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    sDotson.com - Autodesk Inventor Tutorials, Parts, Support, & Discussion ::
    AU: 2008 Who's going this year?
    By iDS! on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:17:49 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Anyone up for an mCADForums meet and greet?
    ...any suggestions for place or time? ...maybe pick a spot for lunch or happy hour after class one day?

    Monday afternoon would be a good time I would think?
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (7)
    TECH: Dell M90 Video CArd Replacement
    By SeanDotson on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:02:48 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    So it is now day 13 of my "next business day" replacement of one of our Dell M90 video cards. Dell claims the problem is NVIDIA's. I'm still nto sure how you can have a business as big as Dell's and not demand you supplier have a minimum on hand stock level.

    So I finally just bought a used video card off eBay and got it this AM.

    The desing of the M90 requires that you remove no less than 60 little M2.5 screws. In addition you end up having to flip the computer over back and forth 3-4 times during the process. It's an absolute pain.

    Anyway if you are curious what they look like on the inside here are a few pics (sorry for the quality, I guess I'm a bit shaky before my coffee)

    All the parts:



    The video card itself:

     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (8)
    INVENTOR: iPropWiz 2009 Preview
    By SeanDotson on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:09:25 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    After a lot of hard work Neil and I are ready to give the Inventor community a sneak peek at the new iPropWiz.

    Attached is a PDF document with some details about, and screen shots of, the new software.

    Also please take a moment to take a short survey (less than 2 mins) about iPropWiz. In it we address the issue of beta testers.

    We hope to have some beta software to users in the next month or so but we do not have a hard timeline.

    We welcome any comments or feedback.

    Thanks...

    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JKAvQG5ATlL0Jyj1B2JX6A_3d_3d
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (36)
    INVENTOR: Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2009
    By SeanDotson on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:00:27 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    I wanted to let everyone know that a new Inventor book, Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2009 and Autodesk InventorLT 2009 is available for pre-order from Amazon.com

    I'm mentioning it because the site had a lot to do with the publication of this book. Firstly I was the technical editor and contributed several "Sean Says" sidebars to each chapter. Furthermore many of the authors are frequent contributors to this forum.

    They include:

    Curtis Waguespack, Bill Bogan, Andrew Faix, Seth Hindman, Loren Jahraus, Dennis Jeffrey, Shekar Subrahmanyam, Bob Van der Donck, Sean Dotson

    This book is a bit different as while it addresses some more advanced subjects, it has information for both the basic and advanced users. I think everyone will get something out of the book.

    You can order the book from Amazon from the following link:

    Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2009 and Autodesk InventorLT 2009

    If you do plan to buy it please do so from this link. I get a few cents from Amazon if you do.

    Also if you like it please considering writing a review of the book at Amazon.

    Thank you for all of your support.

     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (10)
    TECH: Dell Replaces the M90 - I may be in love
    By SeanDotson on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:28:23 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    This laptop has been mentioned here before but there is a bit more info out now.

    Dell is redefining the desktop replacement with the M6300 which has...

    Quad-core CPU
    Up to 16GB RAM
    17-inch LCD
    1GB graphics RAM
    1TB hard disk space

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/13/dell_preps_quad_core_mobile/

    I might need to start dropping my M90 a bit more to justify this new beast.

    Drool....
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (4)
    TECH: Google Desktop 5.8
    By iDS! on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:16:09 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    ...many years ago I tested these desktop search engines and found all of them to be HUGE resource hogs! ...so when I saw Google's recent release of Desktop 5.8 ...I just had to try it out Very Happy ...oh how I couldn't forget how POWERFUL these things were...yet such a performance killer!

    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-desktop-58-for-windows-increased.html

    ...first impressions are good...how about anyone else?...are you daring enough or willing enough to give up some system resources to indulge in the amazing power this app can bring to your finger tips?

    Things I like so far...

    - Well first is the system resources it's using while running or idled, seems to be father down the descending list of memory usage...that's good...

    - Love the "twice ctrl" function Smile

    - I'm some what impressed with the new Desktop Gadgets...very OS X'ish...or Vista if your running XP

    - DWG/DXF add-in's

    - still as fast as ever! ...and direct links to each doc...wow this might just be worth keeping!
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (14)
    MCAD: PTC for Sale
    By Chiller on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:37:48 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Just found this article...

    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/parametric-up-sale-2-bln/story.aspx?guid={FE9B237E-8EC9-4842-B8F5-C63532AECD7B}&si

    In the early stages but interesting none the less.
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (10)
    TECH: CPUs vs GPUs ... with painball guns
    By SeanDotson on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:32:52 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Those wacky Mythbusters are at it again...

    be sure to watch the very end for the super slow-mo

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKK933KK6Gg
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (1)
    TECH: Everyting Chrome!
    By iDS! on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:10:53 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Google finally unveiled their latest "soon to be a phenomenon" app...Chrome...the web browser. I hope this follows suit with the other Google successes, will soon see, I know I'll take it for a spin as soon as it's available...hopefully tomorrow Very Happy

    "plans to open-source all the code" ...interesting?

