View Full Version : **FIRST EMAIL**/FIRST Announces 2010 Autodesk
Mark McLeod
07-10-2009, 16:41
Greetings Teams:
Autodesk is proud to continue its distinctive 18+ years of sponsorship for FIRST, and this season we are putting more software products and resources than ever into your hands so that you can make excellence in design your competitive advantage.
NEW this year we have created a special section of our award-winning Autodesk Education Community web site that will be devoted to FRC teams. Beginning in October you’ll have free* access to over 25 great design, modeling, visualization, and project management products. Every member of your team can download all the software they need!
At Kickoff in January you will be able to download your digital kits of parts modeled in Autodesk Inventor 2010 to drive your design ideas and test your concepts before you begin to bend metal. Throughout the season, you’ll want to keep visiting the Community for easy-to-follow tutorials specific to FRC, blogs with robotics rock stars Ted & Phil, and great tech support. Watch the Community over the next couple of months to learn about the 2010 Autodesk Award for Excellence in Design, which is our way to acknowledge and celebrate the great work students do with some of the most sophisticated design tools in the world.
We’re putting the final touches on the new website, but you can get started today. Just go to www.autodesk.com/first (http://www.autodesk.com/first) and dive in. You can download 2010 software & take online tutorials to get you going.
We’re expecting a great season, and want to support teams, mentors & students as best we can. Let us know how we can help.
Thank you!
- Autodesk
Go Teams!
Jim Zondag
07-10-2009, 17:02
I just tried this and I am confused.
If I follow the Link above, I get to AutodeskFIRSTBase. There is an Icon there which then takes you to the Autodesk Education Community Registration page. In order to create an account here, you need a valid Email address from an educational institition. Being a mentor, I do not have this since I no longer go to college, thus I cannot register. The post above says these downloads are for mentors to get started.
Am I missing something here?
Mark McLeod
07-10-2009, 17:13
I used my company email address ( & used "faculty") and it accepted it and sent me a confirmation email.
dtengineering
07-10-2009, 19:08
Oh, if only I had time to play with this cornucopia of bytely goodness.
It's great to have this kind of access to software... and especially nice that we can share it with everyone on the team who wants to learn it.
Thanks Autodesk!
Jason
:eek:
Am I reading this correctly? We get unlimited downloads?
Also, I can't find anywhere to download the new software. Is this just a mentors-only thing for now, or am I just missing the link?
Akash Rastogi
07-10-2009, 22:56
I'm a pretty big Solidworks fan...but this is pretty awesome.
Kudos Autodesk.
sanddrag
08-10-2009, 00:26
They've had this for college students for years. I was waiting for when they'd do it for FRC. Seems the day has finally come. Jood job Autodesk.
They've had this for college students for years. I was waiting for when they'd do it for FRC. Seems the day has finally come. Jood job Autodesk.
I'm fairly sure it was also available for high school students, as long as their teacher registered first.
I'm not 100% sure about what Autodesk is doing now, but the copy of Inventor 2010 I downloaded from Autodesk was only a student edition that was painfully stripped down.
waialua359
09-10-2009, 01:58
Agreed with the earlier posts.
Confusing at first. Finally got to download it as a mentor, then invite others (students) by sending the coded link via email.
I cant believe what they are giving to us for free. Much much better than any previous year, for sure.
Chexposito
09-10-2009, 12:42
this has all been on the firstbase autodesk website for a while now. just the email has come out now.
the educational version for 2010 is available now for mentors and teachers. they have to do a lot to be able to release all those downloads for students. it's one of each software for each student.
Anne_droid
26-10-2009, 13:21
The website was very confusing, especially given that a different set of registration fields would come up depending on what links you clicked on in the site.
I'm an engineering mentor and the team's main contact, and the CAD mentor is also an engineer. I tried to register for the site by saying I was "Faculty" as the previous post recommended (though feeling somewhat dishonest), but it said that my email address was not a validly recognized school address.
