Between the Lines

Autodesk Help on Twitter

If you are on Twitter and looking for a product related question from Autodesk then you are in luck. For about a year or so there has been a Twitter account by Autodesk Customer Service and Support team at @AutodeskHelp (formerly they were @autodeskcare.) They are available 24 hours a day 5 days a week in English.

The team also has a blog “Autodesk Help blog” at blog.autodeskhelp.com.

Here are the friendly faces behind the helpful tweet replies and they always seem so happy to help and cheerful in their replies.

.

So next time you are on Twitter and have an Autodesk question remember to say hi or just follow the friendly Autodesk Help @AutodeskHelp crew as you may learn from their answers to others or need to ask them something in the future. Tell them Shaan sent you.

Cheers,
Shan

Get Free Adobe Creative Suite 2 - Not

Apparently there are no strings are attached in this big free giveaway. You will just need to wait for their website to recover from the crash due to the massive traffic to download the Creative Suite. Creative Suite 2 “CS2” contains Photoshop, Illustrator, and nDesign. I am not sure Adobe did this just to be giving and charitable in the new year but perhaps down the road convert a percentage of those that download to upgrade or buy a new products.
UPDATE: Gizmodo and multiple other major tech media apparently have got it wrong, as well as customers were sent the notice to download serials and software free because they (Adobe) were shutting down their CS2 activation servers. It is embarrassing for everyone, especially Adobe who will need to write more clear notices in the future. I would not like to be in their PR group today.

http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/01/update-on-cs2-and-acrobat-7-activation-servers.html

Check out Gizmodo’s article:

Grab Photoshop and CS2 For Absolutely Free, Right Now

And theVerge

Adobe's Creative Suite 2 now available free of charge for older PCs and Macs

Accurate News:
If you want a great alternative to Photoshop that has many advanced features, does not require a monster download, or take tons of disk space check out Autodesk’s free web based Pixlr. Pixlr is the worlds most popular online photo editor and also has mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Cheers,
Shaan

Have an Autodesk Product Question, Ask an Expert User

The Autodesk discussion groups are great for finding answers from fellow users of the products as well as some Autodesk employees all for free.

The Autodesk discussion groups are filled with some of the most knowledgeable users of Autodesk products out there assisting fellow users on their own time.  This is the power of the community of experts each helping each other, and learning new ways to accomplish things.

There are also the media and entertainment forums and blogs and galleries at the http://area.autodesk.com for the Maya, 3ds Max, Mudbox and more users.

A few helpful tips or Netiquette:

• Search and see if the question has already been asked using Search
• Keep your post as clear and detailed yet compact as possible
• TURN OFF THOSE CAPS
• Be kind, and no personal attacks or foul language
• Thank people for their assistance
• Give them points for providing the best answer.
• After you have been helped, give back and help others.
• Don’t use the experts to help complete your school homework or expect them to do all your work for you. They will help guide you to the solution, but not always write the solution code if needed although so do.

Update: Our helpful @AutodeskCare on Twitter and elsewhere, pointed out another Autodesk discussion forum resource on YouTube.

“This Way -> to the Forums video series on our YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/course?list=EC15964C864BE27BDA&feature=plcp”

OK, now your ready to join the Autodesk discussion groups and participate:
http://forums.autodesk.com/

There are also the Autodesk User Group International “AUGI” discussion forums which are also full of product experts and again all volunteers.
http://www.augi.com/forum

Cheers,
Shaan

AutodeskCare Solving Problems Tweet by Tweet and More!

For the AutodeskCare crew, it was hard to pass up an opportunity to guest post on Between the Lines. So when we saw the call going out for guest bloggers a little while ago, we couldn’t resist. Because as the new voice of Autodesk Customer Service and Support, the more you know about us, the happier we get!

Many of you have probably already heard about AutodeskCare. Some of you have talked to us on online already. For those of you we haven’t met yet, this is the scoop on what we do, where we do it, and how we work social customer care at Autodesk these days.

We’re out there talking with you now on many social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Pinterest, Youtube, and our own Support Forum’s Installation & Licensing board. We do this 24/5 M-F, mostly in English, and with around nine crewmembers in Asia, Europe and Middle East, and the Americas.

We also patrol numerous external communities, forums, and social Q&A networks. See, we spend a lot of time listening to you guys out there.

And that’s why you might be surprised to hear from us out of the blue someday. If we find you wandering, unsure, confused, or struggling out there, we’ll chime in and help as best we can.

And we’ll do that in real time. Because imagining, designing and creating a better world doesn’t wait around. This doesn’t mean we’re able to resolve every issue instantly, but it does mean we’ll “get on it” pronto. Because in this day and age, anything less is just “old school”.

Who are these masked AutodeskCare crew members you might ask? Far from being hidden away, we’re actually quite out in the open. Come meet us on the AutodeskCare blog. Every day, we cook up a compelling menu of “insider” stories mixed with live customer interaction excerpts. We then sprinkle on a healthy dash of self-help solutions, and top it all off with a splash of new innovative Autodesk service venues.

So don’t be bashful and drop by next time you’re in the area on Twitter, Facebook, the Blog, or the Forums. Your AutodeskCare crew ^CAM, ^CEL, ^SIM, ^PHL, ^AK, ^JES, ^APB, and ^JB are always at your beck and call – ready to help you whenever and wherever you need it most. The new voice of Autodesk Customer Service and Support is waiting for you!

AutoCAD WS Update Coming – Free CAD & DWG Viewer

The  AutoCAD WS Team is once again teasing us with this posting on their Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/#!/AutoCADWS

“First glimpse of the new launch screen for the next release of AutoCAD WS - Coming Soon!“

If you don’t know what AutoCAD WS is…perhaps you are not one of the millions that have tried or used it yet.

There are several all free flavors of AutoCAD WS. There is a desktop version that requires no installation and can view, edit, 2D and 3D DWG files and collaborate. There is also a native Mac App version for Mac users in the Mac App store.

There are also free versions for mobile such as iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. View, edit and share online and offline while in the middle of nowhere. Imagine having your drawings with you on your smartphone when you visit a jobsite or customer even when there is no service.

Cant wait to see what the AutoCAD WS Team have improved in the next version that they are teasing us with as I don’t personally believe it is just a splash screen as they have been very busy since the last release. Don’t ask me the date when as I just don’t know at this time.

What do you have to lose trying it, it is a FREE go anywhere 2D & 3D DWG viewer

Cheers,
Shaan

Design, Raised to the Power of the Cloud

During the course of today (and throughout the week) you’ll likely hear us at Autodesk talking about the latest deployment of Autodesk 360 and Autodesk BIM 360. If you’re familiar with the notion of cloud based services, then Autodesk 360 will be a natural way to extend your designs beyond your local desktop. The power of Autodesk 360 starts to compound when you consider that mobile access means that I could collaborate on this new tower concept design while I was making new friends in Kenya.

Lest we forget the cloud gives (virtually) limitless compute power aka infinite computing which makes it great for computationally intensive processes like rendering, visualization, and simulation. On your desktop workstation you do not have the ability to scale almost infinitely by adding more and more cores hosted on remote servers to complete the project fast. It makes that new 8-core workstation such a wimpy tool for design and engineering!

One way to get and stay connected with the Autodesk 360 team is to click over to the recently updated Facebook page. Don’t forget to head over to 360.autodesk.com, login, and try out this innovative cloud based technology and the advantages and benefits it provides.