LT Unlimited

AU Virtual Proposals–Last Call!

Friday, August 3, is the last day to submit your class proposals for Autodesk University Virtual 2012, so for all you pressure-prompted people out there it’s definitely time to get started!

Call for Proposals

This year, the honorarium for a virtual class is an AU 3-day conference pass—maybe that will help convince your boss that you deserve a trip to Vegas?

Be sure to check out all the links on the CFP site for more info on the honoraria, proposal guidelines, and FAQ.

AU Virtual Call For Proposals

If you thought the fun of AU 2012 proposals was over for the year, think again! This year we split up the live & virtual CFP’s—the live part is over, but the virtual part is just beginning.

This year there are a few changes to the virtual class process & presentation. You should plan on 45-60 minutes for your class, and prepare it in 10-15 minute sections for delivery. (I kinda like the idea of bite-size instruction…what do you think?) Classes can be in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, to accommodate our international audience. And as an additional incentive, AUv speakers are eligible for a free 3-day conference pass (if you meet all your deadlines!). Head over to the AUv CFP site for all the details.

Submissions are due by August 3, 2012, but why wait? Fire up your new Camtasia 8 (or your screen capture software of choice), brush up your video editing skills, and get those proposals in!

Who’s ready for a giveaway?

I’m home from AU again, and mostly recovered from my jet lag. (Traveling east is so much harder than going west!) You’ve already seen most of the pictures I took (really should have taken more), but I have one last collage of some of the friends & colleagues I saw last week.

So many friends, so little time…there’s always so much to do at AU, you feel lucky if you get to say more than “hi” as you pass in the hallway.

Speaking of things to do, I promised you a giveaway and I intend to deliver!

You may have heard about the Creative Design Studio we had at AU. It’s probably our best playground ever, with LEDs and batteries to make your badge glow, PVC shooters with marshmallow ammunition, 123D projects out of cardboard, live sketching with Sketchbook…and a giant box of yarn, crochet hooks, and knitting needles.

Now, that last item may not sound very exciting to you, but it was to me. See, I’m a Maker. And I make things with yarn. Sometimes, confessing this hobby makes me feel like I’m about 85, but I’ve made some really pretty things (if I do say so myself). And I still have the blanket that my mom’s dear friend made for me when I was a baby, so I know it’s an art form with real lasting value.

So that’s why I was so happy to see the bin of yarn in the Creative Studio. I grabbed a ball of green yarn and a crochet hook, and a couple days later had this scarf:

  

(Neither picture does true justice to the color—it’s a real kelly green.)

And I’m giving it away to one lucky blog reader or Twitter follower. I thought about having a contest, but that takes more brainpower than I have post-AU, so it’s just a drawing.

To enter, send me an email at [email protected]. Say something about the scarf so I know why you’re writing to me. I’ll assign numbers as the emails come in, and use a random number generator to choose a winner. The drawing will be held next Monday, December 12, so get your entries in before then.

Who knows, maybe this will be the beginning of a fun new AU tradition!

Autodesk University, Day 4

I am homeward bound today, after a wonderfully successful AU 2011. It seems that just about everything went right this year, from well-attended Innovation Forums to less-crowded escalators--and especially AU Virtual, which was streamlined to provide a better experience for both speakers and attendees.

My last day of AU was full of exhibit hall duty again and helping to distribute & collect surveys looking for people interested in participating in customer success stories. (You know you don't have to wait for a survey here though, right? If you want to tell your AutoCAD LT story to the world, you know how to reach me.) I even took a lab class for the first time in years -- now I know just a *little* about Sketchbook Designer...which is infinitely more than I knew before I took the lab. :-)

I have a few pictures left to post, but I'm going to wait until next week for that, when I have full browser access again so I have more control over post formatting & can caption them properly.

Also next week, I will be announcing details for a very special AU-themed giveaway. I won't say more now, except that it has to do with the Instructables team and the Creative Design Studio that was here at AU. Stay tuned!

Autodesk University, Day 3

So this mobile posting thing seemed to work out all right yesterday. (Although that post looks a lot longer on my phone!)

Let's see...what happened yesterday? It's getting hard to keep my days straight... :-)

I spent a lot of time in the exhibit hall talking to customers about AutoCAD, Mac, and mobile. (For the last time, I don't know when Revit might come to the Mac. And if I did, I couldn't say.) But it's really great to see such enthusiastic people.

I missed the annual AUGI meeting, but I'm looking forward to seeing what made it onto the AutoCAD wish list. That's been a source of a lot of new features over the years.

One highlight of yesterday was getting scanned in the 123D Catch photo booth. A ton of cameras take your picture, and the software stitches them together into a 3D model that you can view with the free Inventor Publisher Mobile app. I put a screenshot from the app below. There's nothing like AU for seeing the cool stuff your colleagues are doing!

