News and Announcements

San Francisco Revit User Group: July 14th
Sacramento ADT User Group: July 27th

Registration and Authorization Changes for 2007 Products

New AEC Team Member: Ken Hall, AIA – Ideate Welcomes Ken Hall to the AEC Team
Ken, a Registered Architect, has 25 years experience in applying technology solutions in the AEC industry. This would include 15 years applying and managing digital design and technical solutions in small, medium, and large firms as well as four years leading information technology budgets, projects, and staff in a multi-office design firm. Ken is a board member for a non-profit, chair of a citizen’s task force on sustainability, and currently a candidate to become a certified Sustainable Building Advisor.

Meet all our Technical Staff: click here

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Email Newsletter of Value to AEC Professionals: AECbytes.com
Please spread the word about AECbytes to your colleagues and friends in the building industry. The more subscribers this publication has, the more topics and products it can cover.

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor.

To subscribe to AECbytes, visit the AECbytes subscribe page.

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Autodesk Sponsors PBS Television Series on Sustainable Design and Launches New Sustainability Website

design: e2 Explores the Economies of Sustainability (narrated by Brad Pitt)

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 30, 2006— Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that it is sponsoring a new PBS television series about sustainable design titled “design: e2” (The Economics of Being Environmentally Conscious).  Produced by kontentreal and narrated by Brad Pitt, the series is scheduled to air on PBS stations beginning in June 2006. In association with the series, Autodesk has unveiled its Sustainability Center which will serve as a resource on the role of technology in sustainable design and profile industry leaders from manufacturing, building and infrastructure who are realizing their sustainable ideas.

“Autodesk is working with the world’s leading architects, engineers and product designers to make it easier, more efficient and profitable to incorporate sustainable design into their practices,” said Carl Bass, chief executive officer and president of Autodesk.  “We hope our sponsorship of ‘design: e2‘and the Autodesk Sustainability Center will help increase adoption of sustainable design and raise awareness for this vital movement.”

Achieving Sustainability Through Technology
Autodesk provides software solutions that can help design professionals measure and analyze the performance costs and occupant experience of a building, predict the efficiency and durability of a mechanical device or model the layout of a new road to better understand its environmental impact.  As a result, design professionals can significantly reduce the time and resources required to create sustainable buildings, infrastructure and products. 

The growing movement for sustainable architecture, also called green building, is a direct response to the need to change the relationship between buildings and the environment. According to the United States Department of Energy, constructing and maintaining buildings consumes 65.2% of the electricity and 36% of the primary energy resources in the United States. The 2005 Autodesk Green Index, an annual study of the implementation of green design principals by practicing architects, indicated that the use of sustainable design principals has grown 50 percent since 2000, and estimates that it will increase 100 percent by 2010.

Partnering to Produce design: e2
kontentreal, producers of  “design: e2”, chose to partner with Autodesk because Autodesk has demonstrated leadership in providing architects with solutions for sustainable design.  Phil Bernstein, vice president of Autodesk’s Building Solutions Division, and an AIA fellow and lecturer at the Yale University School of Architecture since 1988, served as a series advisor, and several projects featured on the show were designed using Autodesk software.

“Teaming up with Autodesk seemed like a natural fit, as we share an excitement in educating the world about the importance of sustainable design and its effects on our planet and future generations,” said kontentreal’s Executive Producer Karena Albers. 

The “design: e2”documentary series will highlight the positive impact sustainable architecture has on our economy, our health and our planet.  The programs in the series will chronicle important stories of green design around the world -- including in New York, in Chicago’s city government, in homes in China -- and into the future. The series is narrated by Brad Pitt and features the most progressive minds in the green building and sustainable design movement including William McDonough, Werner Sobek, Sergio Palleroni, Douglas Durst and Michael McDonough.  It is scheduled to air on the PBS television network beginning in June 2006. Check local listings for airdates and time.

