Photo by Sean Hamilton / Hunter Roberts Oliver Soler, Hunter Roberts information systems manager, explains Windows 8's home screen to his IT team. Related Links: Online buzz over Microsoft Surface Pro All About Microsoft blog Microsoft's rolling release of its new Windows 8 operating system, along with its companion Surface touch-screen tablets to run it, is being greeted by construction IT managers like a beast with a split personality—but with great potential to liberate data.For some qualities—specifically, the ability to run Windows applications while using Microsoft's DirectAccess server to make secure, effortless connections through firewalls, along with Surface's battery life
Courtesy of Morpholio Morpholio Trace lets users sketch on layers of digital tracing paper and store, share and critique design work through the Morpholio app. Related Links: Morpholio Trace Link to App Store Mobile devices have seen unprecedented growth recently. Apple alone has sold over 84 million iPads in the past two years. It is clear these devices have changed the culture of digital-media consumption, but have they changed the way designers work?The Morpholio Project, a digital-media company started by practitioners and academics in the design professions, enters the currently limited field of design-oriented mobile-device apps with the goal of
Related Links: New Survey Shows That Mobile Tools Boost Jobsite Productivity Deltek Vision Performance Management Dexter + Chaney's Spectrum software Developers of enterprise data management systems say the long-awaited dawn of business intelligence for construction has arrived, thanks in part to the rapid adoption of mobile computing devices and anywhere-anytime access to years of company data. Some users, however, say that while the sun may be rising—and that's worth celebrating—it's still only the early adopters who are seeing the light.Access to business intelligence is rising with the expansion of fast internet connections as well as cloud and web services for
Related Links: Designer, Jon Atherton's Blog HEX3 Website JaJa Kickstarter ENR tested a new stylus that works with any tablet and could make a fine combination with the Morpholio Trace app.Most tablet stylus pens work via WiFi or Bluetooth technology, but both methods are battery hogs. A new device offers an alternative, communicating with tablets via high-frequency sound and allowing for pressure-sensitive control on touch screens.The JaJa Stylus—designed and built by Brisbane, Australia-based HEX3, funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign and produced by Hex3 Ltd., Hong Kong—adds capability to the iPad and other tablets. Unlike a Wacom drawing tablet, the
Photo Courtesy of Bentley Systems Related Links: Trimble and Bentley Strategic Partnership Press Release Winners of Bentley's Be Inspired Contest A software vendor's sustained focus on collaboration is paying off for infrastructure developers across many sectors with the evolution of a collaboration ecosystem built on common tools and philosophy.Bentley Systems Inc., Exton, Pa., presented a bevy of new product and acquisition announcements and project awards at its annual "Be Inspired" conference in Amsterdam on Nov. 12-16. The event is for invited power users of Bentley's array of infrastructure design and development software. While most announcements focused on specific sectors—ranging from
As ships get bigger and faster, their wakes are putting increasing stresses on moorings of nearby vessels, causing some to break free—with potentially disastrous consequences. Now, an international group of organizations has gathered in the Netherlands to develop software to calculate and mitigate wash effects of passing ships to improve port design and operations.With the three-year Research on the Passing Effects of Ships (ROPES) project now two-thirds finished, engineers in Rotterdam plan to validate it with a final set of full-scale ship trials later this month. The Port of Rotterdam is one of 26 organizations— including design firms, other port
E-mail courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects E-Cards: Firms communicated their status by sending out mass e-cards to their clients and business partners. Related Links: AIA Disaster Assistance Program Temporary Facebook Page of Perkins + Will With NYC Tower Crane Secure, Plan Shifts To Recovery Many design and construction companies affected by Hurricane Sandy harnessed the powers of technology to serve their clients and remain operational in the aftermath of the storm.Investments that paid off the best were virtualization tools and cloud-based private networks, say some firms. To communicate, most firms rerouted e-mail, sent out mass e-cards (see example at
It fell to me this fall to update ENR's business continuity plan, and, as I needed to leave our New York headquarters and head to coastal North Carolina in late October to deal with some family matters, I was intent on finishing before I left. It turns out to have been a very good thing because all hell broke loose just as I drove away.Hurricane Sandy caught us with a devastating left hook that kicked ENR out of its midtown Manhattan office during press time, sent server teams scrambling to rescue our operations as the scattered members of the editorial,
Photos for ENR A graphic of a crowd-sourcing model is used to find solutions to industry problems by asking creative thinkers from other industries. A group of Ph.D students in Great Britain and a Canadian construction company both launched separate global crowd-sourcing tools in late October. Both sponsors define crowd sourcing as the harnessing of knowledge that people from different backgrounds and professions can share on social media to leverage problem-solving solutions. "We can advance the industry a lot further and faster and have a lot more volume of innovation if we embrace the crowd," says Chris Zakrajsek, web application
Courtesy Apperian Fully functional remote control of the iPad is possible through Apperian Labs' mobile device management platform. Related Links: Good Technology Survey The iPad represents more than 60% of the total tablet market, according to Gartner With the Apple iPad’s 97% grip on the market for so-called enterprise-level companies, according to a recent survey, the inability to extend iOS management capability to enterprise IT departments is a cause of concern. But Apple has refused to approve apps that control iOS devices remotely.Now, a mobile application management company is offering an alternative with an IT-industry first: remote control of iOS
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