SolidWorks World Coverage:

This podcast is a quick overview of the coverage options that will be offered by SolidWorks:HEARD as well as other active community members that typically post a lot of content.  Topics covered:

Live Coverage on SolidWorks:HEARD!:

- Live Blogs (General Sessions)

- SolidWorks:HEARD! Blog 

- Live Stream (when allowed)

- Breakout notes (posted to the blog and Google+)

- Partner Interviews (air on the podcast)

Twitter:

- Official Hashtag #sww12

- Tips from SWW12 #SWWTips

- @solidworksheard | @gol10dr | @solidworkstips

Facebook:

- SolidWorks:HEaRD page

Google+:

- +SolidWorks:HEARD | +Lou Gallo

Other Blogs:

- SolidSmack | @solidsmack

- RickyJordan | @rickyjordan

- RockSolidPerspective 

- SWGeek | @swgeek

- BoxerBlog | @gupta9665

- More at SolidWorks' site

SolidWorks World is a wild ride and it is going to be busting at the seams with coverage and it's all you can eat!  I leave in less than a week and look forward to bringing as much of the show to you as I humanly can!  If you are attending, I hope to run into you!  Talk to you next from SolidWorks World 2012!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD! 

Engineering Via Web Apps:

This podcast covers an array of web apps that I use regularly or have tried to help organize the information that I need to get my job done. Centralization, collaboration and mobile access have become the criterion I use to find the next app to get things done.  Topics covered:

Tasks:

- Google Tasks

- Remember the Milk (RTM)

- Backpack (tasks/project mgt)

- Trello (Multi-layer task management)

Notes and research capture:

- Evernote

- Springpad (notes and tasks)

- SimpleNote

- Google Docs (I use ScratchPad on my Chromebook)

Mind Mapping/Flow Charts:

- Bubbl.us

- Many others listed here (have not tried)

Document sharing and storage:

- Google Docs

- Office Web Apps

- Dropbox, Box.net, and other back tools that have simple access like Carbonite, Mozy and BackBlaze.

IM, Voice/Video conference:

- Google Talk

- Yahoo/MSN (I avoid but very popular)

- Jabber.org

- Skype 

- Campfire (group chat rooms)

- All via Plus.IM

With SolidWorks World starting next weekend and me crossing my fingers of some web announcements... I can only hope, I wanted to share the long list of web applications I use to organize my professional life.  If you have listened to this show for any length of time you know about my belief in the web.  Although mobile apps are very popular and have their benefits, however whether they are tied to a web service that is accessible from any device from anywhere has become my new metric for adoption.

Since we (Engineers) don't just sit at our desks doing CAD all day, I wanted to talk about a list of services that can help organize tasks, notes, research, storage as well as ways to connect with others instantly. Collaboration and real-time interaction is becoming a way of life for many of us on and off the clock.  Tools that leverage the web can also allow remote users be productive and make the distance between collaborators vanish.

I asked for feedback before recording this show but would like the feedback to continue here.  If you have other web-based services you use to get your job done and they were not mentioned here, please share your experiences and why they are crucial to your workflow. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD! 

January Tech News:

This podcast covers the SolidWorks and CAD-related tech news that broke since mid-November covering the SolidWorks Blog, various tech alerts and other industry news. Topics covered:

SolidWorks Blog:

- Tool Highlights

- Bend it like a football star (Motion Simulation)

- Ultimate igloos & Cooling Engineering (Nonlinear Simulation)

- Let's Go Design Baby Buggy comes to a close (finally!)

