A collection of notes, ideas, and pictures
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KS3AJS?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B002KS3AJS The book Cheap, The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shells is made of two different parts. The first part analyses low prices from the psychological and cognitive point of view. Why we are attracted by low prices? how we react? and so on. The second part analyses the reason for cheap... Continue Reading →
Data translation is a critical technology and can be the source of many frustrations. As with many other essential technologies, the better it works, the less visible it becomes. When we move a file from an external CAD system to our favorite design system, we are asking a sophisticated algorithm to extract geometric data from... Continue Reading →
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000URWYT8?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B000URWYT8 The The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine is an interesting book, but it suffers from a few, in my opinion, serious issues: It's definitively a sexist book. Some section clearly offend the male sensitivity (Yes dear Louann, males can have some sensitivity!). The author describes male sexuality as a "simple hydraulic device" (may be she... Continue Reading →
The AutoCAD users' community stands on a few pillars, one of which is the "AutoCAD Bible," published by Wiley and refreshed every year following the new version of the AutoDesk product. The author of this famous and popular book is Ellen Finkelstein, an AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT expert who also publishes a weekly viral newsletter. Ellen is a prolific... Continue Reading →
The recent decision by Alibre to drop the price of their entry-level product Alibre Design Standard (from $999 to only $99) generated a wave of reaction throughout the CAD world (see the blog posts by Deelip Menezes, Roopinder Tara, Matt Lombard, and Ralph Grabowski). The decision caught everyone by surprise. Even at a time when the recession is pushing most CAD manufacturers to substantially lower the price... Continue Reading →
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QBYEH8?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B000QBYEH8 Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything è un libro progettato a tavolino dagli autori che, dopo aver fatto un'attenta analisi di mercato delle pubblicazioni business, hanno deciso di soddisfare la potenziale nicchia di vendite. Gli autori, Don Tapscott e Anthony D. Williams, non sono partiti da un'idea originale per arrivare al libro, hanno invece fatto il... Continue Reading →
Odore di merdadi Antonio BoscacciEdizioni Nucerola, 2008 Odore di merda, di Antonio Boscacci è un libro che ci racconta la vita nella Sondrio di metà '800 vista attraverso gli occhi di un ragazzino di umile famiglia. È scritto in uno strano ma divertente Italiano con costruzioni sintattiche e forme linguistiche prese a prestito dal dialetto locale. Questo... Continue Reading →
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TLZEDW?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B001TLZEDW There is a recurring problem with American authors: apparently writers must produce a minimum number of pages in order for a book to be to considered by a publisher, even when the core ideas can only fill half of them. In the case of How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be... Continue Reading →
https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B0067BGPU0?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks01-21&camp=3414&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B0067BGPU0 Gian Antonio Stella ha certamente del talento. Peccato che non lo sappia gestire e finalizzare verso la produzione di un romanzo ben scritto e pen pensato. Mi perdoni l'autore per il tono schietto con cui ho scritto questa recensione. Il maestro magro è una lunghissima e noiosa collezione di spigolature di giornali del dopoguerra tenute... Continue Reading →
Article published on August 2009 on the Official BAIA blog. Italians living in the Bay Area are lucky. We can easily get all the ingredients for a real Italian dinner, or if we are lazy, we can get a real Italian dinner to take home. It's not the big supermarkets that support our culinary traditions,... Continue Reading →
Article posted on August 3, 2009 on the BAIA blog (versione italiana). I'm always fascinated by the variety and colors of murals and graffiti along the streets of San Francisco. Mostly concentrated in the Mission area, murals are popping up everywhere where there is an empty wall available. In this artistic diversity and variety, I... Continue Reading →
Who is the face customers identify with a typical CAD company? Maybe the CEO whose smile appears on the cover of business magazines, or the tech support guy who handles the most challenging cases, or perhaps the well-dressed salesperson who convinces big customers to buy dozens of licenses? All of them or none of them,... Continue Reading →
Not all CAD companies play in the same arena. While most CAD companies stay busy talking to the press, explaining strategies to financial analysts, and placing expensive ads in magazines nobody reads anymore, some CAD companies invest their time and money in talking to customers. These companies are less likely to be on a stage... Continue Reading →
Lorenzo Puleo is one of the many creative people who fell in love with Mac. However, Lorenzo didn't stop at the user level as most Mac fans do; he went on to conceive a new product and created a company around it. That company shares the name of its primary product and is called Kinemac... Continue Reading →
A few major trends are shaping the balance between classroom training and online/DVD self-training. The first trend is the gradual decrease of CAD system prices. It used to be normal to pay a few thousand dollars for a training class. It is now perceived as unfair to have to pay as much or even more... Continue Reading →
Articole published on June 9, 2009 on the NOVEDGE blog. One of my recurring complaints about surface modeling is the intrinsic complexity of existing modeling systems. Even if the level of user-friendliness of these systems has improved, sooner or later, every user needs to invest some time to understand how the underlying geometry works and... Continue Reading →
Article published on June 2009 on the BAIA Blog. As an Italian, I always loved my mother tongue. When I was a kid, I believed Italian was the most musical, easy to write, and enjoyable among all the languages. My first experience as a student with French grammar was a confirmation of the indisputable superiority... Continue Reading →
In the past, if someone asked me to come up with improbable or strange combinations of technologies I would have suggested things such as 3D animations and Twitter or CAD and podcasts. I have since learned that if something looks improbable or strange to me it doesn't mean it's impossible or even wrong. Tackling those... Continue Reading →
https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B005SZ7Q72?ie=UTF8&tag=ffbooks01-21&camp=3414&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B005SZ7Q72 Ogni volta che ascolto un religioso o un teologo parlare di fede o scienza provo una forte irritazione. Ciò che mi dà fastidio è principalmente l'immancabile salto logico tra le premesse del discorso e le prevedibili conclusioni, e come questo salto viene presentato come inevitabile. In particolare i religiosi americani con cui per ragioni geografiche... Continue Reading →
Lynn Allen is one the most popular bloggers in the CAD world (Lynn blog, Lynn on Pulse). She is also a sort of ambassador for AutoCAD, promoting this CAD system in every context. In a world of stodgy CAD executives and unexciting CAD geeks, she brings a sparkling touch, feminine charm, and a solid technical knowledge. Lynn... Continue Reading →
Franco Folini Blog 