SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 472 - April Tech News

April Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Tech Blog:

- SolidWorks Mold Tools - 3 Part Video Series
- Working Across the Network vs. Working Locally
- Animating Rotary Motion in SolidWorks
- Imported Files - Turning Surfaces into Solids in SolidWorks
- Comparing your Purchase & Licenses Shown on the SNL Manager (Pt.1)
- How to Design a Garage in SolidWorks
- Using SolidWorks Plastics to plan your mold
- Loop Selection
- Hidden Gems of SolidWorks
- PLC I/O Wire Numbering in SolidWorks Electrical

Tech Alerts:

- SolidWorks 2014 SP3 Early Visibility is available for download
- SolidWorks Hole Wizard and Toolbox cannot be used after Kasperksy anti-virus update
- My.SolidWorks.com adds Learning

Support Monthly News:

- Spotlight on features - Improvements to the Animation PropertyManager in SolidWorks Simulation 2014
- Spotlight on features - Sheet metal: Flat Pattern Performance improvements anyone?
- Spotlight on features - Scale Sketch with first dimensions in SolidWorks 2014.
- Noteworthy Solutions from the SolidWorks Knowledge Base.

Industry News:

- Microsoft releases Windows 8.1 Update 1 (quick review)
- Windows XP and IE6 are officially retired
- Office for iPad is launched, editing still requires Office 365 Subs
- Amazon releases FireTv streaming box
- Dropbox makes it easier to handle Business and Personal accounts.
- Heartbleed OpenSSL vulnerability is reveals leaking of user data for the past 2 years!

Windows XP was released the month I first started working in the SolidWorks channel. I remember attending a rollout event and noticing the guys at DDi were sporting the newly released Windows XP.  On April 8th, 2014, Microsoft officially retired this OS after a long 13 year run.  Obviously since then there has been 4 other OSs launched so I think retirement is long overdue.  In the wake of this retirement, Microsoft pushed out the first update to WIndows 8.1, refining further Microsoft's new generation operating system.

A few other products also shipped this month for SolidWorks including SolidWorks Inspection and SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual.  With SW Inspection being a more traditional product, SWMC, on the other hand, is the first 3DExperience platform product so SolidWorks is spending these first months educating everyone, including those of us whom will support it, what exactly is involved in use, support and management of these new tools.

Despite April staring off with a bang in the technology space, Heartbleed, an OpenSSL vulnerability, was discovered and effects many of the web servers tethered to this thing called the Internet.  In light of this news, there is a hope many will take the opportunity to first make sure the sites you use have fixed this issue and then change your passwords using a password manager like LastPass.  Changing your passwords before those sites have patched their servers is a waste of time.  The alarming part of this news is around the issue being present for the past 2 years, allowing hackers to "bleed" user data 64K at a time.  I am using this news as an opportunity to comb through my online accounts and verify services that were compromised and take action.  I suggest you do the same. (Call it my Internet PSA).  ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 468 - February Tech News

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February Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Tech Blog:

- SW  World Recap posts
- SW Customer Certifications Hit 100K! 
- A Conversation with Hugh Herr 
- SolidWorks Tech Tip: A Change in Perspective 
- Flipping Normal: A Fresh Perspective to SolidWorks Sketches and Mates 
- EPDM - Simplifying Workflows using Workflow Links 
- Lock Rotation Option with Concentric Mate Option

Tech Alerts: 

- SolidWorks 2014 SP2 is available for download
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2014 SP2 is available for download

Support Monthly News: 

- Spotlight on Features - Link to Thickness
- EPDM Contains Tab and Supression
- Service Pack News
- Noteworthy Solutions from the SW KB.

Industry News: 

- Google's Smart Contact Lens Project   
- Cloud CAD & PDM Will Become Easier For Android and GDrive?  
- The Mac turns 30  
- Google Sells off Motorola to Lenovo  
- Windows 8.1 Update 1 now looking like April 1  
- Google launches Chromebox Meetings

Now that SolidWorks World 2014 has come to an end and now a few weeks behind us, much of the dust has settled and we are back to work.  Since beta for SolidWorks 2015 and access to any of the new "Experience" tools are still months away, it is time for us to talk about the last few weeks in tech news.

