CAD Insider

Freakin' Ribbon Bar

I've been trying to get a Prius started for over 15 minutes. As I bake in the Hertz parking lot in LA, I am trying every possible sequence of brake, ignition something I've never seen on a car: an on switch. Damn car won't budge. When did the turn-the-key-to-start approach go away?

A similar degree of frustration occurred when hunting for the print command in the latest MS Word. The venerable Dr. Joel Orr couldn't find it either, I learn at the COFES session entitled "the Future of the Interface." At least I'm not a total dummy.

After a round of comments, it appears the packed attendees are divided on this issue. On one side, veteran users of software think their software is easy enough to use. One power user seems to be on the verge of saying that if you can't use [MCAD software, name withheld], perhaps you have no business trying. This provokes another user to say, "When I hear someone defending their hard-to-use software, I just want to punch them in the mouth." OMG. Did I hear that correctly!

Example: SolidWorks had changed its interface considerably in version 2008. Its detractors called its use of the ribbon bar a blind allegiance to Microsoft. SolidWorks countered by citing user studies from its [very hardworking and well meaning] usability team. Much virtual ink was spilled on this but, in the end, there was no choice. SolidWorks had burned the bridges. No "classic" menu option was offered. Move forward, SolidWorks was saying to its users. Like parents forcing vegetables down the throats of babies. We know what's good for you.

Eventually, it seems that even the most vocal critics tire and become silent. Bluster from isolated pockets of resistance is no match for the collective might of software vendors who keep rolling forward, changing this and that, often under the flag of ease-of-use. I want to yell "but I already knew how to use it! It was easy to use" But lately I've noticed no one else is complaining. Already too many users who I thought were on my side have sympathetically offered "I didn't like the ribbon bar at first, either, but you know after a while, it's really not so bad."

Greener Than Thou

May 28. 2008, BALTIMORE, MD (BE Conference) -  Bentley is convincing everyone at their annual user meeting that it has gone green. Examples abound. Their corporate logo has been redone in green, for one thing. They have reduced their corporate carbon footprint for their big show by coming to Baltimore by bus instead of flying. They've hired Andrew Winston (author of Green to Gold) to let us know that green can represent not only the environment but also the greenback. And if you were to believe what Bentley says, the software itself will now allow AEC professionals to be green by incorporating green tactics during design.

old logo

new Bently logo is way more green

It's not the first time I have heard software companies aligning themselves with the green movement. Autodesk pledged itself to be green when Carl Bass, CEO, led off Autodesk University in 2007. However, my request to interview him on this initiative has gone unanswered.

How green can design software get? Isn't AEC software about turning green fields into concrete and metal? Not so, says Joe Croser, from Bentley's marketing division. He educates me in how Bentley is about sustainable infrastructure. A green building can take the place of a not-so-green building . A roadway can be created using more environmentally friendly materials. Energy analysis can reduce thermal load and lower dependence on air conditioning. And so on.

Ok, I think I get it. Still, it bothers me that Toyota (cited as a successful implementation of green technology) is ultimately not green. Yes, there is the problem with what to do with its old batteries, but also, if we wanted to really be green, shouldn't we not be buying a ton of metal and plastic, even if it takes the shape of a Prius, because the creation and disposal of such materials is ruinous? For Earth's sake, shouldn't we walk?

We feel good about doing these little things: paper instead of plastic, recycle, don't litter -- we even turn in our plastic attendee badges so they can be recycled. All these actions can make you feel like a pretty good green citizen: I've done what I can, what is within my power, what is fairly easy. And it hasn't really cost me much or inconvenienced me too badly.

But are we doing as much as is needed? Is replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones going to make a significant difference? Are we rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? The ship is still going down, now maybe sinking a tad slower. Maybe what I need is not fluorescent bulbs (which Mr. Winston points out are really an environmental nightmare because of the mercury) but candles. Or better yet, why don't we just go to sleep?

But for now, technology companies tell us something is better than nothing.

AU 2007 Day 2: It's Tough to Hire a Good Keynote Speaker

How to pick a keynote speaker? It's not easy. You need to find some one whose background in immediately impressive so that people will attend. You are told how much you can spend. So you scour the Internet looking for people who speak for a living (easy enough to do), could be interesting, somewhat relevant to your audience, and sign someone. Then you just pray your speaker will be well received, that he'll be informative, inspirational and entertaining -- and that the evaluation forms will come back with high marks.

Lo and behold, there is a website to make it easy for the conference planner. www.keynotespeakers.com lists many speakers, what they will speak on, their credentials, how much they charge (a range, at least) and even suggest what to say to introduce them.

Ray Kurzweil, the keynote for the Manufacturing Presentation, is listed keynotespeakers.com and according to the site, he can speak on a variety of topics ranging from the future to education to disabilities for anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000. For this event, he spoke of the future.

Call me jaded but listening to yet another Harvard/MIT professor/graduate discuss how computers are getting more powerful...the paradigm shift....how technology changes are occurring at an exponential rate...well, it's just so last decade. Being constantly amazed how kids can do wonders with the new technology only serves to make one sound old and out of it. I've heard a hundred times how a couple of students in college turned a pet project into a $150 billion dollar business (Google).

I thought I'd check out Mr. Kurzweil's background. I found out he received a bachelors degree from MIT but in Literature and Computer Science. I wasn't sure how the audience of engineers, architects and designers would relate. He has had some notable successes as an inventor, however, though I could find no evidence of Mr. Kurzweil being a CAD user.

I found my attention wandering. But I perked up during the following comments:

• Chimps don't really use tools, they just put sticks in the ground. Mr Kurzweil says though they have thumbs, differences in their hands still prevent them from grasping tools properly. With all due respect, I would think that if chimps had superior brains and ruled the earth, one of them would be lecturing how humans could never compete with apes due to the inferior anatomy of a human.
• Nanotechnology will make robotic blood cells. With it, you could do a Olympic sprint for 15 minutes -- or sit at the bottom  of a pool for 15 minutes. I imagine many pro cycling teams are monitoring the progress of this technology.
• How can a 10 year old catch a fly ball, something that takes a half dozen partial differential equations with out ever knowing calculus. Umm, it turns out that calculus and differential equations are separate subjects. To me, this example only seems to point out the inadequacy of mathematics to efficiently express even simple natural phenomenon.

I would like to ask my readers what keynote speakers they have found to be truly memorable. Please comment.