Archive for the 'Rockin' Cool' Category

SolidWorks vs. AutoCAD: The Twitter Spectrum

Published
by
Josh
on May 16, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
. 2 Comments

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solidworks vs autocad twitter spectrumMaybe it’s not fair, but I thought it would be a little fun to compare the conversation of SolidWorks vs. AutoCAD happening on Twitter.

I used an amazing tool that data visualization ar-teest, Jeff Clark, has come up with called Twitter Spectrum. It’s a visualization of the words used in two topics you enter into the search.

He also has NewsSpectrum, that analyzes Google News, which can give you another look at what words the press is using to describe two topics. Verdict: People use ‘a bad word‘ to describe AutoCAD more… but look, you can see ‘crashed’ more on the SolidWorks side and there’s SolidSmack right in the middle! oooo! I’m treading in the gray area between 2D and 3D! Say it ain’t so! :)

solidworks autocad spectrum on twitter

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Social Media and Branding the CAD-osphere

Published
by
Josh
on May 9, 2008
in Business and Rockin' Cool
.

You’ll want to read Wiring Up an Event if you’re interested in the least, what is starting to come about in the the CAD world as it relates to the Web and the realm of social media.

You’ve seen my post about Why I like Twitter and while Blogs and RSS are still a mystery to some, more attention has been given to sites like Twitter and FriendFeed because the amount of immediate information available and the relationships that develop.

Doesn’t it just dilute the web?
If you already feel like there’s too much to manage online with your online accounts, forums and feeds, you’re not alone. A lot of people say that new sites like these that pull in you and all your friends information create too much to manage. To me, you know

Too much stuff
You may think, “I can’t afford to spend the time to investigate and be part of every social network out there.” It’s hard, I know, trying to figure out where everyone is it. Seems like a mad rush to here… then to here… then to THERE. when will the frenzy END!

It’s actually not like that, in my opinion. Sure, there’s people carrying on conversations around you, but you’re having your own. You can choose and you get to know the people you closely relate to.

The company
For companies or anyone wanting a presence on the web to promote their service, it’s critical to be involved in the media that provides a presence. You can spend money all day on expensive advertisements, but nothing gets across to the consumer like an actual conversations.

The best example I see daily is Tony, the CEO of Zappos Shoes, interacting with poeple via his Twitter profile. Why does it matter so much to him?

Branding is just a word. It takes away from the real goal which is relationships and those are important whether you’re a multi-million dollar business or the cubicle engineer… especially if your the cubicle engineer. Get out there!

Traditional Once Again
So once there was traditional media. Now the current social media is becoming traditional, in the same sense, as new site emerge that promote more involvement of the users and interaction from the ivory tower inaccessibles. The CAD industry has been slow to pick this up… but I feel it gaining steam.

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Why I Like Twitter

Published
by
Josh
on May 6, 2008
in Resources and Rockin' Cool
. 6 Comments

It’s new and shiny and doesn’t hurt, plus…

  • The conversation is happening there
  • You find out stuff before anyone else
  • You have access to people you normally wouldn’t
  • I’ve meet a lot of people and a lot of SolidWorks users
  • I’ve found new CAD related and SolidWorks Blogs (see below)

It’s pretty amazing when you can talk with someone you’ve never meet and suddenly feel like you know them.

I’ve been able to hear about someone as they travel from the US to Israel, here about a photomob develop at Google’s web2.0 booth, see people discussing SolidWork tips, and get invites to closed betas - Pretty cool stuff. You just don’t realize the relationships that can develop out there either. I’m hoping to meet a lot of people I’ve had conversations with since being on.

Additionally, it becoming a resource. I’ve just started tagging all SolidWorks tips I give out and there’s plenty of talk about news that’s happening.

So, if you’re interested, follow me @solidsmack. Say hi, tell me where you’re from and if you like .

