Dec 15 Webcast "A Better AutoCAD for Managing, Analyzing, and Planning Projects"

“A Better AutoCAD for Managing, Analyzing, and Planning Projects” webcast from Autodesk is December 15 at Noon (Central) for Architects, Engineers, and Construction professionals who have experienced challenges in their projects when sharing information and challenges finding inaccuracies in that information. You can register for this webcast at www.autodesk.com/betterautocad.

 

CAD Mgmt Toolbox: AU Virtual

AU Virtual – see streaming content from Autodesk University this week. Register today at http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=e_register_login&attendee_type=AUv

Rev It Up for Green Renovation Promotion

Now through April 18, 2010, customers who purchase an AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite or AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite new license, crossgrade, or subscription renewal have the option to purchase an Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010 license for $995 (normally $2,995) plus subscription. Subscription for Autodesk Ecotect Analysis is required to be eligible for the promotional price and provides access to Autodesk Green Building Studio. Additional terms and conditions apply.

 

Autodesk Ecotect Analysis and Autodesk Green Building Studio software combined with Autodesk’s BIM tools like Revit Architecture or Revit MEP allow you to analyze, visualize, and simulate real world appearance, cost, and performance for green building renovation and energy retrofit designs.

 

For more information about Green Renovation go to www.autodesk.com/renovationforarchitects - this website includes recordings from Greenbuild 2009.

 

CAD Mgmt Toolbox: Autodesk Object Enablers

Autodesk Object Enablers provide a way to access, view, and manipulate object data from one application in another. For example, you can install Object Enablers in AutoCAD to view Plant 3D objects, AutoCAD Architecture objects, or AutoCAD Civil objects. You can view the entire list of Autodesk Object Enablers at www.autodesk.com/oe. Select the software you are using and then select and install the Object Enabler you need.

Eagle Point Transition Program

Now through January 15, 2010, Eagle Point customers with qualifying versions of civil engineering and surveying products can receive significant discounts on migrations to AutoCAD Civil 2010 or AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010. Pricing varies depending on the products and versions of your current software. Additional terms and conditions apply. The transition program ends October 17, 2010, but the best discounts are now through January 15. Please let me know if you have any Eagle Point licenses and are interested in this promotional discount. You can also read about Eagle Point’s perspective on the transition at http://www.eaglepoint.com/transition/

 

 

AutoCAD Rebate

Now through January 15, 2010, customers who purchase qualifying new commercial licenses of AutoCAD 2010 software may be eligible for a rebate of up to $500 for each new license purchased (up to $2,500 for a maximum of five seats total per invoice address). Additional Terms and Conditions can be found at www.autodesk.com/autocadrebate.

 

Free Virtual Design and Construction Webinar Series from ENR Dec 9, Jan 13, Feb 10

ENR (Engineering News-Record) will present a three part complimentary webinar series on “Collaborative Virtual Design & Construction for Infrastructure: Teams, Technologies, Projects”

ENR writers and representatives from government, transportation and utility sectors will discuss the implications of information modeling for the entire construction process.

Dec 9, 2009, 1PM – 2PM CST
Part I: Transportation's Transition to Information Modeling

Jan 13, 2010, 1PM – 2PM CST
Part II: Gaining Ground in the Utilities Market Using Information Modeling

Feb 10, 2010, 1PM – 2PM CST
Part III: Information Modeling for Government Projects

For more information and to register go to http://video.webcasts.com/events/mcgr001/33063/

This webinar series is sponsored by Autodesk.

CAD Mgmt: Optimizing AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Highly recommend this technical note from Autodesk about optimizing your AutoCAD Civil 3D experience. Very good description of virtual memory and the advantages of running a 32bit application on a 64bit operating system. Here’s a quote: “The operating system is one of the most influential factors affecting performance of Civil 3D, not the hardware itself.” They include a list of recommended operating systems in order of performance preference. The list doesn’t include Windows 7, but I have been told that you can expect similar improvements by moving from a 32bit operating system to 64bit Windows 7. This tech note also includes several best practices for your engineers and designers including minimizing the number of open drawings and other CAD Management optimization tips such as limiting Layout caching with the LAYOUTREGENCTL system variable.

 

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/autocad_civil_3d_technical_note_harnessingpowerofcivil3d.pdf

 

NCARB’s 2009 Survey of Registered Architects

NCARB’s 2009 Survey of Registered Architects

I pulled some data from recent years for comparison:

ARCHITECT REGISTRATIONS FOR KANSAS

Year	Resident	Reciprocal	Total
2009	905	1,771	2,676
2008	894	1,779	2,673
2007	936	1,566	2,502
2006
2005	949	1,550	2,499
2004	963	1,519	2,482
2003	913	1,539	2,452
2002	899	1,553	2,452
2001
2000
1999	980	1,496	2,476

All data from http://www.ncarb.org/.
2003 data from website was 913, 1639, & 2452.

Autodesk Announces Support for Windows 7

Autodesk will support customers on Windows 7 who are using the following products:

• AutoCAD 2010
• AutoCAD LT 2010
• AutoCAD Architecture 2010
• AutoCAD Electrical 2010
• AutoCAD Mechanical 2010
• AutoCAD MEP 2010
• Autodesk Algor Simulation 2010
• Autodesk Inventor 2010
• Autodesk Inventor LT 2010

Several products are not yet approved for Windows 7 (Revit, Civil 3D/Civil, Map 3D, Navisworks, etc.) and will not be supported until a future update.

