Carlo, have you tried a permissions repair? Also, are you using 10.5.5? I'd upgrade to 10.5.8 (8 or 9? I can't remember!).

Try that.

@rabbit said:

Finally, it is not a silly idea to use bootcamp on a MAC at all; in fact a lot of people use MAC's without ever using the mac os at all - this is because the Mac hardware and build quality is very good compared to many other, espically laptop, companies.

Yes, Apple hardware is fairly well built- this Macbook Pro has been on 24/7 for the last 4 years- and it is still working (unlike my shite HP laptop, which both PSU and hard drive and screen have already died, having said that, the DVD writer has been playing up a bit recently), but then if I had bought say a Sony Vaio, that too would still be working. But a Sony is cheaper than an Apple. You buy an Apple for it's operating system- Mac OSX!! It's madness to buy a Mac just to run Windows- you, if only to run windows, are simply buying it for a 'pose', because the glowing Apple logo against the silver backdrop says "Look at me. I'm a creative kind of guy"! "Look, I'm... err,.... running Windows "!!!

Rabbit, I'm sorry for being so pernickety, but why do you (and all other guilty parties) keep writing "Mac" as "MAC"? I'm completely confused. "Mac" is an abbreviation of "Macintosh". MAC is something completely different. ie "MAC address"- which, btw, Macintosh also posses. Where is the emoticon for banging one's head against the table??!

Can anyone please tell me why they always use MAC rather than Mac?

And yes, you are right, Rhino is very good, and I really respect McNeel for getting the application right before release

Tom

I'm sorry that I am asking you this question on the SU forum, rather than the Bonzai forum (I just don't want to join yet another forum yet!).

I can't import SAT or DWG data into Bonzai3D. I've tried both SAT v13 and v19, both with no effect at all. I was exporting from ViaCAD 2D/3D. I checked with importing into SpaceClaim, and exporting works fine there (both SAT and DWG), which says that there isn't anything wrong with VC's export function.

Any suggestions? (I haven't tried SKP files yet).

@tfdesign said:

LOVE

Okay maybe I was getting a bit carried away there?!

But you know what I mean?!

I've already downloaded the trial (and am using it).

@bonzai3d support said:

Tom (tfdesign),

Yes, and Yes.

The next major update for formZ (version 7) will include most of the interface improvements that bonzai3d has, making it easier and faster to use. Thus learning bonzai3d now can be a stepping point towards learning formZ 7.

(You may also find that bonzai3d is powerful enough that it meets your needs!)

Complete Cocoa implementation is in the works, and will be available soon.

I LOVE YOU!!

This is great news indeed!! Having become very disillusioned with the whole CAD market on the Macintosh platform in recent years, this is very refreshing to hear! I really need sheet metal tools (there are a lot of sheet metal fabricators still in Birmingham, so there is still work around). These are in FormZ. SAT export is another much needed option, as DWG export and the ability to do high quality drafting (not really present in Bonzai- but there in FormZ. I have drooled over UGS NX for Mac, but at £12,000??? OUCH!! SpaceClaim (hmm- you can tell who SpaceClaim have "copied from" right? ) is a fairly nice and reasonably priced engineering/ design application, which runs okay in virtualisation, but again it's a Windows app- and I'm again having to work out where everything is placed, because it's another Windows app, where positioning of controls seem to be arbitrary again, thus once more slowing workflow down again... I've been using ViaCAD too, for a while, but it has a "mind of its own", sometimes not quite pulling off what I need it to do

Sorry rant over....I've had a hard day! But yes, great news indeed.... and if you need another beta tester too?

Hey Mister Bonzai3D Support!

welcome to SCF!

Will ease of use in Bonzai3D get translated to the next big release of FormZ?? I never got on with FormZ because I found it really hard to use (but that was back in the days of Mac OS9! ) Do you think you'll do a Cocoa native version of your software?

Tom

@utiler said:

EDIT: I see you use MAC, Spirit is a windows based program if you're happy to partition you HD...

Q; When is a Mac (not "MAC"!!! ), not a Mac?

A; When it is booting into Windows!!!

It makes sense (it really does!), if you are going down the route of Windows, then get a PC, and NOT a Mac!! It is a complete waste of money, time and effort to use Bootcamp. It is better, and more efficient, to have both machines running side-by-side.

