Archive for the ‘General’ Category

A Product Review by Michael Anonuevo

Introduction

In preparing to writing an instructional eBook on how to produce Autodesk Revit renderings and walkthroughs, one of the things I did a few months back was conduct a research on computer systems optimized for these types of Revit tasks. It is a subject matter that I know will occupy a chapter on its own in the eBook. I’ve looked at brand names such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Asus. However, I could not find any computer system specifically targeted for Revit modeling. By chance, I ran into a colleague who suggested that I look into BOXX computer workstations (www.boxxtech.com). I had never heard of the company, although I found out later that they had been around for the last 15 years! As a  full time Revit modeler who is always busy creating complex families or writing about them, I never really got into the details of a good Revit computer workstation. And so with this new eBook project, I had a chance to look at a workstation made for Revit. After emailing my credentials and review proposal to a BOXX specialist, I was connected to the right channels and eventually was sent a unit for evaluation.

This article is about the 3DBOXX 4920 XTREME workstation. At the BOXX website, this model is referred to as The World’s Fastest Workstation for Autodesk Revit. On the internet, you’ll find great reviews about this workstation, including its technical details and specifications. To avoid being redundant, the main focus of this review is how effective this workstation is for Revit Architecture users. I will, however, highlight certain features worth taking a look at.

Is this really the fastest workstation for Revit? How can we users benefit from this system? What makes this workstation special from the rest of the pack? How does this computer compare to yours or other workstations? These questions (and many more) are tackled in this review. If you are in the process of upgrading your Revit workstations or want to add a dedicated power workstation for generating renderings and walkthroughs, this article will help you decide which system to purchase.
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In response to Revit users from Australia, UK, Europe and other countries, I’m happy to announce the release of the Metric Editions of my eBooks:

• Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2012 Families, Metric Edition
• Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2013 Families, Metric Edition

They are free with the purchase of the 2012/2013 US Editions. Please click this link to get a PDF sampler containing sample images and Forewords written by Jeff Pinheiro (theRevitKid.com) and Jay Zallan (Perkowitz+Ruth Architects).

by:

Michael Anonuevo
Revit Architecture Certified Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

I just released the 2013 update to my 2012 eBook: Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2013 Families: A Practical Guide for Beginner and Intermediate Users

Join Revit users nationwide and all over the world who have discovered the valuable information in this eBook. There is nothing like this in the market right now. The eBook teaches the efficient ways to create families. It also explains the subtle little details that go with family creation that no other books explain. In response to Revit users from Australia, UK and European countries, I’m happy to announce the Metric Editions of these eBooks. They will be released on or before November 2012. They are free for those who purchase the 2012/2013 Imperial (US) editions.

Book description:

PDF format, 16 Chapters, 777 pages, over 2000 images. All the new 2013 features are explained in-depth. Download my PDF sampler (163 pages) containing the full Table of Contents (2012 & 2013), Forewords by Steve Stafford and Lonnie Cumpton, and sample images here.

by:

Michael Anonuevo
Revit Architecture Certified Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

I’m happy to announce the release of my eBook entitled:

Creating Custom Revit Architecture Families 2012
A Practical Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users

for an introductory price of $19.95. The price includes a free update to the 2013 version of this eBook (slated for release on or before October 2012) and four free Revit families from my website.

Although the book was written with architects in mind ,it is also a useful guide and resource for interior designers, recent architecture graduates, Revit MEP and Structure users, and AutoCAD users transitioning to Revit. It is also a handy reference for BIM managers and advanced users.

Book description:

PDF format, 16 Chapters, 751 pages, over 2000 images. Tutorial files are also included.
Requirement: Basic knowledge of Revit.

Download the full Table of Contents, Foreword by Steve Stafford, and sample images here.

Michael Anonuevo
Certified Autodesk Revit Architecture Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

How do I stand out from the Revit crowd? We get this question all the time at Club Revit. Sometimes it is by people that are looking for a job. Other times it is from people that want their bosses to see them at a different level. Recently it has been from companies that are competing for projects that require BIM.

The typical answer is to get your Revit Certification. Imagine your client requires a BIM deliverable and your competition says they are Revit experts. You could say so are we, but that is just playing the me too game. What if you could say that everyone on your team is a Autodesk Revit Certified Professional and that they have all been tested by Autodesk to earn that certification. That really puts a different spin on the conversation. This applies to individuals as well. Nothing shows commitment and expertise better than a certification. Wether you are looking for a job or just trying to get your boss to see your efforts. Taking the time and money to be tested by Autodesk to get a certification speaks volumes about you.

With all of that in mind Club Revit has teamed up with Global eTraining and Gilmore Global to create the Club Revit Certification Initiative. This is a way that you can get preparation training and take both Certification Exams for less than $75.

