You can easily convert DWG to DXF and back with EveryDWG, a freeware app: http://www.opendwg.org/guestfiles It's for Windows but runs over WINE on Ubuntu, so perhaps you can make it run on OSX. Hey, we should start a thread called: "Software alternatives".

I've just read the "release blog post" (or what) about it. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/08/help-test-some-next-generation.html Will see. A Google Webmaster help Guide commented the speed however; @unknownuser said: I wouldn't look at the speed. Servers are always a bit faster when hardly anyone is using them

And if you go here @unknownuser said: We're thrilled to be able to have MoI as part of the Alibre product line moving forward. To celebrate that, we'd like to offer the MoI community a special offer until the first of the year. I know many people in here are artists and may not need mechanical design solutions, but if you do, here's what you can get until Jan 1. Alibre Design Professional - $559 and includes 6 months of live online classes with Alibre instructors ($290 savings) Alibre Design Expert - $999 and includes 6 months of live online classes with Alibre instructors ($550 savings) To compare the 2 products, go to http://www.alibre.com/products/ad_compare.asp

Thanks for posting this I always love having a look at these illustrations.

I don't know if anyone's considering Painter X, but: http://www.nothingbutsoftware.com/Catalog_Type.asp?ProductCode=87342&ai=3695 This is the commercial version at a pretty reasonable price ($169.95). Hope this helps, John S.

Dxf files are ascii (simple text) descriptions of the entities in a file. A dxf contains information about xrefs, but in itself can not contain a xref. It is my understanding that if the file being imported is on another machine within a network, in theory, a firewall could affect the file transfer. If this is the case, ask your network administrator to make sure that dxf files are an exception.

The point I am trying to make is : after years of slumber Autodesk is actively developing it's application base, adopting many of the new methodologies first shown in Sketchup, Spaceclaim and the like. nobody knows what Google is doing...

hi, link to the discussion thread in the Ruby forum is http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=15927&st=0&sk=t&sd=a The latest version which works on both Mac and Windows is now up for download. Check out the above thread for more details. Cheers!

Looks very good...

@fizgig said: I just realized that it is loading as I can click on the blank spot where the icon should be and the program runs. I just need to get the graphic into that button. SU unscrambles the file in a temp or virtual folder, so if you point your icons relatively to the script file, it simply doesn't find them. The problem is caused by a wrong path to the icons.

uhh i dont have enough time

Its great, just had my first go. Being able to zoom in a little more would be nice but other than that I really like it and will make good use of it jon

Very nice, I'd like to see a close up of the triangular structure....

@d.alexnine said: It is so interesting that President Bush single handedly with his administration changed the way people outside of America see Americans. Sadly Americans also began to see themselves in a dimly lit light because of the mistakes of our administration. I don't think it was quite single-handedly. Sure, there were some mistakes, but the news media is largely responsible for shaping the perceptions of events. It's also responsible for deciding what events are covered. For example, it's more than a little suspicious how this was missed by the media: A well-documented trail showing the Bush Administration was concerned about Fannie and Freddie way back in April 2001 - just 3 months into the first term. Any responsible reporter would have dug in and found the facts, and brought them to light, not just run with Dem sound bites. Anyway, the current economic situation (regardless of ultimate cause) could steal away hope in a lot of ways, but I'll still hope for SU7 in '09.

Dear Igm, Thanks for the detailed reply. I checked my CAD package and it doesn't have an .stl import option anyway, so my question has turned out to be somewhat academic. Kind regards, Bob

oh how i hate when they do that in your face and don't let you have it

@unknownuser said: I have a few questions about Google Checkout (from a private message) @unknownuser said: 1] What is your experience with regard to chargebacks using Checkout? What kind of % of reverted transactions should I expect? We have only had 1 or 2 Google Checkout transactions reversed over the past 2 years. Actually I cannot remember any. (My memory is fuzzy, because before we switched to Google we were getting a few fraudulent transactions a month. Google does a much, much better job of verifying the identity of the purchaser before informing us that the order is ready to ship.) We have 1 or 2 transactions a month which are not completed. But we are informed of that before we process the transaction. Google tells us that a transaction has been initiated, but they wait between 15 minutes and 4 hours before they verify that they have charged the credit card. (Usually closer to 15 minutes). About 4 times a month they are unable to complete the transaction and they inform the user that he/she needs to enter a different credit card. About half of those are then completed using a different credit card and about 1/2 are not completed. However, there are very few transactions which are ever reversed - and, as I say, perhaps that number is none. @unknownuser said: 2] The Google Checkout dispute policy relating to digital products seems to be ambiguous. Is there any protection on downloadable software? I believe that the Google guarantee - that they will pay for the transaction even if it later turns out to be fraudulent - does not apply to downloadable software. However, this almost never happens. And from our point of view if someone does get a "free" copy of our software, we haven't really lost anything - since the fraudulent purchaser was unlikely to have ever paid for the software anyway. The fraudulent purchases with our prior credit card processor were almost always people who were using stolen credit card numbers, but they never actually used the software. (We require an email license and authorization after purchase and the fraudulent purchasers never completed that process. Also, we have a list of invalid Licenses which we include in future releases of the software, so if someone gets a fraudulent license they can never use upgrades (free upgrades to fix bugs). This list is mostly used for people who return the software for some reason. (We offer a 30 day money back guarantee. And also, some people purchase the software, get a license, and then discover that it does not work on a MAC). @unknownuser said: 3] Is it a risk to use an unsigned cart? We don't use a shopping cart. We use "Buy Now" buttons. See out Purchase Page I do want to use shopping cart software, because we currently have to generate and send the License number manually. But I haven't taken the time to implement one yet. Let me know if you have other questions.

OK I can answer you For the example with some objects above that was fluid but more you add objects and material more that becomes slowdown Shadows are possible but only projected on the ground not between objects or auto shadows! That's real time