Happy Christmas....

Just a quick post to wish all my readers a Happy Christmas.  See you all back here in 2013!

Tokyo….

Earlier in the week I mentioned that I’d post some pictures from my Tokyo trip. After working my way through them and taking out the not for public consumption ones, we are left with the following!

This is the DeBeers Building… Reminds me of a trippy scene in Batman!

Maison Hermes, not the greatest shot ever, but a spectacular building.

Yodobashi-Akiba, 6 Floors of Technology Goodness!

Torii Gate, Meiji Shrine, Shibuya.

Temizusha (a font for ablutions), Meiji Shrine, Shibuya.

Tokyo, from 450m up Tokyo Sky Tree.

Tokyo Sky Tree from the ground up!

One of the joints on the Sky Tree. Reminded me of Kanji Script.

N700 Series Shinkansenn Train. Didn’t reach top speed on my short journey, but fantastic fun.

Some of the grounds in the Imperial Palace.

Roof detail from a building on the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

The Garden Eel, weirdly beautiful to watch.

So, that’s it… Those are all the photographs you are going to see from my trip to Tokyo! If you ever get a chance to go, do. It’s truly a remarkable city that seems to go on for as far as the eye can see.

It’s Been A While….

Bless me Father for I have sinned, it’s been almost 1 month since my last posting….

To be fair though, I have been busy. I popped over to Tokyo for a holiday, my first in three years and I’m still not over it!

I’m not back long and I’ve now been struck down with a severe dose of Man Flu, probably one of the worst ailments out there…

It’s hard, but…. well I’ll struggle on.

Man Flu…..

Bye Bye Analogue TV….

So it finally happened, Analogue TV has been laid to rest here in Ireland. It’s successor, Saorview is now the only way to get the Irish TV channels for free.

Now that 4 channel Analogue TV is gone, just what can you get on Saorview?

Well to start with, you can get the following TV Channels:

RTÉ One
RTÉ Two HD
TV3
TG4
3e
RTÉ News Now
RTÉ Jr.
RTÉ One +1

And also the following Radio Channels:

RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Choice
RTÉ Pulse
RTÉ 2XM
RTÉ Gold
RTÉ Chill
RTÉ Jr
Radio 1 Extra

Hopefully more TV and Radio channels will launch in the near future. To find out more about Saorview, check out their website here.

Red Bull Gives You….

Wings, but not in this case, though at one stage it looked like Felix Baumgartner could have used them…. Red Bull Stratos was one of the most exciting things I have seen in a long long time, thrilling from the first minute to the last.

Check out the highlights below or the full jump beneath it.

Highlight reel of Red Stratos jump

 

The full jump!

DraftSight V1R3 Released

The latest version of Draftsight, Version 1R3 was released yesterday.

“What are the changes?” I hear you ask, well first and foremost. I’ll try to give some of the highlights below.

1. Align Viewport command: This feature adds new functionality to the VIEWPORT command to align viewports by picking on the geometry inside of a viewport. Users will be able to align viewports horizontally and vertically by selecting on entities within each view port. Objects snaps can be used for precise location.
2. Revision Cloud command: This tool helps to highlight annotations and other objects.  There will be a variety of shapes to choose from such as rectangular, elliptical and freehand.
3. In-place TEXT Editor: DraftSight now supports an in-place text editor for note and simple note.
4. Explode text: Text can be exploded into editable entities using the EXPLODETEXT command.
5. Memory Improvement: Significant improvements in reducing the memory consumed when opening drawings. (Up to 30% less memory than V1R2.1.)
6. Windows 8 Support: DraftSight V1R3 is supported on Windows 8 64-bit.
7. 64 bit version: DraftSight has now introduced a 64-bit version for Windows.
• Users need to port their 32-bit add-ins to the 64-bit platform for the add-ins to work on 64-bit machines since V1R3 blocks 32-bit installations of DraftSight on 64-bit OS. (If you’re not sure if your version is 32-bit or 64-bit read this post: https://swym.3ds.com/#post:14677)
• Some signatures to the API were changed so C++ add-ins need to be recompiled using the new C++ SDK.

To read more about this update, check out this post on the support forums.

