Upcoming Expiration Dates for Labs Technology Previews

Some technology previews are like milk cartons. They have expiration dates on them. When a technology preview expires, the technology preview no longer operates. A preview has a time bomb in it that makes it stop working on a particular date. We do this so there is a sense of urgency to try a technology preview and get back to us. Our customers are busy people, and without this, they would just say “I’ll get to that later.” When a technology preview expires, any data that has been created by it continues to be valid. It’s just that the data cannot be edited using the technology preview since the preview does not run anymore. Certainly new data can’t be created either. This approach allows us to get early feedback on the general idea, user interface, performance characteristics, and general correctness of the results.

Here is a list of active Autodesk Labs technology previews and their associated expiration dates. The list is sorted by expiration date - so act fast if you want to provide feedback on these technology previews before they retire or graduate.

Technology Preview		Expiration Date
	Shape Extraction for AutoCAD 2011 / AutoCAD Architecture 2011 / AutoCAD Plant 3D 2011	was: 02-01-2011 now: 08-01-2011
	Project Krypton Technology Preview for Inventor 2011 / 2010 Pro/E 5.0, and SolidWorks 2010	03-21-2011
	Performance Monitor for AutoCAD 2011-based applications	05-01-2011
	Bridge Modeler for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011	05-01-2011
	Project Vasari conceptual modeling with cloud-based analysis	05-15-2011
	Scandium Technology Preview for Moldflow Insight 2011	05-30-2011
	Factory Layout Optimization for AutoCAD 2011, AutoCAD Architecture 2011, AutoCAD Mechanical 2011	05-31-2011
	Inventor Fusion Technology Preview	06-01-2011
	Subassembly Composer Technology Preview for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011	06-15-2011
	Point Cloud Tool for 3ds Max 2011 / 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2011 / 2010	06-20-2011
	BIM Family Toolkit for Inventor 2011	08-01-2011
	Photo Scene Editor for Project Photofly	08-01-2011
	Project Galileo infrastructure conceptual design	08-15-2011
	Mesh Enabler for Inventor 2011	01-31-2012
	CommunityCommands for AutoCAD 2011 / 2010	9 months after installation

A development team is focused on a technology preview for a project interval. While they are, they want the feedback and the ability to make a decision so they can continue development of the technology or quickly move on to something else. We appreciate it when we debut technology previews, people try them right away, and provide us with an up or down vote. Your experience shapes the future of our technology indeed.

Sniffing the cartons to see what can still be tasted is alive in the lab.