The tech blog has its regular flow of content and this months support monthly news is chalked full of good stuff to talk about.  With SolidWorks 2014 SP2 now available for download, it is hard to think about the promise of more tools out of DS this coming summer.  I hope that access to many of the new products opens up soon as many of us, even in the VAR channel, still have no access to these new products as of yet.

2014 has been a very busy year for Google after buying Nest and then selling off Motorola after only having the company for a little under 2 years.  What is interesting is all the innovation that is being done on the web by Google with Chrome.  The web is the platform and I am a HUGE fan of that.  ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 464 - December Tech News

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December 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 tech news. Topics covered:  

SolidWorks Blogs:
Tips:
- Need Alpha Channel Images Fast? SolidWorks Composer Can Help.
- Patterning - Tips and Tricks
- SolidWorks Simulation Database files ...
- SolidWorks Tip: Preventing Rotation in Concentric Assembly Mates
- SolidWorks Plastics Professional - Introduction
- HOWZAT - SolidWorks Simulation Bowling us over!

News:
- Thanksgiving and Flow Simulation
- SolidWorks World is coming up fast: Other things to do while in San Diego.
- CSWP-DRWT exam test drawings tools in SolidWorks, not drafting "best practices"
- Is SolidWorks software available for Apple Mac and iOS devices?
- SolidWorks World 2014 Top Ten - Deadline for Idea submissions is coming up quick
- SWW14 Partner Spotlights: TEDCF Publishing and Lenovo
- SolidWorks 3rd Annual Holiday Gift Guide
- I want you to model a box...
- Win a free pass to SolidWorks World 2014 with our Holiday Gift Contest
- SolidWorks World 2014 Top Ten Idea List is now open for voting

Tech Alerts:
- SolidWorks 2014 Service Pack 1 is available for download
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2014 SP1 is available for download  
- New version of EPDM Office Integration is now available

SolidWorks Support Monthly News:
- Spotlight on features
- Service Pack News
- Noteworthy solutions from the SW KB.

Industry News:
- Raspberry PI now includes Mathematica and Wolfram Language for free
- Connect Google Photo Spheres
- Snagit makes it's way to Chrome as an extension
- LifeProof launches first Touch ID-compatible waterproof case
- RealView on a Mac...Secrets Revealed!
- Google Santa Tracker

We are finally here, the last tech news show of 2013 and I feel like SWW13 just ended. With SolidWorks World just around the corner and the 2014 Top 10 Idea List closed, the sights are now set on late January.  This year's SolidWorks World will be held in San Diego, CA on January 26-29 and still no word on this years speakers.

Service pack 1 is out for SolidWorks 2014 and many of you have probably read, watched or attended some events for the What's New feature set.  Support call volume is picking up as many companies are beginning to upgrade now that the first service pack has been pushed.

The tech industry is a bit slower at this time of year since all the holiday season new products have shipped and we are in the buying season.  I don't know about you but his is my favorite time of year to enjoy time with friends and family and reflect on the past year.  2014 will be an exciting year for tech and I hope SolidWorks will surprise us all this year at World! ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 460 - October Tech News

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October Tech News: 

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

  SolidWorks Blog & Tech Blog:
Tips:
- Design Scenarios for fluid flow in SolidWorks Flow Simulation
- Improving Performance of Large Assemblies
- Dramatically reduce design errors by using SolidWorks Intelligent Feature Technology (SWIFT)
- SolidWorks Lofted Bends for Complex Sheet Metal Parts
- Quicker Access to Tools = Quick Productivity Gains
- SolidWorks 2014 - In Mold Residual Stress & Displacement