To download the latest version of DraftSight, head over to www.draftsight.com

Blackberry Playbook OS v2.1.0.1032 Available

Just a quick note to let you know that OS v2.1.0.1032 is now available for download from the Blackberry servers. Check out the improvements below:

• Allows PIM (Messages, Calendar, Contacts) to be viewed in portrait orientation
• PIM – Deep Folder Hierarchy. Previously, if a customer had multiple nested folders within email
• Allows for WiFi to be used for Bridge between 2 devices if they’re on the same WiFi network
• BlackBerry Bridge will now support viewing SMS messages on the PlayBook
• Print to Go will now work across different networks
• Android apps will now be run in separate windows instead of one window for every Android app
• Android apps will now have the ability to use the PlayBook camera
• A customer will now be able to make in-app payments within Android apps

The above list is courtesy of Blackberry Forums.

I’ve been playing with the Beta of OS 2.1 for so long that it’s hard to remember what OS 2.0 was like. One thing I did notice though, was that the browser is far more responsive in this build compared to the the beta. There is noticeably less checker boarding when browsing sites.

So, now the wait begins for the the beta of BB10 on the Playbook. I’m sure all Playbook users out there are eagerly awaiting this beta!

Pink Elephants and Flying Pigs….

Wow, who would have thought it… Tim Cook has come out and apologised for the Maps app on iOS6. He goes on to suggest that users try other map apps available on the App Store or pin Nokia or Google Maps to their home screen.

Yeap, you read that right. He suggests you use Google Maps, the very same Google Maps that the new Maps app was designed to replace, the very same Google Maps owned their arch rival in all things smart phone…. I’d say the guys and gals in Google are wetting themselves with laughter at the moment.

Now as many know, I am no Apple fan, but I can’t help but feel that the Maps app issue has been hyped a bit to much. Google Maps wasn’t and still isn’t perfect. People just expect everything that Apple do to just work and work well. I can’t help but feel this wouldn’t have happened under Steve Jobs.

Oh well, I’m glad I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and Google Maps to get me to where I need to go!

Star Wars and CAD

Q:   What do you get if you cross a Star Wars fan with a CAD Monkey using SketchUp?

A:   You get these renderings:

Millennium Falcon Walkthrough No. 1

 

Millennium Falcon Walkthrough No. 2

These were created by a Youtube user called Finfito. I’ve no idea who he is, but you can check out more of his work here.

Think you can do better? Why not download the free version of SketchUp from here.

Speaking of Star Wars, have you ever wonder just how much it would cost to build the Death Star today? Well some contributors over at Centives got to work and came up with a cost of  $852,000,000,000,000,000…. 13,000 times the worlds GDP!! Read more about how they came up with their figures here.

RIP WYG Ireland

18 years ago almost to the day, I walked into an engineering office in Lower Baggot Street in Dublin for an interview. The position was as a Cad Monkey, a very junior Cad Monkey at that, and was only meant to last 2 weeks.  Well I got that position and stayed there for 12 years.

Over the course of those 12 years, the company grew and grew. The company changed as it grew and so did its name. Parts of the original company were got rid of and new directors came on board to lead the company into the future. Along side all those changes, my role was changing too. No longer was a I junior Cad Monkey, I became the Cad Monkey, then became the Cad Manager and finally I became Systems Manager (covering CAD and IT). As my work load grew, so did my salary and to say I was happy would be an understatement. Sure not everything went to plan and not every day was a good day, but the good times far outweighed the bad. I think the key factor there was the staff, we all got on. We all liked to socialise together and we were a team, a bloody good one at that.

In 2002 things started to change. We got taken over by a multi national. They had their own ways of doing things and imposed them on us. It didn’t always go down well… They had different ideas on how to do things and they made it known. My role within this new company changed too. I went from being a Systems Manager for one Dublin office, to being IT Manager for three Dublin offices. I then was made temporary IT Manager for Ireland, a role which would soon become a permanent role. With this new role, I got to travel and meet staff in other offices through out the group and I developed friendships that I still have to this day.

As I said, after the takeover in 2002, things changed. Much as I liked many of the people I worked with, I didn’t really enjoy working there. It really started to eat away at me and by 2005, I was itching to get away. I wanted to go back to being a Cad Monkey, but due to the position I had reached, I found it difficult to find a company that would let me downgrade my career… Eventually in 2006, I got a call out of the blue and on the spur of the moment, I handed in my 30 day notice and set about getting my affairs in order. To be honest, I was a little sad to leave those people behind, but I was delighted to have left. The company I had joined all those years before, was no longer there… The soul had been ripped out of it by this corporate regime.