This means that we have to bug a teacher to go through the registration and manage all the downloads for our students? This is a significant inconvenience, both to the teacher and to our team. I understand their concern for making sure the use is educational, but when it comes to serving FIRST teams, many of which are mentor-run, this is not the optimal way of handling the software distribution.
In past years, wasn't there a special invitation to the email address of the known main contact? I seem to remember that being the case.
I'm fairly sure it was also available for high school students, as long as their teacher registered first.
I'm not 100% sure about what Autodesk is doing now, but the copy of Inventor 2010 I downloaded from Autodesk was only a student edition that was painfully stripped down.
Can you elaborate on what they stripped out? I want to know if it is worth it to get this now or just contact Autodesk to find out if they will offer the more complete version later.
Chris Fultz
26-10-2009, 16:15
I also tried to register as the team main contact and faculty, with my work email address. it would not let me register.
I sent back an email asking how to proceed, but no response yet.
It looks like the changes they did are very inconvenient for FIRST and FIRST mentors. That might sound a little harsh but that is what it looks like.
If you are just any school teacher you can suppossedly authorize student to download which is good.
Mentor management of the system doesn't seem to be supported which is bad.
It just became another issue for mentors to transfer to the teachers that already have enough to do.
EDIT: I just checked the Autodesk FAQ, item #4 - It states you have to be a faculty or a student in order to participate. That means mentors are excluded and that makes me exceptionally unhappy because it is the mentors that spend the bulk of the time working with students and need access to help them. I hope this is just an oversight and not an intentional move.
.
Daniel_LaFleur
26-10-2009, 19:14
It just became another issue for mentors to transfer to the teachers that already have enough to do.
.
And more of an issue for teams like mine that are not affiliated with any school.
.
jason701802
26-10-2009, 19:53
As far as I can tell after thoroughly exploring their site,this (http://students4.autodesk.com/?nd=affiliation_signup&tagent=affil&gcid=) is the correct registration form for FIRST teams. Once you have an account, it is easy to download software and you can join your team's group (or make one if one hasn't already been made).
Daniel_LaFleur
26-10-2009, 20:07
As far as I can tell after thoroughly exploring their site,this (http://students4.autodesk.com/?nd=affiliation_signup&tagent=affil&gcid=) is the correct registration form for FIRST teams. Once you have an account, it is easy to download software and you can join your team's group (or make one if one hasn't already been made).
I certify that I am not currently employed and that I became unemployed through no fault of my own. The details of my last employer are accurate and I consent to verification by Autodesk or its agents or partners. Please note that your submission and/or eligibility may be audited by Autodesk or its participating partners
I'm not so sure I want to certify that I'm not employed when I am ;)
... and that page requires that box to be checked before you can submit.
jason701802
26-10-2009, 22:29
I'm not so sure I want to certify that I'm not employed when I am ;)
... and that page requires that box to be checked before you can submit.
For me, that link looks like the this, http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7816/59837045.th.png (http://img403.imageshack.us/i/59837045.png/) I don't see anything requiring that you certify that you are not unemployed.
There are at least a couple of different versions of the registration screen. I've seen this one. There is a different one that asks for yes/no on faculty.
I think they may be trying to have one screen for FIRST and another for non-FIRST but I'm just speculating.
It seems like they have a general program for teachers/students everywhere and the FIRST thing is just piggybacked on it whereas before it seemed more like a FIRST driven thing. The website seems to be confusing enough.
.
Phoenix Spud
26-10-2009, 22:56
We are having trouble getting the animation software for this year--and since we are rookies (and don't have any teams any where even remotely close to us...) we don't have last year's software. :eek: Currently, we don't have anyone on our team with Autodesk experience, so we were hoping to get started sooner rather than later...
Has anyone sent an e-mail to FIRST with the problems that a lot of us seem to be having in downloading this year's animation software?
MadeAtMidnight
27-10-2009, 00:15
We are having trouble getting the animation software for this year--and since we are rookies (and don't have any teams any where even remotely close to us...) we don't have last year's software. :eek:
You can download the free 30 day trial until it is figured out.
Rich Kressly
27-10-2009, 03:39
The general education download system has been available for years and we've had non-first students use it in the past. It looks to me like this is an effort to combine FIRSTbase with that system.
