Category: SolidWorks World

Fake Geek Girls vs. Real Geek Girls?

As we lead into SolidWorks World 2013, a land of geekdom if there ever was one, an interesting meme is making its rounds on the Internet.  There seems to be a bunch of hoopla about “fake geek girls”.  What’s a fake geek girl?  Apparently Urban Dictionary doesn’t have an entry for it yet (as of today, anyway).   Umm, I did find a definition at some site called Geek Feminism Weekly (whatever that’s supposed to mean…kinda sounds like random words thrown together that only vaguely represent what it really is, similar to California Pizza Kitchen.)  Anyway, their definition for fake geek girl is:

Fake geek girls – allegedly women who show up at geek events, possibly while hot, with not enough geek cred for you.

This all seems to have started with an article on Forbes (Really, Forbes?  Yes, Forbes.) called Dear Fake Geek Girls: Please Go Away.  In this article, the author talks about being a “geeky girl” growing up and how she now sees “pretentious females” now posing as geeks when they haven’t put the time in to justify the claim.

What’s with all the hate?  In fact, why are girls singled out as being fake geeks (especially by other woman) for being posers?  I think a commenter on a recent article by @Mikeynerd says it well (Fake Geek Girls),

The Fake Geek Girl thing bugs me. Because I do feel there is an underlying sexism at play.

If someone is a poser, then it doesn’t matter if they are a woman or man.  But, is it even bad to be a poser?  Isn’t a poser just someone whose trying to figure out what everyone else already knows?  Aren’t they really an outcast too?  As outcasts trying to fit it, doesn’t that make them more geeky (since being a social outcast is technically a major component of geekdom)?   The answers to this series of rhetorical questions are as follows: no, yes, yes, and yes.

I’m going to go out on a limb to reveal information about SolidWorks World 2013 ahead of time.  Don’t tell Dassault Systemes that I’m revealing this secret to you!  The secret: men will outnumber women at SolidWorks World 2013.  Not by a little, but by a lot!   I’m going to bet that most woman who attend this conference with a full pass are as geeky if not more so than most of the men who attend.  In fact, many of the men who attend this conference are prolly fake geek dudes by comparison.  But, that’s all OK!  We are all there to interact, learn, share, teach, and connect in a mutually supportive (and sometimes fun and exciting) environment to gain a higher level of geekdom (value).

SolidWorks World 2013 partner profiles on SolidWorks Blog

Over the past few weeks, SolidWorks Blog has been profiling several Partners that will be exhibiting at SolidWorks World 2013.  There is a lot of detailed information shared about each in the following recent articles.

  • Capvidia – A global company specializing in 3D data translation, data quality, validation, visualization, and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) for SolidWorks users. They’ve been working with SolidWorks since 1995 and are a Certified Gold Partner with four products.
  • Moldex3D – They provide a complete solution to help users simulate and validate their part and mold designs before actual production. Covering a wide spectrum of injection molding processes, they help part designers, mold designers, and mold makers detect potential molding problems in advance
  • ATR Soft -CustomTools for SolidWorks and EPDM offers Office-EPDM integration. They are a service partner for EPDM and SolidWorks. Their products let you focus on real design, and automate the rest.
  • Mastercam – Mastercam is 2- through 5- axis milling and routing, turning, wire EDM, Swiss machining, artistic relief cutting, 2D and 3D design, surface, and solid modeling. Also, Mastercam is fully integrated into SolidWorks with our Mastercam for SolidWorks product.

There’s plenty more profiles to explore on SolidWorks Blog as well, such as HP, Striker Systems and several others that have been profiled since October 2012.

SolidWorks World 2013: What’s in Orlando, FL besides Walt Disney World Resort?

Dothan, AL is the Peanut Capital of the World.  Salinas, CA is the Lettuce Capital of the World.  Alma, AR is the Spinach Capital of the World.  Though Orlando’s nickname is The City Beautiful, some might call this sprawling area in Florida the World Capital of Amusement Parks.  There are so many, it’s hard to think of other things to do there.

Guess what!  There are other attractions too!

And, other stuff to do too, depending on your interests.

If you are staying an extra few days after the end of SolidWorks World 2013 with or without kids, there’s plenty to do for all sorts of interests in the greater Orlando area.

