Want to know something about a neighborhood? Ask the people that live there.....
Adding to the vast amount of geographical information publicly available through Google's applications such as Earth and Maps, which have additional content such as Street View (photos taken from the street displayed in Google Earth) and Panoramio (user photos from anywhere available in Google Earth) etc, is Askaro. Askaro is a way of asking geographically relevant questions about anywhere. For example, you might ask how much going rate is for a cup of coffee in Devonport, NZ. You place this question, on Devonport, on the map (map provided via Google Maps API), and hope to get an unbiased answer from the people that live there.
Any user can ask a question about an area and any other user can answer that question. Askaro was created by the same photo sharing entrepreneur who created Panoramio (Eduardo Manchon), the company that allows you to see any user's photographs displayed on location in Google Earth. Panoramio was sold to Google to work in with Google Earth; perhaps Askaro is intended for a similar transaction.
Eduardo is now leaving Google to pursue the development and marketing of Askaro.
The service seems big in Spanish speaking countries and inevitably has been used in most other large countries/cities but looks as though it doesn't have much of a following in NZ. It seems a complex system for such easily shared information but with the right kind of marketing and a simplification of the interface it just might catch on.
For those of you that are heavily interested in the world of CAD, I recommend you check out a blog by Deelip Menezes.
Deelip is the owner of Sycode, a software company that, in its own words: "develops cutting-edge software solutions for the Computer Aided Design (CAD) industry. Our solutions are in the form of standalone applications or plug-ins that work inside major CAD systems". Their slogan is "software made simple".
Deelip talks extensively about the CAD industry on his blog and although his posts can sometimes be a little boring to those of us not involved in the software and political workings of CAD, it is also very informative and serves to keep many up with the play on the inner workings and latest events of the industry.
However, if your interest is specifically in 3D modeling and you enjoy the odd interesting side note, remember to subscribe to this blog either by the RSS feed provided or through our newsletter.
In light of that, I am currently beta testing some exciting new 3D software that has the potential to revolutionize the way 3D models are created... so stay in touch, I will be posting about it shortly.
Wolfram Alpha is set to change the way we view and access knowledge. It is already changing the way many architects, engineers and designers do their work.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, Wolfram Alpha is a self described 'answer engine'. The vision of Wolfram Alpha is to (as described on the site): "make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone." The "About" section of the website goes on to say: "We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything. Our goal is to build on the achievements of science and other systematizations of knowledge to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for definitive answers to factual queries."
In a sentence: Wolfram Alpha wants to be a place where you can find out anything that can be computed. As an example, if I type in [Google Microsoft] I get a comparison between the two corporations. Wolfram Alpha interprets my input as a financial query (I can change this interpretation to an internet domain) and gives me a comparison of current share prices, market capitalization, number of employees, revenue per employee and much more. All of these resulting categories can be expanded on to give me even more info. I can then change Wolfram Alpha's interpretation to 'internet domain' and I have a comparison between Google and Microsoft's websites (google.com vs microsoft.com). I now have a description of each domain's owning entity, their location, daily page views, daily visitors and on and on.
Wolfram Alpha isn't just constrained to corporations by any means, remember, they are trying to make all computable information available. If I type in [H2O] (water), I get a 3D diagram of the compound's structure, its molecular weight, boiling point, density and so on.
If I punch in [16^2/33] it interprets that mathematical equation accurately and gives me the various ways it can be presented (as a decimal, as a mixed fraction etc). It is just as accurate with highly complex mathematics and can present answers and equations logarithmically. I'm not a mathematician's fingernail so won't get into that.
The brainchild of Stephen Wolfram, Wolfram Alpha shows some amazing promise
I personally think Wolfram Alpha has great application in the 3D world as well, it allows equations to be calculated accurately and quickly. When modeling a precise object, I can have Wolfram Alpha open to give me exact dimension calculations. I can also get the volume of an object from Sketchup, search the desired material in Wolfram Alpha and work out the actual weight of an object. I can also get tensile strengths of objects and perform strength analyzes on objects and work out breaking strains much faster and more easily.
Here is the first part of a two-part video series which exhibits this new tool's amazing capabilities well.
I think Wolfram Alpha is a fantastic concept and is proving to be executable in the real world which even Stephen Wolfram himself had doubts about, a great testimony to the organization's determination and vision of a potentially world changing product.
