HP Z400 workstation By John Virata The Hewlett-Packard HP Z400 is the company's entry level workstation. While it doesn't have the whiz bang design features of the HP Z800 reviewed in March, it still does not disappoint as the benchmark numbers will surprise you. ...Read More »

Toshiba Satellite P505 notebook computer By Heath McKnight The Toshiba Satellite P505 is one of the best Windows-based laptops I've had the pleasure of reviewing. With its beautiful, large display, excellent Harmon/Kardon speakers, large hard drive,and blazing fast processor and graphics, this is a top-notch laptop that will fit virtually anyone's mobile computing needs. From the student all the way to professionals, this is a great system. ...Read More »

Building a Better Mouse: Contour Design RollerMouse Free By Jeffrey P. Fisher Like me, you've probably been mousing around for some time. You may have even tried some mouse alternatives, such as tablets, trackballs, and their ilk. But, eventually you found yourself back with the mouse in hand. I know, it's not an easy habit to break. But now there is an alternative that is well worth considering: the Contour Design RollerMouse Free. ...Read More »

Lenovo ThinkStation S20 workstation By John Virata The Lenovo ThinkStation S20 is the company's mid range workstation that works well in a variety of creative environments, be it video and special effects creation to CAD and animation. Configured with the right graphics card, the unit will fit well in any creative environment. The S20 is larger than most mid-tower cases, and sports ample room inside for user upgrades. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Construction Guides By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri covers how to measure and create guides within Google SketchUp. Two tools, the tape measure and the protractor enable you to measure and create the guides. He details how to use both the tape measure and the protractor, how to measure out angles and guides, which he also defines. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Smoothing edges By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at smoothing or softening the edges of objects in SketchUp. George creates a a 12 sided circle and a polygon to show how to smooth the edges of the objects, to show how to smooth them. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Text Tools By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at some of the text options in SketchUp and discusses the tools available to work with text, starting with the Text Tool and the 3D Text Tool. They are different in the way that they work and George goes over some of the differences. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Follow me Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the Follow Me Tool. What the Follow Me Tool does is takes a face and extrudes it along a path, which is similar to a launch tool in other 3D packages. George shows you how to locate the Follow me Tool and how to use it. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Offset Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the Offset tool. What the Offset tool does is takes an edge so that it creates an offset so you can create borders and insets. You need existing geometry for the Offset tool to work, so George starts with creating geometry and then shows how to access the Offset tool and how to use it. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Push Pull Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the Push Pull tool, one of the more handy tools you will find it SketchUp. What it does is takes a flat 2D face and extrudes it into a 3D shape. George shows where to find the tool and how to use it. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Arc Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the Arc Tool, which is more of a line drawing tool than a shape drawing tool. The Arc Tool creates the edges. He shows where to find it as well as the keyboard shortcut, and details how the tool works. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Circle and Polygon tools By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the circle and the polygon tool. They are both similar in the way that they work. George shows how to access both tools, and how to use them. He discusses snapping, snapping to specific axes, specific dimensions, and more. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Rectangle Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri takes a look at the Rectangle Tool. He shows how to draw a rectangle, shows how to draw a vertical rectangle, use the snapping tool, sizing the rectangle, and discusses the golden section, an 8 to 5 rectangle. He also shows how to make custom sized rectangles. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Line Tool 3D By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri continues discussion with the pencil tool and shows how to snap to faces and edges, covers the end point, the mid point, snapping to the midpoint, using the pencil tool to draw lines onto faces to create a continuous object. He also shows how to make a vertical extension, to add on to what you've created whatever sort of 3D shape that you want. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: The Line Tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri talks about modeling, creating objects from scratch in SketchUp. He begins with the Line tool, and shows how the Line tool works and creates a face, which is the start of the 3D modeling process. He also covers the snapping tools. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Select Move tool By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri shows how to manipulate objects and move them around a scene. He goes into the components window to find all sorts of objects to use into the scene. The object is simply dragged from the components window into the scene. You can use the navigation tool to center the object in the scene. He works with the select and the move tool, under the tools menu to help with the placement of the object. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Using Scenes By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri shows how to create multiple ways of viewing a scene, such as a perspective view, a overhead view, a view of the object in the scene and so on. To accomplish this, you can use the scenes window, which enables you to create individual views. ...Read More »

Google SketchUp Essential Training: Shadows and Fog By George Maestri In this clip, Lynda.com host George Maestri covers the shadow and fog capabilities in Google SketchUp. He turns on shadows and shows how to control the shadows via the shadow control window. he shows how to turn shadows opn and off, the time of day to get a different look at how the shadows move throughout the day. He also shows how to change the way the shadows look, and more. ...Read More »

Lenovo W700ds mobile workstation By John Virata Lenovo has long been known for innovative notebook computers harking back to the days when it (IBM) came out with the ThinkPad notebook computer. This machine served notice that it was at the top of the heap when it came to design and functionality. The current crop of ThinkPad workstations maintain that innovation as well as some features that could be called obscure, such as the one with the W700ds that I'm reviewing here. ...Read More »

AutoCAD 2009 Essential Training: Pen Table By Jeff Bartels In this clip, Lynda.com host Jeff Bartels details why it is necessary to select a plot style table when printing your AutoCAD drawings. That is because AutoCAD is a vector-based program, the information is mathematically based lines and curves and not pixels, like an application such as Microsoft Word or Photoshop. Each color choice represents a virtual pen which can be configured however we like. ...Read More »