From iMat to iDesk: The Future of Engineering Appliance

January 28, 2012

What do you think about the future designer workspace? I assume some of my readers remember drawing board in multiple variation when it was a primary working place for engineer and designers.

However, time is running fast, and we probably need to think about the future of engineering workspace. Few years ago, Microsoft was talking about surface computer. I was monitoring recent CES event in Las Vegas and trying to find anything that can lead me to the future trends. 82 inch Gorilla-glass multitouch display was presented by Perspective Pixel. I didn’t find any engineering and design examples of such big-screen usage, but I can imagine them.

Now let me dream a bit about the future. I was laughing some time ago, when the following set of Steve Jobs pictures was published - iPhone, iPad, iBoard, iMat.

At the same time, things can become serious. Navigate your browser to the following article in MacLife. Rethink Apple- iDesk.

What is my conclusion? Thinking 10 years ago, it was hard to predict today’s computing realities. At the time when computers soon to become accessorizes (e.g. iWatchz), the future of iDesk for engineers can become a reality in 5-7 years. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Microsoft Office, Google Cloud and noPLM option

May 4, 2011

Microsoft Office plays a significant role in your engineering environment. Just think about the number of Excels you have to manage your bill of materials, work schedules, task lists, etc. Replacing all these files with the PDM (or event PLM) system can be a good idea. However, it doesn’t happen in many organizations. Why so? There are multiple reasons why… Cost, complexity, implementation hassle. Is there an option to help engineers to collaborate without going to heavy implementation cycles? Some time ago, I posted – DropBox and PLM Made Simple.

Few days ago I learned about Google’s option to allow to synchronize Microsoft Office files (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint) via Google Cloud Connect. Read the article – Microsoft Office files can be share with Google Cloud Connectand take a look on the following short video:

I found the usage of Google Cloud Connect easy and powerful. If you need to sync your Excel BOM files or other Office file, the Google Cloud Connect environment can transparently do the work. I learned Google Cloud Connect was based off technology developed by DocVerse, a company Google acquired in 2009. It costs $50 a year per user to use Connect and it is also part of the Appsperience from Google.

What is my conclusion? Connection data via cloud becomes a trend. I can see more companies are using this capabilities. Earlier this year I learn about SolidWorks n!Fuze cloud remake. Supply chain and some other collaborative scenarios can be a sweet spot for such technologies. Just my thoughts…

Best, Oleg

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

NoPLM and Quirky Social Product Development

April 12, 2011

Social Product Development. I’ve been talking about that before. PTC Social Link, Vuuch, 3DSwYm. These are names led my previous conversations. You can take a look on some of my previous posts about this topic. It was all about how to improve collaboration and productivity leveraging technologies and experience coming out of social networking and Web 2.0.

Today, I want to bring a different perspective on what "social" means in product development. One of my readers sent me a link to Quirky. The idea of social involvement into the design process seems to me growing. Few examples led me to this place – Amazon Mechanical Turk, Engineering Services Market place GrabCAD and some others. Take a look on short video of Quirky and make your opinion.

What is my take? Product development is facing massive customization. This is what I was thinking about watching the video. "Social" is a tool to make it happen. The question what tools will be at people disposal to make it happen. This is not about "collaborative workflows" anymore. No PLM. This is about new products available online to make it happen… fast. Just my opinion. What do you think?

Best, Oleg

Freebie.

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

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