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Coinciding with the acquisition of VIA Development, Nate joined Autodesk in March of 2003 after a decade stint as an entrepreneur following a two-decade stint as a controls engineer and software applications developer at Owens-Corning. Nate is now the lead product architect for AutoCAD Electrical. He loves this stuff.
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Help Wanted
April 9, 2008, 11:13 PM Nate HoltThe AutoCAD Electrical team is looking for customers who would be interested in helping to shape future releases of AutoCAD Electrical by attending periodic webcasts. The primary objective of these meetings would be for you to work directly with the AutoCAD Electrical team to gather your requirements, input, and suggestions regarding potential product enhancements. Prior to the events, you would receive an invitation with the details of the meeting as well as a high level agenda of the topics that will be discussed during the meeting. Participation is completely voluntary, but in order to participate in these discussions, you will be required to first sign our Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
If you are interested in participating in some of these meetings, please first complete the survey which you can access by clicking the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=eoH3_2bL9p5DwWs0RuVVm93w_3d_3d
Here are some answers to questions you may be asking yourselves right now:
Q.) Where are these events held? Do I have to travel for them?
A.) These events are held via a webcast presentation and conference call, so there is no need to travel and all you would need is internet access and a telephone.
Q.) What is required of me if I attend one of these events?
A.) Nothing, other than sending the requested information, signing and sending back the NDA, and calling/logging into the presentation. These events are completely voluntary and if you are not interested in a particular topic, or are just too busy at the time of the meeting, that is fine, you don’t have to attend. You can just wait for the next topic and discussion to take place and attend that meeting if you are available. Please keep in mind that our purpose of hosting these discussions is to help us ensure that we are meeting your needs with the potential product enhancements that are discussed.
Q.) Ok, so I don't have to attend every discussion that I receive an invitation for, but for those that I do, how much of my time will it take?
A.) We completely understand and respect how busy everyone is. Our goal for these events is to keep them to a 1 hour timeframe. Sometimes, the discussions may run over a little when many people have feedback they would like to provide, but we fully understand that not everyone may be able to continue to participate past an hour. We want everyone who joins the discussions to feel free to voice their opinions and to provide their input during these discussions. Having an open environment for these discussions where everyone feels comfortable contributing can really help to drive deeper discussion and discoveries and overall lead to a better solution for the potential product enhancements.
The AutoCAD Electrical team looks forward to hearing from you and to your participation in these events!
Jared Bunch
Product Designer
Autodesk, Inc.
Comments
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April 11, 2008 04:57 AM Ken Skiles
Thanks for the invite but I am not sure what I could bring to the table. I am just getting started using electrical (trying to migrate from AutoSketch) and I will be using it to draw more on the schematic side versus the PLC side. I also use vanilla to do layouts for a CNC machine.
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April 11, 2008 06:01 AM arlene mccoy
Hi Jared and Nate This sounds great, but my company Siemens (formerly Robicon near Pittsburgh PA) has alot of web content blocked, anything live or streaming. So what should I ask my IT department to do, to find out if I could have an exception so that i can attend. I have been using ACADE since it was VIA-WD and so i just might have alot of input. Currently i am developing a standard 94 page wire diagram for a nucular application. Really I have been wondering if there was any ADVANCED ACADE training out there. Thanks Arlene
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April 11, 2008 10:49 AM Nate Holt
Hi Ken, Jared asked that I encourage you to sign up. Having little previous experience with the product is positive in the sense that you come in as a "non expert" with a fresh look and without bias. Hi Arlene, Jared would really like to figure out how we could make this work. We will be using Microsoft's Live Meeting to conduct the presentations... and if your IT department can accommodate you in this, it would be great.
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April 12, 2008 09:05 AM Francis Sulik
Thanks for the invite. Our company installs voice/data/video/security/fiberoptic cabling/wireless communications, and system in buildings and outdoors. (Low voltage communications) I used Autocad for a number of years to do floor plans of buildings and wiring diagrams for our documentation (as builts). I upgraded to ACADE in 2007, but I've found it isnt geared towards the wiring diagrams we do. It seems to be for people designing electrical controls, and It lacks symbol libraries for voice/data/video distribution components, etc. I would like to see if ACADE could be more user friendly for what I do as an electrical contractor. It also takes a long time to move the mouse around a 20" lcd screen to pick commands from the menus. I find it tedious and slow in this respect. I wouldnt mind joining the group if some of these items would be addressed. Thanks Frank Sulik Integrated Security & Communications
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April 14, 2008 12:55 PM Nate Holt
Hi Frank, yes, the product's key focus is currently on controls engineers and designers. That's not to say it cannot be user-customized to do other things, but it is not set up "out-of-the-box" that way. I'd be happy to take a quick look at one of your drawings, if you'd like. Maybe I could give you an idea of what a customization effort might involve, or if it is even feasible. My email is nate.holt@autodesk.com.
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April 21, 2008 08:29 AM arlene mccoy
Morning My IT depart said when i get the invitations to the webcasts i will have to send them the link and they will unblock it per event. So again yes i would like to participate. They unblocked the survey and i did that now how do i do the NDA? Bye Arlene
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April 22, 2008 09:05 AM Nate Holt
Hi Arlene, Please send a note to Jared at jared.bunch@autodesk.com. He should be able to set you up with the NDA. - Nate.
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