ACAD 2014 - We Hardly Knew Ye...

Well, Fuck.

I got the phone call today letting me know that I could no longer use my stand-alone copy of ACAD 2014.

My company recently merged with another company, and it came time to renew our ACAD licenses (which I didn't have to use, because 'stand-alone').

I requested to be left the fuck alone, because I had what I consider to be pinnacle of ACAD, since nothing beneficial had been added in the interim (I think I've done at least one post regarding this), and the only things that had been changed were the equivalent of rearranging deck chairs (mostly trying to make it look like Autodesk's other shitty 'flagship' pieces of software).

 Unfortunately, I was told that ACAD 2014 was apparently vulnerable to some kind of RAM overflow exploit that hackers can use to cover their tracks (sounds highly implausible, and hasn't happened in the eight years I've been here, but hey).

This meant I had to install ACAD 2024!  Yay!

It looks like shit.

It runs like shit.

I noticed as I was tearfully uninstalling 2014, that the entire goddamned thing was less than 400MB (That's MEGABYTES), and 2024 is 3-1/2 GIG (for no perceptible reason other than 'why not make bloatware?')

I was impressed that it was able to import most (if not all) of my settings - and the one good thing I can say about Autodesk (or at least their Autocad Devs) is that they tend to make things forward/backward compatible as much as possible.

I had been having to rely on  'TrueView' to be able to convert newer .dwg files back to a version I could use on 2014, so that's no longer going to be an issue.

Fortunately I'm not up against any deadlines, so I will have some time to fiddle around with the settings to try to strip this baby down to the bare minimum, and (if at all possible) get it looking and running as much like 2014 as possible.

Of course, I will now be beholden to the license server always working properly to keep from being locked out of the goddamned software I need to do my job, and that sucks.  I've probably ranted at length before about how you no longer own software (which is bullshit) but apparently that's 'just the way it is' now (because people got down on their knees and sucked the dick of the subscription model).

I can foresee a day in the near future where I am up against a deadline on a massive project, only to come in to work and 'derp'.  Hopefully that day never comes, and color me cynical, but I don't have any trust whatsoever when it comes to people who aren't me, and don't have any skin in the game when it comes to me being able to do my fucking job.

I think that's been the through-line of this entire blog from the beginning.  Stop fucking with my ability to do my goddamned job.

Stop trying to redefine what my job entails - especially when you don't have the first clue what the fuck my job even is, and couldn't do it, even if I held a gun to your  head.

And even if you do know what my job is, and think you've found a better way to do it - you can tell me about it, and while I promise I will  try to assess it with an open mind, if I don't immediately see how it will improve my workflow, and get even a whiff of it hindering my ability to crank shit out - I'm going to tell you to go fuck yourself.

Again, if you think it's helping you - and you've got the work product to show it, then more power to you - but I implore you, for the sake of keeping all of the pieces of your face intact, I suggest you take my suggestion to fuck off to heart, and FUCK OFF.

Well, I'm off to see if I can't make some improvements - and curse at Autodesk if I find that they've hardcoded any retardation into this thing (not that I wasn't going to curse Autodesk anyways).

I guess I should just be happy it's not Revit... 

Because Fuck Revit, Fuck Autodesk, and (as always) if you don't like it - FUCK YOU.

-SkullFuck Rel. 2023 V5.24

 Next Time: Well Holy Shit Ya'll... 

Ayyyy!!! Aye!!!

 What The Fuck Ya''ll?

Well, I guess it's finally time for me to throw my hat in the ring regarding the latest oversold bunch of bullshit. 

 

Whether it's a sketchy chatbot that most people don't understand is just an algorithm that guesses the next most probable word based on other things that have been written, some weird pictures mashed together based on searches of disparate elements (that most people don't understand is just pixels getting changed until it matches the search terms) - the *slightly* more useful functions for assisting in programming or other complicated/time consuming tasks - or things that have been being developed for years - like protein folding, or machine learning - it's definitely the new buzzword that people literally can't shut the fuck up about.

 Some Quotes:

'Oh my God - it's evil and it's going to take over the world!' 

 -The same dumb-asses who scream this every time something new comes along.

 

'Oh my God - it's incredible, and it's going to change the way we do everything!!!' 

 -The same (but different set of) dumb-asses who scream this every time something new comes along.

 

The reality:

People are trying to make money.

 

Not by using AI to increase productivity, etc. mind you - but instead, by attempting to increase their stock prices by including 'AI' in their prospectuses (prospectii?), and scaring everyone into thinking that if they don't follow suit, that they will risk getting left in the proverbial 'dust'.

So, expect to see 'AI' show up in all kinds of places that it has no reason to exist, and has no actual practical application to (at least yet) - along with self-important people telling you that they don't know what the current state of AI is (without just telling you that they don't know what the current state of AI is).

Here is where I will include the obligatory statement reiterating the fact that AI is indeed a real thing, with a range of real-world applications - and will only improve as time goes by.

And here is where I will talk about the long storied history of people being convinced that the 'new shit' is far more advanced and capable than it actually is.  I have been listening to a number of people rave about how they use AI in all aspects of their jobs - giving lectures on how it can be implemented into their fields, and basically lining up to fellate our new robot overlords.

In many cases, they are (unsurprisingly) the same people who jumped directly on the Revit dick, which (instead of increasing productivity, improving coordination, or adding any demonstrable benefit) resulted in considerable wanking, and self-congratulation (as well as additional work, delays, etc.).  

It's not surprising, because these are the type of people who love to believe that they are on the 'bleeding edge of tech', but are actually just falling for the sales pitch.

More than a few people have pointed out the (glaring) similarities between the current AI wankery and the .com boom/bust - or the (continued) pyramid scheme of blockchain/bitcoin/NFT's (which relied heavily on hype over substance), as well as other stock 'bubbles' that are the result of everyone jumping on a bandwagon (often one that they don't actually understand), and buying their own bullshit.

So to conclude - CALM THE FUCK DOWN, get over yourself, and see where this all leads.  If you think you can make a career out of either using or hyping AI, then go for it - but don't be surprised when you find yourself surrounded by AI bros, all of whom thought they were the only ones who thought of it (while very few actually even understand the technology or its practical application).

 (Not written by an AI)

-SkullFuck

 Next Time: Vaya Con Dios ACAD 2014