2007 Retirement Promotion

The 2007 family of products will no longer be sold or supported as of March 15 2010. This also includes Revit Architecture 9/9.1, Revit MEP Suite R2, Revit Structure Suite R4, 3DS Max R9, and Maya 8.5.

Autodesk runs a 3-phase promo during the retirement year to help customers transition to the current version. The 1st Phase does not start until May 1st. Note that as the year rolls out, the promotional discpounts lessen - so the earlier your act the better the savings! May to July is the best period. Below is the outline of the 3 phases:

Phase 1: May1 – July 17, 30% off with Subcription, 20% off without Subscription
Phase 2: July 18 – October 16, 20% off with Subription, 15% off without Subscription

Phase 3: October 17 – January 15, 10% off with Subription, reg price without Subscription

Don't want to take Subscription - you'll want to read tomorrows post......

Great Report on Building Information Modeling (BIM)

One of the most common questions I get from clients is, “Who is already using Revit and to what degree are they using it?”  I usually reply “Every major firm has Revit by now.  They are utilizing it where it makes sense for them – some are using it full-tilt on most projects, others are using it in pockets seeing where and how it fits in to their existing workflow and design processes.”  By now, it is inevitable that the Industry is definitely moving in that direction.  Don’t believe me – well fine – check out this: 

McGraw Hill Construction has published a "SmartMarket Report" on Building Information Modeling (BIM).  This report speaks to not only the adoption rate of BIM in the industry, but also to usage of BIM, value of using BIM, impact of BIM on internal and external processes, and BIM infrastructure.  This report provides great insight and recommendations for firms migrating toward Revit.  Additionally there are numerous Case Studies to validate the “real-world” usage of BIM.

The report can be sourced via Autodesk’s website (http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/mcgraw-hill_construction_bim_smartmarket_report_december_2008.pdf) or via the buildingSMART Alliance’s website (http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/news/20081203.php).

Here are some key sections to read:

• BIM and Green Building – pages 5, 18, and 19
  
• Recommendations for Beginners, Intermediate Users, Advanced/Expert Users, and Owners – page 5
  
• Rise of the Contractor – page 4
  
• Perception of BIM – page 7
  
• Risks when using BIM – page 33
  

2010 Installation and Activation requires PRODUCT KEYS

For the 2010 products, customer need two items for installation, the SERIAL NUMBER and PRODUCT KEY. Yes, that’s right, the old CD Keys from 2002 are back as Product Keys. The good news is that the Product Keys are generic for each product, meaning they are the same for every serial number. Here is a list of the Product Keys:

AutoCAD 2010 - 001B1
AutoCAD Architecture 2010 - 185B1
AutoCAD MEP 2010 - 235B1
AutoCAD LT 2010 - 057B1

Subscription 2010 Auto Fulfillment Problems

My last post showed the Auto Fulfillment emails that Autodesk has been sending out to Subscription clients (please note that these emails have only been sent out to AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP, and Naviswork customers so far (ALL 2010 Revit, and 3ds Max products have not been released yet, hence no emails sent yet). Well, there seems to be a lot of confusion and complication with the process.

First, let’s talk about the fulfillment. You have basically four choices: 1) download, 2) download and request media still be sent to you, 3) don't download but request media be sent to you, 4) don't do anything right now and media will automatically be sent to you after 30-days. So, if you’re not in a panic for the new 2010 version , my suggestion is to sit back and simply wait for Autodesk to sent it to you.

Problem # 1: The emails announcement never came. Solution: check your spam filter first, if still nothing call Autodesk's Customer Service Center at 1-800-538-6401 for assistance - make sure to have your Subscription Contract # handy when you call.

Problem # 2: Got the email but having problems getting onto or using Subscription Center. Well if you don’t know how to get onto Subscription Center, call Autodesk's Customer Service Center at 1-800-538-6401 for assistance.

Once you’re on Subscription Center, here are the steps to follow: scroll down to the section where you can “download” the 2010 product, click on “download”, then on the following page you can click “request a copy”, followed by a page that asks you to populate a form with quantities of each license, followed by “save”, followed by a questionnaire that asks why they are requesting media, followed by a couple of other prompts until you are finally finished. I know this is a cumbersome task – but is the only way to do it. If you don’t have interest in doing all this on-line, call the Autodesk Customer Service Center at 1-800-538-6401.

Problem # 3: The on-line process above produces an error. Solution: you guessed it, call the Autodesk Customer Service Center at 1-800-538-6401 for assistance.

Problem # 4: You successfully downloaded the 2010 software but are having problems installing or activating your licenses - you don't have or know what a Product Key is. Solution: The Product Key is listed in the email that was sent out but if you didn't save that email, see my next post for a list of them.

