Even though I've had an offline conversation with Edson I thought I should respond here too.

I actually do still read things here because even though I may not work in CAD s/w any more I do enjoy using it... SU in particular.

I left IMSI because of a great new offer, not because of anything at IMSI -- they are still making progress as was seen with their DoubleCAD v3 launch.

Their forums, http://forums.doublecad.com, are a great spot to get quick responses -- they monitor them carefully, and take customer feedback very seriously so speak up over there if you have requests and opinions.

1. Mac has been an ongoing internal debate, I don't know their plans now.
2. IMSI/design does have very good educational pricing for the Pro (and XT is already free).
3. I believe the general email is CustomerSupport@ imsidesign.com (or CustomerService@ -- I don't remember which).
4. TurboCAD and DoubleCAD are both built from the same code base, but diverge in UI and feature sets with different intended audiences. But for the best answer to that question I would refer you to IMSI at their forums.

Give v3 a try and provide them with a lot of feedback (good, bad, etc) on their forums!

William

Actually about a week after you wrote that I left IMSI (because of an offer I couldn't refuse) and have moved to Palo Alto after 4 years in Sonoma! But I'll keep coming back up... it's such a great place.

I'm sure the guys working on DoubleCAD would love hear what you're doing and any feedback on construction drawings from SketchUp.

-- William

With DoubleCAD in particular, the former head of development at IMSI used a Mac with VMware Fusion. It was fast and easy.

Ken, the new TurboCAD 17 (out today) does have .skp file improvements and much better COLLADA export (including instances), but the circles and arcs still aren't where they should be and that language shouldn't have been in the released marketing info. Sorry about that. (Could you send me a PM to let me know where you saw that info and I'll see if I can get rid of it!)

But TurboCAD Pro 17 does include a new drawing engine that we've seen provides up to 60x faster wireframe and 2D screen draws (and beyond in some cases).

Another thing that slipped into the release is a bit of beta functionality for reading and converting .skp Dynamic Components. Not all DCs are supported, only certain types and functions, but those that do remain parametric in TurboCAD.

This shouls also make it into a future version of DoubleCAD, but Linea, you mentioned jerky redraws, and if you go into the DoubleCAD's options and select Flicker Free redraw you'll find it smoother and in most cases faster (I don't know why it isn't the default).

-- William

I too really like the model.

I'm with IDX, so thought I should mention a couple of things to help. The time is horrible. My guess is that 1GB RAM is probably the cause. The renderer works inside SketchUp and is memory intensive, so you were probably disk swapping. If you could get another GB of RAM it would probably help most with not only IDX, but any renderer, and even other apps.

Regarding the lighting, there is another PC build on the IDX forums (here: http://forums.idx-design.com/index.php?topic=623.0) that allows you to control the brightness of the tone mapping. With just a quick move of a slider you can do away with most of the fiddling of the lights.

All that said, again great model, and good renders for someone new at rendering!

William

@unknownuser said:

You quote in your personal avatar that you use not only Windows, but OSX too, yet you still have yet to support Mac OSX! Why do you advertise that you use a Mac, yet won't support it?!?

Hey Tom,

I do use a Mac as you note (and before that used a Lisa, and Apple IIb through IIe, even played with the Xerox Star before Apple), and we have other products on the Mac, such as IDX Renditioner and a version of TurboCAD on the Mac, among others.

With this product we've been going directly at Autodesk and going after the AutoCAD LT user. Since that product is PC only it has been the focus of most of our attention, for now.

With DoubleCAD we've been looking at supporting the Mac and/or Linux, but the way the existing code is written, and some of the limitations of certain licensed libraries, makes porting it to the Mac a massive undertaking. We've done some serious exploration there as our CEO also did a lot of Mac software in the '80s and '90s. But we can't commit to anything at the moment.

So it's not that we "won't support" the Mac, but we "don't" support it right now. If you want to voice those opinions more directly, our CEO reads the DoubleCAD forums regularly and there is a Mac/Linux thread here: http://forums.doublecad.com/index.php?topic=250.0.

William

The free DoubleCAD XT v2 has been released. The XT version doesn't have too much change vis-a-vis SketchUp workflow, but the product has a new installer that provides 30 days free use of the Pro Features, then reverts to the free XT product. New features can be found here:
http://www.doublecad.com/Products/DoubleCADXTPRO/NewinVersion2/tabid/1532/Default.aspx.