You are probably wondering where I am going with these ramblings. Well earlier this week, I heard the sad news that the company I left back in 2006, had gone in to liquidation. For me, it’s sad on two accounts. The first obviously being that there are people losing their jobs at a difficult time, people who have been there a long time. That’s not an easy thing to get over and there are limited jobs in the engineering market as it is here in Ireland. The second is a more personal sadness. The company I joined all those years ago in 1994 is no longer there. Sure it ceased to be back in 2002 when it was bought over, but the heart of it, the history of it, the very fibre of it, was still there. There was a family tree if you like, and sitting proudly in there, amongst all the other companies that were taken over by White Young Green (the company in question) was Cuthbert Condron Associates, a place where I learned so much and was given as much support as I needed to grow my abilities.

That lineage is now no more…. Much as I bitched and moaned about WYG to my friends and colleagues, it’s still a sad sad day to see it go from the heady heights of the Celtic Tiger to its death bed. I do believe I’ll miss the place and I never, not for a moment, thought I would say that.

 

***** Update *****

Just a brief update, it’s been reported that the WYG Offices in Northern Ireland are not affected by the above news and are trading profitably.

Charging paused. Voltage too high….

I’ve had my Samsung Galaxy S2 for almost a year now and apart from some minor issues (a lockup here or there, an unrequested reboot..), it’s been hassle free. It’s a great phone and coped with everything I could throw at it!

Then yesterday happened and I started to get the dreaded message above constantly… Click OK and it would return minutes later. Beep beep beep beep, it was enough to drive me mad, specially when it happened in the middle of calls! I could put the phone into silent mode, but then I would miss calls….

I Googled and then Googled some more and none of it looked good. Most posts out there seem to think that it is a corrosion issue in the USB port and suggest that you gently clean the port with a brush, toothpick, compressed air… I tried them all (apart from the compressed air, I was all out), to no avail.

For the hell of it, just in case it was a glitch in the matrix, I reset the phone to factory settings. I thought it was fixed, but no, the dreaded pop up and beep started all over again. I eventually gave in and returned my phone to where I bought it. Just as well, if I had waited a few days, it would have been out of warranty! I’m told I should have it back within 5 to 10 working days.

So here I sit with my backup phone, an HTC Hero, almost 3 years old. It was a fantastic phone in its day, but after using the S2 for so long, I find it incredibly slow. I shouldn’t complain though, after all, it’s still working after 3 years, unlike the S2!!

 

***** Update *****

I got my S2 back from the repair shop tonight. Not sure exactly what they fix was, they just say they replaced an electronic part and updated the system software. I presume the electronic part was the USB charging port.

RIP Neil Armstrong….

Heard the sad news tonight that Neil Armstrong has passed away aged 82. For those that don’t know, Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon.

 

Back to School Time….

Summer is almost at an end and people are getting ready to go back to school or college. For budding engineers and architects, there are plenty of free Engineering tools out there to check out.

Draftsight, from Dassault Systèmes is a free 2D CAD Package that is compatible with AutoCAD DWG files. Best of all, it is free to use in a commercial environment also. In fact it’s my CAD package of choice at the moment. For more information, click here. Available on Windows, OSX and Linux.

I mentioned AutoCAD above. It should be noted that Autodesk make their software packages available for free to students. Unlike Draftsight above though, they cannot be used in a commercial environment. Take a look here for more information on how to sign up to the Autodesk Education Community. AutoCAD is available on Windows and OSX.

Google Sketchup, is no more… It’s now known as Trimble Sketchup. Fear not though, only the name has changed. The free version of Sketchup is still available and can be downloaded from here. Unlike other CAD vendors out there, Sketchup Professional is not available for free to students, but can be bought at a very reduced rate. Click here to read more. Available on Windows and OSX.

MicroStation PowerDraft V8i is available as a free download from Bentley. When I started as a CAD Monkey, you chose Microstation or AutoCAD. Most went for AutoCAD as there were more jobs available… I’d love to tell you more about Microstation, but I have no working knowledge of it!  For more information on their free packages for students, click here. Available on Windows.

There are other CAD Packages out there, some have free Student Editions, some don’t, but the packages above should get you started.

Next on the list is Office Software. Most famous of all is obviously Microsoft Office and it comes in a Student version, but at a price. Shop around and you may find it cheaper than listed on the Microsoft website. Available on Windows and OSX.

If you don’t feel like paying for office software, check out Libre Office. It’s not as fancy looking as MS Office, but it reads and writes MS Office file formats and does the job. Like Draftsight above, it is what I use at work. Libre Office can be downloaded here. Available on Windows, OSX and Linux.

