-- One conference theme was that of teaching kids engineering through robotics. Robotic contests mentioned included ROBOCON, FIRST, and ROBO Cup. Kids can use 3D ContentCentral, a free service on the SolidWorks Web site for locating, configuring, downloading, and requesting 3D parts and assemblies, 2D blocks, library features, and macros.
-- Tulane University has closed it Mechanical Engineering Department.
-- Check out Gliffy, a nifty drawing program that works on a hosted Web site.
SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray says it would be good to apply Creative Commons to product design. CC defines everything between full copyright — all rights reserved — and the public domain — no rights reserved.
Today, CAD is all about design intent, not just geometry. Scott Harris, co-founder of SolidWorks says there are now new surfacing mathematics that are better than NURBS. There is said to be a new kernel in the works for CATIA. Basically, a kernel is software code that solves topology.
A last view from my hotel window shows why Ione might be tempted to move to San Diego!