AutoCAD, computer software as a tool for technical drawing.

I have to admit that most Bumiputera entrepreneurs are still lacking in computer skills, including those who are internet savvy, many are not aware of various important computer softwares that essential to managing and operating a business.

As a qualified and selected consultant for BPU (Bahagian Pembangunan Usahawan) of MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat), I have introduced several important softwares from 'Accounting', 'Bar Code applications', 'Project Management', 'Government’s procurement engine' to 'Industrial designing tools' etc. to our entrepreneurs.

This month I am involved in the training of AutoCAD for the Bumiputera entrepreneurs of MARA, hence my busy schedule has started to rule my time. Autocad? Some of us may have very little or no knowledge on this computer application even if our involvement in technical drawing is on a routine basis. So what is AutoCAD?

AutoCAD is a computer aided design software specializing in technical drawing be it architectural drawing, mechanical or electrical drawing to general drawing from furniture to embroidery to fashion. AutoCAD is a product of AutoDesk, selling at average Malaysian retail price of RM16,700.00 (+/-) per license (AutoCAD 2008) for one year and license renewal about 10% of the price for subsequent years. I have to admit, that the price is considered expensive, but is the software worth it? Let us see what it can do to business productivity.

AutoCAD has the ability to draw in precise scale and shapes what we have conceptually design in sketch and illustrated right to our computer and latter to be printed or communicated to machines for production; example, embroidery machines or furniture making machines.

The process of drawing by computer using AutoCAD is easy, simple and less time consuming without any assistance from all the conventional technical drawing instruments, provided the operator of AutoCAD has undergone training with specialists or knowledgeable with the software. A picture of a screw driver can be drawn in less than 1 minute by an experienced operator with design and scale accuracy while a full scale building plan can be drawn in less than 7 minutes.

AutoCAD drawing can furthermore transform appropriate single or 2 dimensional drawing into 3 dimensional in very simple steps, therefore, its suitability for engineering or mechanical firms. Architects often use the software to draw complicated building designs from a mere conceptual sketched ideas and watch the almost perfect draft in different angles and dimensions of the building with the 3 dimensional capacity of AutoCAD.

The best thing about the software is that you don’t need to possess advance technical drawing knowledge to operate the software. Just a Malaysian form three secondary school modern math as a basic will be adequate to learn to draw sophisticated drawings using the software.

However, the first-class software is not without flaws (not to mention the high price), as all machines need creative input from human, so does the software. Design is actually from you while the machine delivers precisely whatever you conceptualize or sketch in the human brain into technical drawing.

Nevertheless, do remember, unlike Photoshop from Adobe and the open source GIMP that specializing in graphic and photo manipulation or Corel Draw that specializing in free hand computer drawing, AutoCAD is meant for technical drawing only.

Thus AutoCAD software is very suitable for industry and entrepreneurs such as dress maker and embroidery, any type of contractors (electrical, building, automotive, mechanical) to big scale manufacturing business as long as there are lots of technical drawing involved in the operation.

MARA is organizing several ‘4 days workshop’ conducted by me (personally will impart my knowledge in AutoCAD) in November and December. I welcome and congratulate those selected by MARA to be in my class. For my students, do pay attention as the cost to acquire the knowledge from several Malaysian training providers is very expensive (around RM3, 000.00 per person non intensive and RM5, 000.00 intensive course) although with MARA you are highly subsidised.

Presenting 'Fedora7', the operating system from Linux family to fellow entrepreneurs and Malaysian at large.

Dear readers,
It’s been a long time since I post anything on the topic of computer 'operating system' from the 'open source', so tonight I have made my decision to blog about 'Fedora7'. For your information, I am writing this post from 'Fedora7' platform on my notebook.

A short quote from 'fedoraproject.org' - ‘The Fedora Project is a collection of projects sponsored by Red Hat, and developed as a partnership between the open source community and Red Hat engineers. The goal of Fedora? The rapid progress of free and open source software and content. Public forums. Open processes. Rapid innovation. Meritocracy and transparency. All in pursuit of the best operating system and platform that free software can provide. Fedora is always free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. It is built by people across the globe who works together as a community.’

Ok, it’s not fair for me to compare between Fedora with any Windows operating system (OS) but I have personally downloaded and installed Fedora 7 (dual boot with window XP) to one of my machine that is Acer Aspire 5051 (a low end notebook with AMD Turion 64 processor, 2GB of DDR2 Ram and 80GB hdd) and I am certainly happy with my decision.

In my personal opinion, 'Fedora7' is a comprehensive operating system that is graphically pleasing to the eyes (I love the blue theme on the desktop background, moreover blue is always my favorite color) and as a bonus it is easy to use and to maintain. I love the WiFi friendly feature of 'Fedora7', which means it's easy to be connected in any hotspots.

'Fedora7' is an OS that can be customized according to individual needs and preferences hence the installation process is not as straightforward compared to Ubuntu or Mandriva but you will be happy with the end result. Similar to any Windows Operating Systems, the 'start' button is on the bottom left. The icons on the desktop are identifiable and logic oriented such as 'Trash' (equivalent to recycle bin), 'user’s home' and 'computer' (refer to the screen shot).

As most of Linux OS, office applications and multimedia and even graphic applications are packaged together and that means you only have to install the OS once and for all. The default browser is Mozilla Firefox and I am happy with that without any single complain as the internet browser is highly customizable and better in speed than the sluggish IE.

Well, unlike Windows, 'Fedora7' even provide ‘Development’ menu from its 'start menu' which I have not try but I believe it is purposely there for encouraging and nurturing creativity for the future benefits of open source. Someone out there, please comment on my view pertaining to this matter please.

So, if you wonder why I blog on Fedora or Mandriva and Ubuntu (in my earlier posts), lets put it this way, I strongly believe that technology should be made financially accessible to all, no matter what economic status or income bracket or geographical area we are from. Furthermore, technology should be all the way through with the sharing intention thus accelerating the improvement and development process. Can you just imagine, any country in the world might save billions of Ringgit if computing tasks for governing the country are done by the open sources.

For Bumi entrepreneurs out there, I like to suggest that you apply this ‘operating system’ for your business purposes if you are still using the pirated copies of Windows OS and Ms Office applications. Dont wait to migrate until it's too late. I can assure you that this OS is legitimate and free. Just go to 'fedoraproject.org' to download or for further information. I give 'Fedora7' a 10/10 and find it suitable for office, school and personal use. Overall, 'Fedora7' is easy to use OS even for the first timer, young and old without any need to deal with hundreds of spyware/malware/worms/trojans/viruses combined threats everyday.

Thats all for tonight, signing off Hanafi.
Love you.