Unfortunately, Adobe haven’t seen the light and unlike Autodesk above, charge ridiculous money for student versions of their software. Check out the prices here! Available on Windows and OSX.

There are some free alternatives out there though. GIMP, unfortunate name aside, is an excellent Photoshop alternative and can be downloaded for free from here. Inkscape is an alternative to Adobe Illustrator and does an admirable job. Inkscape can be downloaded here. Available on Windows, OSX and Linux.

One last piece of software that I use is the excellent Convert for Windows by Josh Madison. To quote the website “Convert is a free and easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions!” Convert can be downloaded here. Available on Windows.

So, that’s my round up of software for engineering and architectural students. With out doubt I have missed out on some piece of software, so feel free to tell me about it in the comments below.

4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook….

 

Blackberry announced today that the 4G LTE version of the Playbook Tablet would be available to users in Canada from August 9th and in the US, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean in the coming months.

I shan’t be upgrading to this anytime soon though, and that’s not because of some hatred towards RIM. Far from it actually, I love my Blackberry Playbook, it’s just that there are no 4G networks here in Ireland at the moment!

To read more about the new tablet, check out the following sites.
Blackberry.com and Crackberry.com

#Dirtylaundry

I’ve no idea if this means that there will be a new Punisher movie starring Thomas Jane, but I really enjoyed this short movie.

Be warned, the violence is quite graphic in places.

AutoCAD WS 1.5 for Android, iOS and Web

Autodesk released their latest version of AutoCAD WS for Android and iOS devices today and it can be downloaded from their respectable app stores for free. They have also updated their web app too, just logon to www.autocadws.com to get the new version.

So, just what is new in the latest release? I’ll let the AutoCAD WS team explain it…. “With this new release we have added the Design Feed to both the mobile and the web app. The Design Feed is a major leap forward for AutoCAD WS giving users an in-drawing, interactive feed that enables context-specific posts and responses to turn your drawing into a living document.”

That all sounds good, but just what is Design Feed?? Well, “Using the Design Feed you can attach a post to a specific point or area in your drawing to draw attention to a feature of your design and encourage discussion.” 

You can also now insert a drawing in AutoCAD WS. You can resize it and reposition it just like any other object.

Still wondering about the features?? Well watch the video below or check out their blog over here.

 

Autodesk buys Socialcam….

Autodesk are shopping again. Today it was announced that they are to purchase Socialcam for a cool $60million. Just what does Socialcam do? I hear you ask… Well, according to their website, Socialcam is a smartphone application that makes it easy to share videos with friends.

A lot has changed at Autodesk in the last few years. Once upon a time, the only people aware of Autodesks existence were people involved in the CAD or 3D modelling world. All very high end software and very very expensive. Today, Autodesk have a large selection of Apps available on both iOS and Android smartphones. Sure some of them are still aimed at their core market, but with the recent releases such as Sketchbook and 123D and the purchase of Pixlr, Instrucatables and Socialcam, Autodesk seem to be making a serious play for the home market.

All of the above, bar Instructables, have free Apps for iOS and Android. Sketchbook does have paid versions available that offer more features, but none of them could be seen as big money makers. Perhaps the idea is to attract more and more users to the Autodesk brand, after all, Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk said “In less than two years, we got 75 million people using our consumer 3-D software. In professional software, it took us 35 years to reach 12 million customers.”

Anyway, for more on the deal, check out the official press release here and this article from the New York Times.

ForceEffect from Autodesk

ForceEffect, Autodesks mobile engineering app for simulating design concepts on the go, has finally been released for Android. It has been available on iOS devices since November 2011.

“ForceEffect, wow, that sounds cool, but what does it do?” I hear you ask. Well, to start with it allows:

•Freehand sketching of elements and construction lines with snaps, constraints, and inferencing
•Object dimensioning, global scaling, units, constraints
•Import image as background
•Create joints (welded, pinned)
•Break element at joints
•Create supports (fixed, grounded, sliding)
•Create loads (known, unknown, distributed) and moments
•Add weight to individual elements
•Compute reaction forces and moments for equilibrium and over-constrained systems
•Toggle forces to show force vector components
•Results reporting with picture, results, all equations
•Save and load files from Autodesk 360
•In app tutorials

I won’t lie to you, I have no idea what most of that is. ForceEffect is an app that I will probably never use, but that’s ok as it is not aimed at me! Oh, did I mention, it’s free also.

For more information on ForceEffect for Android, check it out on Google Play or if you have an iOS device, check it out on the App Store.

