New Year...New blog!

Happy New Year!

I hope you are all having a good 2011 so far!

I have done a bit of early blog spring cleaning and the Not Just CAD! blog now lives at http://notjustcad.posterous.com.

I would love to see you over there!!!

Happy CADD'ing!

SB

A Christmas gift from AUGI!

Well, I can only say a HUGE thank you to all of the AUGI members who voted for me! I am now a member of the international Board of Directors (BoD) for Autodesk User Group International (AUGI)!

Check out the AUGI blog, BLAUGI, for further details:

http://augi.typepad.com/augi_news/2010/12/augi-2010-election-results-are-in.html

I would also like to thank the AUGI board for all their hard work in setting up the election, especially the elections committee, who always work hard to make sure election candidates like myself are fairly represented at the election. Thanks!

And so, the hard work starts!. I am looking forward to serving AUGI and the AUGI membership and I see it as an honour to work with such a great team. I will do my utmost to perform to the best of my abilities for every AUGI member.

Once again, thank you for voting for me and I am more than happy to talk to any AUGI member so please email me if you do wish to talk with me:

shaun.bryant@augi.com
shaun.bryant@cadfmconsult.co.uk

Thank you, AUGI, for an amazing Christmas gift and I would like to wish every one of you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2011!

SB

Elect me to the AUGI Board of Directors! (Please)

Dear All,

I am a candidate for election on the international Board of Directors (BoD) for Autodesk User Group International (AUGI). Should I be elected I will be working internationally for the benefit of Autodesk users worldwide.

Here is my election blurb from the AUGI website:

Shaun, a pioneer of the original AUGI UK Country Chapter (AUGIuk), strongly believes that AUGI is an invaluable resource to ALL Autodesk users.

Having represented AUIuk at Board level at AU2006, 2007 and 2008, he works hard with his AUGIuk Board members to maintain the AUGIuk Country Chapter.

Offerring over 20 years of AutoCAD experience and over 6 years with the AUGIuk Board, Shaun regards the opportunity of serving the AUGI international community as an honour, not a privilege.

"I sincerely hope that you will consider me as a suitable candidate to represent AUGI at an international level" - Shaun Bryant.

I really do hope that you will head on over to the AUGI website and vote for me!

The link is here.

And here is the full link should you need to copy and paste:

http://augi.com/about-augi/organization/board-of-directors/2010-augi-board-candidates/

You will need to be registered on the AUGI site as a member and need to be logged in to vote.

I see this position (if elected) as an honour, not a privilege and would relish serving the worldwide Autodesk community.

Please vote for me.

Thanks in advance,

SB

Autodesk updates AutoCAD WS!

OK, just a quick blog today as I am preparing for my AU Virtual Product Clinic today.

If you want to attend my product clinic, please check my previous post for details!

So, down to AutoCAD WS business. I am a big fan of AutoCAD WS and it even works well over a USB modem plugged in to my laptop, so full credit for mobility goes to Autodesk! Anyone who wants to buy me an iPad for Christmas to test it further, please let me know! LOL.

Here is the official Autodesk press release link here or you can copy and paste the full link below:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Autodesk-Updates-AutoCAD-WS-bw-2919859329.html?x=0&.v=1

The main updates to AutoCAD WS are as follows: -

Offline support:

Most requested from existing AutoCAD WS users, designs can now be viewed and edited from mobile devices, without the need for Internet connectivity.

Direct file uploads from an iPad:

Users can now open an email attachment and upload it to their AutoCAD WS account directly from their device.

Simplified gesture interface:

Editing, drawing and markup has been enhanced to be more intuitive and similar to AutoCAD.

As usual, the new version can be downloaded from the AppStore or can be downloaded from www.autocadws.com.

Enjoy WS'ing!

SB

AU 2010 : Join me for my AU Virtual Product Clinic AC316-6C!!

Autodesk University 2010 : AU Virtual Product Clinic AC316-6C

"At Last! FM is back in the Autodesk Playground!"

OK, so I am not at AU 2010 this year, much to my disappointment. Courtesy of a dismal trading year with CADFMconsultants, there was just not enough cash in the pot to justify flights, hotel and all the other expenses needed when you're out there in sunny Vegas (gambling money, beer money, loose women....just kidding!).

So, I am VERY pleased to say that even if I was there, I would be presenting an AU Virtual Product Clinic. AU Virtual is amazing and best of all, it is completely FREE! Check out this link to get to the AU Virtual homepage and if you haven't signed up, do it now!

