It is Alive in the Lab

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 →

Fear not: Autodesk is on top of New User Interfaces and the Changing Nature of Work

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 →

Killing time at an Airport on a Sunday: How I Spent my Saturday Working in the Yard

I am working in San Francisco this week, so I am at the Houston Hobby airport on this fine Sunday. My Southwest Airlines flight has been delayed, so I have time to kill. Given that, I thought I’d blog about... Read more →

Airbus Airspace Cabin Vision 2030

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We... Read more →

Infographic: The Future of Making

Due to this blog post's graphic nature, viewer discretion is advised. More, better, less. Never let them rest, until your more is better, and your better impacts less. I have posted several blog articles about the future of making and... Read more →

Fear not: Autodesk stays Abreast of the Environment and Technology

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 →

Attending Autodesk University? Consider Registering for Forge DevCon on the Monday Before AU

Got code? What gets coded in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. Let's say you've been an Autodesk customer for a long time. You've got decades of your intellectual property captured in AutoCAD drawings, Revit models, Inventor parts and assemblies, or... Read more →

techjury: Global IT Economics Infographic

When Autodesk was exclusively a desktop software provider, we had a fixed cost of goods associated with our offerings. It was basically a set of CDs or DVDs, a printed user manual, and some packaging. Now that we also offer... Read more →

Registration for Autodesk University in Las Vegas is Open

Autodesk University is your chance to take classes in using Autodesk software. It's also your chance to get insight as to where we think the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction and Product Design and Manufacturing industries are headed. There's also a... Read more →

Book Review: Non-Bullshit Innovation by David Rowan

David Rowan was the founding editor-in-chief of WIRED Magazine's UK edition and technology columnist of The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveler, and Sunday Times. David travels the globe to meet crazy-driven startup entrepreneurs who are reinventing industries through unconventional means.... Read more →

Fear Not: Autodesk has Your Back regarding Shifting Paradigms and Advancing Technology

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 →

Alameda Resident Helps Buy 200 Laptops for Under-served High School Students

Travis Heppe, an Alameda, California resident and Google software engineer, recently did some research on participation among minorities in computer science. What he found was shocking. Although 90% of parents want their kids to learn computer science, only 14% of... Read more →

A Past Present Future Map can help identify a Company's Trajectory when Problem-Solving

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We... Read more →

Login issue to Autodesk Feedback Site is Under Investigation

For all of our users who help us evaluate technology previews for customer interest and beta programs for customer readiness, we are aware that our beta site, feedback.autodesk.com, has an issue that prevents our customers from logging in with an... Read more →

Ithaca Software was acquired by Autodesk 26 years ago today

Logo design by Anh Look It was 26 years ago today that Ithaca Software was acquired by Autodesk. Autodesk People and Places provided me with the list of employees on that fateful day. Patricia Abbott Carl Bass Milton Capsimalis Bob... Read more →

I Will Continue to Tip My Servers via Credit Card instead of Cash

Though I have Paypal and Venmo accounts, I mostly use a credit card for convenience. I took my wife and mother-in-law out to dinner last night. I charged the dinner, and as I was signing the credit card receipt, my... Read more →

New Landscaping from Cut Above Landscaping Adds Beauty to Our Home in Cypress, Texas

"Gardens are the result of a collaboration between art and nature." — Penelope Hobhouse Our Lennar home in Cypress, Texas came with landscaping in the front and backyards; however, when you dig a hole for a pool in the backyard,... Read more →

Fear not: Autodesk is paying attention to the Future of Work, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning

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 →

There's a Table of Derivable File Formats for the Autodesk Forge Model Derivative API

Autodesk Forge is our set of cloud-based developer tools used by our community of customers and partners to derive more value from their design and engineering data. When you use a computer program, you do so via its User Interface... Read more →

How are BIM 360, Assemble Systems, BuildingConnected, and PlanGrid related?

