new google apps premier

New York Times reports that later today Google will announce Google Apps to the public for business & education use. Previously known as Google Apps for your Domain, the new Google Apps will include email, instant messaging, calendars, web page creation, and now docs & spreadsheets with the ability to read and edit Microsoft Word & Excel documents. This is a whoping $11 billion dollar industry for Microsoft and with it being free for business and education use. They have added a new feature called Google Apps Premier and for $50 per user/year, you can get 10GB email storage w/ 99.9% uptime, ad removal, email migration tools, phone support, and API support. Google has a very good chance at taking a lot of small businesses away from Microsoft with this package. Right now NYT reports that Google Apps only has around 450,000 users, whereas Microsoft has nearly 400-500 million. Google has a long way to go, but if it’s anything like Gmail, I have a feeling that they will come on strong. Still, concerns remain about privacy and security, and not everyone has come to trust Google with their information, especially when it comes down to business.

Unlike Microsoft’s products, which reside on PCs and corporate networks, Google’s will be delivered as services accessible over the Internet, with Google storing the data. That will allow businesses to offload some of the cost of managing computers and productivity software.

[Source: NYT]

Google Apps

Google Apps Grows Up [Official Google Blog]

UPDATE: If you go to your control panel now for your domain, the new features (Docs & Spreadsheets) have shown up, with the option of upgrading to Google Apps Premier for free until April 30th, 2007

autodesk announces 2008 product line

Autodesk has announced their 2008 product lineup with quite a number of name changes. Architectural Desktop has now become just AutoCAD Architecture 2008, and Revit Building has become Revit Architecture 2008. Also included Autodesk Building Systems has become AutoCAD MEP 2008, and Revit Building Systems has become Revit MEP 2008. All welcome changes as that reflect the disciplines that actually use these products.  You can sign up to be notified of the releases by email here.  While the website states that these products are coming soon, the anticipated release date is set for March 20, 2007.

Revit Architecture 2008 (version 10) will be probably the most significant out of these applications to hit the industry as this is the first version that Autodesk has had full control over from beginning to end. While Autodesk aquired Revit some time ago, versions 7.0-9.1 were all interim releases to patch and update Revit, Architecture 2008 I believe will be a major update along with a newly updated UI and hopefully a lot of bug fixes. Look for it to have a more “Autodesk” aesthetic and feel to it.

AutoCAD Architecture 2008 (formerly Autodesk Architectural Desktop)
The best AutoCAD-based design and documentation productivity for architects makes it easier for users familiar with AutoCAD to automate tedious drafting tasks so design documentation can be completed more easily and more quickly.

Revit Architecture 2008 (formerly Revit Building)
Purpose-built for building information modeling, Revit® Architecture software mirrors the real world of buildings, so architects and designers work holistically, rather than with isolated elements such as floor plans, sections, and elevations. New features include improved management of linked model information and improved DWF file specification support, a Google Earth™ Plug-In, and better interoperability with Autodesk® 3ds Max® animation software.

“In the building sector, the architecture, engineering and construction disciplines are improving efficiency and client satisfaction by using building information modeling (BIM) to create digital prototypes of buildings… the Revit platform enables integrated practice — which allows architects, engineers, designers and contractors to design and estimate the cost of construction using digital prototypes and fine-tune ideas to improve the building and stay within budget, rather than having to cut costs after the fact or during construction.”

Autodesk 2008 Product Preview:
http://www.autodesk.com/mini-sites/buzz/en/

green product of the week – evoke from amerlux

Newly released lighting product Evoke by Amerlux Lighting Solutions is a new “green” alternative to the traditional MR16 halogens. Designed by Gensler, a sustainable design leader, the Evoke comes in a 2.9″ downlight in both round and square lenses with numerous different trims avaialable. With the use of metal halide and at only 20 watts (using MM/CDM-Tm, ES16, T4GU6.5, CMHMR16, or PAR20MH lamps) the downlights help conserve energy and prolong the life of the bulbs. A great alternative to the halogen MR16’s if you are looking for a way to decrease energy and help you attain your sustainable design goals for your project.

