cad

CADzooks!

IMSI/Design's DoubleCAD XT is a compact CAD utility for Google SketchUp. Based on the developer's professional CAD product, DoubleCAD XT is similar to other slimmed-down CAD packages, but it offers more than most of them, for less: it's free.

DoubleCAD XT's interface will be familiar to many, even those with no CAD experience, since CAD tools generally look and function much like photo editors and other typical graphics utilities, and DoubleCAD XT is based on pro software. It's well designed, as you'd expect from design software. It's easy to use if you … Read more

BOL 1079: Bing's still pooping his diapers

There's a little panic over the fact that Bing's market share dropped last month, but you have to remember, folks, Bing is young. Rafe puts it in perspective for us. Also, Kindle gets a price cut and goes worldwide, yo. That's big. What is also big is the keylogger network that's hijacking everyone's Web mail accounts. We can help you out with that, a bit.

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Another Kindle price cut…and it goes wireless internationally http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/06/financial/f210208D88.DTL&tsp=1 … Read more

Autodesk to cut 750 jobs, lowers earnings outlook

Autodesk announced on Thursday plans to cut about 10 percent of its workforce--or about 750 employees--as it lowered its fourth-quarter earnings outlook.

The drafting and design software maker now expects to post between $475 million and $500 million in revenue when it reports results on February 26. In its previous forecast in November, the company said it expected to bring in $525 million to $550 million in the quarter.

Autodesk also lowered its non-GAAP earnings outlook to 18 cents to 24 cents, excluding special charges, down from its previous forecast of 28 cents to 34 cents.

The company's shares … Read more

AMD's new workstation video cards to ship later this year

Just one month after releasing the FirePro V5700 and FirePro 3700, AMD on Thursday announced upgrades of new video cards for workstation PCs. The all-new FirePro V8700 and the FirePro V3750 will be available for purchase later this year.

The V8700 is the high-end card that provides up to 40 percent performance gain over the previous model for memory intensive applications, such as those used in computer-aided design or digital content creation. The V3750, on the other hand, is an entry-level professional graphics accelerator.

ATI FirePro V8700 graphics accelerator is designed for people who work with large models and shader-intensive … Read more

Autodesk add-in models 'green' goods to come

Software plays a key role in the clean-tech world, whether helping consumers size up their carbon footprints and crunch the costs of solar panels, or aiding manufacturers in reducing toxicity throughout the supply chain.

Autodesk unveiled an add-in in April to enable designers using prototyping software Inventor to calculate the carbon emissions of an array of products.

The Sustainable Materials Assistant, available as a preview through Autodesk Labs, also adds up data about the toxicity and recyclability of materials used, and how the final result might comply with regional regulations.

Users must populate data fields with information about toxic ingredients, … Read more

3Dconnexion's new 3D controller for notebooks

As I've written about previously, we're starting to move beyond the familiar keyboard  and mouse/touchpad, and two-handed game controller as ways of interacting with our computer systems. In the gaming world, the motion-sensing Nintendo Wii remote is the most obvious innovation. Elsewhere, multi-touch screens, either on the large scale (Microsoft Surface) or small scale (Apple iPhone) have been garnering a lot of attention.

Another interesting category is the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) controller. These aren't particularly new but, until recently, they've been targeted primarily at 3D CAD professionals and have been priced in line with relatively … Read more

Your dream home, delivered to your doorstep

Want the house of your dreams? Soon, it may be possible to design it on your computer and have it delivered to you in customized, Lego-like pieces.

That's the idea behind a collaboration between Bell Travers Willson Architects and Facit. The concept was showcased at the 1:1 Making the Digital House exhibition at The Architecture Foundation in London.

Using 3D modeling programs, an entire home or building can be designed on a computer. All the dimensions and screw-hole placements for the building materials are then relayed to a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine that cuts out the customized … Read more

3D printer spits out physical objects

Just when you've mastered PowerPoint, something like this comes along to burst your productive bubble.

The ultimate project tool, as evidenced by Ministry of Tech, is a 3D printer that can produce physical objects. The printer, manufactured by Massachusetts-based Z Corp., uses CAD programs and a highly specialized inking system to construct models of everything from skyscrapers to running shoes.

But at prices in the neighborhood of $20,000, don't expect to find these machines at Office Depot on the way to work for a last-minute presentation. And even if you can afford them, they're not exactly … Read more