You can also check out Autodesks other applications for Android by clicking here.

Carlsberg don’t do fans, but if they did…

Lets be honest here, the current Irish football team, for all its merits, is severely lacking in world class players. Those that we have are quickly coming to the end of their careers and whilst we have some good players coming through, it’s going to take a while for them to mature. At the moment though, we are just not good enough.

The Irish soccer fan on the other hand is world class. No one comes close to them. Watching their team get a lesson in the beautiful game last night from Spain, they sang their hearts out. The Fields of Athenry rang out proud and loud around the stadium in Gdańsk last night, it’s probably still ringing out in Poznan as I type!

Take a look, it’s electrifying.

Draftsight V1R2.0 Released

Draftsight have just announced the release of DraftSight V1R2.0 which includes the following enhancements:

• Fields - A field is updatable text that is set up to display data that may change during the life cycle of the drawing.
• Enhanced Layer Filters.
• New APIs (application programming interfaces) for accessing the application, creating regions, and accessing printing functions with the DraftSight Premium Pack for enterprises or educational institutions. The Premium Pack is an affordable technical support and services package designed to help manage CAD requirements by providing support with software deployment, customization, and integration.
• New ePDM connector for customers that have invested in the DraftSight Premium Pack or ePDM.

I jumped right in and downloaded the latest version this morning. It certainly doesn’t look any different, but then why should it. It does seem to be more responsive, although that could be my imagination, I do have quite a vivid one!

I’ve been using it all morning on an active project and so far so good. I’ve not had any issues with it. If you have customised Draftsight in any way (I haven’t), you might want to back up your configuration before upgrading.

On a side note, I’d love to get my hands on the Premium Pack, but unfortunately, it is only available for purchase in blocks of 5 licences. Lisp functionality is something I could really do with, as I have many routines I like to use. I don’t expect Lisp functionality to be in the free version, but it would be nice if a single Draftsight licence could be purchased.

DraftSight V1R2.0 for Windows, OSX and Linux can be downloaded here.

Blast off....

I remember running home from school back in 1981 to catch what I could of the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS 1). That started a love affair with space that has lasted all my life. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to visit Kennedy Space Centre on two occasions.

My first visit was in 2003 and was after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and the Shuttle was grounded. My second visit was in 2009, just days before the launch of STS 129. You can see the Shuttle on its launch pad the week before take off in the picture below.

Yesterday, the first fully commercial space craft to dock with the International Space Station was launched. COTS Demo Flight 2 launched from Cape Canaveral and with it, a new era of commercial space travel was launched. You can check out the launch below.

Who knows, maybe soon we will all be heading in to space on commercial space craft. Anyone out there got a spare $200,000 to book a flight with Virgin Galactic?

The Skelligs Project: An Irish Collaboration

Eoghan Kavanagh is an Irish Landscape photographer.  Evan Payne is an Irish American filmmaker.  Together, they aim to explore and document all the corners of the Emerald Isle, starting with The Skelligs.

Their goal is to travel to the larger island, Skellig Michael, and document both their experience and the character of the island, producing a number of high quality photographs and films in the process.  Their explicit aim is to produce a high quality coffee table book to showcase their shared vision of the Skelligs. 

If you would like to support Eoghan and Evan and help them finance the project, check out their Kickstart page here. Whilst your at it, check out Eoghans gallery also.

Blackberry Humour….

It’s been a while since I posted, amazing how quick time flies! Anyway, to get back on track, here’s some IT related comedy!

CAD Clues App

CAD Clues is a great site for CAD Tips and Tricks interspersed with some CAD related news. They have had a free Android and iOS app available for some time and I have it installed on my Samsung Galaxy S2. I was tinkering around last night and wondered if I could convert it to run on my Blackberry Playbook. As you may know, the Playbook has the ability to run Android apps that have been run through the Playbook convertor.

I downloaded the app, converted it to a BAR file and then signed the BAR file so it could be loaded on to my Playbook. I used DDPB to load the app on to my Playbook and once installed, I ran it. Everything looked good, the main page worked fine. I then switched over to the Twitter feed page. On first run, the Twitter feed was a bit of a mess, legible, but a mess. I closed out of the app and restarted it again and the Twitter feed looked fine.

I believe that CAD Clues are going to add the app to the Blackberry App World, but if you want to download the app and know how to use DDPB, then you can get the BAR file from their website. Check it out over here. If you have no idea how to sideload apps on to the Blackberry Playbook using DDPB, check this brief tutorial.

