Lynn Allen's Blog

Check Out My AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks Screencast!

I'm happy to report that my AutoCAD 2010 Screencast is finally available for all to see!  Be sure to check it out!

 

A lot of hard work went into the screencast (some of you might remember the picture of my coat shoved under the door to keep the outside noise down) and I was pretty excited to see the final results.  Check it out - I hope you like it!

View the AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks Screencast

This week was the first week of the Imagine Tour - Toronto and Minneapolis.  I absolutely love the Americas launch tour (and I hope they always invite me to participate).  While in Toronto I finally met Kevin from India who corresponded with me a few years ago who has since moved to Toronto.  I also met someone who was in one of my Bahrain classes many, many, many years ago and had a picture of the entire class!  He left before I had a chance to talk to him at all.  If you are reading this - please send me an email (pretty please!).

This week I'm off to emcee and present at the Autodesk Solutions Day 2009 in Sydney, Australia.  I am looking forward to this great event and if any of you are reading from the Sydney area I hope you join me.

My flight is taking off soon - I'll be back at the blog after I'm "down under"!

An Interview with Novedge (and a Tax Day AutoCAD Tip!)

I was recently interviewed by Novedge - and enjoyed seeing the interview go live today.  Be sure to check it out!.  I enjoyed answering the questions and tried to keep the answers short and sweet (so as not to bore everyone).  Do you think it's a bad sign that this was posted on the dreaded Tax day?

  

Ugh I just dread taxes every year.  It seems that no matter how much I take out of my paycheck - it just isn't enough - any of you out there feel the same way?  Each year I get to write out that very painful check...ouch!

To help cheer you up - be sure to check out my latest Cadalyst video Tip from Tuesday.  This tip will really help you out if you want to quickly add one or more dimensions to a drawing but don't want to try and figure out the dimensions style, overrides etc.  Give this video tip a try!

I think my allergies were really kicking up when I recorded this video - so please forgive my sniffles!

An Autodesk Design Research Open House

For all of you who live near the San Francisco Bay area - you are invited to attend the Autodesk Design Research Open House:

Join us in the Autodesk San Francisco Design Gallery for a behind-the-scenes look at how Autodesk designs the software you use. Sip a drink. Browse the gallery. Learn how Architecture, Design and Engineering professionals like you improve Autodesk products through usability studies and focus groups.

When:  Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Time:  5pm to 8pm
Where: Autodesk Gallery, One Market Street, Floor 2. San Francisco CA, 94105

Add your name to the list

It sounds like a great opportunity to me - unfortunately I will be out of the country doing some AutoCAD 2010 launch events (bad timing!) or I, myself, would definitely attend. The Autodesk Design Gallery is absolutely fascinating with all the amazing technology exhibits.  Today I had the extreme privilege of being given a personal tour by Autodesk CEO, Carl Bass himself!  I have been to the Autodesk Design Gallery many times but had no idea what most of the exhibits did.  Carl, with his love of technology, was the perfect person to conduct an indepth tour (and it was certainly much appreciated). 

So if you do sign up...and do attend...be sure to ask for someone to give you a proper tour.  There is much more to the exhibits then meets the eye!

A Week with Ideate and an AutoCAD survey

Four of my five presentations this week were with the reseller Ideate.  I've really enjoyed working with the many different offices this week - each one was definitely very professional and it seemed each venue got progressively better and better.   Seattle definitely won the best facility award though as the conference center was 40 stories up overlooking the beautiful waters and mountains that surround the city.  It doesn't get much better than that!  Oh wait...it does...as the conference center was also next to a Starbucks!  I was in absolute Heaven! 

 

In fact if you look closely - doesn't it look like the conference center is actually part of Starbucks?

This was extremely important to me as my hotel room didn't have a coffee maker...no coffee maker in Seattle?  How does that happen?  I thought that was a city requirement!

The brand new Ideate offices were just as nice as the state of the art conference center (ten stories higher in the same building).  How I would have loved to teach in a training room such as theirs back when I teaching.

 

I've enjoyed my time with Ideate this week - and hope to join them again in the future.  A big thank you to everyone for the airport rides, and the hospitality.

Take the AutoCAD Survey

Last but not least - it would be fantastic if you could find a minute or two to take an AutoCAD survey for the AutoCAD team.  They REALLY want to hear from you - and it's being offered up by my all time favorite blogger - Heidi Hewett! 

Take the survey!

