to use this as my primary road machine when out of the office for customer visits and presentations. I am even taking it deep into the Amazon with a special HP case and a GSM cellular data card so I can be online anytime even in the Amazon Jungle. With many of the new features in AutoCAD 2005 and even AutoCAD 2004 with the Tool Palette extension it makes AutoCAD far more easy to use on the Tablet PC. AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD 2005 is already Tablet PC Logo compliant. My daughter was even running AutoCAD 2005 (see image below) on this unit and she loved playing with the grips and stretching objects as well as the revision cloud.

Two year old Katelyn with AutoCAD 2005 on the HP Tablet PC TC1100

I will write more on the subject of the Tablet PC and AutoCAD together as well as the upcoming Brazil trip.

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Article: Collaboration's New Age

Collaboration's New Age
By Peter Coffee

"Instead of marking up a drawing and sending it to someone else as either a paper document or a flat image file, an AutoCAD 2005 user will be able to annotate the drawing electronically and transmit those annotations to whoever needs to act on them. The person receiving that input will be able to call up the original drawing, see how those comments relate to it and check to see if they're still relevant to the current version of that drawing."

Read the entire eWeek article
Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Article: "Improved workflow for drafting, design pros"

"Improved workflow for drafting, design pros
BY P. ANGELINA
AUTODESK Inc has unveiled the latest version of its AutoCAD software for 2D drafting and design, and basic 3D visualisation.

AutoCAD 2005 has been enhanced to allow customers to better manage and publish sheet sets (drawings), and communicate project information for mark-up and review, said Autodesk design solutions division product management manager Shawn Gilmour. " cont...

Read the full online article:
Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

828 Tips and Tricks Currently from cadforum.cz

This is an awesome resource to bookmark for Tips and Tricks for all Autodesk Products especially AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. They are also very knowledgable and helpful people located in the Czech Republic.

The Link from CAD Studio's CadForum.cz:
http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/default.asp?tab=2

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2004 Tip from Lee of Hyperpics.com

Saving AutoCAD 2004 drawings back down to R14 format
http://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/dwgconvertor.htm

Customizing the Status Bar at the Bottom of AutoCAD 2004 & uphttp://www.hyperpics.com/tipsandtricks/cad/customize_statusbar.htm

Cheers,
-Shaan

See Shaan Eaten by Piranhas in the Amazon Jungle Live on this Blog Next Month!

So many people have said I am crazy for wanting to do this trip to the Amazon Jungle, but I laugh as it has always been a dream of mine. Nothing like the humid, hot jungle with a fishing line and of course my new rugged’ized by way of a special case HP Compaq Tablet PC TC1100 with a GSM cell phone connection via a PCMCIA card to live update this blog with photos, sounds and video as well as random jungle ramblings and observations. Yes, the Amazon jungle is covered almost completely by GSM cell phone coverage now. I will be testing live GSM/GPRS connection to the web this while there and becoming the Ultimate Road Warrior with a TabletPC! Yes I am a geek.

Those expecting to see a live video feed of me attacked by piranhas will be sadly dissapointed as I will be eating them instead.

I am learning the important Brazilian Portuguese sayings before my trip in a few weeks to Brazil and my vacation in the Amazon Jungle.

"ei, você poderia tirar uma foto minha com as piranhas devorando minhas pernas, por favor?"
In English
"Hey, could you take my picture while the piranhas eat my legs, please?"

Autodesk to Acquire MechSoft Technology to Advance its Strategy of Delivering Engineering Capabilities to the Design Department

Wow, Autodesk just announced the purchase of Mechsoft. For those that are not aware, Mechsoft is a pretty comprehensive suite of Mechanical Design tools for AutoCAD based products and Inventor.

More than 50 calculators and design wizards (e.g. bolted joint, shaft generation, gear, cam and spring wizards) that provide critical engineering information during the product development process, resulting in huge savings in manual calculations and lookups for each and every component;

A drag-and-drop content library consisting of more than 1.5 million parts representing all prominent international standards; and

A built-in mechanical engineering handbook that provides instant access to reference materials that design engineers use daily.

Autodesk Inventor and MechSoft: Pioneering 1944 Hiller Helicopter Recreated

Charles Bliss is a lead engineer on a project charged with modeling the historic XH44 (eXperimental Hiller 1944) helicopter on loan to the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, Calif. The XH44 was the pioneering helicopter for Hiller Aviation, and they wanted a permanent replica at the Hiller Aviation Museum; however, the plans no longer existed. With only archived photos and limited access to the historical helicopter, the project was extremely challenging.

