Glue

I recently became aware of Glue. No not the stuff you use to stick paper or other things together but a product and/or services from Horizontal Systems. They have a platform and applications.

From my limited exposure so far their platform is intended to enable direct communication between BIM and Project Management Systems. Here's a paragraph from their site that describes the purpose of the platform:

...snip
Horizontal Glue™ brings Building Information Modeling (BIM) to the web as a coordinated system that communicates directly with leading design and project management software. Data formats and exchanges are handled through the Glue Server, eliminating compatibility issues between different software platforms further enabling effective and timely collaboration. The transparency between BIM objects and external project management systems makes it the only base technology where model analysis such as clash detection, estimates, scheduling, and RFIs can all occur within the same live model on the web. Model updates on our Glue Server are available instantly to project participants in offices around the globe.
...snip

Their site lists these as primary capabilities:

• Records and Notices
• Clash Detection
• Quantity Take-Offs/Estimating/Budgeting
• Requests for Information
• Submittals and Procurement
• Scheduling and 4D Modeling

Based on that list their applications consist of:

These are delivered via:
...snip
 Implemented through a scalable subscription based SaaS (Software as a Service) model...
...snip

Sadly, the site is very light on details so I didn't get any real sense for how various people really get work done. A video or two would go a long way to explain how the product actually delivers. With my obvious bias for Revit, I also found it very curious that there are screen images that show a Revit model and the Revit interface but .rvt is not listed under File Compatibility. Either a mistake or the Glue applications rely on some export from Revit (DWG/DXF/DWF?) to Glue a project together. More detail on that would be useful

The FAQ doesn't offer anything meaningful for someone like me unfortunately. They invite us to become a Gluru by requesting a DEMO. That suggests to me that things are still in early development, which wouldn't be too surprising really considering the relative youthfulness of Revit adoption despite being 10 years old now.

In the Dept. of Really Picky they probably ought to spell check references to client names, for example Meridian Systems instead of Merididan. I know that's too easy, to visit a site and be critical of spelling, but it's there for all to see. I'm sure they'll zap that one, it's easy! I also know that pointing it out will invite spelling experts to crush me...

Now that I've taken a cheap shot I will say that they appear to be tackling a scope of work that has been under served in the BIM conversation so far. Based on the firms that appear in their rolling graphics on the left sidebar of their site they have the eyes and ears of some pretty solid organizations. Here's to learning more!

Intous 4 - Pen Tablet

I wrote a response to a thread at AUGI a long time ago that discussed using a pen tablet instead of a mouse with Revit. I was using the Wacom Graphire then. I wrote a post here called The Mighty Pen after the post at AUGI.

I stopped using it when I started traveling a lot. It was just another thing to pack and I gave into the smaller simpler mouse. I pulled it out every now and then but the last time I realized our new puppy had managed to sink her teeth into the cord in such away that I couldn't repair it. I tried with solder and iron in hand but gave up.

Last week I was contacted by Mike at Wacom about my experience with their products and Monday I responded to the door bell to find a couple boxes with the Wacom name on them. The smaller one contained their intous 4 Pen Tablet. I'm not going to get into what the larger box contain in this post, doing so would break my Five minute rule.

The packaging is first rate, very polished looking and everything very neatly presented as you opened it up. It only took a few minutes to get up and running. The tablet software took the longest to install but even that was only a couple minutes. I received the smallest version because I mentioned that arm travel can be a bit of a problem while using Revit. The conventional wisdom that I've acquired and heard from others is that smaller is better for Revit work and the larger sizes are better for graphic artists. It still comes down to personal preference I suppose.

The Graphire that I had didn't have scrolling functions or any extra buttons. The intous carries a scroll wheel (think iPod) and a center button as well as six extra buttons, three above and below the wheel. I quite like the wheel for scrolling web pages and documents. I still haven't gotten used to using them for SHIFT, ALT, CTRL but its only been a couple days now. It comes with a mouse too but I've only used it for a couple of seconds here and there. I've stuck to the pen.

In my previous post I mentioned poor posture and arm discomfort. Since I went through that before I've been better about it from the start. I hold the pen so that my thumb can trigger the toggle button for Right Click and Double Click. I settled on that arrangement before too so I didn't have to struggle with it either. The pen is much more substantial than the one I had before. I was always worried about breaking the Graphire's pen. This one doesn't worry me at all.

I picked the right side orientation, it supports either orientation. Here's how it's playing with my other stuff right now.

This next image is a long one, I'm sorry about the scrolling! It's the menu that shows what each button is programmed to do. The top button turns it on.

If you've thought about getting one the Intous models are a bit pricier than the Graphire I had before. The Small (approx. 12x8) that I'm writing about now lists at $299.00 on the Wacom site. The XL size (approx. 24x18) hits $798.00 and the Wireless version (about the same size as the Medium (approx. 14x10) is $399.00.

If you can't tell, I'm enjoying getting to use a pen again! After I've been at it a bit longer I'll follow up with some additional thoughts. That other box is for another post *-)

[Full disclosure: I may get to keep the intous. They made no requirement for posting or otherwise was imposed on me but I wanted to be able to try them out and post reviews.]

Product Pitch - Mach Studio Pro by Studio GPU

Check out Mach Studio Pro!

So what is Mach Studio Pro? William mentioned it in his blog recently and Steve Bennett mentioned it in his blog in May 2009 after getting to see it and again in November 2009, so you can read their thoughts too. Here's a description from the Studio GPU site.

