SolidWorks has been busy over the past month now that SolidWorks 2014 Beta has come to a close and the official bits (SP0) have shipped.! The fourth quarter of every year is exciting in technology now that the holidays are just around the corner! Here are a few highlights from the last two months:
SolidWorks Updates:
- SolidWorks 2014 SP0 is available for download
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2014 SP0 is available for download
- SolidWorks 2013 SP5 is available for download (needed for previous version compatibility with 2014)
- SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2013 SP5 is available for download
2014 What’s New Content:
- DDi Tech Center is beginning the What’s new video series
- SolidWorks:HEARD! has all the What’s New shows posted
- SolidWorks Tech Blog has many What’s New video tips
SolidWorks World 2014 preliminary user agenda has been posted. This year SolidWorks World is being held in San Diego, California on January 26 – 29. It is time to start making your plans since Early Bird registration deals for signups end after January 3, 2014. This is the best training opportunity of the year and if you need help convincing your boss, you can use their justification letter to help! Hope to see you all there!
On October 18th, Windows 8.1 officially shipped! If you are currently running Windows 8, the upgrade is free and available through the Windows Store. A few of the notable updates include the return of the Start button (not to be confused with the start menu), the option to boot to the desktop (bypassing the Start Screen) and multiple configuration options for the Start Screen and Windows 8 apps.
SolidWorks pushes an update to eDrawings on Android to the Play Store. SolidWorks recently refreshed all the eDrawings on both iOS and Android to make it compatible with the 2014 version of SolidWorks. On Android, however, this update fixes a bug that was in the original version that associated eDrawings with every file format on the device. This update makes eDrawings on Android AWESOME! Hope to see eDrawings Pro soon..
Apple launches new iPads and Macs with software for free! October is standard time for Apple to announce new products for the Holiday season and this year they refreshed the product line extensively. News of a new iPad Air (10″ update), new iPad Mini Retina (8″ high resolution), new chipsets in the Macbook Pro line, newly redesigned Mac Pro. OSX Mavericks, their next operating system, was free to all and the iLife and iWork productivity suites of software are free with any hardware purchase of an iOS or Mac product. Impressive line up for new and old customers.
Google launches the Nexus 5! The next version of Google’s flagship phone has been highly anticipated by the Android masses and on Halloween it debuted on the Play Store. The 5″ smart phone is packed to the gills with tech, boosting a Snapdragon 800 2.3Ghz processor, Full HD screen (1920×1080) and running the next version of Android 4.4 KitKat. The price is also amazing at $350 USD for the 16GB unlocked version that is now sold out!
3D Connexion ships the first wireless 3D mouse. Are you a fan of the Spaceball? Are you one who cannot live without both hands consumed with 3D control at all times? It is time to cut the cord and get busy wirelessly. This little wonder is $129 and is available everywhere for order. They also have a good FAQ posted to answer any other questions you might still have.
Nest launches smart smoke an CO alarm. Nest, the company founded by Tony Fadell, father of the iPod, who launched the learning thermostat two years ago, is bringing reform to another annoying and yet necessary household item, the smoke detector. Nest Protect is a smoke and carbon monoxide detector that is WiFi connected, updates automatically and notifies you when it is triggered. It can also send messages when the batteries are low and if accidentally triggered a wave with your hand silences it. At $129 USD it is more than 2X the cost but might be worth the cool factor.
From a technology standpoint, a lot of goodies in the market for the holidays. Here at Digital Dimensions we are busy rolling out the new 2014 SolidWorks products and have completed our Arizona and Southern California 2014 rollouts. In mid-November we are continuing the roadshow to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento so signup and see what 2014 has in store. Hope to see you all there.