- SWWC Partner Profiles

- RaipdForm (Reverse engineering scan -> parametric features)

- Barry-Wehmiller International Resources (PLM tools and services)

- SpaceControl (3D mice and controllers)

- Objet 3D Printers (multi-material in a single print)

- SWWC Contests

- Hobbyist Contest (Winner: Kevin Lin)

- Trivia Contest #2 (Winner: Bob Prochnow)

- SWWC Keynote Speaker: Tony Fadell "Father of the iPod"

Tech Alerts:

- SWWC Top 10 List open for voting

- SWWC Model Mania Archive launched

- SolidWorks 2012 SP2 Early Visibility available for download

SW Support Monthly FAQ:

- Various Toolbox solutions

- A ton of new Enterprise PDM KB articles

- Simulation mesh size and result effects

Technology Spotlight:

- Onlive Desktop hands-on

We are just weeks away from SWWC 2012 and much of the news is related to contests, attendees and partners that will be at the conference this year.  With one of the speakers announced (Tony Fadell), I am starting to get excited to go and see many friends that I only get to see at SWWC.

I am starting to compile my list of breakouts and partners I am going to visit.  Remember, if you are unable to attend this year's SolidWorks World Conference, visit the Live Coverage page to sign up for the live blogs.  Also submit your sessions that you would like coverage of by emailing me at lou 'at' solidworksheard.com or on any other networks you choose to get your votes in.  I will post notes are well on the page.

I hope to see many of you at SolidWorks World and look forward to bringing as much of the show to you that I can.  It is an exhausting and exciting week so I have a lot of planning to still do! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD! 

CES 2012: CAD Tech:

This podcast covers a few tech pics after watching, listening and reading all that has come out of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show from the perspective of a CAD user. Topics covered:

- A few Windows8 tidbits

- The rise of the Ultrabook

- 3D Printing...WOW at CES?

- SSD drives and cloud storage

- CAD via Clound via Onlive?

CES is a vacuum of tech that happens in Las Vegas every year at this time with 2700 booths showing off all sorts of concepts, prototypes and vaporware that might be coming out in the coming year.  Most of which you need to take with a grain of salt since many of the big breakthroughs may never ship (OLED TVs and alike).

As engineers, we are drawing to finding devices that will run our hardware draining tools that will not weigh as much as a jack sitting in our garage floor.  The other thing we are after is speed!  Fast boot, fast load, fast save, just fast OK?  Since there are not enough hours in the world to read about it all I typically rely on listening to podcast that cover the aspects of the show I care about and do some reading over at ces.cnet.com.

Since CES always falls right before SolidWorks World, it reminds me back two years when Netbooks were the talk (saw a bunch at SWWC), then last year with the tablet (and iPads were wall to wall) and now Ultrabooks. It will be an interesting round up by one thing that definitely caught my eye was what Onlive is doing with they streaming video tech to other applications. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!

SolidWorks World Prep:

This podcast covers the steps to get prepared for the biggest CAD conference, mega training, and overall engineer geek fest there is!  Still trying to get there or not going at all? Not a problem. Topics covered:

- What SWW really is.

- How to get the most out of attending (plan, plan, plan)

- Resources and ideas to convince the powers that be to send you.

- What SolidWorks:HEARD! is broadcasting from SWW.

- Other resources to get SWW news and tips.

SolidWorks World is just 5 weeks away and the anticipation for those who have the "green light" on attending this years event it building.  In order to truly get the most out of this crammed-pack event with 185+ sessions and not even close to enough time to see them all is planning.  A lot of planning or else you will show up and be overwhelmed and wonder why you stood in the hall for 3 days with your jaw open!

For those who are still fighting the fight to get to this mega training extravaganza, SolidWorks has a great list of resources for you to help convince your management to send you.  Whether it is videos, podcasts or an old fashion letter, educating management that SWW is not a "trade show" but a "build-your-own" training boot camp by users for users.  Getting that "nugget" or awesome tip to help you out in your industry with your tool of choice can be the difference between joe-user and ROCK STAR!

Understanding not everyone can convince, trick, man handle, cagoule and maim their way to SWW12, I will be live blogging all the general session and posting live notes with Google Docs on sessions that I attend.  When I can, I will be streaming video from the floor and trying to interview some partners.  Go sign up for the live-blog and watch Twitter for hash tag #sww12.  I will also be posting notes to the SolidWorks:HEARD! Google+ page as well. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and THE HEaRD!