"Working at the Speed of Thought"
"Real-time interactive workflow and rendering has always been the holy grail of the CGI industry. But crossing this boundary has proven elusive even to those with the highest-end multi processor environments .... Until now.

Here's an image capture of one of several sample videos you can watch.

If you try out or buy the product and want to use it with a Revit model you can download the exporter which will install and provide the export functions within Revit. You can check out the download page HERE.

If you want to check out the tutorial that is available for it then you can download that HERE.

It was very impressive seeing rendering results as soon as I made any change, immediately, no waiting. Revit models do suffer a bit from performance issues similar to Autodesk's Max environment but some careful model exporting can provide a model you can set a scene for quickly and then test out everything else. When you are ready for a final it still takes a fraction of the time for the final than anything else I'm aware of.

Part of the price is the included high end ATI 8750 Video Graphics card.

I've been quietly waiting for a chance to write about this. Last fall I got a chance to see this product up close and work with them to support Revit more directly. They released the exporter for Revit really quietly, so quiet I missed it too.

Time to check them out!

Bluebeam PDF Revu has Revit Plug-in

Bluebeam's blog PDF Insider has announced that they have a new release and it has a plug-in for Revit 2010 users. Be sure to watch for the upcoming issue of AUGI | AEC EDGE and a product review by David Kataoka with gkkworks.

Check it out!

The Mighty Pen

Thought I’d write about using something other than a mouse for moment. Twenty years ago that sentence would have been incomprehensible eh? Now everybody just knows what a mouse is, funny! My son and daughter have never known a time where there wasn’t a computer in the house or didn't have to compete with it for my attention, shame on me!

…digressing…

I have been using a Wacom Graphire for over two years now, in fact very nearly three. I like it a lot. I also used a Wacom Cintiq for about 8 months last year, VERY nice! VERY expensive. When I went out on my own I had to say goodbye to it as well. For a few months I stopped using the pen. Happened when I started using a notebook pc primarily. It seemed too much to carry along at first. I'm back using it again partly because I like it and partly because my kids broke the wireless transmitter for the mouse. The newest versions from Wacom for the Graphire, Intous and Cintiq are very tempting. Maybe my wife will get me one for Christmas?

Pen tablets, they aren't for everyone but those that like them won't give them up. Here are some casual observations.

If you get one be prepared for muscles you haven't used in awhile complaining at first. Using a mouse for a long time you'll be surprised what holding a pen for 8 hours instead is like.

You may also struggle a bit with what to do with the pen when you type. You might put it in your mouth like the old days (don't chew), put it in the "inkwell" holder, hold it loosely in your fingers while you type, put it in your pocket and then wonder where it is and finally behind your ear or on the table perhaps? It's a lot easier to lose the pen than the mouse. I think they actually sell a lanyard to “tie the horse to the barn”.

It'll take a bit of time to transition and in the first day or two you may want to abandon it...but just give it a little time and you may find you reject the mouse the next time you sit down to work.

I had horrible posture at first, cranking my wrist around unnaturally and within a week my arm hurt. I started to pay more attention to what I was doing and it subsided immediately.

People either love the idea or hate it passionately. Everyone who saw the Cintiq was immediately taken with it, but as soon as they watched me work for a bit reacted negatively to the arm movement involved. Only two out of dozens still felt like they’d still want one after seeing it. It definitely isn’t the same as just moving a mouse around in a 3 inch square area.

Your hand covers your work. Just like the old days when you had to twist and turn a bit to sketch something on the sheet, same problem, with a Cintiq anyway. No such issue with a Graphire or Intous.

There are two sizes and the general consensus is the smaller size is better for routine cad work while the larger is very desirable for graphics work like Photoshop where you might actually be working at a pixel level of detail. In either case you can program the sketch area so you aren’t traveling as far along the tablet. I don’t use this feature because it feels less accurate and a bit sluggish to me. So the smaller tablet has been my choice for the two that I’ve owned so far.

Pressure sensitivity makes it possible to do things with a pen that is much harder to accomplish with a mouse. It can be quite fun in Photoshop for example. Also the buttons on the pen and the tip at the back can be programmed for application specific behaviour. For example the rear tip of the pen is an eraser in Word, just flip the pen around and erase.

I'm reminded of a user telling us in a newsgroup that she put "trash" (sketch) paper over her tablet to hear the sound she liked hearing while sketching. I also tried it for a time too and found that it wore the tip down pretty quickly. I also printed out a screen capture (of Revit naturally) and put it under the "screen" of my second Graphire, reminiscent of the Digitizer tablet and menu's we had with AutoCAD. It actually worked too! Clicking on a design bar button on the tablet actually sync'd up with the command on screen very well.

Last…the pens for each are very different. The Cintiq has the nicest pens that I’ve used and the Intous has the next best. The Graphire’s pen feels like a number two pencil compared to the more substantial and elegant Cintiq/Intous pens. I’m tempted to upgrade to an Intous, if my wife doesn’t get me the Cintiq that is, just to get a nicer pen. It also has a scroll glide pad and integral buttons, which the lowly Graphire doesn’t.

All in all I really like the Pen Tablet and highly recommend you give one a try if you get the chance. Just be prepared to give it a little time. You probably didn’t ride a bike well the first time out either?