SolidWorks World 2013 just weeks away

Breakout Sessions

SolidWorks World 2013 is only a weeks away!  It’s shaping up to be a great convention!  The session schedule is filled with great topics.  These are a small sample of what is on the schedule as of January 1, 2013 (schedule is subject to change):

  • Advanced Motion Simulation Techniques in SolidWorks by Shrikant Savant.  Learn about advanced simulation techniques using SolidWorks Motion, such as control design, event-based motion, exporting motion loads to SolidWorks Simulation, etc.
  • Think Differently! — Multibody Techniques in SolidWorks 2013 by Alin Vargatu.  See how SolidWorks 2013 adds new and spectacular tools for creating and managing multibody parts. We can even call them “game changers.”  Once mastered, these multibody techniques will open up surprising possibilities for saving time and shortcuts.
  • IAW ASME Y14.5 – Use It Only if You Know It by Rustin Webster and Jeremy Clark. Explore the right and wrong way of creating drawings (IAW) ASME Y14.5M. Attendees will learn fundamental drawing rules concerning view orientation and position, tolerancing, interpretation, dimensioning, accuracy, simplicity, and clarity.
  • Automate Your Design with Equations by Don Van Zile III and Frank Ruepp.  Get a closer look at equations. SolidWorks 2013 has significant enhancements to equations, and we will learn how these enhanced capabilities can help you to speed up and automate your design process.
  • Fifteen Years of SolidWorks Tips and Tricks by Phil Sluder.  Learn how to use SolidWorks 2013 in the real world in this fast-paced session of tips. These will not be found in the help file, they come from years of learning, teaching, and using the software daily in a small dynamic design environment.
  • Power Surfacing by David Gill.  Demonstrate how to easily create and import organic, free form surfaces in SolidWorks. Demonstrate new Sub-Division surface modeling plugin for SolidWorks.
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Getting ready for the new year

It’s that time of year again. You know, the end.  2012 had a lot of changes in my life which happen to coincide with changes in SolidWorks in various forms for various reasons, some of which I control, much of which has nothing to do with me whatsoever.

I moved from California and from industry to take a job as a Definition Product Manager for SolidWorks drawings In Massachusetts.  As I write this, I’m snowed into my home, or at least my car is.  I can get outside and leave a trail of 2 foot deep holes anytime I want.  I just won’t get to anywhere useful very quickly.  Contrary to popular conceptions, there is snow in California.  The difference is that the snow is limited to the hills and mountains.  Great for skiing and for going about your daily life without weather getting in the way very often at all.  I will say that I prefer to be walking about in light snow rather than light rain.  It’s the blizzards that are annoying.

Surprize, suprize, the world didn’t end 5 days ago.  The next prediction for the end of the world has already been floating around and was being promoted in the weeks leading up to December 21, 2012.  Sir Isaac Newton predicted the end of things to be 2060 based on his interpretation of Bible prophesy.  We cannot get more creditable than that!  Here’s some others: Yup, there’s others.

2012 was particularly busy for me, with all the changes and the fairly new job.  Can you believe that I’ve already been in Massachusetts about 1 and a half years?  Still seems like yesterday.  A very special Thank You goes to my wife for being a good sport and indulging me in this grand change.

I do have a prediction for 2013.  It will continue to be very busy for me.  There’s a lot of cool stuff going on right now.  I’m very proud of my role in SolidWorks 2013, eDrawings for iPad, and eDrawing Pro for iPad; not to mention all the new stuff planned for 2013.  Keep an eye out at SolidWorks World 2013.

SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten voting is open!

Over 300 Ideas have been submitted for the SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten list!  It’s now time to vote for your favorite enhancements!  If you are a user with a current subscription, you can vote (even if you aren’t attending SolidWorks World).  The more users that vote, the better the results will be.  Just sign in once you go to this link: SolidWorks World 2013 Top Ten.  Vote for the items that you want to see in SolidWorks and related products.  Be sure to view the entire list.  There are some gems that were submitted early (near the end of the list) that need your attention.

Tip: to see more Ideas at once, set the number of Ideas per page to be 50 (set in the bottom left corner of each page).

Have fun with it.  Feel free to leave comments on Ideas that particularly interest you.  If you vote down on a particular Idea, please leave a comment explaining your vote to help others understand as many perspectives as possible.