During that first 30 days you can make use of the robust architectural tools (AutoCAD Architecture compatible -- but still not DWG 2010 compatible, that's coming soon). When exporting to COLLADA our .DAE filter now has an option to convert all blocks to instances, which SketchUp imports as components. We also convert architectural objects to blocks during the export. This makes it a pretty good way to get AutoCAD Architecture content into SketchUp.

Support forums are at http://forums.doublecad.com

It's still free. Hope you like it.

William

Yesterday DoubleCAD XT PRO version 2 was released. The free DoubleCAD XT version should follow withing a few weeks at most (I'm told). Since there is a free trial of the PRO, anyone that wants to try v2 can get the PRO free trial and use that until the free XT version arrives.

Lots of changes. For details, see http://www.doublecad.com/Products/DoubleCADXTProv2/NewinVersion2/tabid/1532/Default.aspx.

Main items of interest (?) to SU users: although it is still a 2D application we've made all the architectural tools 3D so that elevations, etc, can be generated easily. We've also updated our COLLADA export (PRO only feature) to include Instances from blocks which will import into SketchUp as components. If you use the architectural tools (AutoCAD Architecture compatible), just select all, make the whole model a block, then export to COLLADA with the export option to Save Blocks and all the windows, doors, stairs, roofs, etc, come in as components. A quick way to kick off a project.

I hope you enjoy it.

William

Actually Gaieus is right: IDX Renditioner doesn't support a true alpha transparency .png material. You've just found a work-around that's good for you.

Unfortunately our development team had been sidelined on some other projects, DoubleCAD in particular, otherwise we'd have had a version out with Alpha transparency a long time ago.

It's coming, along with other bells and whistles, but I don't have a firm date yet.

And you're right: we do have a half off special on the web site for the month of December. Thanks for mentioning it.

-- William

I think you make one mistake in the observation -- that people claim we can contain the proliferation of viruses with a vaccine. There are vaccines for only about 30 viruses. They happen to be some of the most severe diseases to have effected large numbers of people in wealthy,scientifically advanced nations (hence the incentives for people to solve them: either money, or it affects them where they live).

There are certainly not vaccines for very many diseases, or very many of the most severe (like malaria). Our immune system protects us from many, many diseases all the time. Vaccines, good health, vitamin D, and lifestyle can all help. Vaccines happen to be one direct method to force the body to prepare a defense for a particular disease. Many others came from your mother if you were breast fed...

Some viruses mutate more frequently than others. But many mutations don't change the way in which the body recognizes them and defeats them. The good news is that measles, chicken pox, and polio are examples of viruses that haven't mutated much at all. The flu virus does mutate often, hence new versions of flu vaccines from year to year.

Vaccines tend to be the most effective to get the body to develop stockpiles of antibodies without the damaging effects of the disease. And yes, vaccines can have side effects for some individuals, but they tend to be far fewer and far less severe than the effects the diseases themselves produce.

OK, we have a difference of opinion on the statistics. I believe they are overwhelming, similar to the statistical and anecdotal evidence that a building I'm about to enter isn't likely to fall down. Some buildings do fall down, but usually they don't...

So if we disregard the statistical evidence... What about cause-and-effect reactions such as those upon which vaccines are designed? You believe the body is the best at healing... that is what vaccines do: they encourage the body to create their own healing defenses.

(1) The vaccine is administered. It contains weakened or dead forms of the disease.
(2) The immune system identifies these foreign substances (viruses and bacteria), also known as antigens. (The body is doing the work.)
(3) Once antigens are identified, the immune system develops proteins that circulate in the blood. These proteins are called antibodies. They fight the infection by killing the antigens. Antibodies are made by white blood cells called lymphocytes, also known as B cells. The main purpose of B cells is to create antibodies to fight infection. (Again it is the body that is doing the work by creating the immunity itself.)
(4) The body stockpiles these antibodies so they are available to fight off the disease if exposed later on. Unfortunately, antibodies are disease-specific, so previously acquired chickenpox antibodies, for example, will be useless if faced with other diseases.

