It is Alive in the Lab

Alias Research Group using ShapeTape to model surfaces

When you think of "with a twist," is this what you envision? A company called Measureand makes a product known as ShapeTape. The research group at Alias has been working with it. Check it out: See the Alias Shape Tape... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Newsletter on its way...

At the time of downloading the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview, users have the ability to "opt in" to receive more information. For users who have done so, an Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Newsletter will be coming soon to... Read more →

Avoid Combining 2D to 3D Tool for R11 with the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview

In addition to the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview itself, there are 3 other Inventor-related technology preview downloads available on Autodesk Labs. Originally these previews varied in how they apply to various releases of Inventor. Now most items are compatible:... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview on Microsoft Windows Vista?

A Ms. Gloria Trillo from Cedar Grove, New Jersey wants to know: Can I use the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview on Microsoft Vista? Autodesk has not announced official support for Windows Vista for Inventor and Inventor LT at this... Read more →

Autodesk Labs: Scheduled Maintenance on June 26

Our web team will be implementing software updates on the Autodesk servers on Tuesday, June 26 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm Pacific Time. This is a planned outage that will allow us to move our community to a more robust... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Tips and Tricks

Manufacturing Product Marketing Manager, Tyler Barnes, supplied me with an Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Tips and Tricks document. I have posted it to the Autodesk Labs site. Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Tips and Tricks (PDF) Our helpful information... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview serial number 000-00000000 is part of the process

A few customers have inquired about the serial number (000-00000000) that appears as part of the activation process for the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview. This is to be expected. Recall that the download and install process involves 3 steps:... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview update includes hotfix

Earlier in the month the Inventor team has released Hotfix TS1071050 which addressed an issue where the DWG Import Wizard became unstable or ceased to function due to a dialog box stating "End of Evaluation Period." The hotfix was associated... Read more →

FREE SOFTWARE: Educational versions available to students

Autodesk Inventor Product Manager, Sam Antos, reports that we get a lot of interest from Students all over the world for the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview, but we actually have a much better choice of free offerings for students... Read more →

Project Freewheel and iPhone: mobile compatibility?

Many of you use Project Freewheel with Microsoft Internet Explorer: Some of you use Project Freewheel with Mozilla Firefox: Apple recently announced that the Safari Web browser will be available for Windows XP and Windows Vista. As part of our... Read more →

New Autodesk Research site

Okay maybe we don't have lab coats and safety glasses. Maybe a Bunsen Burner would singe our fingers. That doesn't stop us from doing research. We have requirements analysis, usability studies, design approaches, coding standards, automated regression testing, debuggers, and... Read more →

Autodesk Labs downloads available as ZIP files

When we first released the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs, it was available as an EXE. This allowed people to download and execute the installer; however, some corporate firewalls or other software packages blocked the downloading of... Read more →

Follow up: Autodesk Labs on the forefront of green innovation

In response to "Humor: Autodesk Labs on the forefront of green innovation," Programmer / Software Engineer, Josh Natarajan, provided us with the following link from the Ask a Scientist biology archive: Plants making oxygen So as the development manager for... Read more →

Humor: Autodesk Labs on the forefront of green innovation

Autodesk Labs is an open space on the 3rd floor of our Civic Center South facility in San Rafael, California. Autodesk Labs is non-conventional even its office layout. Instead of traditional cubicle walls, we use large standing plants to give... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview download issue resolved

The technical difficulties with the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview have been resolved. The downloads are working again. During the problematic period, I updated the Autodesk Labs page: The issue has been resolved. I have moved this information to the... Read more →

Inventor LT download: "Oh no! An error has occurred!" problem statement

On the morning of June 15, we experienced a problem with the servers that provide the downloads of the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview. When unforeseen situations like this occur, if you encounter an error, please refrain from attempting to... Read more →

Inside Hues: Share your DWG files for Autodesk Impression testing

On her Inside Hues blog, Product Marketing Manager, Lisa Crounse notes that we use many different files to see how applications will work under a variety of circumstances. While our teams have a decent set of real world examples, we... Read more →

New 2008 e-Learning Lessons Available

Senior Marketing Communications Manager,Sarah O'Rourke reports that new 2008 e-Learning lessons are available. e-Learning features self-paced, interactive lessons for select Autodesk products. All registered members of the Subscription Center have access to the e-Learning that is available under their contract... Read more →

Second Life: Future Challenges for Global Creative Contexts - today at 10:00 AM PST

Second Life is a combination of a simulation game and social network. Second Life is played by creating an avatar which a virtual representation of yourself. You navigate that avatar through a virtual world and interact with other virtual characters,... Read more →

Hotfix for AOEMViewer applies to the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview

Autodesk Inventor QA expert, Bob Van der Donck, reports that the Inventor team has released Hotfix TS1071050 which addresses an issue where the DWG Import Wizard becomes unstable or ceases to function due to a dialog box stating "End of... Read more →

BLAUGI: How to use a Wiki (as a collaboration tool) in plain English

Mike Perry has an interesting article on the AUGI blog: How to use a Wiki (as a collaboration tool) in plain English Check it out. Read more →

Full Screen Project Freewheel

A Mr. Stan Marsh from South Park, Colorado writes in: Project Freewheel looks very promising. Typically my clients just want to "see" the design. They don't need layer control or complicated printing. Using Project Freewheel I know I can embed... Read more →

Combinations of Inventors, Translators, and LT

Inventor QA expert, Bob Van der Donck, received some feedback via Autodesk Labs that Service Pack 2 of Inventor 10 is required to be able to install the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview on the same machine. Bob verified that... Read more →

New Autodesk Blog: The Topobase Insiders

Software Development Group Leader, Andreas Boos, and Product Design Manager, Cedric Moullet, have started a new Autodesk blog. The Topobase Insiders Autodesk Topobase infrastructure design and management solutions provide integrated, organization-wide access to spatial information engineering, GIS, operations and business... Read more →

Autodesk Summer Internship: Practical Experience and Community Service

Prasann Agrawal is one of summer interns at Autodesk Labs. Prasann is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the State University of New York in Buffalo, New York. Before coming to Labs, he designed and deployed... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor Wiki at customer site

In response to my Wikipedia: Appropriate for Autodesk documentation? article, a Mr. Wile E. Coyote from ACME Corporation wrote in: Hi Scott, I have actually installed MediaWiki (the software that Wikipedia is built upon) on one of our internal servers... Read more →

Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview Update Now Available

We have been very happy with the volume of feedback that we have gotten so far regarding the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview. Today we posted a minor update to the preview to incorporate improvements based on your suggestions. The... Read more →

New Orleans Crawfish Boil: The Makings of a Houston Tradition?

I grew up in New Orleans. So I am a fan of eating crawfish. Over the weekend, my family had plans to visit New Orleans for a crawfish boil; however, my sister-in-law who lives in Houston got a new pool.... Read more →

It's all about the pipes...

René Magritte. The Treason of Images. "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." means "This is not a pipe." I know it's not a pipe. It's a picture of a pipe. But this blog posting is about another type of pipe. I... Read more →

Microsoft Surface: Popular Mechanics Gets Video First Look

I got many excited emails in response to my post: Microsoft Surface: CAD data integration with personal devices? . The most popular question was "How does it work?" Popular Mechanics provides a glimpse into the technology. Microsoft Surface: PM Gets... Read more →