    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html

    http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1837

    ...the comic is very slick in explaining the tech on Chrome...
    http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/index.html
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (28)
    Inventor: Un-official IV Recommended Sys Specs
    By iDS! on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:54:56 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    There has been great debate over several key choices when specifying a new Inventor workstation lately, so I felt obligated to share my research. As always, I encourage all input to correct, add to, or discuss you recent choices.

    I've also included a reference to help clear up the OpenGL vs DirectX debacle mentioned too...Cheers to Norbet at Autodesk for his uncanny effort to quiet the rumors!
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (6)
    INVENTOR: New Resource for more IV content
    By AltechChad on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:32:14 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    So, our Inventor Reseller company has two useful websites. http://askthecadgeek.blogspot.com and now they have added a New One where people can post questions, but also show some videos and such of their products. No, I am not an INCAT evangelist as it were...just pointing out where some new resources can be found. Hope you find it somewhat useful.
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (4)
    INVENTOR: Graphics Hardware Library Update
    By iDS! on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:23:18 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    The latest Autodesk "Graphics Hardware Library" Update is available now!

    More info Here: http://tinyurl.com/5u7kdb

    Tip: Make sure you rename your previous libraries with a .bak or .old extension then copy the new one into the following folders...

    Inventor - C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2008\Configuration\

    AutoCAD (included with IV Series) - C:\Program Files\Autodesk\MDT 2008\Drv\

    AutoCAD (stand alone) - C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2008\Drv\
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (0)
    TECH: White Space = Free Web
    By iDS! on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:15:49 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Since the frequencies that make up "standard" TV Broadcasting will be
    non-existant after Feb 2009 here in the US...

    The White Spaces Coalition including Microsoft & Google as well as others are petitioning to open these freq. for highspeed internet access Surprised ...now that would be cool if these guys can make Internet Access FREE for the masses? ...not sure the logistics of this but the idea is promising Smile ...just concerned the FREE part is my own wishful thinking Wink

    http://tinyurl.com/68357p
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (11)
    INVENTOR: AU 2008 - Who's going this year?
    By iDS! on Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:06:52 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Autodesk University 2008 is open for early enrollment! ...with over 3000+ already registered (prior attendees, educators, employees)

    More info here: http://au.autodesk.com
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (2)
    TECH: ATI vs NVIDIA
    By iDS! on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:05:31 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Tom's Hardware posted an interesting article yet again comparing ATI & NVIDIA workstation graphics cards. It does help clarify some misconceptions about both companies...although this is still based on XP and OpenGL Sad

    http://tinyurl.com/6ownhg

    ...I vote we need to protest for an "Xtreme" driver for Inventor!
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (0)
    INVENTOR: Plastic Features Addon
    By SeanDotson on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:23:03 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    The "misnamed-by-me" Inventor Mold is actually called Inventor Plastic Features Technology Preview and is now available for download on the Autodesk Labs Website

    http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/inventor_plastic_features/

    This addon allows users to create plastic features such as ribs, bosses, snaps, and gating features in plastic parts.

    Looks like it will expire in January 2009. Wonder if this is a "go ahead, the sample is free" tactic. While I have no hard information, I could easily see this becoming a pay-for-play addon after Jan 09.

    Inventor Plastic Features FAQ (PDF)
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (2)
    TECH: Lenovo W700 17inch Mobile Workstation
    By iDS! on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:58:57 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Lenovo just announced their 1st ever 17" mobile workstation to the market, powered with Intel's Mobile Core2 Duo Extreme 2.8 ghz and 8gb ram with nearly 1 TB of storage along with NVIDIA's latest mobile quadro FX 3000 series 1 GB vram...it's sure to be a real HOT commodity Wink

    http://tinyurl.com/6bc54x

    64 bit Vista anyone? ...wonder how Showcase would perform on that bad boy Very Happy
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (7)
    INVENTOR: Give your .ipns a little BAM!
    By AltechChad on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:11:49 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Got this video from our local Inventor resellers Incat Blog . They do nearly one of these a day, but, I think this one is especially helpful, because, at least to me, the .ipn file and animation process was the hardest thing for me to do efficiently. Mind you, some of this stuff is them pointing out added features in '09, so may not be germaine to all of us...but, what the hay...
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (15)
    INVENTOR: Shrinkwrap Addin for Inventor
    By SeanDotson on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:42:30 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    A new addin has been released for Inventor. Shrinkwrap alows you to create a derived model of an assembly filling in all voids, giving you just the outside (or shrinkwrapped) surfaces. This is great for when you need to share a footprint of a machine with a customer but do not want then to see all of the inside parts.

    http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_shrinkwrap/

    YouTube Video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqSX25blIs
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (6)
    INVENTOR: Inventor Mold is Here - Sort Of
    By SeanDotson on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:37:49 GMT (GMT -5)
     
    Got a press release this morning. Basically it was a press release to tell me to watch a video that says a product will be out in a few days. Couldn't they have done that in the press release?

    Anyway, the long anticipated (I think they first talked about this in R1) Inventor Mold is coming out in Autodesk Labs in a few days.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0FiZV1lQU
     
    Discuss or Download This Item at mCADForums.com : Comments (5)