Category: Resource Review

Up in the clouds at SolidWorks World 2010

A new game has taken SolidWorks World 2010 by storm.  Count how many times the word “cloud” (as in cloud computing) is spoken.  At one point, it might seem that entire speeches consist entirely of the word “cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud.”  There’s a message somewhere.  Oh, that’s right.  Cloud computing is the future of SolidWorks and the rest of the Dassault Systemes applications (maybe even for high security customers). 

Cloud computing has many advantages over traditional installed software, according to Jeff Ray, CEO of SolidWorks.  No matter how good SolidWorks is, it is still limited by the computer upon which it is installed.  A significant investment is required to purchase computers that are powerful enough to get the most out of 3D CAD software.  Also, installed software tends to be limited by computer operating systems.  SolidWorks, in its current form, will not likely to be ported over to run natively on a MAC OS.  Instead, SolidWorks will bypass these limitations with cloud computing.  With cloud computing, “SolidWorks” (in whatever form it takes) may run on any platform.  In fact, the user’s computer power will play very little roll.  CAD files (even hugh assemblies) can be accessed instantly and edited on practically any platform, such as Microsoft, MAC OS, Google OS, Firefox, and iPhone.  This is all accomplished without installing any software.   They even discussed SolidWorks running seamlessly with ENOVIA V6, maybe even sometime this year.

According to Ray, the new cloud technologies will be rolled out as they are ready.  The customer will choose when (if ever) to implement.  These improvements represent a “completely new design environment”.  Ray also stated that these new techologies where developed in secret and “run like a start up”.  Technically, all this cloud talk represents nothing more than vaporware right now.  However, if Dassault Systemes delivers, they may have a massive game changer on their hands.

SoliDan’s presentation at SolidWorks World 2010

Daniel Bertschi
Daniel Bertschi

Daniel Bertschi (aka, SoliDan) is a CAD support specialist who will be giving a presentation at SolidWorks World 2010 on how to get more out of the solid models once engineering and design are complete.  The presentation will detail how to “keep [models] working for you in manufacturing.”

Specifically, he will detail advantages of using SolidWorks models beyond the drawing, to create a variety of parts, such as: sheet metal, molded/cast, tubular, and machined parts.  Dan also plans on discussing various methods of model use in manufacturing; and “potential hurdles to overcome.”  Essentially, attendees of Dan’s breakout session should learn the potential their models have to save time & money in manufacturing & procurement.

If you are attending SolidWorks World 2010, you may wish to book Dan’s presentation on your schedule on Wednesday, February 3 at 2:45PM.  If you aren’t going to be able to attend, he’ll be posting his presentation online after SolidWorks World 2010.

Story of the revival of SolidWorks Yahoo! Group

The story of the SolidWorks Yahoo! Group revival began way back in Feb 2006. I was looking for new macros to improve work flow on SolidWorks at my company. I looked everywhere online. One of the places I found was the SolidWorks Yahoo! Group. It was fairly active, with professional participation in discussions about SolidWorks. There was a problem, however.

I tried to contact the group owner, but never got a reply. Eventually, I started looking into why the group was unmoderated. The owner had disappeared; bouncy, bouncy. No one else was assigned to run the group, so the group was left to the elements, those dreaded spammers. Well, the rule with Yahoo! Groups is ownership cannot be transferred except by the owner. Since the owner was bouncy, there was no hope. I forget about the group for awhile. Then, in November 2006, I checked it on a whim. It appeared that SolidWorks users where still actively using the group to post questions and answers.

This got me thinking that maybe, just maybe I could take ownership of this group to revive it. So, I contacted Yahoo! Groups with the following feedback comment:

Are you a… Member

Subject: Other

Type your feedback here: The moderator of SolidWorks yahoo group is not maintaining it, and has a bouncy email address. How does one claim control over a group that is experiencing this kind of neglect [but] still has large potential value to its members?

I waited for a few days before receiving this boiler plate response:

In a message dated 11/28/2006 11:49:36 P.M.
Pacific Standard Time, egroups-feedback@cc.yahoo-inc.com
writes:

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Groups.

I have received your email and you are asking on how does one claim control over a group. I appreciate you contacting us and I’ll be glad to assist you on this matter. I have checked the Yahoo! Group “solidworks”, and it shows that the owner’s account was bouncing. However, in as much as I would like to accommodate your request, I cannot appoint a new owner or moderator to the group as specified in the terms of our Privacy Policy. What I usually suggest is for you to contact the Group owner regarding this issue of handing over group’s ownership. You may send an email to: SolidWorks-owner@yahoogroups.com In the event that the owner can no longer be contacted, one alternative is for you to create your own group and send out invitations to those people who you would like to join your new group. I appreciate your utmost patience and understanding with regard to this matter. If you have any other concerns, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

Regards,

Shelley, Yahoo! Customer Care

Well, the bureaucratic wheels are churning. There was even double-speak that was self-referencial. At this point, I know I have one chance at getting what I want. My reply will have to be forceful and direct, including points that cannot be argued. Here’s my Hail Mary:

Yahoo,

Thank you for your reply.

I do realize that there is a Yahoo policy against the transfer of ownership
for yahoo groups. However, in light of this situation with SolidWorks yahoo group, I (as a Yahoo customer) feel that such a rigid and absolute rule on the matter is counter productive to members of Yahoo Groups in general (not just in regards to SolidWorks yahoo group). Though I don’t speak for the SolidWorks Corporation, the name “SolidWorks” is a trademarked name whose customers would benefit from having the only Yahoo Group that bares that exact name being made active again. Customers are users that are working, educated professionals that seek convenient interaction with other customers of SolidWorks. A new group creates confusion and increases the lack of interest in using Yahoo Groups at all for this purpose.