You can find the complete pressrelease here: http://bit.ly/2frAlr

Autodesk Architects on Twitter

Autodesk Architects on Twitter
Follow Autodesk Technical Specialists Amy Fietkau, Eddie Perlberg, and
others at www.twitter.com/adskarchitects.

You can also find me on Twitter and LinkedIn in the links below.
www.twitter.com/scottdurkee
www.linkedin.com/in/scottdurkee

Autodesk BIM Reports

The Autodesk-sponsored 2009 McGraw-Hill Building Information Modeling (BIM) SmartMarket Report is now available for download. The report is a summary of a survey that was given to approximately 3,000 architects, engineers, contractors, and business owners across the United States and Canada. It focuses on two areas: determining where BIM adopters are experiencing business value, and determining why non-users haven’t adopted BIM and what it will take to get them to adopt. http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/Final_2009_BIM_SmartMarket_Report.pdf

 

You can find additional BIM-related reports at www.autodesk.com/bim

Revit Visions Wichita Users Group

Networking is an important part of learning new technology. If you are interested in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Revit, please join the Revit Visions Wichita user group. We typically meet for lunch on the third Tuesday of the month (currently taking a break for the holidays and will start again in January). You can be informed of time and location of upcoming meetings by registering through LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=2118307&sharedKey=125C032BA9BB. Also, please join my LinkedIn professional network at http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdurkee.

 

Autodesk Assistance

Know someone who has recently been laid off? Direct them to www.autodesk.com/assistance.

 

The Autodesk Assistance Program has been recently expanded to include benefits for companies that hire Autodesk Assistance Program participants.

 

AutoCAD LT Rebate

Now through January 15, 2010 (extended to Feb 28), customers who purchase qualifying new commercial licenses of AutoCAD LT software may be eligible for a rebate of up to $300 for each new license purchased (up to $1,500 for a maximum of five licenses total per invoice address). Additional Terms and Conditions can be found at www.autodesk.com/autocadlt2010rebate.

Crossgrade from AutoCAD LT

AutoCAD LT 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 (purchased before Aug 1, 2009) can be crossgraded for promotional discounted prices. You can crossgrade to one of the following for just $2,495:

  AutoCAD 2010

  AutoCAD Architecture 2010

  AutoCAD Civil 2010

  AutoCAD MEP 2010

  AutoCAD Map 3D 2010

Or you can crossgrade to one of the following for just $2,995:

  AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

  Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010

  AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2010

  Autodesk Revit Structure 2010

  AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2010

  AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2010

This offer expires Dec 30, 2009.

Autodesk Upgrades

Do you still have 2007, 2008, or 2009 licenses that have not been upgraded? Autodesk's Simplified Upgrade Pricing begins Mar 16, 2010. At that time all upgrades will be half the price of a new license of software. To encourage customers to upgrade before this price increase in March, Autodesk is currently offering a 10% discount on upgrades through Jan 15, 2010.

 

You can read more about the Simplified Upgrade Pricing and the 10% promotional discount terms and conditions at www.autodesk.com/upgrade.

Kansas Training Funds

Kansas Department of Commerce funds may be available to help subsidize implementation services. The Kansas Industrial Retraining Program can assist companies in Kansas who are implementing new technology and have revenue of over 50% coming from outside Kansas. Typically they will reimburse 50% of your cost. Contact me for more terms and conditions. If you do not meet these specific requirements there may be other assistance available.

Other states may have similar programs available.

Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs

Autodesk Subscription customers have access to Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs that include the latest Autodesk software technology. Subscription Advantage Packs are now available for download and include new features, specialized functionality, and powerful tools that help extend the capabilities of your Autodesk 2010 software. Subscription Advantage Packs are available for:

  AutoCAD 2010

  AutoCAD Architecture 2010

  AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

  AutoCAD Map 3D 2010

  AutoCAD MEP 2010

  Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010

  Autodesk Revit MEP 2010

  Autodesk Revit Structure 2010

  Autodesk Navisworks 2010

  Autodesk 3ds Max 2010

Demo videos of the various Subscription Advantage Packs can be viewed at www.autodesk.com/advantagepacks.

Autodesk Software Update 2

New service packs (Update 2) are available for AutoCAD Civil, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and Revit-based Products. According to Autodesk this update offers numerous memory, performance, and scalability-related improvements. You can access the downloads from the Services & Support / Data & Downloads pages for your products on www.autodesk.com or use the links below:

  AutoCAD Civil http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/index?siteID=123112&id=2334435&linkID=9240698#section1

  AutoCAD Civil 3D http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/index?siteID=123112&id=2334435&linkID=9240698#section3

  Revit Architecture http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=12828862

  Revit MEP http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=12899931

  Revit Structure http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=12856705

ATG is Autodesk Reseller of the Quarter

Autodesk Names Applied Technology Group as Reseller of the Quarter for Excellence in Customer Service - Oct 19, 2009 http://pressreleases.autodesk.com/index.php?s=118&item=645