@thomthom said:

@xrok1 said:

hey look, they repackaged form-z. gave it a new name and dummied it up a bit.
i don't see anything new here???

formZ: $1125.00
Bonzai: $499.99

The "new" price is good though...

Exactly my thoughts too.

I've been playing with the Bonzai demo, and I must say, I'm really impressed. I think Google are really going to have to pull out the stops when they release SU8. Google do have one main advantage over Bonzai, this being that SU has a free version. (SU Mac has also been written in Cocoa, and Bonzai looks like a Carbon hangover ). The real time NURBS are amazing. That's also going to give Rhino a run for its money too.

Hi Lene.

Stick with what you know- ie SketchUp Pro. As you know, SU is a brilliant piece of software. If you need to make models (real ones that is), I'd go for an ACIS/Parasolid based applications such as Shark FX, Vectorworks or Form Z (Form Z allows you to do very complex folding, so you could print something off, then with a bit of folding, turn that into a model house or whatever), but for now, you'll probably find that SketchUp will fit your needs perfectly

If you need 2D, I highly recommend (if you can afford it) PowerCADD 8, which has possibly the easiest and most powerful set of drafting tools around, at any price (I would rate PowerCADD far higher in ability, than AutoCAD). Also have a look at HighDesign and QCad, the latter being only $30 to purchase, and it's actually very good- if you can get around the ugly, windows-looking interface.

Tom

@tig said:

Not all 'i' products are so great...

Quite right. Compared to the Palm (I had a 72s), iPod's were rubbish, that's why I never bought one. But when the iPod Touch came out, my Palm was made redundant. My only ever complaint about the iPod/iPhone was that crappy little screen. I mean, that screen has made me ill!! I have to limit the time I spend prodding the damn thing!!

@tomot said:

@john sayers said:

I like this cartoon

LOL! ....one the reasons the Pyramids are still standing! ...chose your material wisely.

Like I said (or asked), do you already own an iPod Touch or an iPhone, because all of you who keep dissing the thing, have really missed (and lost) the plot!

Chris, depending on how old your Nikon lenses are, they should still work with a modern dslr body, you'll just loose AF and perhaps aperture control also., you must also take into consideration that the focal length will also change, as most sensors are not full frame (35mm), and therefore there will be some multiplying of the focal length (x1.4 or more). Canon changed the mount when they switched over. The new Canon bodies are good (but I find them a bit too big for my liking). I use a D100 and a D300 at work, and I also have a Lumix G1 and a Lumix LX3 compact- both are very good, but if I had the money, I would have gone for the Nikon D300. The Nikon is also pretty quiet in operation too, and handles very well.

No problem! Ranting is GOOD! (well constructive ranting that is). Interesting arguments

It would make sense considering that Google are so committed to the idea of "the cloud". This is what has been announced at Solidworks World 2010;

SolidWorks in the Cloud – RickyJordan.com

(www.rickyjordan.com)

But how would all those SU plugins work/ get managed?

John, out of curiousity, do you own an iPhone or an iPod touch?

@unknownuser said:

@tfdesign

Ireland is like Doctor Who's Tardis, looks small from the outside when in fact it is actually massive!

I'm a quarter Irish actually

Grandma was from county Cork

Hmm seems like Ireland has had quite a few in the last year;

Ireland Meteor/Meteorite News- Bolide over Eire 3SEP09 5SEP09

A blog about meteors, meteorites, fireballs, bolides, meteorites, meteor showers, comets. Make a meteor sighting report on this website. Thank you.

(lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com)

Why Ireland? Ireland isn't particularly big. An urban myth perhaps?

Okay, I have to admit, that this parody is actually quite funny

Can the pitch and diameter be adjusted after a helix is sketched, or modelled? I haven't got this plugin, but I was drawing a helix yesterday in ViaCAD (which is pretty simple to do).

'outliner'? It looks like Windose explorer to me! What's explorer doing inside SketchUp OSX? (Sorry I've never come across this before)

(and yes Snapz Pro, well isn't very Pro and is rather wack! I've got WireTap Pro. which although is much better than it used to be, it's still annoying- as i have to open the main application up to extract anything- export just doesn't work, or exports as a mov file, which is completely useless, but then this is another story and is OT!)

Tom