By combining Autodesk Inventor® Series software with MechSoft technology, the Bliss team was able to model the airframe. Generating models of the mechanical components, which were inside inaccessible housings, posed a bigger challenge. To overcome this hurdle, they entered known data into MechSoft wizards, which in turn automatically created the gears, bearings, and shafts. Because it allowed them to change the design variables and quickly see the corresponding changes to the components, the team could very rapidly determine which gears could handle the load and would fit the casings.

"With MechSoft and Inventor, it couldn't be simpler. Knowing the loads and speeds, MechSoft can find the parts that work. It frees me up to think about my designs and worry less about whether a component is going to fail," said Bliss. "Instead of poring through catalogs and doing calculations, I just tell MechSoft what I need the parts to do and it finds them for me, presenting me with all the choices that fall within the range I specify. It puts all the handbooks I need inside Inventor, which removes the guesswork."

Read More Here

More on Mechsoft

Cheers,
-Shaan

Autodesk is Looking for AutoCAD Tips, Submit Yours

Autodesk is compiling a list of Tips and Tricks for AutoCAD. Submit yours. Any AutoCAD release is appreciated and will be published very soon perhaps in the AutoCAD Communication Center.

Link to Online Submission Form

Cheers,
-Shaan

New Autodesk Blog! Between the Walls by Chris Yanchar of the ADT Team

Fellow Desker Chris Yanchar of the Architectural Desktop team now has a blog. I forced him into this fun side-work project as I know he is perfect for the task and does not sleep just like me.

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_walls/

Make sure to bookmark his blog.

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005: A First Look by Greg Corke, AEC Magazine

An article by Greg Corke of AEC Magazine was released as a select article on caddigest.com on AutoCAD 2005.

From the articles conclusion:

"The introduction of Sheet Sets is by far the most important and far reaching of the new features in AutoCAD 2005."

"I think the introduction of new Tables functionality speaks for itself. It’s remarkable that there haven’t been tools to deal with this problem before, but from what I’ve seen the addition is sure to please many users."

"There is no doubt in my mind that DWF is a powerful format, much more intelligent than PDF, and this year should be an interesting one in helping to shape the future for publishing formats."

Read the Article

Steven Papke's Vizdepot.com Posts AutoCAD and ADT 2005 Articles

Check out what Steven likes about the upcoming releases.

http://www.vizdepot.com/showarticle.php?s=&threadid=164

Cheers,
-Shaan

Cadalyst Magazine - Autodesk previews Architectural Desktop 2005, Building Services 2005

Cadalyst magazine article on Architectural Desktop 2005 and Building Services 2005

http://www.cadalyst.com/cadalyst/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=86182

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Sheet Set Description and Exercises and Features from Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein has posted a list of AutoCAD 2005 features and more coming soon as well as new books:
Click Here

She has also posted a Sheet Set Description and Exercises. Of course you must have the AutoCAD 2005 to go through the exercises.
Click Here

Cheers,
-Shaan

HOT NEWS! AutoCAD 2005 Beta and ADT 2005 Beta Available to all Autodesk Subscription Customers

If you are a current Autodesk subscription customer, you can now get the AutoCAD 2005 and ADT 2005 Beta releases by download. Keep in mind this is not the final released products, but beta releases.

Go login to your Autodesk Subscription website to get the details and instructions. Make sure to read the installation instructions and documentation carefully and also have a broadband connection to download.

Cheers
-Shaan

Another AutoCAD 2005 Link

http://www.morateknikutveckling.se

We have not had any problems at all with the new version, this was the
easiest transition so far. And we have been around for more than 20 years...
It loads as quick as an old DOS release!

Keep up the good work!

regards,

Ola Wallgren
president,
Mora Teknikutveckling AB

Thank you Ola.
-Shaan

Product Activation Information Site is Now Live

Autodesk has now gone live with a product activation website.
http://www.autodesk.com/activation.

Some who have heard the announcement that like the customers outside of North America for years that AutoCAD 2005 will include the product activation in North America as well. The activation is not the old Cdilla technology and is very transparent and well received during beta testing and other products. You can also still install per the license agreement at home and work for your standalone installation.

