It is Alive in the Lab

ProStain of Texas stained our Fence so We're no longer on the Fence about it

Here's one time where being a stain on the community is a good thing. When we moved into our Cypress, Texas home about a year ago, our fence was shiny-new as it had been installed by Lennar Homes as part... Read more →

Remote Learning for "It's All About the Song"

One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the focus on remote learning. To maintain physical distance, schools are more offering classes online. This is nothing new for the likes of institutions like Khan Academy, but now the process... Read more →

THE FUTURE OF MAKING - What's the punch line?

The Autodesk book, THE FUTURE OF MAKING, tells remarkable stories of how emerging technologies are changing how we make things, who makes things, and the very nature of the what we make. The book expands on Autodesk's vision of how... Read more →

"As real as Rihanna"

I recently read a Variety article: Miquela, the Uncanny CGI Virtual Influencer, Signs With CAA The article describes how a virtual character has been signed with a creative arts agency. Miquela, a computer-generated avatar with a unique personality, has quite... Read more →

Solar Energy Facts for 2020 from ComfyLiving

Autodesk serves a variety of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) customers. Some want to enter the fewest AutoCAD LT commands to plot the minimum number of 2D sheets required to obtain their building permits. Others go all in with 3D... Read more →

Small Job for Cut Above Landscaping Made a Big Difference for Us

I am such a silly sod. In my blog post entitled, "Killing time at an Airport on a Sunday: How I Spent my Saturday Working in the Yard," I noted how I made a flagstone pathway from my backyard patio... Read more →

You're invited to join the new @Autodesk "Forge Partner Talks" webinar series in May!

Senior Marketing Manager, Emily Scherbenski, shared some good news with me. Next week we are kicking off a weekly Forge webinar series called "Forge Partner Talks." Each webinar will be an hour long and feature a panel of partners who... Read more →

What does it mean to be a Strategic Foresight Practitioner at Autodesk?

Image courtesy of Lightning Motorcycles [We have an open position on our team. I have written this blog post for potential candidates who would like some of the inside scoop about what we do.] Our team at Autodesk is called... Read more →

LH Renovations did a Great Job to Fix a Standing Water Problem for our Outdoor Kitchen

I have blogged before about how we had a pool and outdoor kitchen added to our backyard. I have also mentioned that Stonewall Pools declared bankruptcy before completing the job. I then blogged about how LH Renovations came to the... Read more →

Autodesk intern Courtney Yu's Cheat Sheet for Autodesk Products by Industry

Repost from 07/22/2019 Autodesk serves three industries: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Product Design and Manufacturing (PD&M) Media and Entertainment (M&E) More and more, we find that these industries are converging: Autodesk customers who make buildings (AEC) are starting to... Read more →

Autodesk Point of View: What will the New Normal look like?

Autodesk Technology Centre in Toronto resident, Michael Schwanzer, of ZEITDice, is designing cameras that enable machines to see and understand our world in order to provide humans with new and valuable insights. The Strategic Foresight team at Autodesk helps identify... Read more →

Book Review: Upstream (the Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen) by Dan Heath

Our team at Autodesk is called Strategic Foresight. We help identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications to reveal insights shaping the future for Autodesk and our customers. Our team informs strategy across the entire company by... Read more →

Alex Lobos, an @Autodesk Visiting Fellow: The magic in experiential learning and working (and how this applies to remote collaboration)

The Autodesk Visiting Fellows Program recruits senior-level, industry-shaping talent to help light the future path of Autodesk. Although fellows have rich sectoral expertise, they tend to focus on defining and pursuing cross-industry issues emerging at the intersection of our traditional... Read more →

Personal and @Autodesk Commitment to Sustainability: Our Solar Panels Went Live One Year Ago Today

Autodesk is committed to helping designers and engineers create a future where we all live well and within the limits of our planet. We are excited to lead the way with sustainable, forward-thinking business practices. Together, we can design a... Read more →

Come See the Welcome Tower near Pier 14 in San Francisco

In a previous blog post, I covered the history surrounding Coit Tower in San Francisco. Over by where I catch the ferry to Alameda (Pier 14) when I work in San Francisco, there's a new piece of art that is... Read more →

Do you recognize this painting?