News:
- See What's New in DraftSight!
- Check Out the Latest Updates to My.SolidWorks
   Catching Up with the SolidWorks Community at Maker Faire NYC
- Are you currently using workarounds in SoildWorks Drawings?
- Designing for Precision on the Shop Floor at Wamore, Inc.
- Enter The Ocean Cleanup Contest for a chance to change the world (and win prizes)
- TenLinks to Award Top SolidWorks Bloggers
- New Getting Started Video Series Launch on SolidWorks Composer YouTube Channel
- "He's a designer, so he shouldn't touch CAM right?" Wrong - and here's why.
- SolidWorks World User Agenda is Live.
- eDrawings is Updated (Android file association is fixed!)

  Tech Alerts:
- SolidWorks 2014 SP0 is available for download
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2014 SP0 is available for download
SolidWorks 2013 SP5 is available for download
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2013 SP5 is available for download

SolidWorks Support News:
- Top questions and issues
- My.SolidWorks.com update
- Service pack news
- SolidWorks World 2013 proceedings - part 3
- Noteworthy solutions from the SolidWorks Knowledge Base

Industry News: 
- Apple Ships iPhone 5s & 5c, debuts new iPad and Mac line
- Apple Ships OSX update for free along with iLife and iWork with new devices
- Google's rumored Nexus 5 by LG blows away benchmarks
- Google ships Coder for the Raspberry Pi
- Microsoft ships Remote Desktop app for iOS and Android
- Microsoft Windows 8.1 ships

Mid October marks the time when the new SolidWorks product line has been launched, rollout events are underway and the jury is out of how users are responding to the new version.  This time of year is fun for me since I get to travel around to show the shinny new software but something is different this time around.

SolidWorks 2014 marks 12 versions of SolidWorks that I have done these "What's New" presentations and this year we stuck to showing SolidWorks for most of the event.  The trend in 2014 seems to be on so many little front-facing improvements and features leaving these tid-bits out would be a shame.

Since we spent the last few weeks plowing through the 2014 What's New, this issue of the tech news show will skip those news bits and focus on what we all missed over the past 5 or so weeks.  This has also been an interesting few weeks for the big three, Apple, Google and Microsoft.  ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 450 - September Tech News

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September Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Blog: 
Tips:
- Don't Panic, it's most likely NOT "not responding"
- Two tools you might now know about (and might find useful) in SolidWorks
- SolidWorks Modeling Methodology: Part 3
- Working with Multibodies in SolidWorks
- SolidWorks Drawing Tip: Convert View to Sketch
- The Unknown "Golden Tools" in SolidWorks Simulation
- SolidWorks Geometry Pattern: A Simple Option To Make Patterns Regenerate Faster
- Getting ready for SolidWorks 2014
- SolidWorks Composer: Automating the Creation of Control Assembly Instructions

News:
- SolidWorks launches eDrawings for Android!
- Georgia Tech freshman & Iron Man Suit?
- Colorado teenager Easton LaChappelle 3D prints the next generation of prosthetic limbs
- Cardiovascular Systems Inc. and SolidWorks Composer
- See what's new in SolidWorks 2014!
- A lot of posts for the "Sneak Peak" series on 2014

Tech Alerts:
- SolidWorks 2014 Pre-Release 1 available for download
- SolidWorks EPDM 2014 Pre-Release 1 available for download
- 2013 DS SolidWorks Customer Satisfaction Survey
- SolidWorks World 2014 Call for Presentations

SolidWorks Monthly Support FAQ:
Beta 2014 Updates
- Service Pack News
- Noteworthy Solutions from the SW KB

Industry News:
- SolidWorks 2014 What's New series on SWH launching
- Microsoft to launch Windows 8.1 on Oct 17th as a free upgrade.
- Google chops Nexus 4 price $100, hints at Nexus 5 and KitKat
- Google releases 'Coder' a web-based coding environment for Raspberri Pi.
- Apple unveils details on iPhone 5S and 5C
- MyCADBox updates measurement tools.
 