Unfortunately, resellers are not permitted by Autodesk to administrate customer's Subscription website. Nor are we entitled to fulfill this request on their behalf.

Subscription Auto Fulfillment of 2010 products

If you have your licenses on active Subscription, your 2010 Auto Fulfillment is going to be offerred to you this year via download.  You will have the option to download, download and still get hard copy of the product shipped to you, or request that only a hard copy get shipped to you (ie. no download).  Below is a sample of the email your Subscription Contract Administrator will be recieving in this regard:

From: SUBSCRIPTION-NOTIFICATION@AUTODESKSUBSCRIPTION.COM [mailto:SUBSCRIPTION- NOTIFICATION@AUTODESKSUBSCRIPTION.COM]
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 9:40 AM
To:
Subject: Autodesk Upgrade and Licensing Information
Importance: High

 

This is an outgoing mailbox only, please do not reply. If you have questions or need help, click here.

Your Upgrade is Available This information is required for product activation, please retain for your records AUTOCAD 2010 English, International Commercial Product Upgrade WINDOWS From AutoCAD 2009 is now available for download! One of the benefits of Subscription is the immediate availability of the latest release of Autodesk products. We are pleased to announce that your Subscription upgrade for AUTOCAD 2010 English, International Commercial Product Upgrade WINDOWS From AutoCAD 2009 is now available for download from Subscription Center. Download Your Upgrade!* Obtaining your Subscription Upgrade To receive your upgrade, simply log into Subscription Center and follow the instructions for download. If you prefer, you can log into Subscription Center and select to have the product shipped to you. Important Activation Code When installing your product, you will be required to obtain an activation code. To obtain an activation code, you must provide the serial number(s) and product key listed in this email. Serial Number Information Your subscription upgrade is for the following products: Serial Number Product Key Previous Serial Number(s) Total Seats 000-00000000 000B0 000-00000000 0 In an effort to simplify software management and deployment, your products may have been consolidated into one new serial number. That serial number may be used for installation of all seats within that serial number. Download Permission Information Contract Managers and Software Coordinators - you can share full product download functionality with all of your Subscription users, allowing them immediate access to the electronic Product Library. Simply log into the Subscription Center Contract Administration, go to View / Edit Users, locate the user(s), click Edit and grant them permissions to File Downloads. Be sure to provide your users with the Subscription Serial Number(s) and Product Key(s) that they will need for installation and activation. *If your company has restricted access to the Internet, you may not be able to download your upgrade and you will need to contact the Autodesk Business Center to request a physical media shipment. Copy and paste the "Recipient Information" section from the bottom of this email, which will allow us to easily locate you, and send this information via an email to subscription-team@autodesk.com. Thank you for choosing Subscription for your Autodesk products. Subscription Center Login   Download Your Upgrade   Subscription Guide   Questions? Need Help?   Forgot Password?

© 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. Autodesk.com  |  Terms and Conditions  |  Privacy Policy  |  Questions? Need Help?   | Subscription Center Login Autodesk, Inc. • 111 McInnis Parkway • San Rafael, CA 94903 Use of your Subscription is governed by the Terms and Conditions. Please note that you cannot unsubscribe from email that is required to properly service your Autodesk Subscription contract. Recipient Information [ContractID:] [ContactLang:] [OrigToEmail:] [Category:] [SendDate:03-22-2009] [Company Name:] [First Name:] [Last Name:] [AUTOCAD 2010 English, International Commercial Product Upgrade WINDOWS From AutoCAD 2009]

Autodesk 2010 Version Releases Start (FCS dates)

Autodesk has started the release of their 2010 versions.  March 24th marks the first most important release - AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, and the Inventor products.  The 25th will be for AutoCAD MEP and AutoCAD Architecture followed by Navisworks on April 3rd.  Below is a listing of all the published release dates so far.

AutoCAD® 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD LT® 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® RealDWG™ 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Electrical 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Mechanical 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® Inventor LT™ 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor LT™ Suite 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Suite 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional Suite 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Routed Systems Suite 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Simulation Suite 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Inventor® Tooling Suite 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® DirectConnect for Catia 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® DirectConnect for Catia 4 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® DirectConnect for JT 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® DirectConnect for UG 2010 March 24 

Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro 2010 March 24 

AutoCAD® Architecture 2010 March 25 

AutoCAD® MEP 2010 March 25 

AutoCAD® Map 3D 2010 March 30 

Autodesk MapGuide® Enterprise 2010 March 30 

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage 2010 April 3 

Autodesk® Navisworks® Review 2010 April 3 

Autodesk® Navisworks® Simulate 2010 April 3

Yes, you are correct, there are no dates for Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, 3ds Max / Max Design etc.  These dates have not been made public yet, but as soon as they are I will post them.  My guess is mid-April!