An It's Alive in the Lab reader reached out to me because he saw this painting in a doctor's office and liked it. He does not know its title or the artist. Do you recognize it? My Google image search... Read more →

Book Review: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

"Not everyone understands what a completely rational process this is, motorcycle maintenance. They think it's some kind of 'knack' or some kind of 'affinity for machines' in operation. They are right, but the knack is almost purely a process of... Read more →

The Autodesk Strategic Foresight Team is Searching for Two Summer Interns

Our team, Strategic Foresight, is looking for two summer interns. The Strategic Foresight team helps identify and articulate long-term forces of change and their implications on Autodesk’s future. Through storytelling, foresight techniques, and thought leadership, the team aids Autodesk leaders... Read more →

Come to the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco before June 30

About ten years ago when Autodesk expanded its Landmark Building footprint to include the second floor of One Market and create the Autodesk Gallery, our project achieved LEED Platinum certification: Now that more than a decade has passed, we're about... Read more →

Autodesk and the Bay Bridge Lights

The Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows program was established by the Secretary of Defense in 1994 as a long-term investment in transforming US forces and capabilities and, as such, is a key part of the Department of Defense strategy to... Read more →

The Rock Boat XX Was Out of This World #therockboat

The Rock Boat is the world's largest floating music festival. Although this was the twentieth voyage for The Rock Boat, it was only the ninth for my wife, Sheryl, and me. I guess it speaks volumes about the experience if... Read more →

Answering the Todd Rundgren 30 Song Day Challenge

"Blue Orpheus" "Number One Lowest Common Denominator" "The Surf Talks" "Liar" "Mountaintop" "Rock Love" "Drive" "Pissin'" "I Can't Stop Running" "Sweeter Memories" "Mercenary" "Does Anybody Love You?" "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" "Mated" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"... Read more →

Global Garage Flooring and Design (@global_garage) Resurfaced Our Garage Floor

For Christmas, my mother-in-law got me the gift of getting our garage floor resurfaced because our next-door neighbor had his done, and my wife, mother-in-law, and I loved it. My neighbor used Global Garage Flooring & Design, so we went... Read more →

Darren Brooker's 3x3 Stories End of Year Email to Autodesk Employees

At Autodesk, our team focuses on strategic foresight. Strategic foresight is a practice of looking systematically at the future, understanding fragmented indicators that suggest possible futures, and developing a point of view about how to respond. We use imagination to... Read more →

My Favorite Things to Eat

With the Christmas season just passed and the song "My Favorite Things" still running around in my head, I thought I'd share my list of favorite foods to eat. Here they are in order of how much I like them:... Read more →

My Favorite Blog Posts of 2019

When I started this blog in April 2007, it was about showcasing free technology previews that were available via Autodesk Labs. Hence the name, It's Alive in the Lab. For some years now, it's about showcasing Autodesk technology. Despite the... Read more →

Merry Christmas from Autodesk

Merry Christmas. This week, Autodesk employees in the United States have the week off. This week bridges the Christmas and New Year's holidays. It's affectionately known as the week of rest. In days of Christmas past before we implemented the... Read more →

Throwback Thursday: Autodesk DWG TrueView: fun with words

August 05, 2006 Autodesk DWG TrueView: fun with words On June 13, 2006, I posted an article to my old blog, Beyond the Paper, that an updated Autodesk DWG TrueView was available. Since the update was available in multiple languages,... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas 2019: Type 20 electric-infused showcase vehicle

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas: High-velocity innovation in infrastructure

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

A Home Inspection is a Good Idea even for a Newly Constructed Home

Happy Thanksgiving. Although today is Thanksgiving for Autodesk employees in the United States, it's also the one-year anniversary of my wife and I closing on our home in Cypress, Texas. As part of the purchasing process, our daughter asked if... Read more →

Cognitive Science and Computer Aided Design: Generative Cognition and Building Creative Capacity

In a previous post about the Autodesk Learning Engine, I noted that Autodesk is developing a learning engine based on cognitive science and the needs of our customers. The Autodesk Learning Engine is a tool-based platform that helps you navigate... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas 2019: Dynamo and BIM for innovative architecture

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas 2019: On-site construction robots

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our... Read more →

What is the Autodesk Learning Engine? #au2019

Today's Fusion 360 includes one example of the Autodesk Learning Engine in practice. The industries Autodesk serves are changing. As a result, our customers will need to learn new skills to adapt to these changes. With this in mind, Autodesk... Read more →

Could I use Autodesk Fusion 360 to Design a Bespoke Oreo-Dunking Glass?