Totally Green Virtual 2010 Launch Event

The Sacramento launch event with Ideate and CAD Masters was quite nice.  Nice crowd, good energy and a delightful dinner with customer Julie Lara afterwards.  I really appreciated that the two resellers worked so well together to help put together this one event (very impressive!)

I just wanted to jump on the blog to tell you about a very impressive Virtual event going on with Imaginit Technologies.

   

This completely green event lets you log on (from wherever you happen to be), visit booths, attend classes, you name it!  Very impressive (and there is no traffic to fight - just web traffic!)  I'm participating in part of the AutoCAD 2010 session on Wednesday - but definitely check out the class schedule because they are hitting all of the main products in the next two days.

Tonight I'll be speaking in San Francisco for CAD Masters and Ideate again...looking forward to another great launch event!

AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks Booklet is Posted!

Come one, come all...be sure to download my latest Tips and Tricks Booklet for AutoCAD 2010. It is currently only available on the AUGI website.  That means you have to be an AUGI member to download it but don't you want to be a member of the fantastic international user group AUGI?  And everyone can afford it because it is free (yes free!)

     

Click HERE to download

I'm driving up to Sacramento today for another AutoCAD 2010 presentation with Ideate and CAD Masters.  Be sure to join me if you live nearby!

One last plug - this one for Imaginit who is going totally green with their virtual event!  If you don't live close to one of our physical events...or just don't want to fight traffic...you might want to checkout all of their webcasts!  It looks to me as though they are covering every single Autodesk 2010 product!   The event is happening tomorrow and Wednesday so be sure to sign up today!  I'll be participating in the AutoCAD 2010 portion of their virtual event.

Join me on the Imagine Tour!

The Autodesk 2010 Americas Launch events are off and running!  Be sure to sign up for one of the eight Imagine Tour events in the US and Canada.

 

Here are the location and dates for the Imagine Tour.

 

Register today!

I'll be doing a 90 minute session on AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks and would love to see you there!  If you don't live near any of these cities - we will also have a Virtual Tour (and you won't have to fight any of the traffic)...I'll provide more info for that soon.  We'll also be handing out my AutoCAD 2010 Tips and Tricks booklets at each event (they make great Mother's Day presents).

The American Design and Drafting Association conference is still going on back in Nashville.  I really enjoyed spending time with the attendees and I enjoyed our many discussions on all things CAD. As their keynote speaker I did a presentation on the Future of Design.  I am sorry I couldn't stay longer with them (but I had been away from home for 11 days).  It was a great event in a very unique venue - the Hotel Preston.  Below is a picture of Floyd McWilliams, myself and Olen Parker who kindly presented me with a great certificate saying I was placed in the ADDA Hall of Honors!  So very exciting!

 

Hotel Preston is following me on Twitter - I'm not sure about being virtually stalked by a hotel!

Last but not least...I am still really sad about losing Mark Roach...I guess it will just take some time to get through it.  Lisa Battan from Ideate sent me a nice picture of Mark and myself at AU which you'll see posted in yesterday's blog. 

An Autodesk Blog Tribute to an Express Tools Champion.

I've enjoyed many presentations this past ten days for Avatech, The Middle Tennessee Autodesk User Group as well as the ADDA convention but I won't lie - I'm happy to finally be heading home!  My AutoCAD 2010 presentations are getting better (still need some fine-tuning) and of course the audience members continue to ask challenging questions that I need to be prepared to answer. Keep up the good work all ye users!  That's how I learn too!

I want to make sure I am still spreading the word about the new AutoCAD Exchange.  They have some great (free) AU Classes for the viewing posted up on the AutoCAD Exchange each week.  Check out my 90 AutoCAD Tips in 90 Minutes class!  (and it is free, free, free).  You can also watch this class at the Autodesk University website  (but you'll need to be on subscription).  Check it out!

Changing directions - I also want to offer up a tribute to a very talented young man who recently passed away, Mark Roach.  He used to be a member of the Autodesk QA team for the wonderful Express Tools and has recently taught our Express Tools class at Autodesk University (to great accolades).  He worked for Ideate, Inc. (with whom I will be working all of next week) as one of their top trainers and support providers.  Mark was a brilliant member of the Autodesk community and I was looking forward to seeing him next week at one of my Ideate presentations.  Below is a picture of Mark and myself at Autodesk University last year.

   

Our thoughts go out to Mark's friends and family.  I, for one, will miss his smiling face and enthusiastic attitude.  He always taught me a thing or two when I presented - in his unassuming way.  I won't lie - this has really taken my breath away today.

We will miss you Mark.