New Lenovo Workstation Built for High-End Performance on a Budget

Lenovo announced two new entry-level workstations that should be of interest to our CAD users. The new ThinkStation E32 tower and small form factor (SFF) workstations will come pre-loaded with a 60-day free trial of Autodesk AutoCAD LT (English language only).

“The ThinkStation E32 is built for the design and engineering community and is an ideal workstation for running AutoCAD LT,” said Sheila Parker Tolle, senior director of ecommerce and small business marketing at Autodesk. “Having a trial of AutoCAD LT factory installed and ready to go for 60 days on the Lenovo ThinkStation E32 makes it easy for customers to start their AutoCAD LT evaluation, and gives them the powerful, responsive computing power they need to create complex designs quickly and effectively.”

The ThinkStation E32 is an entry-level workstation aimed for professionals working in computer-aided design, product development and architecture. Both models come with certifications from leading design software vendors including Autodesk, Adobe, Dassault Systémes, PTC, and Siemens. Read full article »

What’s Next in Workstations?

One of the things that I’m fortunate enough to do on a regular basis is get information from those who are bringing us the next generation of workstation products that will provide us with new capabilities and extend the value of the CAD professional. This week, I had the good luck to spend some time with Kerry Troester, North American Thinkstation Marketing Manager at Lenovo to discuss what the next “big things” are going to be.

The discussion focused on two key aspects of workstation use and products that will bring new capabilities to CAD professionals. Of course Lenovo has a lot going on, but these two elements have the greatest broad impact. Read full article »

News & Notes – Recent Enhancements to Key CAD Software Products

One of the services that we hope to provide to you in this blog environment is to provide you the reader with news and information about key products that are focused on the CAD Professional. One of the most important areas of information is to list some of the key upgrades and feature enhancements that are coming within these products.

New Features in AutoCAD 2014

The newest version of AutoCAD is chock full of new features that bring even more functionality and utility to the product. There are more command line search options including synonyms to speed work. There are also a number of options for customizing search and auto-correct on the command line. There is also improved support for geographic mapping, in conjunction with AutoCAD 360. Arc drawing improvements have come in the form of supporting simple change of arc direction using the control key. This is just an overview of the new functions as there are a large number of other improvements provided in this version. Read full article »

Time to Stop Using Desktop PCs as CAD Workstations

When I talk to CAD Professionals and get feedback on blogs like this, I’m a bit surprised how many individuals are stuck using business Desktop PCs as CAD workstations. In this day and age, when the cost of CAD workstations has come way down from the $10,000 price level of 20 years ago, this seems to be a case of “Penny wise, pound foolish”. The benefits of a real workstation are so compelling that it makes little sense, financial or otherwise, to try and dress up a desktop for serious CAD work.

The technology differences are compelling, but so too are other aspects of use. It’s worth exploring the issue to end this trend once and for all. Read full article »

Security & CAD Workstations

There have been a number of very public security breaches in just the last few months. Whether it’s the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against banks and larger companies, or the loss of data by any number of enterprises, the simple truth is that vulnerability in the IT environment has never been a larger topic.

And the problem is getting more and more difficult to deal with. We are seeing new technology used to create more substantial threats like Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) that repetitively target individuals so that their compromised systems can lead into an enterprise’s key data and applications. In addition, there is a very real rise in state sponsored and organized crime based threats that are resulting in better funded and more technically capable threats.

Although CAD workstations were not often targeted in the past, this may well change in the future. As attacks move from nuisance to “for profit” the ability to steal design files and project information is becoming a valuable target. Gaining access to drawings is a major part of industrial espionage as it allows the thief to bring their copy of a product to market faster. The ACAD Medre.A virus is an excellent example of this kind of threat. Read full article »