Product Link:
http://www.amerlux.com/pages/143_evoke_product.cfm

amazing new billboard concept

Here’s one for ya! Finally a creative use of materials for billboards. Ian Hart has proposed this innovative billboard design idea using GE Lexan EXL semi-transparant resin. The resin used blurs the scene behind it and best of all it’s weatherproof. Perfect for an exterior application such as this — an advertisement for something fast! Currently the ads are concepts but a great use of materials. All-in-all it’s a great advertisement, a use of a static material to produce a dyanmic image and provides a memorable image associated with all things fast. This is one ad I’d love to see while driving.

Picture of proposed billboards:

[Source: http://ianhartcw.com/]

welcome the audi a5

The A5 is to debut next month at the Geneva Motor Show and already the official pictures of the Audi A5 have surfaced on the internet. Always at the pinnacle of German auto design Audi’s A5 is absolutely stunning. Going after the BMW 3-series and Infiniti G35 with this beaut, Audi has finally garnished up a car that’s sure to turn heads, whether or not it will turn hearts, well we’ll just have to wait and see.

The A5 will be well-equipped with a 4.2L V8, six-speed auto & manual transmissions and will incorporate a DSG gearbox, called the S-tronic. Unlike current Audi models which hang their engines forward of the front axle, the A5 will put its V8 directly over the front axle center line. This will give the A5 better balance allowing Audi to meet pedestrian crash safety standards without resorting to unconventional front end designs. Also rumored is a cabriolet version of the A5 supposedly coming about a year after the coupe’s 2007 U.S. launch.

Check out the high-resolution images for more views of the new Audi A5.

[Source: Dubspeedracing, Autoblog]

world’s first screen made of concrete

Thanks to jetlag for the heads up on this one. This has to be one of the strangest inventions of the year, but probably one of the most revolutionary in terms of new places for media to reach the masses. Coming from Innovation Lab, this new “transparant” concrete has fiber optic cable embedded in it allowing the light to pass through to the surface of the concrete. What an great way to “hide in plain sight” an advertisement and incorporate it into mainstream building technology. Whether this may cross the line between what is a publically acceptable form of advertisement has yet to be seen, but I’d imagine this may turn a few heads.

The screen consists of concrete with embedded optical fibres, arranged as pixels, capable of transmitting natural as well as artificial light. The light-admission points are on the back of the screen where the fibres are positioned. The light, or the picture, will then be displayed in pixels on the front. The light source can be a projector emitting either pictures or film footage. In principle, the screen is capable of acting as a window since – owing to the combination of the screen concept’s light-absorption and optical cables – it has a capacity for transmitting natural light…

…With the see-through concrete screen we are forced to rethink our ways of production and communication in an infinite number of situations. Maybe we will soon have the choice between paper-thin electronic screens and solid walls directly displaying the revenue-generating ads. Maybe aesthetic qualities will now be challenged by building components with properties beyond hitherto known levels of functionalism and aestheticism.

http://www.innovationlab.dk/sw22811.asp

Watch the video:

eMi: designing a world of hope

i came across a poster for eMi back in the day when i was in design school. my first thought was… this is what i want to do with my design skills. what a greater opportunity we have than to use our design abilities to serve others in this world, and to more importantly show them the love of Christ while doing so.

eMi is for architects, engineers, surveyors, construction managers, draftsmen… pretty much any design professional. opportunities range from 2 weeks, to 3 months, to 2 years, in developing countries around the globe. and if you are unable to travel overseas, you can even help out working from home. recently graduating from design school? they also offer internships available from 3-18 mo.’s  aren’t able to serve?  you can also donate to a project!

“Engineering Ministries International (eMi) is a
non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and design professionals who donate their skills to help children and families around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.”

http://www.emiusa.org/