Can’t make it to Phoenix, Arizona for SolidWorks World this week? It’s no biggie – although you’ll be missing out on the rare sight of seeing legions of awesome SolidWorks users who are taking a break from their usual screen glare for some real-life sunlight amongst the Phoenix palms.

For those that can’t make it this year, SolidWorks is Live Streaming the SWW15 General Sessions for free on February 9, 10, 11. As far as news and excitement goes, this is where it’s at. Among other things presented at the General Session include announcements for new products and updates, customer stories and keynotes. This year, the keynotes will be coming from Bre Pettis of Bold Machines, scientist, futurist and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, as well as designer Jinsop Lee.

Not to mention – it will also be the first SolidWorks World with new CEO Gian Paolo Bassi at the helm of the SolidWorks ship. What can we expect this year? We’re hoping some updates on both the Mechanical Conceptual and Industrial Conceptual programs, how SolidWorks will leverage the Cloud in the next year as well as what the near future of SolidWorks looks like amongst a bevy of other subscription-based CAD programs that have been slowly popping up.

While we still don’t know entirely what to expect, you can stay tuned-in as events unfold by following @solidsmack on Twitter for live updates.