Caine’s Arcade

I came across this short film late last night on Twitter. It’s the story of 9 year old boy called Caine, from East LA and the cardboard arcade he made.

Rather than me trying to explain just why this short film is so good, why not sit back, relax and take 11 minutes out of your day and watch it yourself.

For more information on Caine and this short film, why not check out the website.

Mmmmmmm….

Some friends have set up two separate blogs dedicated to food. The first, Strictly Baking, deals with cakes, buns and all things sweet. Not only do these goodies look amazing, but the taste like a little bit of heaven in your mouth… Check out the site here.

The second site, The Dinner Ladies”, is described by the authors as Two Mammies, bonded by a love of food, whose mission is to help you answer the dreaded 'whats for dinner?' Why not check it out here.

They say that everyone should have one dish that they can do and do well. My culinary skills start and stop with an Irish classic. No, not Irish Stew or Bacon and Cabbage, but the humble Tayto Sandwich. Check out my how to guide here. I’m sure you will agree that it’s a stunning dish!

Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe…

I don’t have an iPad, I don’t particularly like them. I won one earlier in the year, a nice 64GB iPad2, but gave it away to a family member.

Had I not given it away, then I would certainly be installing Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe app. It’s a companion to his amazing BBC TV show, Wonders of the Universe. 

Currently it is only available for iPad 2 and all new all singing and dancing iPad (3rd Generation) at a special promotional launch price of £4.99, but according to a tweet from the good Doctor, an Android version will be available in the next 2 months or so.

Check out the YouTube Clip below.

Wonders Of The Universe iPad App Demo.

No sex please, we’re Blackberry.

As some of you will know, I own a Blackberry Playbook Tablet. It’s an excellent tablet, feels great in the hand, nice screen and great price. There are a few apps missing that would make it great. Skype would be one, some form of SMB Browser would be another and finally Zinio, the digital magazine app.

Well today, Zinio finally arrived. I eagerly installed it, logged in and was instantly disappointed. I have a few subscriptions on my account, 2 of which are Maxim and Playboy. I’m a guy, I like look at ladies, reading about gadgets, sports and music and Maxim covers those bases. Playboy? Well it was banned for so long here in Ireland that it would be sinful not to buy it now that it is freely available, plus the articles are fantastic :).

For some reason, RIM (along with Apple and Google on their platforms), have decided that I, an adult well over the age of 18, should not be allowed view these publications that I purchased, on the tablet that I purchased. How do I know it’s RIM that are doing this? Well Zinio helpfully posted this on their website in the last few hours “Please note that due to RIM restrictions, content that is PG-13 and up (such as Maxim) will not be viewable on the Playbook.” Zinio also saw fit to reply to my tweet and posted this “This is RIM's decision, unfortunately. We would love to offer all our content on the platform.”

I understand that the Blackberry Playbook runs RIMs OS, so they are lord and master of their domain, but surely there has to be a workaround to this stupid decision. Otherwise it’s bye bye Zinio, Maxim and Playboy….

*****Update*****

Thankfully, after a concerted effort by Blackberry Playbook users, RIM and Zinio have finally sorted this issue out. Whilst the likes of Playboy will not be available through the Playbook App, Maxim and other magazines rated similarly, will now be available. If only other companies listened too and acted on customer complaints this quickly.

The Future of TV???

Obviously this could never ever happen…. could it??

Android Apps on the Blackberry Playbook…

So, like many others, you bought a Blackberry Playbook when RIM reduced the price substantially. I think you’ll agree that hardware wise, it’s a fantastic piece of kit. The OS has also just been updated to OS 2.0, adding some new functionality to the Playbook. One thing that hasn’t really changed is the lack of apps in the BlackBerry App World. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very good apps available for the Playbook, but when compared to iOS and Android, the Playbook lags behind.

RIM in their wisdom (others see it otherwise), decided to build in Android compatibility to OS 2.0. What does this mean? Well it means that Playbook users have access to a whole world of other apps. Android developers can easily convert their apps to run on the Playbook and these apps can then be submitted to the App World.

If your favourite Android developer hasn’t got around to converting their apps to work on the playbook, why not do it yourself? If you can find the original Android APK file, you can convert the apps to BAR files yourself if you follow this guide. Once you have converted the APK file, you can then side load the file on to your Playbook. If you are confused as to what side loading is, check out this post that details how you can side load the Amazon Kindle app on to your Playbook. It gives step by step guides for both Windows and Mac.

