Apple finally unveils the iPad

It seems my predictions weren’t far from the truth. Yesterday Apple finally announced their “magical and revolutionary product”, the aptly named iPad. Bigger than an iPhone, smaller than a Macbook, it’s juuuuust right. Most may not see it yet, but it’s got all the features to become another game changer.

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The pieces of the keynote I was able to see - before nearly every site reporting the event live crashed from the overwhelming bandwith - were very exciting. When Steve Jobs was unveiling it and strolling on the stage, it reminded me of something from my final year university project. I designed a multi-sensory education environment, where students + tutors could present their lectures, exhibit their work, and communicate interactively all in one massive “ambi-theatre”. To exhibit the concept I wanted to show how a lecturer could achieve this interactivity without a podium to rest his laptop on. As the rumours of the mythical tablet had started a few months earlier, it was the obvious solution. I imagined a LED-floodlit Steve doing what he does best.

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View the larger version on Flickr

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ACM003 - intro to Archicad

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In this episode I introduce one of my favourite applications, Graphisoft Archicad the world’s leading 3D parametric design software for architects, interior designers and others in the design industry. It has established itself as a highly intuitive, flexible and mature product, with which over a million buildings have been designed.

The show covers:

  • Quick intro to Archicad
  • The Virtual BuildingTM | BIM
  • Version compatibility with mac + pc
  • Award-winning designs
  • Virtual TraceTM
  • Partial Structure Display
  • 3D Document
  • Collaboration
  • Useful websites

To view the show, please subscribe via
RSS or through iTunes or Miro.

To check it out now, play the lower quality version below:



If you found this show useful, a quick review on iTunes would be very much appreciated! Thanks

Useful links

If you have any comments, criticisms, ideas for new shows, or just to say hi , please email me at archicadmonkey@gmail.com

Enjoy the show!

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Will Apple's fabled Tablet have 3D technology?


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Mac fans around the world are holding their breath in anticipation that the fabled Apple Tablet / iSlate / iGuide / MacTabletNetbookThingy(MacOsKen) will be announced at next week’s special Apple event (Jan 27th). It will the culmination of over a year’s exhausting rumours.

For those of you who have missed a few steps - or have been living in a cave with no WiFi for the past year - check out the
definitive rumour roundup (via TechRadar) + the awesome concept 3D renderings (via DVice)

This type of multi-touch device can obviously be beneficial in many fields but especially CAD; from
sketching + annotating drawings, or by providing a more interactive user interface for viewing / editing 3D models + navigating through CGI environments. Imagine having a supersize iPhone while “pinching” + “flicking” through a Sketchup file, or even just tilting it 360° to view a 3D rendered environment - creating a more “natural” experience. The possibilities are mind-blowing if you could integrate this with 360cities or even better - 3D video panoramas!

Another potential revolution could be on the way from Apple, as a recent
patent surfaced not long ago about 3D head-tracking technology. The logic is that an embedded camera with face-detection would track the user’s movement and adapt accordingly, creating even more realism to 3D objects and spaces:

“Using the detected position of the user, the electronic device may use any suitable approach to transform the perspective of three-dimensional objects displayed on the display.”

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“It’s a new level of virtual reality, meshing the real world with a nonexistent one, but giving the visual perception that an object is real.” (via AppleInsider)

If the Tablet also has a camera on the back as well (doubtful as the iPhone only has one), this concept could pair well with some form of
augmented reality apps that have surfaced on the iPhone in the past year, blurring the boundaries between virtual + reality even further.

The rumours keep multiplying every day and will undeniably increase until Apple’s special event. Then, we will be at peace knowing that most of the rumours were actually true ...of course the peace will not last long, the second it’s over we’ll be scouring the net to find any way to guarantee we get our hands on...whatever it is. As fun as it is speculating - don’t get me wrong, as any tech geek may admit I could do it for hours - it seems 2010 is going to be a great year full of more gadget goodies, a year full of possibilities.

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ACM002 - archiCADmonkey reborn | back in business

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I’m very excited to get archiCADmonkey back on the bitwaves with my new website and revamped show. I’d like to firstly thank everyone for your patience, and especially all the great comments + feedback. It’s been over a year since my last show, as a lot has been going on since then. After a tough final year at university, I finally graduated from architecture in July. Since then I’ve been working in Greece + the UK as an architectual assistant, while redeveloping the show in my spare time.

it’s more than just a screencast ... it's the archiCADmonkey blog!



So, the archiCADmonkey blog will feature the tutorial posts, some up to date information on the software I cover in the screencasts, along with useful CAD news and websites.

The upcoming shows will cover introductions, tips + tricks of many of the established architectural programs, as well as some other useful applications on the mac + pc + iphone.

I have received a few requests about some advanced features of the programs, but I think that the evolution of the shows should reflect the learning path of the beginner to the experienced user. So the first shows will be focused on the basic principles + techniques for CADnewbies and will evolve to more advanced techniques for the more experienced and CADveterans.

To view the show, you can subscribe via RSS or through iTunes or Miro.

To check it out now, play the lower quality version below:


Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, give some feedback on the content or just say hi at archicadmonkey@gmail.com

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