Also, if the current state of SolidWorks yahoo group is an indicator, with so many groups without reachable owners or moderators, Yahoo Groups appears to be cluttered, which makes Yahoo Groups less valuable as a service. As a matter of customer service, I request that you reconsider your policy in regards to the transfer of ownership for groups whose owners are bouncy for more than six months. Moderators should be able to claim a group at that time. If no moderators exist, members should be able to petition for ownership directly to Yahoo. To avoid spammers from taking charge of groups for professional purposes, set criteria for the approval of those petitions.

Matthew Lorono
Santa Clara, CA

The reply I then got surprized me. Yahoo! Groups staff stepped up the plate.

Hello Matthew,

Thank you for
writing to Yahoo! Groups.

We appreciate your comments on this matter and can understand your concerns.

Because your group is not currently moderated, we may be able to appoint a new moderator for the group. If you would like a new moderator for the group, please start a poll using the group’s polls feature and list the member names of a few members, who would like to be a moderator, as choices for the poll. Please announce the poll to your group and ask the members to vote on who they would like to be moderator. Once the poll has closed, please email me back and I will appoint the “elected” moderator. I do apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.


Regards,
Gidget, Yahoo! Customer Care

The squeaky wheel gets the grease! This is how we do it! And I even got a reply from some girl with an overly cute name.

So, I left a message on the group asking for volunteers. Two people piped up. Of those two, only one had a history of contributing to the site, Chris McCormack. So, I put him up, and myself as the two options in the poll. A month later, I closed the poll and notified Yahoo! Groups staff. I wondered if I would hear from this “Gidget” again?

Gidget (Customer Care),

Per your requirements (see Customer Care email below), I have run a poll for the SolidWorks Yahoo Group to determine a new “elected” group moderator, because the group is not currently being moderated. Two individuals with a history of contributing to the site were self-nominated for this poll. The person with yahoo id maccormackc (Chris McCormack, who is cc:’d on this email) won the poll results. Please appoint maccormackc as the new group moderator for the Yahoo! Group SolidWorks as soon as possible.

Thank you for your prompt action in advance.

Matthew Lorono

Well, Gidget did not respond back. However, Derek did respond back with the happy news.

Hello Matthew,

Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

The situation you describe has been completed.

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you. Please be assured that we’ll do our best to prevent such problems in the future. If you continue to experience the problem, or if we can be of assistance in another matter, please let us know by replying to this email. If you can describe in as much detail as possible the problem you are having, any steps you take leading up to it, how frequently it occurs, and the exact text of any error messages you receive, it will help us to provide a solution more quickly.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

Regards,

Derek, Yahoo! Customer Care

Derek was no Gidget, and his response didn’t make much sense, but he gave me what I wanted, and that’s all that mattered! 😉 After a couple of days, Chris and I began to revive the group, adding content, removing spam, banning spammers, approving new members, etc. And
it appeared to be getting the attention it deserved! Icing on the cake was when Richard Doyle joined the group soon after the revival.  Kudos!

New SolidWorks World resource

There is a new SolidWorks World 2010 resource that which attendees may take advantage.  It is the SolidWorks World 2010 mapyourshow.com website.  It allows you to view the facilities, plan your booth visitations, search and contact exhibitors, and plan attendance for events.  The only major drawback is that it doesn’t seem to link events with MS Outlook.  However, the maps of the convention center are worth the price of admission to the website (free).  🙂

“Over 1000 touch points for feedback”

SolidWorks Corps claims to have “over one thousand touch points for feedback” that allow them to find areas that need improvement with their applications.  Without getting into detail about the effectiveness of their use of these touch points, I’m simply pointing out where they do look.  First, note that the Product Definition Group oversees much of this activity and is staffed worldwide.

  • They conduct direct customer visits.  My company was lined up for such a visit a couple years ago, but due to scheduling, I had to cancel on the SolidWorks representative at the last-minute.
  • They are conducting an increasing number of user surveys (check the SolidWorks Forum and sometimes your email too).
  • There are field people who work through the VARs.
  • Technical support provides invaluable information.
  • They gain information from meeting with User Groups.
  • SolidWorks World provides significant information, such as the top 10 enhancement requests list, voted upon by attendees.
  • They also peruse the SolidWorks and CAD forums.  It’s my understanding that they also hang out at other popular independent CAD forums.

Where is the most effective place to request a change or notify SolidWorks Corp about issues with their software?  Well, I think that depends.  Submitting ERs might be the most effective method, actually.

Thoroughly discussing problems and difficulties in the SolidWorks Forum may also afford more attention.  Bugging VARs about software bugs is fairly effective in my experience (some have had opposite experiences).  Of all the bugs I’ve reported via my VAR, none remain.

Another way to give feedback is to comment on the various SolidWorks related blogs.  Get your favorate blogger to talk about the issue indepth.  Depending on the topic, bloggers do seem to have a little more pull than the average bear.  Unfortunately, I know only one bear that uses SolidWorks (and when her system crashes, it is usually a result of her bashing it about about cabin).

Interesting recent industry articles

There are a lot of interesting topics going on in the CAD blogospere recently.  Topics ranging from interesting business decisions to commentary about contraversial statements.  I contemplated covering many of these topics in individual articles.  Well, instead here’s a list of what I found to be most interesting recently:

Are Autodesk Products Unimportant? – Deelip Menezes

How do I manipulate my model view; let me count the ways – Wilke of SolidWorks Corp

What is Dassault Systemes up to? – yes, this is my own article

Dassault spins out SmarTeam development and support – Al Dean of Develop3D

What’s going on at Adobe? – Al Dean of Develop3D

SolidWorks Mythbuster: fully defined sketches and rebuilt speed – Matt Lombard of Dezignstuff SolidWorks Blog