How was your 2014? Cadalyst had an awesome one! Lots of articles and posts got tons of attention from readers. CAD is a busy industry, with frequent changes and hurdles to overcome. Fortunately, a lot of progress was made over the past year, and plenty more is expected in the year to come. Here are some of your favorite CAD related blog posts from 2014.
1. Give It for Free and They Will Come
Hearing that someone likes your stuff is pretty cool!
Free stuff always generates lots of excitement, especially when it's something really valuable. One of the top posts last year was the "Free MicroStation & CAD Tutorials at Cadalyst." The article ran on the Infinite Skills Blog back in April of 2014, and featured a recap of lots of great information, news, resources, and downloads available at Cadalyst, including the free MicroStation, software tutorials, BIM tutorials, and AutoCAD training available. You can read the post in its entirety here.
2. Open Letters Get 'Em Every Time
One of the popular posts that ran on Cadalyst was the "Open Letter to CAD Software Companies." The post/letter listed a number of things that CAD workers truly wish software developers would get, such as the idea of developing software and features that the users are asking for, not just the ones that developers think look cool. The post also mentions the over use of buzzwords. Users just want developers to "get real" about things and stop trying to make everything sound so cutesy. If it works, users will like it. If it's useless, well... The post goes on to call for more speed and utility in software applications, along with easier to use functions. It closes with a call to help users convince their boss to fork out for the products they really need in the workplace. Did developers read and take heart? Perhaps 2015 will tell.
3. Throw in Some Robots and Nature Stuff, and It's Bound to Be a Hit
Another post that received attention explained how engineers were using nature to develop realistic and well-working robotics. Robotics got a lot of attention this year, particularly involving advancements in robots for the manufacturing sector. This blog post discussed biometric robots and how engineers modeled the robots after fish, birds, and other wildlife from the natural world. As of yet, the tuna robot featured in the post is not done testing, but initial results look promising and the mechanical fish can definitely swim.
4. Everything You Need to Know, All in a Nice Wrapper
Some of the posts that got a lot of attention on the Cadalyst website were breakdowns of other blogs. For instance, companies that roll out regular posts, such as SOLIDWORKS, sometimes get ahead of readers. If a particularly busy week comes along, or you take a week of vacation, that RSS feed gets out of control. Readers can get all the high points without having to delve into hours of reading at Cadalyst's wrap up posts like the SOLIDWORKS monthly wrap ups.
5. Paying Tribute
All bright people have bright ideas. But not all bright people share their ideas to help others become brighter people.
Unfortunately, one of the best posts of the year was also the saddest. Long-time contributor to Cadalyst Leonid "Len" Nemirovsky lost his battle with cancer in May. Len had contributed countless use tips to the AutoCAD and AutoLISP sections of Cadalyst. At least 150 are credited to his name. His goal wasn't to get attention, but to help others. Len left his boyhood-dream-job of teaching history to pursue a fulfilling career in CAD, and perhaps helped more people learn and grow in this field than he would have teaching.
For CAD users, Cadalyst is the brand of CAD information provider that offers the most complete and up-to-date information about CAD.