Tools that make Twitter more fun
Twhirl - Twitter Client
Tweetscan - real-time twitter search
Twitterholic - Twitters Top 100
HashTags - Tag your Tweets
Summize.com - Search conversations

Blogs I’ve found through Twitter:
Clinging to Ideas - Brian Slick makes the transition from I-DEAS to SolidWorks.
TheSwGeek - Alex Ruiz geeks out bigtime.
Schmalls - Josh Thomson puts the hook on SolidWorks and Programming
Chris Kelly - yeah, he’s Siemens PLM nut :) but also very nice

Some other blogger on there that you may know are Ben Eadie, Brian McElyea, and Lou Gallo…

Where are you?

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IronMan Movie in Theaters: Forget the SolidWorks Model

Published
by
Josh
on May 1, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
. 8 Comments

I’m seriously about to crawl out of my skin waiting to see the IronMan movie. It comes out in alot of theaters today although it’s slated for May 2nd.

Ever since I saw the first trailer months ago, I geeked out to do a SolidWorks model of it, but just haven’t had the chance to get to it. Now the movie is out and I’m just like… meh, forget the freegin’ model!

So, instead of a semi-cool 3D model, I give you a supremely cool CGI clip of the MarkIII going together around the very ticked-off Mr. Robert Downey Jr.

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LineRider: Create Your Own 3D-ish Sketchy Fun

Published
by
Josh
on April 11, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
. 7 Comments

Allright, I’ve found something that will keep you up all night or keep the kiddos entertained for 8 minutes longer than usual. It’s called LineRider and you create a world of ramps, hills, valleys and obstacles to send a tiny sledder down until he flies of falls to his demise.

Amazing simple and fun. Here’s a video.

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Rockin! Incredible Hulk Movie Trailer

Published
by
Josh
on March 24, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
. 2 Comments

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.

Incredible Hulk HD Trailer

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PicLens: The Coolest 3D Plugin Ever

Published
by
Josh
on March 7, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
. 1 Comment

piclens.jpgIf 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 even nicer is if you could link it to your Accounts at these locations.

Cooliris Previews
Previews is a quick way to browse without having to open up each page. Just hover over the link and you can see a fully-functional pop-up of the site. If you’re viewing images you can use this to see a slideshow of the photos.

piclens-preview.jpg

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Nikon’s New Interactive 3D-ish Website

Published
by
Josh
on March 3, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
.

nikon-logo.jpgI’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 zooms in as the others fly off the screen.

As new interface technologies start coming out it’s interesting to see how some of those ideas convert into GUI’s that seem to anticipate to coming of a 3d-floaty-environment with bright lights and airy music…or ’sumin. Check out the floatin’ photo goodness.

nikon-website.jpg

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Dassault Cool Future of 3D CAD Commercial

Published
by
Josh
on February 20, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
.

Who makes a commercial with creepy little monochromatic people anyway? The SolidWorks parent company Dassault Systemes does. And while it has the feel of that movie where the guy brings that little clay man to life, it’s very cool.


Dassault Systemes Future of 3D Commercial from Solidsmack on Vimeo.

They showed this at SolidWorks World 2008 and I wanted to hunt it down and post it so could share the nightmares of these tiny people crawling up your bed and kicking your eyeballs because they couldn’t get a bike in the door and had to move from their comfortable seats. I suppose it’s better than a swarm of them coming out of the cornfields with tiny, little monochromatic sickles. *shiver*

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Careful, What You Say Might Inspire Someone

Published
by
Josh
on February 19, 2008
in Rockin' Cool
.

domics-graphic.jpgSomething really cool just happened today. I guy I hung out with in Switzerland IM’d me and said,

‘The first 20 shirts are printed and sold!!’

He just had twenty screen-printed shirts made of a design he created and proceeded to sell them all.

No big deal right?
Well, he’s wanted to do this since I first mentioned it to him…five years ago. I told him how to do it and showed him some stuff in Photoshop. It was nothing you would think much more about or expect to be fruitful with the amount of time spent mentioning an idea in a single phrase.

‘You could…’
How does that open up immeasurable possibilities? This, combined with knowing how to use a tool, whether a hammer or a program, lays the causeway for one seriously potent and innovative delivery of material success.

So, just be careful what you say, you might inspire someone.

To see some of his graphics, check out his blog Domics.

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