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Archive for May 9th, 2008

OK, if this sounds too odd or corny, then I’ll blame it on the flu, even though this morning my temperature has finally come back to normal.  Right after posting about the SolidWorks Community Survey,  I went to fill it out myself.  I must admit that I was expecting something a little bit different. It didn’t even take me ten minutes to finish it. I was expecting it to be a lot more thorough, but I’m keeping my hopes up high for the follow up survey in a couple of weeks. Then, reading Matt Lombard’s blog and the SolidWorks forum, I realized this survey is already creating a bit of a controversy among the users.   I think I have to agree with what someone in the forums said that the survey mainly seemed to be trying to find out if people would like the idea of merging the different sub-communities and forums into one big thing. I’m curious about what  SolidWorks actually has in mind. Who knows? It may be something grand. I wish they let us know what their idea is all about. I also agree that, in any survey, it’s nice to see what the results look like so far, as well as what is going to happen next, based on those results. I think Matt calls that “transparency”.   What I didn’t see in this first survey  was room for suggestions that were not contemplated in any of the questions, kind of like the wish list Matt refers to. However, it is encouraging to see that SolidWorks is actually listening to the users, not only through this survey, but through the forums and comments they leave in the blogs.  It also seems awesome to me that the simple act of coming up with such a survey can stir up the community of users to share their ideas and thoughts BEYOND the survey, like they are doing it now at the forums.

Community.  What a powerful word it is. Just stop and think about it for a moment. I have to tell you that finding and being part of this kind of community is a first one for me.  Pretty much like my experience with solid modeling, I had never tasted anything like it.  I warned you, it was going to sound a bit corny, and you may not agree with me, but it’s the way I feel it. If last year you had asked me “What is SolidWorks?”, I would’ve said something like, “Oh, SolidWorks is just one of the CAD software programs that I intend to learn and add to my list in a resume, right there with AutoCAD, Inventor, Pro/Engineer and any other that I find along the way and may consider useful.”.   Today, my answer would be a very different one.  I’m not saying that it’s not a good idea to learn to use other software.  I still have AutoCAD, that I rarely use these days, but I still know how to. I have also tried other CAD that was offered as demos and watered down freebies, as well as educational versions. And you know what? I keep coming back to SolidWorks!

Time and time again, I find myself preferring SolidWorks over any of the other ones. Why is that? I don’t know, but I think that SolidWorks has become something more than just a CAD software to me. Of course, I love all the functionality it has to offer, and how powerful it is, and how easy it is to create with SolidWorks all sorts of things that I never even dreamed possible. But it’s also the community. SolidWorks is not just a software because it is also the people and the world that revolves around it: the users, the experts,  the network, the user groups, the special events and meetings, the forums, the mailing lists, the blogs, the different websites that offer tips and tricks, the people that work for SolidWorks and that is constantly in touch with the user. This is all SolidWorks! This big community that keeps spinning, transforming and becoming stronger day by day.  Even those that have nothing better to do than criticize the software and the people who use it left and right are helping it become stronger! They don’t realize that whatever comments they mean for evil, will only help SolidWorks pinpoint possible problems and solve them. After all, if all the feedback you provide is saying that everything is always perfect, then you are not giving SolidWorks a reason to improve. So, to all those guys goes a big “thank you”.

Anyway, I told you that you may not agree with me on this one. This is what SolidWorks and community mean to me. You may call me a SolidWorks fan, well you’ll be darn right. I am a big SolidWorks fan, so what? You may have a different idea, and it’s OK too. Oh, look! I think I am running a fever, after all.