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TOP PRODUCTS-Cadalyst Salutes Top new Hardware and software for CAD/CAM/CAE
1 Jun, 2005 By: Sara FerrisThis month we recognize the top products to come out in the past six months. The All-Star awards salute the best of the best—the most outstanding among all products that earned five-star Highly Recommended ratings from Cadalyst Labs. The Editors' Wow! awards come from the much larger pool of products introduced or upgraded during the first six months of the year. Some we've seen at industry events, others we saw in online demonstrations and many were outlined in press releases. Now that we post product news mainly to our Web site and in our e-mail newsletter, it's an especially valuable opportunity to draw your attention to new and innovative tools that that could help your business. We base our selections primarily on the Wow! factor: Is the product innovative? Distinctive compared with others on the market? Does it solve problems creatively?
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IBM ThinkVision L200p, February
The IBM ThinkVision L200p ($949) is a 20.1" LCD display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. IBM avoids the legibility problems that can arise when dark buttons are placed on a dark housing by adding symbols to the housing and making the buttons raised, angular and glossy. The only flaws in its display were slightly dull yellows and oranges. What could be seen as a limitation—the inability to pivot to landscape mode—is actually an advantage in providing greater stability. Another nice feature is the internal power supply, which eliminates a bulky power adapter. Its only drawback is a slow response rate of 25ms. www.ibm.com |
ViewSonic VP201b, February
The ViewSonic VP201b ($849) is also a 20.1" display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Its response time is a speedier, but not remarkably fast, 16ms. However, it suffers from black-buttons-on-black-housing syndrome, which makes the buttons difficult to locate and decipher. Once you find them, though, the on-screen menu is good. Display flaws included a slightly orange red and slight banding on continuous gradients. A nice extra is a video processor that turns the VP201b into a high-resolution television. www.viewsonic.com |
ArchiCAD, February
As a pioneer building-modeling program,Graphisoft's ArchiCAD usually earns high ratings for its various releases. According to reviewer Steve Ross, the program "provides a lot more power than the typical architectural design software package, but is still easy, nimble and intuitive to use." Its latest iteration at first appears to offer only incremental improvements, but they add up to an impressively capable package with strengths in drawing and conceptual design. www.archicad.com |
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AutoCAD Tips!
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! |
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