Labor Day in the US has come and gone which marks the end of Summer for many.  Back to school and the Holiday season tends to be a big catalyst in the tech industry, bringing a rush of great stuff to the market, SolidWorks and technology alike. 

On September 9th the embargo of SolidWorks 2014 beta lifted the shroud of silence on all the specific details of what is to come in the next major release of the SolidWorks' product lines.  The SolidWorks Blog hemorrhaged posts called "SolidWorks 2014 Sneak Peak", outlining details of specific additions and enhancements to come.  

Now that the beta program has come to an end, 2014 rollout season will be starting up in October along with the shipment of a slew of new devices/services from many of the big names like Apple, Google and Microsoft. ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 448 - August Tech News

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August Tech News: 

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

 SolidWorks Blog:
Tips:
- Using SolidWorks Weldments for a quick shop upgrade
- Large Assemblies Made Easy with SolidWorks
- Standard View without Zoom-to-fit
- The Digger is Your Friend!
- SolidWorks Modeling Methodology - Part 2
- Design Machines?  Does Event Based Motion ring a bell?
- If a picture tells a thousand words, an animation tells a million!
- Tractor Trailer Aerodynamics in SolidWorks Flow Simulation
- SolidWorks Toolbox Browser: Adding Property Values with the Help of Excel

News:
- With Dinamo Group and TEKNIKER, Your Museum Guide Could Be a Robot Designed in SolidWorks
Flower Power from Parrot offers better living through technology - for your house plants
- GRIT Helps the Disabled in Developing Countries Gain Mobility With SolidWorks   

   Tech Alerts:
- SolidWorks 2013 SP4 is available for download
- SolidWorks EPDM 2013 SP4 is available for download
- SolidWorks & EPDM 2014 Beta 2 is available for download
- SolidWorks launches a Tech Blog

SoldWorks Support Monthly FAQ:
- Beta 2014 Updates
- Service Pack News
- Noteworthy Solutions from the SW KB

Industry News:
-  Google Launches Android 4.3, Chromecast and the 2nd Gen Nexus 7 (reviews)
- Leap Motion Controllers are shipping!
- Motorola / Google launch the Moto X Android Phone
- Integrating ARAS Innovator and a Raspberry Pi
- Amazon Brings HTML5 Mobile Web Apps to Its Android Store
- Teamplatform is acquired by 3D Systems

August was another exciting month for tech news around technology.  Google has been busy this month with new products, updates and the first phone launch since acquiring Motorola Mobility over a year ago.  The activities of this month will probably have an effect on Apple and other manufacturers as we head into the last half of this year just in time for the holiday season.

SolidWorks is pretty much in the middle of their technology quiet zone as 2014 beta heads into it's second stage.  I have still to install it but am going to do so in Windows 8.1 to do some additional testing.  I am less inclined to do testing on my development machine but have a clean system now and hope to get some testing in soon.  I have been digging into the What's New PDF and am excited to start this years What's New Series. 

News has still been quite on any Android version of eDrawings that was announced at SWW13 this year or any updates on SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual.  I hope to hear some news on these fronts soon as I am anxious to test both of these tools. ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 444 - June Tech News

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June Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Blog: 
Tips:
- Vibration tips for Simulation
- SW Sim Tips: Parameters and Design Studies
- SW Intersect Tool: Using Intersection Surfaces to make Solid Bodies
- Could Top-down Assembly Modeling Save You Time?
- Composer Tip: Improving Tech Pubs by Integrating Color
- Using Bend Notes for Sheet Metal Design in SW 2013
- Indexing EPDM Vault for Content Search

News:
-  My Perfect Electric Bicycle is a Motorcycle!
- New SW Certification Logos and Certificates
- Can spatial aptitude tests help predict your success as an engineer?
- Knowing When to Contact Your Reseller for Support
- Introducing the New SW Composer YouTube Channel!

