Andrew Owens

dlalonde, Sounds interesting! Where did you find the video card modification info, and what is the difference between the old and new drivers? - Andy

Peter & Beat, I'm glad that you guys feel the same about this issue as I do. About the programmers; I really cant believe that creating a proper User-Interface for IC would make any of IronCAD's programmers feel bored, on the contrary, making IC into the program it 'should be' by detailing the UI and fixing the bugs is something that the programmers should want to do. If any of their programmers (or management) think that IC is fine as is, well, they should be looking for a new job, because IronCAD and their customers dont need that kind of mindset. It's the little things, the details that can really make a difference in productivity, and it certainly makes a big difference in customer satisfaction. If IronCAD really thinks IC is giving its customers a 380 percent increase in productivity, the changes we are talking about will push that up another 100 percent. The real problem probably isnt with the programmers; they just do what theyre told to do. The problem is with the people that are making the decisions. I dont want to badmouth or downplay IronCADs management; Im just stating the facts. IronCAD LLC has done a great job so far, but its time for someone at IronCAD to put the hammer down and get these things fixed! The way things are going now has the scent of Alventive written all over it, and its starting to get a bit stinky in here. What I do know from my 26 years in the computer field is that customer service and satisfaction are all that matters. If IronCAD just focuses on the IC product the way it is now, thing will be much better. With clever marketing and high-pressure salesmen you can sell anything to just about anyone, but if you have a world-class product, people will flock to your doorstep to get it. IC is just about there just needs some polish. Andy

dsulli, You said, "it could be very detrimental to IC if it were to end up in the wrong hands". Please clarify this statement; under what circumstances could this happen? I believe that by publishing all the bugs, it would put a continuous pressure on IronCAD to fix the existing IC functionally with each new release. Getting the existing functionality to work as advertised has been a big issue in the past, especially before IronCAD LLC, in the Alventive (cringe!) days, and its been called for again recently; Dont add new stuff until the old stuff works properly! Many new features have been added and don't work properly, and all too often, fall short of a complete implementation, as is the case with many of the functions of IC. The existing code base has many bugs, of which many have existed since version 3 or earlier. A bug that is swept under the rug will stay there and accumulate with rest. We all know the old saying out of sight -- out of mind. Bad code doesnt fix itself or go away if left alone, it comes back to haunt you! It is in the best interests of IronCAD get these issues resolved ASAP. Then, and only then, will it make sense to add new features! If IronCAD would do this, it could only be for the better, and publishing a bug database would be a good first step. Alventive and IronCAD have two disturbing parallels; the way this bug issue is handled, and the fact that new code continues to be released without fixing old bugs. We all know what a joy IC is to use, lets dont do an Alventive, lets be proactive and make IC even better! Sincerely, Andy Owens

I get this error message when I select the Tools/Macro command. The command worked the first time I tried it. This error began after I noticed that the camera picker tool didn't pop-up after I double-clicked the middle mouse button, so I went into the macro command to see if I could find it. After that this is what I get. Also, now all the commands are greyed-out in the VBA editor. I tried using the repair option in the installer, but it didn't help. Then I completely uninstalled IC 5.2 and reinstalled it. No change. Any ideas? Sincerely, Andrew Owens Macro-error.bmp

Can anybody give some helpful insight about CNC tool path generation software? I'm interested in a good low-to-medium cost package that can generate 3-axis tool paths. 2-axis lathe tool paths would be nice too. Andy

Beat, I think that all the bugs that the IronCAD staff knows about should be included in the database/list. It should have categories for all IronCAD software by version number. Each version should also have sub-categories for setup specific problems. I also think that the database/list should be completely maintained by the IronCAD staff, after all, they are the only ones that really know all the confirmed bugs that are in the products. By the way, what ever happened to the Bug Hunt category of the BBS? Andy

I've been using the new ATI Fire GL 8800 128MB for about 6 weeks now, and it works very well with IC 5 on a single monitor. I have not tried the current drivers with two monitors yet. The multiple-monitor functions of the video driver that came with the card was pretty spastic and IC would not run if the window was wider than about 1600 pixels. I'm using two 1280 X 1024 displays laid out side-by-side. I don't know if IC has a limitation for window size that causes this problem, or if its a video driver problem. When I set the drivers to use the two monitors in a vertical layout, IC worked fine in 1280 w X 2048 h mode. One bad thing I've noticed is that when you split the IC scene into 2 windows, rendering drops down to software mode, even if setup is set to OPEN GL. Hardware OPEN GL acceleration seems to stop, and both views become very sluggish. This may just be an IC bug too. If someone else can confirm that this happens on their machine too, please post a new topic about it so IronCAD can get it fixed. Sincerely, Andrew Owens