Knowing my affinity for Oreo cookies, my son sent me a gift yesterday, for no reason, other than to show me the benefits of having a son who earns a paycheck. Being the grateful father that I am, I showed... Read more →

Greg Gonsalves - one Big Daddy of a Guy

“Wood feeds the fire which burns it.” – Leonardo da Vinci My wife's brother-in-law, Gregory Lyle Gonsalves, 67, lost his courageous fight against kidney cancer on November 4, 2019, with family by his side. Born in San Antonio and residing... Read more →

Autodesk: The Future of Making summed up in a 90-second Video

At Autodesk, we believe we can balance the inevitability of more with the reality of less by embracing the opportunity to design and make better. Design and making are alive in the lab. Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at Autodesk University in Las Vegas 2019: AI Chair

Still on the fence about attending Autodesk University in Las Vegas? Hey, Humpty Dumpty, this might help you get off the fence — the ability to explore exhibits from the Autodesk Gallery. Autodesk makes software for people who make things.... Read more →

Autodesk: The Future of Making

I am working on adapting our corporate Future of Making presentation into a whitepaper. Here is my original draft that I am going to evolve. Before I do, I thought I'd share what I had with It's Alive in the... Read more →

I Participated in a Capture the Flag Security Exercise

As Autodesk automates our customers' design and make processes, we handle more and more of our customers' data. We want to use customer data — both the design data customers create and data about how customers work — to create... Read more →

Adam Hockley: Plymouth Rock in 3D from 23 Pictures

Many of you may recall my Autodesk Labs days when I worked on Project Photofly — our technology related to photogrammetry — the process of creating 3D models from 2D images. You may also recall how there was a consumer... Read more →

LH Renovations did a Great Job to Rescue our Outdoor Kitchen

In a previous blog post, I mentioned that our pool contractor, Stonewall Pools, declared bankruptcy before completing our outdoor kitchen that we paid for in advance. Fortunately for us, only some granite countertop cutting and electrical outlet installation remained. Since... Read more →

Recently @PlanetFitness Updated Its iPhone App to the Detriment of Its User Interface

When I was learning to program, "user-friendly" was all the rage. A program's user interface, i.e., the ways that we interact with the software through menus, buttons, and data entry, had to be easy to use. Although today user-friendly has... Read more →

Autodesk Forge DevCon is an Event for Programmers and Non-Programmers

Register Today for Forge DevCon in Las Vegas, November 18 as part of Autodesk University. Years ago when Autodesk University (AU) started, it was almost solely about the classes that one could take to learn about using our software. Hence,... Read more →

Attention Potential Autodesk Summer 2020 Interns: Be on the Lookout for Interview Opportunities in September-November

I often get contacted by college students in May or June who want to intern at Autodesk for the summer (June-August). I have had to break the bad news to them that our interns had already been hired, and that... Read more →

We're Getting a Pool but our Pool Builder Just Declared Bankruptcy (Part 3)

Last year we moved to Cypress, TX. Since Texas has hot weather in the summer, we decided to get a pool. Since Autodesk software is used to design and make things, I have been chronicling the construction process. In a... Read more →

SafeAtLast: 80 Internet of Things Statistics Infographic

When we develop tools for designing and making things, we consider that those things are used in the context of a system. In other words, those things are integrated with the environment in which they are used. That's one reason... Read more →

Samuel Macalister - Architect and BIM Specialist and the Revit 2014 Sample House

Today's blog post is a guest post from Samuel Macalister. Sam is a Senior Technical Sales Specialist, AEC/ENI in our Worldwide Field Operations (WWFO) Team. Our Worldwide Field Operations is our face of Autodesk to our customers. Through modern and... Read more →

The Future of Making in Two @Autodesk Slides

Here are two slides from our corporate Future of Making presentations. These pretty much say it all. MORE The global middle class is growing faster than at any time in history. 400,000 people join the middle class every day*. That’s... Read more →