We were all amazed by Google and the way it 'changed the game' in the world of internet search engines. But all it gives you is web pages. The user has to judge relevance, trustworthiness of content, they often have to troll through results to find what you are looking for, and then perform calculations on the information found. Wolfram Alpha's greatness is not in what information it makes available (Google has cataloged almost all public information under the sun) but the way it makes information accessible. There must be some serious interpretation algorithms in there somewhere for it to accurately interpret some of the bizarre requests I gave it, go there now and try your own: www.wolframalpha.com
To discuss anything on this blog, or to make suggestions, email me at: ash@coastalconcepts.org
I know what you're thinking, and I have been thinking the same: My mouse already does 3D. But 3Dconnexion has a unique way of controlling interfaces and drawing programs.
With the unrelenting march of technological advancement forever causing nausea in some, and companies' ever determined efforts to discover and market 'the next big thing' we undoubtedly get left with an exponentially growing mountain of what can only be regarded as techno-garbage. It is with some cynicism therefore, that I embrace any new technology these days. However, it is almost daily that I hear the exasperated cries of "RSI" from those using 3D software, so perhaps we have before us the opportunity to create some peace.
I can hardly comment from the RSI camp as my $15 logitech notebook mouse serves me, at times for 10 hour+ drawing marathons, without the slightest hint of geek's wrist, AKA computer user's repetitive strain injury . Have my genes just become more desirable?
3Dconnexion are actually an arm of Logitech and this is their latest contribution to the world of mousing: the SpaceNavigator. It has actually been on the market for around three years but having no need to switch drawing systems/tools I obviously haven't been paying enough attention.
They have also decided to dress Darth Vader's mothership up as a human-computer interface device and fittingly called it the SpacePilot Pro:
You can check out the full range of 3Dconnexion's high end CAD and computer animation products here
Also check out this brief video from 3Dconnexion showing how the device works.
Personally I get by fine without such high falutin paraphernalia. My personal system utilizes keyboard shortcuts as much as possible, allowing my mouse hand to stay within the drawing area and my left hand to control tool and function changes. This saves a lot of unnecessary mouse movement and if you aren't already utilizing keyboard shortcuts I suggest you test whether it alleviates RSI before switching to an unfamiliar system.
Therein lies the issue, 3Dconnexion's interface is completely different to what our muscles and minds are used to so I'm sure there is at least some sort of learning curve involved when switching to their hardware. I find the switch in interface between Skethup and Alibre a hard enough adaptation let alone changing the entire way my hand interacts with the machine. But to some, who have tried everything else, this may be a major improvement to the way they work. If you have had a go with any of 3Dconnexion's devices let me know your thoughts and I can put them up here.
A good review is available from trustedreviews.com by clicking here. They give the device 7 out of 10 overall.
Personally I am going to stick with my arcaic device that serves me well and actually resembles a live mouse. But if you must, you can pick up one of 3dconnexion's baseline models, the SpaceNavigator, yourself from Amazon.com for around the $100US mark.
I'm almost afraid to say this, but if you disagree with '3D being the best way to design most objects' then you may have been living under a rock for the last decade.
I can almost hear the traditionalists loading their shotguns and climbing onto their horse's backs as I write this.
I'll admit that there are good designers about who still use traditional 2D design methods, I have heard rumors of some Formula One designers sticking to such methods, and if you are creative and insightful enough to be designing Formula One cars and would like to debate this point then please send me an email and I will humbly apologize for my ignorance. However, I could debate that such designers would be even more well utilized if they adopted an effective 3D format.
A personal experience I have witnessed of the transition from 2D to 3D design is with my father; he owns an innovative engineering company that designs forestry equipment. He has historically done all his conceptual design in 2D, and he did it well. He is very innovative and has come up with some very revolutionary ideas through conceptualizing and designing in 2D. However, I recently helped him to get started with 3D software, after the initial learning curve (this is the cost of any new software), he was away. Now he calls me up to excitedly ask if I know about such and such features that he has just discovered. Sometimes he even points things out to me that I didn't know about (very rarely).
My point is that the transition to 3D, although it involved a learning curve, has been, in his own words; "empowering" for my father. It has improved the efficiency of his design process and therefore his business to an immeasurable degree.
This link will take you to the article on Ezine Articles' website. Apparently I am now an "expert author" on the site (I think this means I have published one article there).
If the link doesn't work read the article here:
10 Reasons Two Dimensional Design is Dead and 3D Modeling is the Future
Just as the mighty pen has been superseded by the computer in drawing, 3D design and modeling has made 2D redundant.
