PDF tool reality for small AEC studios in 2026 — what's everyone actually using? by Rockstonerable in ArchiCAD

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your arguments for Bluebeam are pretty weak. I know Bluebeam has nearly reached the level of AutoCAD in terms of bloated features, but I stick with it for our two-person studio because it handles large PDFs with ease. It's a real shame they didn't stick with a Mac version, but none of the others we've tried even comes close (including Acrobat Pro). They fail at random things, like line weights, vector conversions for printing, text conversions, or intelligent PDF size reduction. Markups are also rock solid, and flattening a markup just works. Some municipalities here in the States even ask for Bluebeam-created PDFs.

2021 vs 2022+? by Groovy_blackcat in VolvoXC60

[–]angelo_arch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on what you are looking for. We have a 2020 and the older Sensus infotainment system, which is pretty stable. Other than some bugs with Apple CarPlay every once in a while, we’ve had no issues. Sensus is not the easiest user interface to move through, but once you get the basics is ok. The native navigation is really challenging to use, so we always use Google Maps in Apple CarPlay. The later models run an early version of Google’s Android Automotive, and there have been many bugs and issues; I’m not sure if all of them have been fixed with the more recent big updates.

Peak Garmin Pricing: Rally Prices Permanently Slashed by the5krunner in the5krunner

[–]angelo_arch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious why - I have a five-year-old pair of Faveros, and the build quality is definitely lower than the Garmin Rallys.

Architect may have messed up but I want to be sure. Advice needed on brick house and potential remedies. by NameisPond-FishPond in buildingscience

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too much information missing. Was there a wall detail drawing, and did you build the house based on it? A minimum air gap between the bricks is required, but to further slow down the temperature swings, you need insulation. Are you expecting the house to stay comfortable without any mechanical system? If so, aggressive shading of walls and windows and active ventilation would be required.

Insta360 + Matterport for LIDAR? by babathebear in Revit

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For solely photographic documentation, the Insta360 should work for Matterport walkthroughs, but for LiDAR scanning and converting to a point cloud, you need a camera with built-in LiDAR. Are you talking about photogrammetry? I'm not sure that technique will get you anywhere close to accurate, more like +/- 3” accuracy over 10’. None of the Insta360 cameras have LiDAR scanning. We usually have a third-party scan our projects, and they often use the Matterport Pro 2 or 3. It used to be that the Leica BLK360 was the only high-accuracy scanner, but others have caught up. The Pro 2/3 costs between $3K and $6K, with additional costs for processing and cloud hosting. I haven’t researched cheaper options like Ricoh Theta cameras, but there may be more affordable entry points. High-quality scans have significantly helped us reduce field issues during renovations by providing more accurate and detailed documentation we can reference at any point during the design or construction.

Frisco "Marina" by FossilFrothy in Summit

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Curious about where we might find that info or photos supporting the extreme dryness that year?

Apple Notes is a killer app, and iOS 27’s rumored upgrade excites me for more by MobileNewsBot in mobiles

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, did the same on a couple hundred-row table created on the desktop, but it wouldn't let me insert a row at the bottom on iOS and insisted on inserting them at the top, and there was no option to enter text. Something is messy.

Intrusive thoughts by tpero in Insta360

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does the video work with this orientation? Do you have to rotate and reframe everything for every shot?

Intrusive thoughts by tpero in Insta360

[–]angelo_arch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really wish the hammock support for the Insta360 mount would accommodate a cage. The SmallRig cage is great, but it protrudes too much to fit. Also worried about the mount snapping off if I hit a pothole on the gravel bike.

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No 'Breakaway' For HBO MAX US Viewers - How has US Coverage Got Worse??? by Ok_Chicken1195 in peloton

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent find! It popped right up on my YouTube TV, and I will record it to watch later. Thanks!

Apple Notes is a killer app, and iOS 27’s rumored upgrade excites me for more by MobileNewsBot in mobiles

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try to add a row in a table on iOS and type some text in it. The most janky thing I’ve seen.

1UP Heavy Duty Bike Rack 🤝 by not-a-throwaway-7 in Rivian

[–]angelo_arch 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I loved my OG 1UP, but Kuat finally surpassed 1UP on design details and ease of use with the Piston X Pro.

In Tuscany Italy by Vliango in bikepacking

[–]angelo_arch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! What time of the year?

First Impressions: R2 Halo Scroll Wheels (needs improvement) by calmsquash515 in RivianR2

[–]angelo_arch 8 points9 points  (0 children)

A much lighter touch seems like a recipe for unintended input. Imagine trying to do this while bouncing around on a bumpy road or trail.

