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Computer Software

Web authoring:
Web development/authoring environments can be split into two categories:

  • HTML (hypertext markup language) editors
  • WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environments

If you already have a preferred application please use it!

WYSIWYG recommendation
Dreamweaver (Adobe)
Dreamweaver is available from MIT Gov connection for $125.

Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver can also be obtained with a free trial license (one month only, so if you go this route you will want to wait until April before trying Photoshop and Illustrator). If you try Dreamweaver for month, followed by the Web Premium suite, and then the Design Premium suite you can extend to 3 months. The suites contain Illustrator and Photoshop. One can also do a free trial and then buy a commercial, monthly Dreamweaver subscription license for $30 per month.

You can also save html from Word or there are many shareware/freeware web authoring tools if you do a google search, or other ~80 packages that include free trial licenses.

Examples include:
for Mac: RapidWeaver ($79, has free trial)
for PC: WYSIWYG Web Builder ($49, has free trial)
for Mac, PC & Linux: Amaya (free)

Further the new media center has (ironically, older) versions of the Adobe Software suites.

WYSIWYG Environments
Pros

  • lets people who do not know HTML get started
  • similar to using a word processing program

Cons

  • best time-saving features only available in programs that cost money, sometimes lots of money
  • free options are available, but only offer basic functionality (good enough to put together individual web pages, but not as good for doing web sites)

HTML Editors

Examples for Mac, PC & Linux include:
Aptana Studio (free)
Komodo Edit (free)
WebStorm ($69, has free trial)
Coda ($99, mac only)

HTML Editors
Pros

  • gives full control over page creation

Cons

  • need to know HTML to get started
  • everything coded by hand
  • need to preview in web browser to see what page is like

 

Solid Modeling:
SolidWorks 2013-14, go to the 2.009 website for instructions on how to download it from the ME server. Note: at present, the department download page is a bit confusing.

 

Online Tutorials
2.744 website building tutorials and how to upload files.

Implementing web-based surveys (forms) hosted in your Athena directory

Viewing secure AVI files using IE and Windows Media Player

Visual memory exercises

Kinematics design library

Sketching in 3D
1 point perspective, simple interactive examples
2 point perspective
Perspective construction

Sketching and rendering tutorial videos (2.744 and 2.009 resource)

Some Solidworks Exercises
Piston (pdf ppt)
Housing (pdf ppt)
Bearing block (pdf ppt)
Assembly (pdf ppt)

 

Picture libraries
Posed mannequin pictures for storyboards

 

Facilities
New media center: MIT facility where you can edit movies and prepare multimedia presentations

 

Design networking
Product design forum
Design jobs and designer registry

 

Vendors