Posts made by Al Hart

Al Hart

I know I should just post this question at some random place on the web, but I trust you guys a lot more than a bunch of random responses from random forums.

What is a good way to back up a Windows 7 machine?

For both of these scenarios:

1. Full, recoverable, backup

I would like to make a back up which I can use to completely recover the machine it it is lost, or if the drive breaks - without having to install a lot of stuff - except perhaps Windows.

I hoped Windows 7 System Image backup would do this - but it turns out that it won't work with the new, large, USB drives from Seaagate because the sector size is 4096 rather than 512.
I am getting ready to purchase and try Norton Ghost 15, but I would like your advice first.

2. Everyday File by file backups

How about everyday backups of changed files.

Windows 7 backup looks like it would work for this. But do you have a better suggestion?

Al

Al Hart

@ipsketchpi said:

I use it for technical furniture drawings

That is what is confusing about the two surveys. The first was "what do you use it for", (e.g. technical 3D drawings, the new one is "What industry are you in"

Contract Furniture Industry?
Industrial Design?
Architectural Firm?
Interior Design?

Al Hart

Thanks for all the help and responses on this.

It looks like the top uses are:

Architectural Design and Visualization
Interior design
Product design
Renderings and Presentations, and
FUN!

Now my colleague who prompted the original question is wondering what industry SketchUp Users work in, so I want to start another poll on industries - probably requiring each respondent to select just one.

I can include about 30 in the poll - how about dropping over to this thread, and adding some ideas...

What Industries use SketchUp?

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=45523

Al Hart

I recently ran a poll on SketchUcation asking people how they used SketchUp:

Poll on ways people use SketchUp

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=45275

The result showed 4 top uses, and an equal amount of use in many other uses:

It looks like the top uses are:

Architectural Design and Visualization
Interior design
Product design
Renderings and Presentations, and
FUN!

Now my colleague who prompted the original question is wondering what industry SketchUp Users work in, so I want to start another poll on industries - probably requiring each respondent to select just one.

I can include about 30 in the poll - What industries should I include?

Al Hart

@escapeartist said:

Only 5 items? There's so much more...

I've listed my uses on the original thread.

If the poll let me weight items, then more than 5 would be better. I am really hoping to find out what SketchUp is used the most for, so if a person uses it 90% of the time for Landscape design, but also does several other things, I want to only count the main use.

Even though you posted your uses earlier, it would help for you to add your top 5 uses on this poll. I think we might all learn something. I assumed that most users were designing exterior buildings and landscapes. But I may learn differently when this exercise is completer.

Al Hart

Thanks for your ideas everyone.

I have put these into a poll if you want to slip over and enter your favorite uses.

Poll: How do you use SketchUp

Al Hart

Which of the following are your most important uses for SketchUp (Select up to 5) If something is not on this list, add it as a post.

Thanks in advance for your participation in this poll.

Al Hart

And Amazon has an iPad 2 for $434.00 which is about the right price.

And thanks for the comment about cash Jeff - we'll highlight that a bit more and maybe even offer the Pay Pal Option for people who can receive money that way.

Al Hart

Here's the list so far:

This might be enough to start a poll. (Does SketchUcation support polls from users?)

I am not looking for 20 different uses - although the list is very interesting - but now to see which ones are the uses most used.

If you have any other ideas which we should add to this list, add some posts.

Thanks,

Al

Google SketchUp Uses

3D Massing studies
architectural design
architectural visualization
Construction Documents
Construction Illustrations
Content creation
Convert 2D drawings to 3D for visualization
Creating Patterns for sewing
designing woodworking projects
game Modeling
Home Improvement Design
interior design
Landscape Design
light fixture Design
making 3D models of objects for use in other software
Modeling tutorials
Organic Modeling
product design
Renderings for Presentations
Set, prop, and vehicle design
site planning
Space Design
Space planning (for moving or storing objects)
space planning/ layout
Sun and Shadow Studies
FUN!

Al Hart

I am writing an informative article which I would like to start with "Most people use SketchUp to XXX and YYY..." But I realized I don't know what most people use SketchUp for.

I think I will run a poll to see what people are using SketchUp for, for example:

3D Massing studies
Home Improvement Design
Sun and Shadow Studies
Renderings for Presentations
Construction Documents

etc.

If I could get a good list of 10 items for the poll, it would be useful.

What do you use it for? and/or what items should I include in my list of 10 to be sure to catch the top 2 or 3?

Al Hart

@ecuadorian said:

Giving a physical prize makes it difficult for non-US residents to receive it without paying import fees (and you paying shipping fees). So may I suggest an Amazon gift card, or maybe just good old cash via PayPal.

Actually, we only select prizes which are available on Amazon, and then issue an Amazon gift card.

The main purpose of the prize is to make the contest announcement more interesting. Perhaps someone will be inspired by the gift itself, and then enter the contest. Where simply saying "Win $100.00" might not be as effective.

Al Hart

@liam887 said:

http://www.3dconnexion.com/index.php?id=171

These are cool for modelling. takes a bit of getting used to but very helpful.

Also works well with sketchup http://www.3dconnexion.com/supported-software/architecture-construction.html

Price looks good. Maybe we'll go for it:

@unknownuser said:

SpacePilot PRO

3DX-700036

SpacePilot PRO is the ultimate professional 3D mouse, engineered to excel in today’s most demanding 3D software environments. Its breakthrough features include second generation QuickView Navigation technology, dual-function Intelligent Function Keys and at-a-glance access to important information via the full-color LCD Workflow Assistant.

Al Hart

@gaieus said:

A Trimble GPS maybe?

At first this sounded like a good idea, but this one a little pricey - $3,500.00

But we could offer the bicycle mount

Al Hart

We're getting ready to run a rendering contest for our new rendering product - ArielVision.

What kind of things would make good prizes. Were looking to a prize worth about $400.00 and one worth about $150.00

In past years we have offered Kindles, Netbooks, Spyder 3 Pro mouse, etc. as an incentive for people to render their models and try to win a prize (and of course glory!)

What is exciting this year?

Al Hart

From: the Boulder Daily Camera:

(www.dailycamera.com)

@unknownuser said:

Trimble to open Boulder office to house SketchUp operations

Trimble Navigation Ltd., the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based positioning technologies firm that acquired the Boulder-based SketchUp unit from Google, plans to open a Boulder office, said Scott Green, Google Boulder's site director.

The “vast majority” of the SketchUp team accepted offers from Trimble, Green said, declining to disclose specific workforce numbers. Trimble officials are looking for an office in Boulder, Green said.

“SketchUp's a really impactful product; it's instrumental in a lot of professionals' daily lives, kids love it and, at this point, it's the most widely used 3-D software in the world,” he said. “What Trimble will be able to do that Google had a hard time doing, is investing in it. The core area of its strength is you can draw anything.”

Google was interested in SketchUp for 3-D buildings that could be integrated into its Google Earth mapping product, Green said.

“That's a fairly narrow aspiration for this product,” he said.

The SketchUp team's involvement in Project Spectrum — a program created by Google to help people on the autism spectrum develop life skills and express creativity through SketchUp — is expected to continue, he said.

A local official for Trimble was unavailable for comment.

Al Hart

@unknownuser said:

No, but I just registered trimbucation.com

How about TrimbleUp and SketchUTrimble?

Al Hart

@idahoj said:

I will wait things out and I hope this transition to Trimble is positive for everyone involved.

I have to agree. We all have gotten to see what kind of things were important to the Google/SketchUp team. It will be interesting to see what is important to the Trimble/SketchUp team and how that is reflected in future versions.