Chris, When will we be able to get one of those USB security dongles for IC 5.2? How much will it cost? Can we order now and get one with the 5.2 release CD? Sincerely, Andrew Owens

Should IronCAD LLC publish a database/list of known bugs and workarounds for each version of IronCAD software? Would such a database/list be helpful to you? Would it allow you to use the software more effectively, and/or allow you to more intelligently make posts to the IronCAD community BBS? Sincerely, Andrew Owens

John, Please excuse the length, it started out as a few tips and ended up a book! I'm not sure if changing the button positions will help you, but it's worth a try. Sometimes I get cramps in my right hand when I use a mouse for a long time. When I was a kid I blew my right index finger off with a pipe bomb, and it just hasn't been the same since! Rotating a big design into just the right position used to be a problem on my old computer (It was annoying and made my hand cramp up). The system was relatively slow and had a standard video card, so big projects would rotate in wire frame mode, which made it impossible to judge the desired viewing position. On my new system (P4 2GHz, 1GB RDRAM) I have a professional OPEN GL graphics card. It really makes a big difference. Fifteen years of the same old computer usage habits are tough to change! Try to change your arm position when you use your mouse. I assume that you jump back and fourth from mouse and keyboard a lot if youre only using one hand. Is there any way you can change the loading on your arm? Experiment with the height of your chair relative to your desktop. Does your arm hang in the air, or rest on the desk when you are using your mouse? Try using a padded arm or wrist rest. If you use the number keys a lot, try putting a stand-alone keypad on the left side of your mouse, and try making the mouse movements more sensitive, so you dont have to move your arm/hand as far when you drag, and experiment with mouse pointer acceleration. Maybe you can angle your keyboard toward your left hand for more comfortable access and less stress on your wrist? Try to be consciously aware of the amount of pressure you are using on the mouse buttons. It would be easy for anybody get used to using a lot more pressure than is actually necessary, I've found myself doing it on more than one occasion, especially when working long hours. It has often given my mouse hand cramps. I recently started using a MS wireless Intellimouse Explorer. It's the most comfortable mouse I've ever used; unfortunately I think you're out of luck because it's for right-handers. Just another perfect example of Microsofts insensitivity towards its customers! I'm sure IronCAD could allow us users the option to change the way a few user-interface items work: Is it really necessary to drag-n-drop from the catalogs? I personally think IronCAD's implementation of drag-n-drop from the catalogs is an improper use of the drag-n-drop concept. If you just click on the desired catalog item and then click again on the position you want to place that item, the result would be the same, and with less effort. On the other hand, if you could click-select from the catalog and then click-drag a window in the scene that would give the user some feedback on the approx. size of the catalog item being added, that would be slightly more efficient than the current implementation. The same goes for Window Zoom and Rotate commands. Why can't we start a Rotate with the middle mouse button, and stop it with a single click of the left mouse button? It would make it possible to use the mouse wheel to easily zoom in-and-out at the same time the rotate command was active. What do you think? I use one of those 5-button mice; the two extra buttons are set to 'esc' and 'F-10' triball. It really speeds things up. Have you found a 5-button mouse that you can use with your left hand? Try taking a 5-minute break as often as necessary, and at regular intervals when you are at the computer. Massage your forearm, wrist, and hand during these breaks, or find someone who can do it for you. Also, gently stretch your fingers and wrist often to increase flexibility, blood flow, and range of motion. The pain from a repetitive motion injury is usually caused by inflammation in the tendons; often there is some scar tissue there too. Don't get surgery, that would be your very very last resort, and if that type of surgery is necessary, let it only be done by the very best sports-injury specialists. I highly re

I'm getting ready to purchase a new mid-range Open GL video card. If you have any experience with these types of video cards, please give your opinion on the one you're using. I'm especially interested if anyone has used any of the following cards: ATI FIRE GL 8800 ATI FIRE GL 8700 ELSA GLoria III Thanks, Andy

Chris Lohman, Why don't you guys just make it easy to scale parts & assemblies? I've seen this question pop up several times in past online community posts. Scaling is a basic design function. Having to reset the size box, aspect locks, etc through the properties dialog box is cryptic. It would be much easier to just select a 'scale part/assembly' command from a pull down menu and have a dialog box come up. This dialog would show a small graphic representation of the part/assembly to be scaled, allowing the designer to easily select which axis is to be scaled. It then should allow scaling by percentages and absolute values, and give the ability to do this in any desired measurement system. IC users should not have to pull out a calculator to accomplish such a rudimentary function. Having the ability to use point-to-point, smart-snap, and tri-ball assisted scaling would be a plus. Sincerely, Andrew Owens