Autodesk started out as a design company. Now our focus is on design and make. For product design, that includes manufacturing. For media and entertainment, that includes movie, film, tv, and game production. For architecture and engineering, that includes construction... Read more →

Wooden Shutters provide Beauty and Improved Functionality

It's Friday, so let's talk about something besides Autodesk technology. My wife and I recently purchased a Lennar NextGen home in Cypress, Texas that includes an in-law unit. We are happy to have my mother-in-law living with us. Lennar homes... Read more →

Autodesk: Sustainability is in our Blood

"Sometimes I feel like giving up But I just can't It isn't in my blood" — "In My Blood," Shawn Mendes Autodesk is committed to helping designers and engineers create a future where we all live well and within the... Read more →

Fear not: Autodesk is paying attention to Climate Change, the end of Globalization, and the Future of Work

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 →

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

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 behave more like... Read more →

A Bold Proposal: Cost Analysis of Solar Panels for My Home in Cypress, Texas

We added solar panels to our Lennar smart home in Cypress, Texas. The smart home allows me to conduct an energy analysis using three reports: Our smart home includes Honeywell Lyric thermostats. These thermostats generate monthly reports that let us... Read more →

A Value Proposition Canvas can help identify How You Serve Customer Needs when Problem-Solving

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We... Read more →

New Autodesk Forge Viewer Now Available

The beauty of design data is in the eye of the stakeholder. Autodesk Forge is our collection of Application Program Interfaces (APIs), documentation, sample code, and a community of customers and partners who develop customized solutions suited to their workflows.... Read more →

Pouring Wine from a Decanter: Let's Get to the Bottom of This

It's Friday, so let's talk about something besides Autodesk Technology. I am a wine drinker and, based on the type of wine, sometimes use a decanter. I have even blogged about using metal beads to clean my decanter. I am... Read more →

A Value Creation Map Helps Analyze Internal Forces when Problem-Solving

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We... Read more →

Autodesk intern Courtney Yu's Updated Cheat Sheet for Autodesk Products

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, our team has two interns for the summer. We wanted to give them an overview of Autodesk products (and there are many). Although we could have sent them to the list of... Read more →

A STEEP Map can help Frame the Context for a Problem-Solving Session

Autodesk got its start when we democratized CAD technology by making it available on personal computers that were much less expensive than special-purpose workstations so that small mom and pop architect shops could graduate from using their drafting tables. We... Read more →

Happy Independence Day - July 4 - from Autodesk

Q: What did one flag say to the other flag? A: Nothing. It just waved. Today is July 4 — Independence day — recognition of the day that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence that had been... Read more →

Your Undivided Attention from the Center for Humane Technology: With Great Power Comes... No Responsibility?

To catalyze Autodesk's long-term thoughts about the industries we serve, Autodesk brings in external experts who have a different perspective and point of view. With this in mind, the Visiting Fellows program was established. The Autodesk Visiting Fellows Program recruits... Read more →

Howard Johnson: AutoCAD is part homegrown and part acquired

Autodesk has a large array of products and services. Some were developed internally such as Fusion 360 and Inventor whereas others were acquired such as Revit. AutoCAD is the product the founders started with although their original intent was to... Read more →

Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco: Olly the Octopus Exhibit

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 →

TechSpot: Lilium's electric jet taxi completes its first flight

TechSpot is a leading computer and technology publication that is read daily by thousands of users, tech enthusiasts, IT decision-makers and gamers. Hence, TechSpot is home to over eight million readers every month. TechSpot aims to deliver breaking tech news... Read more →

Forge Customer Showcase: JELD-WEN

While living in California for decades, I replaced all of the windows in two of the homes my wife and I owned. It's an expensive proposition that every homeowner wants to get right. There are a variety of window manufacturers... Read more →

Book Review: Farsighted by Steven Johnson

I work as part of a corporate strategy team. Our focus and our group name is Strategic Foresight. Whereas our product development teams look five years into the future when putting together our product roadmaps, our team tries to look... Read more →

Facebook proposes a blockchain currency called Libra

A blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. A few days ago, Facebook announced its plans for a blockchain solution. In terms of... Read more →

Build Secure, Run Secure, Stay Secure

Trust is a hard thing to gain but an easy thing to lose. We recognize that when our customers use our cloud services, they are trusting us with their data. Reeny Sondhi is an Autodesk VP and our Chief Security... Read more →

Fear not: The Future of Design and Make includes Robots, Autonomous Vehicles, and Artificial Intelligence and Humans Too

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 envision how... Read more →

Forge Customer Showcase: VINCI Facilities

Autodesk Forge is our set of cloud-based developer tools used by our community of customers and partners to derive more value from their design and engineering data. The Forge platform unlocks the power of design and engineering data so developers... Read more →

Forge Customer Showcase: InsiteVR

When you use a computer program, you do so via its User Interface (UI) by clicking on elements like menu buttons, using menu pull-downs, or entering commands. When you want to automate a task so you can get the same... Read more →

Autodesk intern Courtney Yu's Cheat Sheet for Autodesk Products

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, our team has two interns for the summer. We wanted to give them an overview of Autodesk products (and there are many). Although we could have sent them to the list of... Read more →