Ahh, It’s one stormy day before April. What better time than this to give away a SpaceNavigator courtesy of 3DConnexion. Don’t know what it is? It’s a 3D mouse that allows you to move every which way in a 3D environment. I’ve been using one and really like it after getting use to it. So,…

So where is everything about the world of SolidWorks being stored out there? It’s not under your patio bench. It’s actually spread out across the entire chasm of the interwebular galaxy and is very difficult to harness at times. Soooo, here’s a bunch of links that help me find SolidWorks content when I’m trying to…

Dwindling squirrel population? I thought. These people want to take all my acorns and squirrel babies and leave me with these wretched links. Photoshop Express – It’s finally here, edit photos online. Not as good as the real thing but tuning and some filters. TimeMachiner – Send Emails to the future. Remind yourself of what…

For all of you crazed 3D-modeling, equation-using junkies out there, you may be really, really excited to know that your equations will update in real-time when using Instant3D in SolidWorks 2008. Jeff, from ExtensibleCAD, shows this happening when using logical (if-then) equations to drive features. See video below. The equation is set up to change…

Have your circuit boards been feeling a little disconnected as of late? That resistor is just not fitting in right with the others? There’s hope. SolidWorks has acquired Gold Partner Priware, the makers of CircuitWorks and is including it with SolidWorks Office Premium. Additionally, it will not be available any longer as a stand alone…

There’s an interesting segment in technology that really has the largest direct effect on how we work and how teenagers spend 20+hours of their week. The Screen. That amazing peripheral you’re gazing into right now to which we’ve come to view the entire world through… until it goes black or your laptop is yanked off…

I’d like to hear it from the man himself, but according to DesignNews Jon Hirschtick, the nicest guy and founder of SolidWorks, was one of the original MIT blackjack team members depicted in the upcoming film, 21. The movie, based on the book of the real events, stars Kevin Spacey who leads a group of…

Here’s a slightly useful and not-at-all complicated tip on reducing features by using 3D sketches. It’s more fun to have people gather around your desk, get all attentive and then yell the first step very, very loud as they hunker down around your screen… Now move in close people… Two Tips in One This is…

It’s odd how time beats things into submission and then also how soup gets cold so fast. And when I say “time” I mean those geeky and mildly disturbed types that actually live on cold soup while they create new apps and innovations from their basement. Yeah, and it’s even more odd to see what…

If you are thinking about upgrading to Microsoft Windows Vista or think that SolidWorks will not run well on Vista or that everything in the world sucks because of Vista, you NEED to read Mike Puckett’s SolidWorks on Vista experience. With Vista SP1 now available this makes the move to Vista even more important in…

OK, completely non-relevant and completely having nothing to do with 3D CAD, but hen also having everything to do with cool. C’mon! Ed Norton and Tim Roth turning into two huge beasties battling it out?! There’s probably some 3D mechanical laser scanning something or other so… relevancy achieved. It’s in HD, so let it load.…

Really it’s as if everything just came to a stop and then it was like a DJ took over with all the scratchin’ and mixin’ and then I just coughed them right up, crazy paperclips. Free Web App Icons – I know you don’t have enough for your web apps already, so here’s some more.…

Ya know, I’ve heard about people drawing 3D models in the air, but this is the first time I’ve seen it. To me it seems like a bunch of ‘keyboard-like’ commands in the air but, wow ya know, pretty close to what you might imagine huh? 3D hand input modeling system You can see another…

“Oh man, Josh is doing a tip on one of those useless features in SolidWorks 2008! I have gaskets and pinions to engineer!! Who has time for some silly ‘smags’ or ‘tags’ or whatever! I’m going to YouTube and watch squirrels race.” Hey, hey, hey! Hold back your fury and check this out. You can…

SolidWorks finished up their second year Student Design Contest a couple weeks ago and I’m finally getting a chance to look at some of the designs. I’m two things: hungry because I haven’t eaten breakfast and impressed cause these students did a rockin’ good job. Most of the entries were from Universities around the world…

I’m working on designing and possibly constructing a built-in bookshelf at home. It’s going to wrap around a wall and have an integrated desk in a spot that would otherwise be completely useless. Amazingly enough, bookshelves have commonly been used to do just that. Make an unused space usable. That’s interesting to me because everyday…

You can now find me on Twitter. As an added bonus when you follow me you will get some great SolidWorks tips and have the opportunity to win some cool stuff, the first of which will be coming up soon. What’s Twitter? It’s like a mix of IM and blogging. Some call it micro-blogging. It’s…

A very new and very large report on 3D Technology came out this month that “takes a realistic view of 3D display technology and its future in the professional and consumer electronics sectors.” Being familiar with developing a product in 3D, you may like to know 3D display technology is spreading and could affect how…

Whoa there buddy, I think you’re getting carried away with all of those colors. That much color is certainly not per procedures and we’re gonna have to beat you black and white. It happens, I know. You want an accurate color for your model and you can’t help but spend hours dragging your cursor through…