To some this is painfully obvious, but to those who still need convincing, here is a list of my top ten reasons that there is no room for 2D design in the 3D future.
Anyone can understand it: Have you (or anyone you know) ever looked at a set of plans and weren't quite sure whether 'that' line should be 2.... or 10 meters into the page?
With 3D modeling this is no longer an issue; real time rendering and shading affects allow 3D models to look very similar to what they would in real life, allowing anyone, from the experienced architect to the prospective client to understand exactly whats going on.
It's so simple and self-explanatory, that they are now using 3D in schools to teach kids the design process. I remember sitting in my tech drawing class looking out the window at a 3D world and wondering why drawing that world had to be so boring.
Kids these days don't know how good they have it.
We live in a 3D world: Everything we do in our day to day lives is in 3D. From pulling on your socks in the morning to making yourself a piece of toast; you are working, and thinking, in three dimensions. Therefore, your mind understands 3D better and is more productive when thinking in that format.
Its engaging: Imagine you are a builder showing Mr and Mrs Jones their prospective house plans. Chances are they can't visualize what all those lines represent. However, if you show them a 3D model and allow them to move it around (with the mouse, of course), virtually walk through it, judge the lighting from different angles, consider colors, consider what effect the sun might have at certain times of the day (....I could go on); they are much more engaged and excited about the project and therefore more likely to give it the go-ahead.
Mistakes are minimized: When a project has been modeled in 3D, there is a much lower likelihood of the designer/s being able to say; “Oh no, I forgot that bar would intersect that wall”, or something similar (insert your own experience here). This is because things can be considered from all angles in 3D. It also allows everyone involved to get on 'the same page' so to speak. This helps eliminate the; “I didn't know you were going to put that there”, syndrome.
The creativity process can breathe: Because we live in a 3D world, and our minds understand 3D (see reasons 1 and 2), the creativity process is unleashed when we design that way. We can put things together the same way we imagine them in our minds, and the same way they would exist in real life. Ever had anyone show you a 2D set of plans and say “imagine this sticks out so far”? Its difficult and it cramps your mind with unnecessary thought. With 3D we can spend less effort on the imaging side of things, and more on the creating side of things.
Its enjoyable: Its much more fun creating and seeing objects in a 3D representation, as opposed to working via flat lines on a page or screen, because your mind is used to thinking that way. Therefore, people become more enthused about a project, and enthused people are productive people. Not to mention the fact that 3D will make the project more satisfying for you too.
It's more versatile: You can't produce a photo-realistic rendering from a set of 2D plans can you? You generally can't produce a bill of materials from a 2D drawing. Creating a work order from 2D is slow, if not impossible. Can you 'walk through' 2D plans? Nope again. Yet 3D modeling ticks all these boxes and more. The format is simply more versatile.
It costs less than you think: Ever since 3D computer design has existed, the costs have been a major deterrent. But that is all changing. Online 3D modeling services provide very competitive rates and can work with you via the net. You no longer need to fork out thousands of dollars for 3D based software because services like these can do it for you at a very economic rate. This saves you the cost and learning inevitably associated with software.
It's fast: With modern software, models can be produced in hours rather than days. The software is more intuitive, less power hungry, more graphically pleasing (it looks better) and of course its faster. All this translates to less costs transferred down the supply chain, meaning you can deliver your part in the project at a more competitive rate.
Get with the program!: Three dimensional design is becoming the norm, in fact, many people are coming to expect it. Operators and businesses within the design/development realm that don't use 3D to some degree are making themselves appear out of date and inefficient. So step into the future and check it out for yourself.
If you would like to discuss 3D modeling with me, or would like to abuse me for my aforementioned ignorance, then drop a line to: ash@coastalconcepts.org
On a different note, the anti whaling boat and Sea Shepherd fleet member Ady Gil did eventually sink, while being towed, after I mentioned it in my blog several days ago. The boat (formerly Earthrace) was a fantastic machine and it is a sad loss, but we can be thankful no lives were lost in the collision. Sea Shepherd is attempting to take the whalers to court and the boat's namesake, Hollywood businessman Ady Gil, has stated that fundraising will go ahead to build another by years end.
All the best to Pete Bethune and the crew from Coastal Concepts!
The brainchild of Stephen Wolfram, Wolfram Alpha shows some amazing promise