Tech Alerts:
- SolidWorks 2013 SP4 Early Visibility is available for download
- Featured content from June
- One Minute Tech Tip Videos

Support Monthly FAQ:
-  SW 2014 Beta coming...
- Spotlight on features
- Noteworthy Solutions from the SWKB

Industry News:
- Matt Lombard's Dezign Stuff blog closes shop...
- Autodesk Buys TinkerCAD (Expanding 123D...)
- Intel Launches Next-Gen Haswell Chipsets
- Apple Announces New iOS and OSX platforms at WWDC
- Google Redesigns GMail and launches Project Loon
- GrabCAD Workbench comes out of Beta!
- TeamPlatform launches a refresh with new UI and enhancements
- Sunglass partners with CADENAS (1M+ Models)

It's officially Summer and that means product launches and beta season is around the corner.  It has been an exciting year in technology thus far but SolidWorks has been pretty closed lipped about beta up to this point.  I am curious to know what other products we might be able to test out, especially cloud-based apps like SW Mechanical Conceptual.  

As we discussed last week, the sightings of the SolidWorks 2014 Beta page is in the works but not all there yet.  In this month's Support FAQ there was mention that beta would start in the second half of June... WHICH IS NOW.  I expect that the flood gates will open on Monday and it will be time to get to testing. 

June was also the month of Apple's WWDC (Developers Conference) where previews of new hardware and software are going to enter the fold in the coming months.  After seeing both Apple and Google talk to their developers, there is going to be some exciting stuff entering the market in the second half of this year. ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 441 - May Tech News

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May Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Blog:​
Tips:
  - ​Breaking a sheet metal loft so it shows bend lines.
  - Using SolidWorks Sub-Weldments
  - Revision Clouds in SolidWorks 2013
  - Driving SolidWorks Assemblies with Curve-driven Patterns
  - Simplify Your Models Using the Intersect Tool
  - Note-Building Machine: SolidWorks vs Infinite Monkeys
  - Creating Section Views in SolidWorks 2013
  - 5 SolidWorks Tips You May Have Never Seen Before

News:
  - Free SolidWorks Certification for Subscriptions Service Customers
  - Q&A: Keeping up with the U.S. DoD Requirements
  - ​Romotive turns your iPhone into a programmable robot with the help of SolidWorks
  - Learn More About SolidWorks Using the Built-in Tutorials

Tech Alerts:
  - May Featured Content
  - 2 Questions Survey

Support Monthly FAQ:​
  - New format from SW Support
  - Service Pack News
  - Noteworthy Solutions from the SW KB

Industry News:​
  - Google Now comes to iOS
  - GrabCAD Workbench Launches
  - Windows "Blue" officially now Windows 8.1 (will be free!)
  - Google I/O 2013 Announcements

I know this is a little late but I opted to give myself a little break, catch up on some work and wait till the Google I/O conference was over so I could add some interesting information to the Industry news area of the show.​

SolidWorks news seems to be a little slim.  I would imagine there will be a high volume of stuff hitting the web once the beta for 2014 comes out.  I am hoping to hear more news in the coming weeks about SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual, which was announced at SolidWorks World in January.  As many of the announcements of years past, it has been silent, however I am anxious to see if we get a beta opportunity in conjunction with the desktop version of SolidWorks 2014.​

As you might imagine, I was focused on the big Google Developer conference that launched this week so I decided to push the show out till I could add some of the announcements from Google I/O since they have such a powerful impact on the future of the web.  Every year Google gives a good outlook on the future of the web and all it could potientially offer us.  Whether you love or hate them, the employ more PHDs than any other company so "pushing the envelope" is woven into their DNA.  ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 437 - April Tech News

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April Tech News:​

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

SolidWorks Blog:​
Tips:
​   - Allowing SolidWorks to Perfiorm
   - Editing Legacy Electrical Data with SolidWorks Electrical
   - Forget the Cavity search--user the Intersect command for filled volume (SW2013)
   - SolidWorks Simulation Time Saver: Sub-Modeling
   - Stripping a Coated/Plated Part in SolidWorks
   - New in SW2013: Change Your Life with Search Options (on of my fav)
   - The Magic 8-ball in SolidWorks

News:
   - Design That Matters uses SolidWorks to help save newborns with jaundice (Born to Design)
   - SolidWorks 22 min Webinar Series reminder...
   - How to Learn SolidWorks (tutorials)
   - Setting the record straight on the future of SolidWorks Mechanical CAD
   - Introducing My.SolidWorks
   - Replicating History: Teversham Engineering's Project to Rebuild the First Computer using SolidWorks.