So, I was in the sphere yesterday, right, and the boss says, “You’re 3d models are all mis-shappened, are you using this thing right?” He just doesn’t understand the stress of having to be in this thing for hours. Ya gotta just love those virtual reality developers. They’re always thinking of the next way to…

Just about everybody wishes SolidWorks could do this or that or complains that it doesn’t do something really cool. I could throw down a list of things I don’t like, but that’s just makes the selection of fresh organic produce seem even worse than it actually is. Which is actually better than the selection of…

So these OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) are the posh new way of illuminating those dark research laboratories. Flexible OLED’s aren’t new, but GE’s is the latest with this fancy printable OLED sheet. These OLED’s are so thin they could be used in just about any capacity that requires some sort of lighting… and more.…

But that wasn’t all, there were some dancing mice and this little face that just stared past you saying, you want some more beets? have some more beets. High Quality High Res Wallpapers – You can never, ever have too many cool wallpapers. These are a bit natury, but they look hot. How My Net…

Awww, look. That tiny assembly is so… tiny and cute. Makes you want to grab a million of ’em and just give ’em hugs. Now, I know some of you aren’t that attached to your bracket or gasket assemblies, but you gotta admit there’s a special place in that documentation system for those little boogers.…

Man, that looks painful huh. This is the cover art on a CD of a band I listen to called Norma Jean. Do you ever feel like this? A lot of times you’ll get demands from work or a client that just seem completely unreasonable. You can dish out a sarcastic attitude and get a…

Looks like Kenny is firing up the furnace at the SolidWorks EV and Beta News Feed. Gettin’ out the cobwebs so to speak. I’m sure they’ve been getting ready for a while, but you just can’t forget about the Beta Feed now. “Testing, Testing. Hello, is this thing on? More me in the monitor please.”…

I came across what is probably the most interesting job title I’ve seen associated with SolidWorks. A SolidWorks Visualiser. It’s on a job posting out of Northern England and is listed in the Creative Media Industry. The pay for this is 25k-30k pounds (50k-60k USD) full-time. The job description reads like a typical engineering position.…

Oh, the joys of putting a product online. All you want to do is get it out there. But what is the best way to actually do that without searching and testing and paying way too much for something really frustrating to use? Well, you’re in luck. I’ve been looking at online web stores and…

Really now, that wall you currently have built between you and the outside world with cereal boxes and plastic spoons is lookin’ a bit dated. It’s time you had a look at Bloxes. Bloxes is a unique and completely cardboard way of creating or recreating that bubble of nonconformity you live in. Heck, you could…

This weekend I got a chance to do a bit of Parkour, or Freerunning, with a friend also interested in it. Now at first glance (see video below) you may think it’s a bunch of idiots trying to break their legs acting like monkeys, but, yeah, it’s actually much more. I would define Parkour as…

Actually, coffee could make me grow arms out my face as long as I was able to have some. I’m sure there’s studies on this, but what there probably isn’t any study on is, “If bloggers get free flavored coffee, will Starshucks stop selling cinnamon scones and greeting people in a overly-friendly fashion?” Joffreys Coffee…

If you do a lot of searching for photos or just like better ways to search for things I think you’ll like these two plugins from Cooliris. PicLens PicLens is an incredibly slick and easy way to search and view images. You can search Google, Yahoo, Flickr, PhotoBucket, DiviantArt and some others. What would be…

Now if beans had little legs, that would be just plain creepy. Little beans walking about, no thank you, I’ll have these delicious links. Wall Graphics – From fonts to plants, this site has a lot of great ideas to decorate your walls. 10 Sweet Adobe Air Apps – Adobe Air allows web apps to…

I know you woke up this morning just rearin’ to be an overachiever that knows absolutely everything possible about solid modeling and then how it relates to the molting season of yaks. All I can tell you is that yaks molt once a year and the wool is woven into blankets and tents. Also, the…

That crazy orange SolidWorks Real logo is at it again and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep till I find some answers. If you get the SolidWorks Express Newsletter, it probably popped up in your inbox yesterday around 9:58 a.m. when your at the peak of efficiency. They have a nice photo of…

It’s official. Microsoft Office Live Workspace, that was previously invitation only, has launch its public beta for the entire world to feast upon. “An Online extension of Microsoft Office.” This is just one more way to share your documents, but if you company is built on spreadsheets, there are a few things unique to Workspace…

I’m really enjoying the Nikon D40 I purchase a little while back. I was going to check out the new D60 and saw Nikon had a really slick new interface for the Nikon USA site. The photos kinda hover ethereally in space until you move the pointer over them. When you click one, the photo…

Well, the top secret Microsoft technology that was speculated a couple weeks ago, is indeed the Microsoft Research Worldwide Telescope project of Roy Gould and Curtis Wong. This will be a free download early this Spring at WorldwideTelescope.org. I have to admit it pretty inspiring and it will be incredible to open of the sky…