Education and Inspiration on the Sustainability Center
In connection with its sponsorship of the PBS series, Autodesk has launched its Sustainability Center, a new website that will provide information and tools to facilitate an understanding of sustainable design, as well as inspire and help design professionals take advantage of this growing trend. Visitors to the website will also be able to learn more about the visionaries, issues and projects featured in design: e2.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a Fortune 1,000 company, wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the manufacturing, infrastructure, building, media and entertainment and wireless data services fields. Autodesk’s solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively.  As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage, become more productive, streamline project efficiency and maximize profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California.  For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

© 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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You Should Have Been There!
On June 13th, Ideate hosted a hospitality suite at the Autodesk® Accelerate Your Ideas Tour in San Francisco. Thanks to those who attended and congratulations to our raffle winners:
 
Free Training for a Year
Lee Miller, HOK 
Uday Parikh, Architecture Studio International

Apple iPod Nano 
Kevin Brown, City of Oakland

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Save up to 45% When Upgrading Retired Autodesk Software
Still using an old release of AutoCAD? Didn't make the retirement upgrade date deadline? Well now is your chance to get the latest release of AutoCAD and save a lot of money while doing so. If you have a license of AutoCAD 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, or any of the Autodesk software that was based off of these versions, you can get the latest release of the Autodesk software at a 45% savings when purchased with the first year of Autodesk subscription, or 40% off without subscription. For AutoCAD users you can even go directly to a vertical product, like ADT, Revit Building, or Revit Series. This also applies to some of the other software. Don't wait, call Ideate now to discuss the option that best fits your needs. See the list below for all of the eligible software.

Architectural Software Eligible for this Promotion:
AutoCAD 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002
Architectural Desktop 1, 2, 2i, 3, 3.3
Raster Design 3
VIZ 2, 3, 3i
3ds max 3, 4

To see a complete list of qualifying software (Civil and Manufacturing) click here

Promotion Expires: July 31, 2006
more info | 888.662.7238

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Save up to 20% When Upgrading AutoCAD 2004-based Software
Autodesk recently announced the retirement of AutoCAD® 2004, AutoCAD 2004-based products, and Autodesk Inventor® Series 8. Autodesk will discontinue support for AutoCAD® 2004, AutoCAD 2004-based software and Autodesk Inventor® Series 8 on March 15, 2007.  Now is the best time to upgrade your software to the latest release. Upgrade before July 31, 2006, and save up to 20%!

Software Eligible for this Promotion:
AutoCAD 2004
AutoCAD Electrical 2004
AutoCAD Mechanical 2004
Architectural Desktop 2004
Civil Design 2004
Inventor Series 8
Land Desktop 2004
Map 2004
Raster Design 2004
Survey 2004
VIZ 2004

Promotion Expires: July 31, 2006
more info | 888.662.7238

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Upgrade ADT and Get a New License of Revit Building at Over 50% Off
Are you ready to move to Autodesk Revit Building but still working on projects in Autodesk Architectural Desktop? Get the edge with Autodesk® Revit® Building—the most advanced software specifically designed for building information modeling. And now, with the Rev It Up Promotion, Autodesk® Architectural Desktop customers can get Autodesk Revit Building at a huge discount!

Promotion Expires: October 31, 2006
more info | 888.662.7238

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Save $200 Off Revit and Building Systems Training
Customers who purchase any Autodesk Revit or Autodesk Building Systems software and one of Ideate's related training classes, can save $200 off of the training.

Qualifying software purchases include:
Autodesk Revit Building
Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series—Building
Autodesk Revit Structure
Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series—Structure
Autodesk Building Systems
Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series—Systems Plus
Rev It Up for Architectural Desktop Promotion

Promotion Expires: October 31, 2006
more info | 888.662.7238

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Registration and Authorization Changes for 2007 Products
In an effort to improve the security of Autodesk software, we have increased the length of our activation codes for 2007 product releases.

In an effort to improve the security of Autodesk software, we have increased the length of activation codes for 2007 product releases. All 2007 products will have a new activation code length of approximately 64 characters.

As a result of this change, Autodesk will change the process for manual issuance of activation codes via the Autodesk Business Center. The change is that ABC representatives will no longer read activation codes to customers over the phone.

Customers who contact the ABC by phone will be advised that Autodesk is no longer providing activation codes over the phone. These customers will be asked for an email address and their activation codes will be emailed to them. If a customer does not have an email address or is not online to receive an email message the customer will be offered to have their code sent via fax. Only in the situation that the customer can not receive either an email or a fax will Autodesk make an exception and grant the customer their activation code over the phone.

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