Autodesk University, Day 2

I'm testing Typepad's iPhone app today for two reasons. 1. I don't feel like paying for internet access in my hotel room. 2. I don't feel like hauling the laptop down to the free WiFi at the conference. So we're going mobile. :-)

Yesterday was just packed with AU goodies. The day opened with a fantastic general session (available on AUv), followed by several Innovation Forums on a variety of topics. I attended the Cloud forum (the first picture attached), which provided a lot of insights on cloud computing. (A topic for a future post?)

After lunch were a few classes, including Lynn Allen's AutoCAD 2012 overview and Michael Beall's AutoCAD Toolbelt lab -- both excellent as usual. The second picture in this post is from the lab.

The Exhibit Hall opened up in the evening, and was packed with enthusiastic people. I spent my time at the AutoCAD for Mac kiosk, so I didn't get to visit many booths, but hopefully I'll get a chance later today.

It's another busy day here -- if this mobile posting thing works out, maybe I'll try it for tomorrow's update too!

Autodesk University, Day 1

Greetings from sunny Las Vegas! At least, I assume it's sunny–I haven't been outside since I arrived at the Venetian yesterday. But that's AU for you...there's just so much going on inside!

Considering that the classes don't kick off until today, there was plenty happening at the conference.

The first-ever Freshman Orientation, hosted by Lynn Allen, drew over 1000 attendees.

Over 500 people took Autodesk Certification Exams in the first 3 hours that the testing center was open–wow! The exams are free all week to AU attendees, which is great if you're trying to add a little polish to your resume.

The evening was packed with various receptions in all parts of the hotel complex...if you don't come to AU ready to walk, you'll be sorry!

I didn't take many pictures yesterday (too busy trying to stay hydrated in the desert), but here's me with the CAD Geek himself, Donnie Gladfelter.

Thanks to R.K. McSwain (@cadpanacea) for the picture! I'll try to do better with the picture-taking the rest of the week. :-)

Today's schedule incudes the General Session (watch it live on AU Virtual!), some neat Innovation Forums, a few classes, and the opening of the Exhibit Hall in the evening. Better get moving!

For updates throughout the day (in case you're bored), follow me at @katemorrical, and search for the hashtag #AU2011 to get all the conference-related tweets.

AU Virtual Now Open!

We have less than two short weeks left until Autodesk University in Las Vegas! (My reaction to that is equal parts “hooray!” and “yikes!”)

I’d love to see you there, but if you can’t make it to the desert, that’s no excuse to miss out. Why? Because AU Virtual 2011 is FREE to EVERYONE!

That’s right, you get 200 classes in English, Spanish, and Portuguese on-demand and free, free, free.

Some classes won’t be available until November 29, to coincide with the on-site event, but there are a bunch available now, including certification prep classes if you’re interested in taking the AutoCAD certification exams.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m presenting two virtual sessions? One on AutoCAD LT (of course!) and one on AutoCAD for Mac.

Note: Classes in the catalog only have handouts & additional materials. To actually watch a class, you must be in the AU Virtual environment. And that link will only work after you register here.

Enjoy the show!

Autodesk University 2011 Registration Now Open

It’s that time of year again – time to count down to Autodesk’s biggest user event of the year.

That’s right: registration is now open to Subscription Customers, members of AU Online, and AUGI members for Autodesk University Las Vegas 2011, being held from November 29 to December 1 at the Venetian Hotel. It’s 3 full days packed with all the learning and networking you can possibly imagine, from classes taught by fellow users to chatting with the product design team in the Exhibit Hall, and even sneak peeks at new technology under development.

Check out the AU site (http://au.autodesk.com/) for all the details. We’ve even included a “Convince Your Manager” kit in case the higher-ups aren’t so sure about sending you all the way to Vegas.

If the kit doesn’t work, there’s always AU Virtual, which lets you watch classes on-demand from the comfort of your own desk. Registration for AUv doesn’t open for another week, so stay tuned for more details.

Will I see you in Vegas?

AU Call for Proposals Closing Soon

Have you submitted a class proposal for AU 2011 yet? No? Why not? What are you waiting for? The deadline is this Friday, May 6, so you’re almost out of time!

Don’t wait any longer. Go to the Call for Proposals home page to read the guidelines and submit the classes you want to to teach.

AU covers just about every product in the Autodesk portfolio, plus CAD Management and customization, so whatever your particular area of expertise is, there’s probably a place on the schedule for it. We also have room for AutoCAD LT classes again this year. You can even submit a proposal for a virtual class – no actual public speaking required, but you still get a free pass to the conference. Not bad, eh?

If you have any questions, you can e-mail me or the AU Content team at [email protected]