Unfortunately, some with ulterior motives have tried to stir the pot with incorrect information or unsubstantiated rumors before the product has even been released. Product activation has been used in discreet 3ds studio Max, Revit, and all trial and student versions of AutoCAD for a few years. The technology has been improved and made as transparant as possible to not inconvenience our customers. Many other companies use the same technology like the latest released products from Adobe, Macromedia, and Symantec and many many more. Many other CAD software packages use similar product locking including Bentley, Solidworks, PTC, and many others. While the reason for implementing this into North America is not that others do it, we do understand concerns and have attempted to provide a wealth of product activation information to alleviate any concerns.

There is a link to submit feedback and questions on the activation web site (http://www.autodesk.com/activation).

Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley

Autodesk Redraws Drafting Software

Good article on the new release of AutoCAD 2005 and DWF Composer.

Autodesk Redraws Drafting Software
By David Becker
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1012-5160338.html

Cheers,
-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Article from Cadalyst Magazine

Cadalyst magazine wrote brief article on the upcoming AutoCAD 2005.
Link

Cheers,
-Shaan

February 2004 AUGI HotNews Articles

New AUGI Hotnews

Link to New February 2004 Customization Article by Lee Ambrosius of hyperpics.com

Covers The following:
Blocks and Templates
Scripts
Aliases
Toolbars (Part of Menu file)
Pulldowns/Pop Ups (Part of Menu file)
Design Center
Tool Palettes

More on Object Selection by Chris Lindner
Link

Cheers,
-Shaan

Cadalyst Article - Autodesk DWF Composer aims at Acrobat

Cadalyst Magazine posted a short article on the upcoming Autodesk product DWF Composer.
Link

I would not actually call title it aiming at Acrobat, but rather using a more appropriate format for CAD design drawings. DWF it of course. Tastes better, less filling .

You can also register to be considered as a beta tester for this upcoming product.
Link

Cheers,
-Shaan

Tenlinks.com Announcement on AutoCAD 2005

Autodesk Introduces AutoCAD 2005 Family of Products

Cheers,
-Shaan (in Baltimore)

Post from the runway

Just another wireless test post but this time on a 767 on the runway in SanFrancisco.

-Shaan

AutoCAD 2005 Press Release Goes Live!

The Introduction of AutoCAD 2005 and Family of Products Paves the Way for Autodesk Customers Across All Industries to Realize Maximum Productivity Gains During Design Creation, Management and Collaboration

SAN RAFAEL, California, February 17, 2004 — Today's introduction of AutoCAD 2005 software and family-based products, by Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, delivers improved design creation, management and collaboration solutions for its customers in the building, infrastructure (GIS and civil engineering) and manufacturing industries. The core of this release is AutoCAD 2005, a product optimized to save time and money by improving efficiencies in the digital workflow process for drafting and design professionals. AutoCAD 2005 provides enhanced capabilities that allow users to better manage and publish sheet sets and communicate project information for mark-up and review. These new features enable customers worldwide to improve their on-time, on-budget project delivery.

"AutoCAD 2005 demonstrates Autodesk's increased commitment to its customers' growing business needs, and what the industry requires for integrated workflow and collaboration," said Gisela Wilson, Director of Product Lifecycle Management at IDC.

Lifecycle Management (the effective management and tracking of complex project data throughout the entire length of a project) is a critical success factor for Autodesk customers working in the building, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. The portfolio of products built from the new features in AutoCAD 2005 delivers the functionality needed for efficient workflow processes. Users now have the ability to create and manage coordinated sets of drawings and project teams can review and mark-up the sets of drawings for more effective communication.

AutoCAD 2005 Tailored for Industry Sectors
Setting the new standard in CAD productivity, AutoCAD 2005 is optimized to meet specific industry needs so all customers can reduce costs and improve efficiencies throughout their project lifecycles. Productivity has always been a cornerstone in the profitability and viability of any industry that creates, manages, and shares complex data and design information. Whether creating sophisticated 2D and 3D design and drafting, complex data driven analysis and mapping, or object-based modeling; Autodesk industry solutions help increase productivity, improve team collaboration and reduce cycle times.

“The fact that all the infrastructure products are seamlessly integrated to share data back and forth will be a great improvement on our system,” said Ed Williams, senior analyst, Southern Company. “We will now have the capability to share data more efficiently than we have in the past.”

One Consistent Set of Drawings
This release has evolved AutoCAD software from single-page drawing to the creation and management of entire sets of related drawings, directly inside the application. There can be hundreds of pages within a complete set of drawings (or sheets) that is ultimately delivered to a customer. But it is the complete "sheet set" that encompasses all the information including annotations and other critical design data used to complete the project. Customers use information contained in the sheet set to communicate effectively and ensure the consistency and the highest quality over the project lifecycle.

