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T O O L S : : For the Professional Designer : : Today
Hi all
Being a TechJunkie, I've had it, tried it, broke it, fixed it, broke it again and then started all over again..... got bitByTheBug of AutoCAD way back in the early 80's.....in fact, my first copy of AutoCAD was version 1.4......a real antique. And, when I got AutoCAD, there was no training of course....and a mouse had only recently been introduced to the market.....so, I taught myself AutoCAD, and not having a mouse, drew using only the keyboard. I was, determined..... and I mastered it. So much so that in 1995 I wrote the exam/tests to qualify as an AutoCAD Master....... and today, I swear - and drum it into the students I teach AutoCAD to, LEARN THE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS! So much faster and more efficient that using icons.....some listen, some don't.
Okay, so rant finished..... having been bit by the TechnoBug, it never went away. Can you believe I still have a working Seiko DATA 2000 wristwatch.....bought it in 1982. And when I went that summer to Europe I input my complete contact database onto it - remember sitting in the midst of the piazza in Florence, writing my postcards and referring to my wristwatch for all the addresses.....and now, word has it, that Apple will be introducing the newest/greatest Smartwatch this fall......
And, I've owned every handheld PDA, data tool you can imagine - from the Palm to HP's various renditions - to the wonderful little Toshiba mini computer.......and just recently I sold my Apple Newton 2100 Message Pad - which which still works. 'Relic', you say....'Throwback'. 'Ancient hack'.
Yup - that be me ....... look in Wikipedia - you'll see my picture right there beside 'TechnoFreak'.
But - I have used all of those tools - and continue to seek out new ones - try them, master them when appropriate, and I'm here to tell you about a couple of really cool ones : :
First there's the Livescribe 3 Smartpen[www.livescribe.com]....it is such a CoolTool.....in fact it is SO cool it is the only pen to be found in an Apple store. So what's so great about it......well, when you buy one you receive either a paper journal, or a 3 ring notebook....once you've gone through setup, etc and mastered a few of the basics, and the pen is synced with your computer (better yet, with your iPad or iPhone), you simply write - or draw. Ah....draw is the best part. Then, when you are in range of your iPad (let's focus on iPad for this), and you log onto your Livescribe app, lo and behold, right there on the screen are your doodles, your epic poem - your rant or your rave.....your field inspection notes, punch list comments - detail revision from the job-site - whatever. And then you can either edit that content, or simply transmit it as a PDF file,,,,,so c o o l !
And it works......check it out.
Second CoolTool, is software : : a really neat app that started out life being designed for the iPad (and just 2 weeks ago was released as a standalone app for the MAC)....... Flowboard. [www.flowboard.com].
It is a superbly elegant and simple presentation tool - somewhat à la PowerPoint but so much easier - and fun. Use it to do a client presentation - email the Flowboard presentation to colleagues, clients - whatever.....
Trust me - you'll love it.
So - tools? Tim the ToolMan? Perhaps Tim was indeed prescient - and knew what we are coming to discover, that the tools we discover today are the reliant devices of tomorrow - and can save us time, money,
e t c e t e r a.
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