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Information Technology Software

Autodesk sponsors project to develop Open Source GIS tools for kids

KidsGIS is a cool project from a group of professionals and educators out in Oregon (USA), who have been using MapGuide Open Source tools to create an open source geospatial portal as a tool for educating kids about environmental issues and about using open source software and open data standards. The project has an impressive group of sponsors, including the Open Source Geospatial Foundation, Autodesk, the San Diego Visualization and Supercomputer Centers, URISA, local governments and schools, and private companies such as Spatial Integrators and SPATIALinfo

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China Information Technology Software Trend Watching

Internet in China: Virtual Worlds Roundup

BusinessWeek published a special report on virtual world recently, with one article on virtual World in China which featured Hipihi, Novoking and UOneNet (a.k.a. uWorld). Hipihi has announced the beginning of its public beta testing phase, after over a year private test. uWorld, another virtual world on BusinessWeek’s article which was first profiled in October 2007, finally started its close test in March. As Hipihi, uWorld also partnered with IBM on virtual world development. Kaiser Kuo is more optimistic on it, he thought “deep-rooted MMORPG culture” in China and “willingness of Chinese to strike up online friendships with strangers” will help them in the long run […]

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China Design Information Technology Innovation Software

Autodesk Supports China’s Digital Design Education

In cooperation with China’s Ministry of Education, Autodesk has launched China Student Design Community to provide free digital design tools to Chinese students, in order to support of China’s digital design innovation and engineering education. Previously, the company has made investments in China’s education field, including the establishment of joint labs in five Chinese universities of Tsinghua University, Tongji University, Harbin Institute of Technology, South China University of Technology and Shanghai Jiaotong University. The company has also sponsored China’s Development and Design program through which it has reached partnership with Beijing Software and Information Service Promotion Center, providing software and development tools to Chinese designers…

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China Innovation

Intellectual Property: China to strengthen IPR protection

Chinese government will work to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi said on a national conference for directors of intellectual property offices recently. China has made progress in the past 30 years in IPR protection, represented by the growing number and quality of IPRs which have been widely and effectively applied to practical production, Wu said…

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China Design

Design in China: Shanghai to establish excellence center for branding and corporate identities

Shanghai industrial and commercial authorities will help companies develop brand logos to increase the number of local logos registered overseas to 20,000 by the year 2012, officials said recently. To help achieve the target, the Shanghai Bureau of Industrial and Commercial Administration said it would build a public service platform in the bureau. The platform would provide logo registration and design consultation, a legal service, value estimation and logo trade for companies…

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Design Information Technology Innovation Software

“User Interface Design in an Agile Environment”: Jeff White and Jim Unger’s talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘08 Conference

In their talk at IxDA | Interaction ‘08 Conference, they describe their experience with the merger of user centered design into agile (team) development practice as manifest in a one day design studio […]

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Design Innovation Software Trend Watching

Look Into the Future with Autodesk Labs: Multi touch wall (Part II)

Doug Look from Autodesk Labs experiments with Autodesk’s design software on a Multi-Touch Wall device, produced by Perceptive Pixel and invented by researcher and (TED conference luminary) Jeff Han. Multi-touch human-computer interfaces may dramatically change how products, infrastructure, and buildings are designed […]

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Design Information Technology Innovation Software

Autodesk featured in the Top 50 World’s Most Innovative Companies

Autodesk has been recently featured in Fast Company‘s ranking of the world’s most innovative companies. From visionary upstarts to storied stalwarts, the list highlights companies that dazzle with new ideas — and prove beyond a doubt how business is a force for change: Since 1982, designers, engineers, and architects have made Autodesk‘s 2-D AutoCAD drafting programs the default choice for creating anything from buildings to sailboards. Now Autodesk is targeting the latest growth area in product design: 3-D virtual prototyping that eliminates the need for building physical models.

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Design Information Technology Innovation Trend Watching

“The Design Eco-System”: Bill Buxton’s Keynote at IxDA | Interaction ‘08 Conference

Bill Buxton, in his keynote during for the opening of IxDA | Interaction ‘08 Conference, asks us: “How Can We Design Great Products if we don’t First Design our Environment?” Great ideas are not enough. In many ways, they are the easy part of design. The hard part is seeing those great ideas through to reality […]

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Design Economics Information Technology Innovation Software

“An Insurgency of Quality”: Alan Cooper’s Keynote at IxDA | Interaction ’08 Conference

In his keynote at IxDA | Interaction ’08 Conference, Alan Cooper issues a manifesto for revolution, showing us how to take control of an industry careening crazily into confusion, and restore visibility and manageability, along with higher revenue and profit margins, by starting an insurgency of quality […]