If you can’t find the original APK file for your favourite Android app, check out Playbook Bars as someone may have already converted it and uploaded the BAR file for you to download.

Oh, if you are still running on OS 1.X and would like to upgrade to the latest version of the OS, go to Settings, then to Software Updates and click on Check for Updates and follow the onscreen hints.

Enjoy!

Design Review Mobile for Android…

Just a heads up for all you Android CAD Monkeys out there, Autodesk released Design Review Mobile for Android this week.

So, what can you do with Design Review Mobile? Well lets see, you can:

• Open and view 2D and 3D DWF files from your Autodesk Cloud documents account.
• Use multi-touch gestures to zoom, pan, and rotate drawings.
• View meta data and other details about elements within your technical drawings.
• Use simple redlining and intuitive mark up tools to communicate changes.
• Add text or comments using familiar callouts.

Check it out on the Android Market here.

Full Printed…

3D Printing is the height of fashion in the CAD world at the moment and the video below is doing the rounds on many of the CAD Blogs out there. I thought I’d get in on the action!

The clip was created for the "Laboratory of Manufacture” exhibition at the Disseny Hub Barcelona back in 2010.

Full Printed from nueveojos on Vimeo.

If you think that the video is a little bit too far fetched, why not check out Autodesk 123D and see just what you can do from the comfort of your own couch!

Draftsight V1R1.4 ….

Some good news in the CAD world today, Release 1.4 of Draftsight, for both Windows and Mac was released today. No word yet on just what this update brings us, but you can download it here.

Rest in Peace Vista….

Windows Vista, released by Microsoft back in 2007 (retail version), has been killed off by Autodesk.

As of Jan 1st 2012, Autodesk officially ceased supporting Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System for all new (and upgraded versions) of its products and services released in 2012. The press release is here.

For those that can’t be bothered to read the press release, here are some key points.

Will the Autodesk software/application I recently purchased (i.e. 2012 version) work on Windows Vista even though Autodesk is ceasing support for this Operating System?

Yes, the current Autodesk product line (version 2012) will continue to be supported on Microsoft Vista. Support will cease for new versions of Autodesk products released beginning January 1, 2012.

How does this ‘ending support’ affect me and the products that I currently own (version 2012 and earlier)? I am still on Windows Vista and do not have the ability to migrate to other Windows OS.

Autodesk will continue to support you and your existing, purchased products on Windows Vista in alignment with our current product support policies.

If I choose to buy a new computer with Windows 7, can I reinstall my 2012 products on the new computer or will I have to buy new licenses?

Yes, you can continue to use your current Autodesk products with this new operating system. Once installed, you will have to obtain a new authorization code.

What do I do if I run into issues with Autodesk products on Windows Vista? Who do I contact for support?

You can continue to utilize your existing Autodesk support channels for Windows Vista issues for Autodesk products/versions which have shipped prior to January 1, 2012. For new versions of Autodesk software shipping after this date, please refer to the Autodesk Discussion Forums for peer-to-peer support if you decide to install these Autodesk products on the Windows Vista operating system.

****************************************

So, why are Autodesk doing this? Well Microsoft ended sales support for Vista back in 2011 and mainstream support ends sometime in 2012. Autodesk feel that most of their client base has either moved on to Windows 7 or stuck with Windows XP. According to Autodesk, they will work with our customers in the coming 12-24 months to understand their transition plans and make a support decision about Windows XP when it is appropriate to do so.

So, there you have it, no new releases for Vista from Autodesk. If you are running Vista at the moment, you have two choices, stick with Vista the current version of your Autodesk software, or bite the bullet and upgrade to Windows 7.

I’ve found that generally speaking, a Vista capable PC will run Windows 7 without a hitch. Check out this page from Microsoft on upgrading from Vista to 7. You can also download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from here. It will scan your PC for potential issues with your hardware, devices, and installed programs, and will offer recommendations on what to do before you upgrade.

Stop SOPA Ireland

It’s not often that you will see me getting political on this blog, I normally save that for the pub when my friends are drunk, but the actions of Minister Sean Sherlock and his latest bit of law making here in Ireland need to given the widest public arena possible. We have all heard of SOPA and how it faired in the US. Well Ireland has it’s own version and it is due to be passed as law this month without members of Dáil Éireann voting on the matter.

I have no problem with copyright being enforced, but there are ways and means to do it that will not hamper legitimate businesses. Minister Sherlock seems to be taking advice from one side and one side only on this debate and as we all know, a one sided debate is to dictate.