The example is from http://health.howstuffworks.com/vaccine1.htm

This is exactly how the body works to fight a full-blown disease (and there is plenty of stunning visual evidence of this under the microscope when examing blood).

Is there something about the basic methodology that you believe is wrong or ineffective, as opposed to the overwhelming statistics you ignore? Vaccinations are designed to force a body with an effective immune system to create the defenses in the same way that it does if you got the disease. The difference is that some diseases are often fatal, so having the body do this with dead or weakened versions of the disease allows the body to do it without the same order of magnitude of side-effects.

[Edit: Sorry. Didn't realize my post was so long while I was ranting...]

@al hart said:

If you are referring to this post:

@unknownuser said:

the question is... why would you want IDX if you have Twilight anyway?

I think it was not appropriate for a thread which was reporting a problem users of one rendering package were having when they installed another package. the rest of thread was used, quite successfully to diagnose and repair the problem.

I found it quite out of place.

Al, not to sound too sensitive, but since you've twice repeated this quote here, I thought I would note that one reason "it was out of place" was that IDX didn't have the problem (he was unfamiliar with IDX), but it was iRender that had the conflict with Twilight. (Anyway... IDX handles 2-point perspective as well.)

william

Since I know you are a DoubleCAD XT user you can try this... the UI for this is a bit clumsy, but it should be quick (and you don't have to install any other software to get it done).

1. From the menu select Insert - Raster Image.
2. Then select File - Save As, select .png
3. Click on SETUP in save as dialog window, set the size of the image to export.
4. Under Transparency click Color, and select the color you want to be transparent. Click OK for the Setup.
5. Hit save.

-- William

@unknownuser said:

... One stat I found most interesting was the fact that of the 350 million US residents only just over 150 million have taken a flu shot. The 200 million that did not commit to a flue vaccination are showing better stats than the group of 150 million that did.

It is the weakest and most susceptible who get the shots, and not the healthiest. Therefore a raw comparison of those two broader groups rather than of similar groups (say 70 year olds that did vs 70 year olds that didn't) tells you very little if anything.

@unknownuser said:

... the WHO has its own ambiguous definition for Pandemic. The severity of the disease is not part of the measure although there announcements have always caused a great hue and cry followed by warnings and insidious promotion of a pharmacological remedy. That’s free enterprise…..not medicine.

On July 11th the WHO declared their first Pandemic alert in 41 years. This site might help you understand the level of ambiguity in their declarations: http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/website/focus/2009_H1N1_updates/isssue_briefs/2009-06-11-A_Closer_Look_WHO_Pan_Declaration.html

Note that at all levels it is based on the influenza virus, therefore the severity of the disease at a baseline is significant.

@unknownuser said:

...Of 350 million US citizens only 150 have ever had a flu shot so I guess the other 200 million are sponges like me...

I don't believe he wasn't referring to a flu shot as much as to the broader vaccinations like for the Measles, ChickenPox, and the like. Flu shots are given annually to some people because the influenza viruses tend to differ significantly through mutations. But your children are much less likely to get Measles if there is lower exposure from other children.

The principal is similar to computer viruses -- somebody without virus protection benefits from those that do because they aren't as likely to receive an infected email...

The problem many have with some people's children opting out is that there are children with severe immune system problems, or allergies that can not have the vaccine. They are more likely to be exposed through children that have not had the vaccine who can carry and spread the diseases. So while the unvaccinated children might be generally healthy, they can also endanger the lives of others as carriers that those who have had the vaccine cannot do.

-- William (no kids...)

Hi Al,

I downloaded the model, then opened it in SU 7.1 on the PC and used the SketchUp menu File - Generate Report feature. Saved as .csv and also as .html and had no problems. The files are attached in the .zip

Seems to be OK on my machine.

William

DynamicStairCase.zip

@geomp said:

Hi

I really want to do this too, anybody tried on OS X Leopard?

Ta

Yes, I did it on Leopard and it works. Open the finder, then go to Applications / Google SketchUp 7 and there you can right click on it and select "Copy "Google SketchUp 7." It will use the same plug-in folders and other resources found at Mac HD / Library / Application Support / Google SketchUp 7, but because the application folders changed you can go back there and run 7.0

Have you looked at View - Toolbars - Dynamic Components?

Or just go to the menu and select Tools - Interact. That will activate the interact without turning on the toolbar.