(Here's the link in full... http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=auv2010_event)

It's AU, but on your PC! How wicked cool is that? (Sorry Matt!).

Once you have signed up, you can choose your classes, just like the real AU but these are VIRTUAL classes. Live podcasts, webinars, whatever you want to call them, but they are live broadcasts! (No pressure, LOL).

The main benefit I have is that my AU Virtual Product Clinic is at 8am Vegas time, which equates to 4pm UK time where I am presenting from so I get an extra few hours in bed!

I would love to see some of you there in my Product Clinic on Autodesk and Facilities Management (FM) so please sign up to AU Virtual.

Here is the lobby from my laptop screen:

Looks kinda cool, doesn't it? So, don't just sit there dribbling at how cool it looks! Sign up! It won't cost you a penny (cent) and you get to take my AU Product Clinic for free!

See you there on Dec 1st!

Happy AU'ing!

SB

Extra AutoCAD Learning Tools! FREE!

Autodesk are now offering EXTRA learning tools with both AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT2011! It's nice to see that these extras come free when you purchase either AutoCAD product from the Autodesk eStore. The offer runs from November 22nd 2010 to Jan 3rd 2011.

(Apologies for being a day late - away on business!) :-)

Both sets of learning tools come on an AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT branded USB drive and both USB drives will be loaded with the ebook, AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required by Donnie Gladfelter, a Tips and Tricks booklet and a thank-you letter with links to additional resources.

Depending on which AutoCAD product you buy, you will also get the following on the appropriate USB drive: -

AutoCAD Buyers:

AutoCAD buyers on the eStore will receive an AutoCAD branded USB drive loaded with:

• The eBook, AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required
• Lynn Allen’s Tips and Tricks for Using AutoCAD 2011
• A thank-you note that includes links to helpful online resources
• Plus 2GB of Memory on the drive

AutoCAD LT Buyers:

AutoCAD LT buyers on the eStore will receive an AutoCAD LT branded USB drive will include:

• The eBook, AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required (same book as the AutoCAD version gets)
• Kate Morrical’s Tips and Tricks for Using AutoCAD LT 2011
• A thank-you note that includes links to helpful online resources
• Plus 2GB of Memory on the drive

This is a great idea from Autodesk to increase the learning assistance you get with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, plus you get Donnie Gladfelter's great book and if you are new to AutoCAD, it lives up to expectations, no experience required, as per the title.

You also benefit from tips and tricks from the lovely AutoCAD experts, Lynn Allen (AutoCAD) and Kate Morrical (AutoCAD LT). What these ladies don't know about AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT really isn't worth knowing because they pretty much know everything! Again, great AutoCAD info that all helps your AutoCAD knowledge base!

All in all, a great idea from those AutoCAD bods at Autodesk, especially for new users!

Happy CADD'ing!

SB

AutoCAD for Mac Goes LIVE!

It's official! You can now purchase AutoCAD for Mac!

(There is also a 30 day trial version available).

Check out the promo video from Autodesk here! Loads of nice screen shots of AutoCAD for Mac on a big iMac screen for you to look at! :-)

To download the 30 day trial version, all you need to do is pop over to the official AutoCAD for Mac page at www.autodesk.com/autocadformac and click on the Product Trial button. As usual, input your details and download your 30 day trial. Easy!

If you don't think AutoCAD for Mac is for you, read the 10 reasons why you should go for AutoCAD for Mac first! The link is here.

If you are a student, there are 2 download options; a 3 year licence for FREE, or if you pay $395 you can have a perpetual educational licence of AutoCAD for Mac. How cool is that? That would make me go and buy a MacBook and become a student again!

Students, hop on over to www.autodesk.com/pr-mac4students and get you educational licence now!

Don't forget to have a look at AutoCAD WS as well that runs on the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone! The link is here. (www.autocadws.com)

You might also want to have a read of Shaan Hurley's blog, Between The Lines, to get his take on all this excitement as well!

This is, quite literally, a historical landmark for Autodesk. This is the first Mac version of AutoCAD for a long, long time and it is not just a conversion to Mac either. It is a whole new version of AutoCAD. Trust me, I have had a play on it and it is superb! Slick, fast and reliable.

I think Bill Gates need to take a quick look behind him once in a while. Bet he didn't see this one coming!

Happy AutoCAD for Mac'ing!

SB