It would seem that Minister Sherlock knows that there is something inherently wrong with his bill as he is introducing this law without a vote in the Oireachtas. Why did we bother to vote and elect people to Dáil Éireann if a Minister can choose to ignore the members??

One might be paranoid and say that if they can enact this law without a vote in the Oireachtas, then what other laws can they put through with out a valid debate or vote?

If you feel annoyed, aggrieved and upset not only by this law, but also by the means it is been enacted, then check out the Stop SOPA Ireland site and put your name to the petition.

The next revolution in beauty…

The video below is unfortunately not a real advert, mores the pity. It’s the kind of thing that kids need to see on TV. As adults, we know, or at least we should know, that the images we see in magazines are manipulated to some extent. Skin tones are lightened, bodies are narrowed, legs stretched, wrinkles and blemishes removed, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, kids don’t always realise this and can strive for a form of beauty that is just not healthy.

Anyway, take a look at the video. It’s by a guy called Jesse Rosten. Check out his reasons for making the video and some behind the scenes info here.

Netflix Ireland launches

To my North American readers, Netflix will need no introduction, but for those that have no idea what Netflix is, let me try to explain. Netflix offers Internet video streaming ("Watch Instantly") of selected titles to various devices (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3…). Basically, it is your local video store on the internet.

Now, being the nerd I am, I had to try the service, so this morning, I signed up for a free 1 month trial account. Signup is a simple affair, but be warned that even though it is a free trial, you still need to enter your debit or credit card details. After your month is up, the service will cost €6.99.

I plan on using my PS3 to view the service. I turned on the PS3, went to the Playstation Store and found no Netflix app. Hmmm.. now that’s not good I thought to myself. I called Netflix customer support and spoke to two very helpful ladies with American accents and they stepped me through the process of getting Netflix up and running on the PS3.

If you can’t find Netflix in the Playstation Store, I suggest you try the following:

1. Go to Playstation Store
2. Download and install Vidzone. (thanks Daherlihy!)
3. Power off PS3
4. Wait a few seconds (they said 15, but…)
5. Power on the PS3
6. Browse to TV/Video Services on the XMB and you should see Netflix.
7. Click on the icon to install the service.
8. Sign in.

And that’s how you get Netflix on your Irish PS3 if it is not appearing for you in the XMB.

I’ve also tried running Netflix on my Samsung Galaxy S2. You can download the app from the Android Market and after that, it’s an easy setup. Just sign in and away you go.

I’ve only watched a couple of shows (South Park and MythBusters), but picture quality looks good and streaming, whilst not instant, only takes 2 or 3 seconds to start on my 25Mb connection.

So, I have a month to make up my mind if I like it or not…. At €6.99 it is an affordable service, but it’s all about the content and to be quite honest, the content does not look that up to date. If they can’t compete with the local video store, then they might be in trouble.

Hey, where did that come from???

15 days to build a 30 storey, magnitude 9 resistant, 183,000 square feet hotel. That’s just damn impressive. Where is this hotel? Where do you think, China of course, somewhere called Dongting lake, in the Hunan Province.

OK, so it doesn’t take into account the amount of time spent prefabricating the building in the factory, but it’s still impressive to see a 30 storey building erected in just 15 days.

Check out the video below.

The Gym……

The new health regime continues. I hit the gym again tonight. If it was all cardio stuff, it would be fine, but nope, it’s not and the weights are killing me!

Oh well…. onwards and upwards.

Been there, seen that, done that…

I’m guessing that this is a familiar scenario for all CAD Monkeys!!

2012 - The new me and all that rubbish…

So I turned 40 a few weeks back….. Unbelievable. I still feel like I am in my 20’s, I don’t feel 40. Sure a few joints ache and my back is not the best, but they’re just old football injuries, everyone has those aches, don’t they??

Anyway, my friends decided to purchase Gym membership for me as a birthday present. I could take that one of two ways. Either be pissed off at the cheek of them to give such a present, or accept it as it was meant and use it to its full extent.

Today I checked in to the gym for the first time. It’s the first time I’ve been in a gym in about 10 years to be honest. Back in my early 30’s, I used to work out hard. 5 nights a week, pounding the road and pumping iron. Then, well I have no idea why, I stopped. Every now and again I would start up again, but I never managed to get the same level of intensity in to my workouts and found it easy to come up with excuses not to workout.

Will todays efforts be the start of something new? A turn around in lifestyle? Or will I just give it up after a few weeks?? Who knows, though I hope that this will be one New Years resolution I’ll stick to.