The general education download system has been available for years and we've had non-first students use it in the past. It looks to me like this is an effort to combine FIRSTbase with that system.
The best I can figure out is the 'general education system' is the one and only system.
It take the email address you give it and if it decides it isn't a valid school the request is rejected. How they derive information for deciding it is a valid email address - I don't now. It seems that might put Australia in a deeper pickle jar.
"combining the FIRST site with the education site" - There doesn't seem to be an 'FIRST' specific thing except the URL just redirects you to the education site.
Rich Kressly
28-10-2009, 01:59
The best I can figure out is the 'general education system' is the one and only system.
It take the email address you give it and if it decides it isn't a valid school the request is rejected. How they derive information for deciding it is a valid email address - I don't now. It seems that might put Australia in a deeper pickle jar.
"combining the FIRST site with the education site" - There doesn't seem to be an 'FIRST' specific thing except the URL just redirects you to the education site.
I see that, but the FRC-specific kit of parts and similar tools are still being made available to us on the "other side" somehow, right?
I suppose so. I'm not in the Autodesk club yet. I'm going up the school later today so we can sort this out about managing this for the students. ethically I can't still be in the club.
maybe tomorrow..
Sunshine
28-10-2009, 09:13
It looks to me that FIRSTtbase (the site we used to go to for submission and download instructions) is now redirecting to the Autodesk student community http://students3.autodesk.com/?nd=first_home&lbon=1
Looks like one stop shopping for now on :yikes:
This is an improvement for educators like myself who used to use both sites for the classroom and FIRST.
... and the signup takes you to the page that says:
I certify that I am not currently employed and that I became unemployed through no fault of my own. The details of my last employer are accurate and I consent to verification by Autodesk or its agents or partners. Please note that your submission and/or eligibility may be audited by Autodesk or its participating partners.
This is really directed at Mentors that work. They are trying to tell you that you should give up your day job and focus full time on the build season. You know that trying to work and doing the robot build just don't work, your job is taking important time away from build season. :)
I speculate that the "currently unemployed" bit has nothing to do with FIRST mentors. It is likely a way for the unemployed to gain a job skill while they are unemployed. Part of their overall education program that extends beyond FIRST.
But the lack of support for industry mentors make me speculate to several things here:
a) there have been past ethics abuses
or
b) Autodesk doesn't know industry mentors exist and are not aware they are part of the FIRST process.
Either way it is a mess .....
Jeff Pahl
28-10-2009, 13:38
I speculate that the "currently unemployed" bit has nothing to do with FIRST mentors. It is likely a way for the unemployed to gain a job skill while they are unemployed. Part of their overall education program that extends beyond FIRST.
Either way it is a mess .....
Yes, Autodesk has a program where the unemployed can download the software to learn a new job skill.
It appears that there are still some issues to be worked out with their process for this year :(
If you are a school team, just have the teacher (with the .edu email address) add you to the list of students. However, that does not work for a non-school (or non-US) team.
Someone who is actively having this problem probably needs to take this issue up directly with FIRST HQ to get it resolved.
If you are a school team, just have the teacher (with the .edu email address) add you to the list of students. However, that does not work for a non-school (or non-US) team.
.
So is it based on the .edu part? That makes things difficult...our school email addresses (staff and students alike) all end in .org . However, we do have college mentors with .edu email addresses--would that work? (I haven't had time to check out the mess that seems to be the Autodesk site.)
Jeff Pahl
28-10-2009, 23:47
So is it based on the .edu part? That makes things difficult...our school email addresses (staff and students alike) all end in .org . However, we do have college mentors with .edu email addresses--would that work? (I haven't had time to check out the mess that seems to be the Autodesk site.)
It's been a couple of years since I signed up for the educational program, using the email address provided by my grad school. It seemed like their system automatically knew that a .edu address was a school, and anything else required review by a human. So I think there was a process where a teacher could sign up (and get verified by a human) and then could send invitations to students.