Tech Alerts:
- ​SolidWorks 2013 SP3 is available for download (release notes)

Support Monthly FAQ:​
​- Top Questions and Issues
- New Knowledge Base Articles

Industry News:​
- Google Pixel first thoughts (besides expensive)
- Google announces a Realtime API for Drive (more collaborative tools to come!)
- Microsoft's next revision to Windows 8 (codename: Blue) leaks
- Blake Couter, Founder, Leaves SpaceClaim for GrabCAD
- Fielder Hiss leaves his post at SolidWorks (VP of Product Marketing and Management)

​The tech news this month was hard to choose what exactly to cover since there was more than usual.  On the SolidWorks front, the news has a few eye openers and some reflection and even worry when it comes to the future of the SolidWorks product direction.

This past week Fielder Hiss, a long time friend of mine and the VP of Product Marketing and Management stepped down to after 14 years with the DS SolidWorks.  It took many by surprise but raised concerns on exactly what was behind the decision.  Fielder had reportedly said his decision was NOT due to any broad organizational changes but more around a need for change after spending 1/3 his life with the same company.  He is taking a similar role with in a non-CAD industry (EnerNOC).

The other news was from a "Getting the facts straight" post on the SolidWorks Blog by CEO, Bertrand Sicot about the future of SolidWorks Mechanical CAD.  SolidWorks is finding itself ​in these situations due to unclear statements in public arenas like SolidWorks World or the shear lack of updated information to the general public after such announcements. (i.e. closed beta on SW Mechanical Conceptual).  Users and analysts like updates and the lack of updates causes wild speculation which then requires actions like this. ~Lou

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SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 434 - March Tech News

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March Tech News:

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

SolidWorks Blog:​
- Tips
   - Revisitng You SolidWorks Copy Settings
   - SolidWorks Dismissed Warnings and Error Messages
   - New "Bounding Box" in SolidWorks 2013 (it's not just for weldments!)
   - Using the Intersect tool in SolidWorks 2013
   - Snapshots of PhotoView 360: Viewpoint (Part 5 of series)
   - It's Easy to Convert that old Legacy Data to SolidWorks
   - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Sketches
   - Remote vs. Distributes Mass in SolidWorks Simulation
- News
   - Donn McKinney's U.S.S. Missouri (in eDrawings)
   - SolidWorks World 2013 Technical Presentations are now available for download
   - Designing a Standing Desk in SolidWorks
   - How Design Has Changed The Way We Drink (St. Patty's Day)

Tech Alterts:
- ​March Featured Content

Support Monthly FAQ:​
- No SMFAQ this month...

​Industry News:
- Google Released the Pixel Chromebook ($1300 bones..)
- CADFaster lauches MyCadBox beta (cloud based collaboration on Azure)
- Dropbox launches version 2.0 Desktop sync tool
- Google to Kill Reader July 1

This has been a busy month in tech but pretty slow month with respect to SolidWorks.  The SolidWorks blog was stocked full of great tips from the AE community but there were no tech alerts or support monthly FAQ.

There was, however, a number of technology updates across the web, devices and other services in and around many of the technologies I personally use.  Google launched a high end, Macbook Pro quality, Chromebook but came with quite a price tag of over $1300 USD (plus tax). 

Google Reader, a tool that I use daily, reading over 270K articles across the web since 2006, was announced last week that it was going to be shutting down July 1.  Google has been doing a lot of "Spring cleaning" since Larry Page took the helm.  ~Lou

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