I recently enjoyed reading what appears to be a genuine and not at all atypical internal Microsoft email from Bill Gates. I always enjoy seeing an honest opinion expressed in a way that cuts through the glossy corporate PR image, and this one certainly does that. Actually, it reminds me of the sort of [...]
 27 June 2008, 9:05 pm |  2 comments | Tags: Autodesk, Bill Gates, Carl Bass, Feedback, Microsoft, Public Relations | Category: Autodesk, Microsoft, Rant I was interested to see Shaan Hurley reporting the Ribbon usage figures from the Customer Involvement Program (CIP). Shaan’s figures show Ribbon non-users at 46%, my poll results show it as 71%. Why the discrepancy? Is somebody telling fibs? I don’t think so. First, blog nauseam poll respondents represent a biased sample, comprising people [...] 25 June 2008, 8:45 pm | 5 comments | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Polls, Ribbon, Shaan Hurley, User Interface | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Navel Gazing, Other Blogs, Polls I’ve been dealing with Autodesk in various ways for 23 years and have had a variety of experiences as a result; some good, some bad. The provision of the license codes needed to keep AutoCAD running has historically been pretty good. No longer. I’m currently going through the worst Autodesk customer service experience in [...] 25 June 2008, 11:59 am |  One comment | Tags: Autodesk, Customer Service, Incompetence, Policy, Rant, Registration, Subscription | Category: AutoCAD, Autodesk, Customer Service, Rant This week, Gaahl visits JB Hi-Fi, which is the place to go in Australia if you’re after bargain CDs and DVDs. The original Gaahl photograph is by Peter Beste. 24 June 2008, 9:10 pm | Leave a comment | Tags: Fun, Gaahl, Image manipulation, Metal, Music | Category: Fun, Image manipulation, Music, Pictures Following on from the earlier poll to find out what you were doing with the Ribbon (mostly turning it off, apparently), I’ve added a poll for those of you who are using AutoCAD 2009 Ribbonless. I hope I’ve covered all the bases with my 23 possible reasons! You can pick as many or as [...] 20 June 2008, 8:57 pm | 6 comments | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Polls, Ribbon, User Interface | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Polls I use the Firefox web browser when I have a choice. I’ve tried Safari and it’s fine once I turn off the horrible fuzzy text, but whatever I try I always come back to Firefox. Today, FireFox 3.0 is released and the Mozilla people are hoping to set a world record for downloads. I’ve [...] Looking at the comments, it seems not everyone is happy with the Matt Stein interview. If so, I’m sorry you feel that way about the piece. In my own defence, I would point out the following: I like to think my work at Cadalyst represents a balanced viewpoint. I pride myself on being fair. [...] 13 June 2008, 4:12 pm | Leave a comment | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Cadalyst, Interview, Journalism, Matt Stein, Navel Gazing, User Interface | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Comments, Interview, Navel Gazing, Other Blogs One of the many unfinished aspects of the AutoCAD 2009 Ribbon is the lack of Express Tools content. One enterprising user has put the effort into correcting this, and has posted an Express Tools CUI replacement in this Autodesk newsgroup thread. I have not tested this myself. As usual with CUI, be paranoid. Back [...] 13 June 2008, 2:49 pm | Leave a comment | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Bug, CUI, Customisation, Express Tools, Ribbon, Speculation, Tip | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Tip The second and final part of my interview of Matt Stein has now been published on the Cadalyst site. There were some other questions I would have liked Matt to answer, but some unfortunate logistical problems prevented that from happening. Never mind, I guess it ended up plenty long enough anyway! 11 June 2008, 9:25 pm | 3 comments | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Cadalyst, Interview, Matt Stein, User Interface | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Interview At home with Gaahl. I have done ten of these, and I like this one the best. The original Gaahl photograph is by Peter Beste. 11 June 2008, 9:24 pm | Leave a comment | Tags: Fun, Gaahl, Image manipulation, Metal, Music | Category: Announcement, Fun, Image manipulation, Music Over on the Cadalyst site you will find the first part of a two-part interview I did with Autodesk’s Matt Stein, the man responsible for making the Ribbon interface work in AutoCAD 2009. I hope you find it interesting. 5 June 2008, 9:23 pm | One comment | Tags: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Cadalyst, Interview, Matt Stein, User Interface | Category: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, Interview |
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AutoCAD 2009 – Why do you hate the Ribbon?
Judging from the results of the Ribbon usage poll (and the usual poll caveats apply), you are turning off AutoCAD 2009′s Ribbon in droves. I’m surprised. I thought there would be a significant minority of 2009 users who turned it off, but it looks I was wrong and it’s a large majority. The non-Ribbon [...]