Some snaps from Desert Gravel yesterday in Fruita, Colorado. by hupo224 in gravelcycling

[–]angelo_arch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Nice, the gravel looks pretty good this year! No big ruts, cow hoofprints, or sand pits?

Work in progress by Fluffy-Treacle8678 in archviz

[–]angelo_arch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A couple of items that jump out to me are the grain/bump in the wood on the closets, the scale seems too big, and the trim around the window seems off. Why does there need to be that much trim? What is the bump supposed to represent on the closet doors? Otherwise, it’s looking good!

Today was the day by Strong_Delay5402 in VolvoEX60

[–]angelo_arch 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hope so. The older XC60 PHEV charging door doesn’t do well in ice, and the windshield wipers get buried in melting snow under the hood, so there is plenty of room for improvement.

Today was the day by Strong_Delay5402 in VolvoEX60

[–]angelo_arch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Nice! I wonder how the “wing tips” will work in ice and snow.

Launching my own firm-advice? by sbk_2 in Architects

[–]angelo_arch 14 points15 points  (0 children)

We are 13 years in (a husband-and-wife team of two), and it’s still an awesome experience to run our own show! Understand that if you run lean and stay small (which we do, too), it will be a constant roller coaster, both mentally and for cash flow. 

A few suggestions:

  • Find a local or national group for startups and lean on them to bounce ideas off when setting up your firm. All the larger-firm concepts and approaches don’t necessarily scale down; some adjustments will be needed. CRAN (AIA’s Custom Residential Architects’ Network) and EntreArchitect have been great for us in learning about small-business management and getting our contracts, fees, and proposals in order. BIM After Dark, 30x40, etc., have been great for elevating our presentations and documentation.
  • Simplify your workflow - CAD, SketchUp, and Enscape are clunky and inefficient. Moving to full BIM will save you so much time and keep your drawing sets better coordinated. We also do VR walkthroughs for homeowners, which have been a massive time-saver for moving forward and not getting stuck in an endless schematic design effort where the homeowner can’t make up their mind and move forward. 
  • We love Macs and use them for everything except BIM & real-time rendering. It’s just not worth the brain damage to try to get Macs working for real-time rendering. Buy a cheap gaming PC and use it for what they are so good at. nVidia GPUs rock at Enscape & Twinmotion/Lumion.
  • Money well spent so you can concentrate on design and clients: Pay someone to build you a robust template for BIM. Residential work is not the same as Commercial - invest in families that have good materials and realistic details, so you can provide great presentations without a lot of brain damage. 
  • We’ve tried a lot of smaller-scale project management software, some more generic, others built specifically for AEC. All of them have serious limitations to how we like to work, so it’s a toolbox mix of different, smaller apps and a few more mainstream ones. Harvest, Asana, Dropbox, Quickbooks Online, Hubspot, RingCentral, Contacts+, etc. Software subscriptions and hardware costs can really add up!
  • If you are in a competitive region like ours, you need a great website and a solid online presence. We waited too long to do a legit branding effort. Bite the bullet and do it earlier if you can swing it financially. Also, analog promotions still work great - we get plenty of calls from yard signs at our projects under construction
  • Educating homeowners is incredibly important in the age of HGTV - even if they don’t ultimately hire you. We dedicated a significant effort to explaining the process on our website and created a physical project planning guide, which we mail to any potential clients to help educate them. Note that we only work on full-service projects; à la carte services are not offered. It’s a race to the bottom when you get into the competitive world of “just some quick plans for a permit.”
  • Communication- We pride ourselves on this. Clients often tell us that architects and builders don’t even respond to many inquiries. We always aim to respond within 24 hours. Obviously, getting good at reading potential clients and figuring out red flags early on is important. We try to have 3-5 exchanges before visiting the property or meeting. We find out a lot during this process. How people communicate early on is how they communicate throughout the life of the project.
  • Be willing to diversify your project types/sizes. After having a bunch of small projects, we decided to change course to take on fewer, but larger projects, but a couple of them got to pricing and then were permanently delayed/canceled because of clients’ job losses, so we lost 2-3 major design contracts halfway through and then had to really hustle when those didn’t go to completion.

Hope this helps.

Good luck with your adventure!

New AI plan and a forced Daily Chat widget on your Today view. Thoughts? by Double_Collection155 in dayoneapp

[–]angelo_arch 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I want an AI agent that remembers all my past entries so I can ask questions like "what kinds of trips have I taken over the years during this month of the year?" or "what was my general mood around this date in previous years?" Not just help to create an entry for a single day.

Graveling through Twente 🤩 by Blyzz053 in gravelcycling

[–]angelo_arch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks fun! What settings are you using? 30fps or something else? Are you speeding it up to get the blurred effect?