Today, most organizations manage sheet sets using a file and folder structure on local disk drives and network servers. This manual method is labor intensive and susceptible to error. The new "Sheet Set Manager" feature provides an easy way to collate drawing sheets into logical sets and subsets that users can define by company, project or other industry standards. The user can quickly assemble sheet sets using existing drawings, propagate sheet standards over multiple projects, and provide simultaneous access to sheet sets within their local area network. Sheets can be easily added or removed from a full set or any subset by using the Sheet Set Manager tool palette or the context-sensitive menu.

"The newest version of AutoCAD solves some of the key workflow issues that I have been trying to resolve," said Darren Myles, CAD/IT Manager at LHT Limited, a leading New Zealand-based engineering and design firm. "The new sheet set manager, fields and tables will improve the consistency and accuracy of our drawings."

Integrated Collaboration Platform for Effective Communication
Another critical element to design lifecycle management is the ability to review drawings and communicate across entire project teams. The design review process has always been time-consuming and expensive because of multiple rounds of printing, mark-ups, and delivery. Autodesk Design Web Format™ (DWF™) for publishing is integrated into AutoCAD 2005 for an easy and cost-effective way to distribute and communicate digital design data throughout all project lifecycles. Saving sheet sets in DWF enables designers, engineers, and their colleagues to quickly and easily communicate design information electronically to anyone needing to view, mark-up, review, or print the design information. Customers can review and mark-up the drawings with Autodesk DWF Composer a new advanced collaboration tool that integrates the comments back into AutoCAD 2005 to complete the design review process. Customers can also use Autodesk DWF Viewer, a free, lightweight application that allows anyone on the project team to easily view and print DWF drawings.

"We expect AutoCAD 2005 to set a new industry standard because of the productivity and efficiency gains our customers can experience," said John Sanders, vice president of Autodesk's Platform Technology Division. "This release will prove to be critical in helping our customers across all industries achieve their business objectives."

Autodesk AutoCAD 2005 Family of Products
The AutoCAD® software product family includes 11 enhanced design application releases optimized for the building, infrastructure, and manufacturing markets. The following applications will be available with the AutoCAD® 2005 release: AutoCAD LT® 2005, Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2005, Autodesk® Building Systems 2005, Autodesk Map™ 3D, Autodesk® Land Desktop 2005, Autodesk® Civil Design 2005, Autodesk® Survey 2005, and Autodesk® Raster Design 2005. AutoCAD 2005 will also serve as the foundation for future versions of AutoCAD® Mechanical, and AutoCAD® Electrical and Autodesk® MapGuide software applications. In addition, Autodesk® Revit® 6 software, the latest release of Autodesk's purpose-built building information modeling platform, is compatible with the new AutoCAD 2005 family of products.

Purchasing and Consulting Information
Many of the new products from the Autodesk software family will be available next month through Autodesk Authorized Resellers (www.autodesk.com/reseller). The easiest way to keep Autodesk design tools up-to-date is through the Autodesk® Subscription Program including Support Services. For an annual fee, the program provides the latest versions of licensed Autodesk software, offering a budget-conscious way to stay current with the latest technology. Customers can also access Autodesk Consulting and Training services to maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk technology. For more information about the Autodesk Subscription Program, visit www.autodesk.com/subscription. For more information on the AutoCAD, please visit www.autodesk.com/preview2005.

About Autodesk
Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Design Web Format, and DWF are either registered trademarks of trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
© 2004 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

AutoCAD 2005 and 2005 Based Products Announced "Go Further"

Official Autodesk 2005 Preview Site
http://www.autodesk.com/preview2005

AutoCAD 2005 Preview Guide - PDF

AutoCAD® 2005 Information

Creating a single drawing as efficiently as possible is important. Delivering a coordinated set of drawings in a timely manner directly benefits your bottom line. With AutoCAD® 2005 you can do both. Everyday tools like the table object and tool palettes boost productivity, and the new Sheet Set Manager helps you control content across entire sets of related drawings, enabling you to lower the risk for errors. Then, in a single view, you can compose and collate sheet sets and share them with your project team using plots, eTransmit, or DWF™ (Design Web Format™) files.

