Autodesk Labs technology previews are free

When you think of the word free what comes to mind?

• Born Free?
• Free - Paul Rodger's band before Bad Company
• the MONOPOLY "Get out of jail free" card?
• land of the free, home of the brave?
• Autodesk Labs technology previews?

Probably not the last one. While talking to attendees at AU, many did not know that Autodesk Labs technology previews are free. And when I say free, I am supposed to place an asterisk next to it that says "free subject to the terms of use." That keeps our Legal department happy. But for the 99% of you, free means free.

Autodesk Labs technology previews offer powerful capabilities. As such a few AU attendees asked "What's the catch?" Really there is no catch. Each technology preview is offered for a specific time period, sometimes limited to specific geographic areas, to get feedback on the concept, capability, and user interface. We want you to "try it now" when we make the technology preview available. So if there's any catch, it's that we offer the technology preview to you in exchange for hearing your thoughts on what we should do with the technology. This occurs early enough in the process that we have the freedom to be able to change direction based on what you have to say.

When a technology preview ends:

• The technology can be retired.
• A new technology preview can be initiated to get additional feedback.
• The technology can graduate into another form, e.g. a beta or a shipping product.

We are happy to offer these technology previews. We just want to hear from you. There are a variety of ways you can provide feedback.

	Each technology preview has its own Email address. A team of product managers, developers, and testers are on these addresses. Your feedback goes to all of them.
	Postings to an Autodesk discussion Forum can be seen by the team who brings you the technology preview as well as other users of the technology preview.
	Many technology previews have a presence on Facebook.
	Some technology previews have a presence on Twitter.
	Autodesk Labs has a group on LinkedIn with over 2,000 members.
	Many technology previews have videos posted on the Autodesk YouTube channel.

Your experience shapes the future of our technology.

Freedom is alive in the lab.