Like I said, it's been a couple of years, so things may have changed or my failing memory may be incorrect. YMMV. Have a teacher try it and see what happens... Good Luck (and let us all know!)
rcoren22
02-11-2009, 14:20
I have had an educational login to this website for a couple of years.
When I click the link to get to the new firstbase, and login it takes me to my old autodesk educational communtiy.
If I click a link to FIRST on the right side, it takes me to another spot where it logs me out, essentially in an endless cycle.
I have emailed them but received no answer.
Has anybody else had similair results or figured out a solution?
Everyone,
I have been communicating with Laura London, an executive with Autodesk.
Autodesk is committed to supporting students, teachers AND mentors !! There are a couple of glitches in transitioning to the new system and they are working to resolve the problems.
from Laura,
"All mentors can join the Community and utilize all the FIRST specific resources, including software downloads and learning materials. This year teams have access to over 22 Autodesk products – which is a huge step up from years past. Each and every member of the team has this access, which again opens access up to as many FRC stakeholders as possible…students, teachers, mentors alike.
Now, all FIRST teams will be registering on the FIRST home page of our Community. Please go to http://autodesk.com/first (http://autodesk.com/first)and click to “sign up”. You will then receive an email shortly confirming your registration. Once you click on the registration link in the email you will have activated your account and will be taken through the FIRST team steps.
We have created a FRC toolkit & there you may now create your team, download the software and much more. For your convenience and to help you and your teams through the new process we have created both an FAQ (http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/FIRST/FIRST_Frequently_Asked_Questions_v2__2_.pdf) and a Step by Step guide (http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/FIRST/FIRST_step_by_step102809.pdf). The Step by Step will help you create your team, invite your students, and will also be a great tool for your students during their registration."
continuing.......
"Your students no longer need to use a special invitation URL. They may also go to http://autodesk.com/first however they will choose to join your team once you have set it up.
The next time you log in (you will always go to http://autodesk.com/first), you should see the default site banner noting that you have been defaulted to the Mechanical Engineering Discipline within the Education Community (don’t worry if this needs to be changed as you may change it in your profile later). You will access the FIRST toolkit either by clicking the promo box on the right hand side of the page for the FIRST Toolkit or you may click on the Learn menu option and select FIRST from the dropdown.
"
If you have trouble send a help request here (autodesk.education.community@autodesk.com)
Ed
.
Akash Rastogi
03-11-2009, 00:23
Our team has had access to like 27 different products from Autodesk for a month now...no problems whatsoever...
perhaps a few of you have been doing something wrong?:confused:
Anne_droid
03-11-2009, 09:02
Thanks for posting that information, Ed. It seems that the registration screen that required you to be a teacher was a mistake on the part of the Autodesk site (as well as the one that required you to be unemployed).
I was able to register under the generic registration screen. Actually, the site still has some issues since it told me my email address was already registered, then when I tried to log in it took me to a blank screen, but I just registered a different email address.
So I'm still finding some technical problems, but at least the school/faculty issue is cleared up.
So I'm still finding some technical problems, but at least the school/faculty issue is cleared up.
Anytime anyone sees a problem if they will send a not to Autodesk it will help in shaking down the system and getting the burrs out.
That is what we all like - a 'burr'less product......
bcharbonneau
05-11-2009, 13:15
I seemed to be successful with the registration but when I went to join the team group a window popped up the this message:
Please answer the following questions to complete registration for your group.
I selected "main contact" from the drop down menu and the window keeps popping up. I've also tried typing "Faculty" into the second box to no avail. I can't seem to get past this question to get my group started. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Mark McLeod
05-11-2009, 14:02
I just tested it and was able to apply to join 1296's group.
(You can reject my request if you ever get that far.)
I was not asked a question, so it knows I'm not the "owner" of the group.
There are definitely qwerks in the system.
I get kicked out randomly, for instance, I just updated my user profile to add an avatar photo and was sent back to the login page.
The new photo did stick at least.
This is not working for me as shown in their "Step by Step Guide".
Also, I did not know that Autodesk had changed our name from WildStang to "Digital Cheetanators"? :confused: :)
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