AutoCAD 2005 System Requirements

Intel® Pentium® III or later, with 800 MHz or faster processor, or compatible Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition), Windows® 2000 Professional 256 MB RAM (recommended) 300 MB free disk space for installation 1024x768 VGA with true color (minimum) Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 CD-ROM drive Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

AutoCAD 2005 Customer Quotes

David Stein, AMSEC LLC The new table entities and table features are awesome! We develop software for the shipbuilding industry and their design processes demand tables of all sorts and shapes. This new functionality makes our jobs (as well as the jobs of our end-users) much easier and more productive.

Darren J. Young, Cold Spring Granite Company
This next release of AutoCAD is one of the best releases to date. The Sheet Set Manager and Field features are robust and just plain well thought out. By utilizing these features, as well as the table objects, users will see tremendous productivity gains. I don't know that I've seen a release whose new features have the potential to impact such a large segment of the AutoCAD user base across all disciplines in such a huge way.

Steven D. Papke, KBJ Architects, Inc.
I really can't say enough good things about the new layers dialog box. I really appreciate the count of the layers displayed versus what is in the drawing. The design delivers information in a manner which is very simple, straightforward and intuitive.

Brian Allen, McKEOWN INC.
The next version of AutoCAD has the best feature set of any AutoCAD release since AutoCAD 2000. The use of fields alone will save our company huge amounts of time. When we use fields with the new tables feature, we’re able to quickly produce material lists, legends or notes. The Sheet Set Manager is also a great time saver - no more searching directories for drawings that are related to the current project, it's all part of the sheet set now.

Darren Myles, LHT Ltd. (New Zealand)
The latest version of AutoCAD provides the answers to some of the workflow issues that I have been trying to resolve for some time. The sheet set manager, fields and tables will improve consistency and accuracy of drawing information."

Robert Pappas, Norfolk (Virgina) Redevelopment and Housing Authority
Sheet Sets are an extremely efficient way to organize the project drawings. By keeping all the drawings sheets in one place and automating the information in the title block, the Sheet Set Manager creates a consistent and easily managed set of project drawings that can be transmitted with ease, through either DWF or traditional internet formats.

AutoCAD LT® 2005 Information

With AutoCAD LT® 2005 you can easily create, plot, publish, and share your 2D designs. You get more done in fewer steps with a streamlined plotting interface and drafting features that boost your productivity. Quickly create tables, better manage large groups of layers, and conveniently access frequently used content to work more efficiently. Sharing your data widely is a snap: even team members without AutoCAD LT software can view and mark up your published DWF™ files, and you can instantly distribute multiple DWG files in a single step. Plus background plotting frees you to work while you print out your drawings.

New Table Functionality
Tool Palette Enhancements
Easier Layer Management
Enhanced Multiline Text Editing and New Symbols
Simplified Publishing
Easy Data Sharing with DWF Files
Streamlined Publishing to DWF
Working with AutoCAD 2005 Users

What are the key differences between AutoCAD LT 2005 and AutoCAD 2005?

Both the AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005 software programs use the same software architecture and technology, and both create the same native DWG file format and the new DWF™ (Design Web Format™) file format. Both products offer collaboration functionality that enriches, expands, and simplifies your design processes to save time and money. But AutoCAD 2005 provides additional capabilities in the following key areas:

3D capabilities

Sheet set management

Customization (LISP, ARX, VBA)

Presentation graphics

CAD standards management

Network licensing

Links and More Info

Autodesk.com AutoCAD 2005 preview site should be up at http://www.autodesk.com/preview2005. Main site to launch in the next few weeks. As well I will be updating my AutoCAD History Site with 2005 details and customer drawing gallery.

Lee Ambrosius of www.hyperpics.com A great resource on AutoCAD 2005

What's New in 2005 PDF

References updated for 2005:
AutoCAD Quick Guide Reference PDF
System Variables Quick Guide PDF
System Variables General Overview PDF
Environment Variables Quick Guide PDF
Environment Variables General Overview PDF
Command Quick Guide PDF

Jimmy Bermarks AutoCAD 2005 site
www.jtbworld.com/autocad2005.htm

Terry Dotson of Dotsoft's article on AutoCAD 2005
http://www.dotsoft.com/acad2005.htm

WorldCAD Access AutoCAD 2005 Top Ten
http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2004/02/top_10_whats_ne.html
http://www.upfrontezine.com/2004/upf-373.htm

From Patrick Emin of CADxp.com AutoCAD 2005 site in French
http://www.cadxp.com/
http://www.cadxp.com/Downloads+index-req-getit-lid-225.html

Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro) story on AutoCAD 2005 and based products.
http://www.yucad.com/neo.htm

Do you have a link to an AutoCAD 2005 or based product? Send me an email with the link.