Goto: http://clubrevit.com/cert to learn how you can get exam prep training and take both the Associate and Professional exam for under $75. Normally you would pay $350 to take both exams and get the prep training.

Autodesk is starting to release videos about Autodesk 360. We will be posting them to this area so you can keep up with them. You can also goto http://www.autodesk.com/cloud-getstarted for more info. These are incredible new tools that are available to you as part of your subscription. They are well worth a look.

Autodesk® 360: Storage, Sharing and Viewing

Autodesk® Subscription now provides a greater advantage with Autodesk® 360 capabilities that can help you increase mobility, improve collaboration, and optimize your designs—advancing the way you work.

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For those of you that made it to Autodesk University this year you may have noticed a new Revit add-in company called BuildEdge. Their booth was right next to the BIM9 booth, so I got to spend some time with them. As I found out Autodesk University was a kind of launch party for a new Revit add-In called BuildEdge Roof™. BuildEdge Roof automates and simplifies the input of pitched roofs within Revit.

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A good friend of Club Revit Donovan Ballantyne is, in my mind, a great example of the next generation designer and technologist. He probably would not like me adding the technologist part. He is able to take tools that we use everyday and apply them in ways that most of us just never think of. The results are well…… Take a look!!!!!!

A message from Donovan

My thesis project has been nominated to be exhibited at Land of Tomorrow Gallery in September 2012. Please vote for my thesis project on the following link, and help make it happen.

It only takes one click.

http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com/2012/02/07/a-ball/#more-18830

More photos and information after the break
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Autodesk has announced the dates for the 2012 certification days. These are the dates that you can get your certifications for $25 each. This is a great price to renew or get a new Autodesk certification.

The 2012 certification days are:
February 10th
April 13th
June 15th
August 10th
October 12th

You can Click Here  or goto: http://atc.gilmoreglobal.com/ to register for these special days.

All certified testing centers will be part of these $25 days. So you can take the test at your local certification center.

If you are in one of the following areas and would like to take your certifications at the U.S. CAD office you can use the site codes below.

• Costa Mesa – AM3130
• Hawaii – AM3707
• Las Vegas – AM101204
• Los Angeles – AM3030
• San Diego – AM3483

WHY GET CERTIFIED?

Autodesk certifications are a reliable validation of your skills and knowledge, and can lead to accelerated professional development, improved productivity, and enhanced credibility for you and your employer.

Key Benefits

• Gain an industry recognized credential that proves your skill level
• Set yourself apart and receive industry recognition for your proven expertise
• Strengthen your existing and develop new skills through certification preparation
• List your name in the Autodesk Certified Professionals database
• Enhance the credibility for you and your employer

When Apple introduced iCloud, they decided to kill off MobileMe.  I love what iCloud is doing syncing my information on my iDevices, but it is lacking what MobileMe did with file storage.  Don’t get me wrong, iCloud is still the king of information sync for me as I have an empty glass of Apple Flavor Aid.  When it comes to document storage iCloud falls short.  Granted I am late to the Dropbox show and you may already know the goodness that is Dropbox. If you don’t know about Dropbox’s tasty goodness then by all means read on.

Dropbox is a cross platform cloud based storage service. Dropbox gives you 2 GB of free storage to store anything your heart desires. Need more space? You can get 50GB of space starting at $99.99 a year, the same price that MobileMe was. Dropbox works on my iPad, iPhone, Mac OS X, and within Windows. It automatically sync from Dropbox’s cloud to my computers.

What sets Dropbox apart from MobileMe is that my documents are synced, not just accessible from the cloud.  This gives me the following advantages:

• Faster access to my documents. Because my documents are synchronized to my computer they are on my computer and in my Dropbox.
• Faster directory browsing. This may seem like a small thing but when you are hunting for something in your documents folder you want it to be fast.
• Local backup.  When Dropbox synchronizes your file it places a real copy on your local hard drive, this allow time machine to backup my documents on my backup drive.  Having extra backups is a wonderful thing.
• Offline access. Again Dropbox places a real synchronized copy on your local hard drive. So I can access my documents where I don’t have access to the Internet.
• It just works and I know where my files are.

With Private BIM Clouds, or anything remote based computing you need to think about using the right tools for the job.  Private BIM Clouds are wonderful things, without Private BIM Clouds running a BIM project remotely is very complicated and difficult. Dropbox provides an easy way to transfer files from my laptop to my Private BIM Cloud.  Even though there is a way to connect to my local drive from my Private BIM Cloud, I am finding DropBox easier and one less thing to configure.

Overall I am quite happy with DropBox and would recommend it for my readers that chew gum.

If you would like to give Dropbox a try please use my referral link, this will give me some more space and make my day.  Here is the link http://db.tt/HEGegMsj