Do you have a question regarding AutoCAD 2005? If so post your question as a comment to this blog entry. I will try to answer when I can as I am traveling this week.

More details, images, tips and tricks, articles, and resources very soon as there will be a lot of press articles and more over the next day.

Trivia tidbit on the AutoCAD 2005 image. It is the Yokohama Ferry Terminal in Japan.

Cheers,
-Shaan

The art of networked patterns

Mapping the relationships or a network can be almost considered a form of art.

The Internet Mapped

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/networks/

Very interesting
-Shaan

Off to Baltimore/ Washington DC Tuesday February 17th

I will be in the Baltimore/Washington DC area Tuesday through Thursday. If you want to grab a beverage, bite to eat, and chat about CAD or other topics, email me at shaan@autodesk.com. I only have free time Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday in the morning.

Cheers,
-Shaan

Some AutoCAD 2004 online tutorial videos from APEX Web Media

I just found this site in a web search. They have some online video tutorials on AutoCAD 2004.

Tutorials available:

Introduction to AutoCAD
AutoCAD and Architecture
The GUI and Windows
Customizing the Interface
Drawing Lines
Starting a New Drawing
Saving a Drawing

Practice Drawing
Drawing Straight Lines
Modify Commands
Zoom Commands
Pan and Zoom Features
Selecting Objects/Entities
Grips
Develop Drawing Style

Creating an Architectural Drawing - Method A
Sketch File
Format Units and Point of Origin
Drawing Exact Length Lines
Save and Offset Lines
Copy Lines and Object Snap
Using Object Snaps
Save and Trim Command
Trim and Undo
Fillet Command
UCS Icon and Distance Command
Circle and Move Command
Line and Trim Command
Drawing Comments and Close File

Click Here for the site.
Cheers,
-Shaan

Tips Received for my Amazon Jungle trip next month

I have been told that to defend myself from the aggressive and malaria carrying mosquitoes, to reach into a nest of leafcutter ants. This part of the process you have to be very fast or they will bite you with their large mean pinchers and poison. Then you must squish them into a paste and rub them over your body while making sure none are still alive to bite you.

I am not so sure about this tip as it sounds like a exercise in pain when a simple mosquito spray would be easier. Perhaps I will try this to make my jungle trek more authentic. Of course with my new trusty and HP TabletPC with a GSM data card I will be providing live updated photos to this blog of my adventure.

Cheers,
-Shaan (ultimate road warrior)

Are You an Autodesk® VIZ 4 User?

I wanted to seek out more beta candidates for Autodesk® VIZ beta program testing.

If you are a current Autodesk® VIZ customer, and you are interested in beta testing and providing feedback to the Viz Team, please complete the below 2 surveys. One survey is to gauge your experience and motivation for Viz Beta Testing, and the other is the long Beta Site Profile survey which is used to recruit beta sites for various Autodesk beta programs and survey feedback from time to time on the products you use to assist in future release design validation.

Viz Beta Motivation Survey

Beta Site Profile

More on Autodesk® VIZ

Cheers,
-Shaan

Autodesk DWF Composer eBeta

We have opened the enrollment for the Autodesk DWF Composer beta program.

DWF Composer Beta
Enrollment is currently underway for the Autodesk DWF Composer Beta program. This new application will allow you to merge, markup, and measure DWF files with ease. If you are interested in participating in this Beta program, please fill out the registration page with your contact information. Participants who are accepted into the program will be contacted via email with instructions on how to download a Beta version once it becomes available

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Cheers,
-Shaan

Update: Autodesk DWF COmposer is available now from: http://www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer

Subscription Customer Benefit e-Learning Content

e-Learning features are self-paced lessons that are a quick and convenient way to learn Autodesk software. Each lesson usually takes 15 to 30 minutes to complete and includes hands-on exercises so you can practice what you've learned.

Autodesk subscription customers that renewed or enrolled since September 2003 have access to the e-Learning content for:

Architectural Desktop 2004

Managing Your Workspace
Project Support and Drawing Management
In-Place Editing and Mass Elements
Materials and Visualization
VIZ Render
Catalog Feedback

AutoCAD 2004

Drafting and Productivity Tools
Xref Enhancements, Presentation, and Publishing
Drawing Management Tools
Creating and Opening Drawings
Catalog Feedback

3ds max™ 6

Various Extensions

More coming online very soon.

Cheers,
-Shaan