Through the Interface

One man’s trash... Bjarne Stroustrup’s The C++ Programming Language

I came across this classic tome while wandering the halls of the Neuchatel office, this week. It’s one I remember reading when in my last year at University (in fact I’m almost certain I have a copy gathering dust in my basement). This particular volume once belonged to James Carrington (at least that’s my best guess from a Post-It on the inside that mentions his first name), who was an early member of the Developer Support team at the ESC (European Software Centre) in Neuchatel, way back when. This edition is from 1986, which I’m pretty sure makes it... Read more →

One man’s trash… T-shirts from Autodesk Neuchatel

Here’s some fun memorabilia from Autodesk’s Neuchatel office: T-shirts from a couple of different events held in recent years. Both are brand-new and have never been worn. The first comes from an internal event that was held back in 2015 to highlight the importance of taking security (particularly product and information security) seriously. The T-shirt is red and of size XXL: The second comes from the first Design Night Switzerland held at the end of 2016. The theme for this event was robotics, so there’s a picture of a robot on the back. the T-shirt is white and of... Read more →

One man's trash... an accessory to block a parallel port

Nate Moore discovered something in a desk drawer that we both thought worth posting: if nothing else because we’d love to find out what on Earth it’s for. It’s a “computer accessory” – these are literally the only words printed in its box – that looks like it fits a computer’s parallel port (back when computers had them). The fun thing is that the other side of the plug is sealed! Maybe you’re meant to pierce and wire in a cable? Or maybe it’s to terminate the port to avoid electrical discharge of some kind? If anyone has any... Read more →

One man's treasure... unboxing AutoCAD 2.6

This is a slightly anomalous post in the “one man’s trash” series, in that we’ve actually found something I can’t bear to part with. This was nearly the case for The Autodesk File 3rd Edition, but I did bring myself to ship that one off to Oregon. Today’s item, once again uncovered by Francesco Tonioni, is a boxed version of AutoCAD 2.6. It’s probably too heavy and fragile to ship around the world, but if I’m honest that’s only part of the reason. It’s just too precious! It’s the German edition, which for sure was localized from the English... Read more →

One man’s trash… digitizer pucks!

After recent posts about digitizing tablet overlays and a trip down memory lane on AutoCAD rearchitectures, today’s giveaway follows this retro theme. Francesco Tonioni discovered a box of digitizing tablet pucks hidden away in a cupboard. I have no idea whether there is anything useful in having these without a tablet itself (presumably the tablet itself is fairly passive, but I’m not clear on exactly how they work) but I’d be more than happy to send any or all to someone who wants them. Drop me an email if they interest you! If you’re interested in knowing which connector... Read more →

One man’s trash… AutoCAD R14 and 2000 digitizing tablet overlays

Firstly, I’d like to thank the few people who engaged on the last One Man’s Trash, which was clearly (but hopefully not too clearly) an April 1st prank. I’d have expected more people to “bite”, but then it was posted over the weekend, so perhaps not that many people saw it. Or perhaps it was obviously just for fun, in which case I hope people appreciated it at some level. Anyway, today’s giveaway is fo realz, yo. An old friend and colleague in our Localization department, Paul-Henri Arnaud, dug out a number of digitizing tablet overlays dating back to... Read more →

One man’s trash… a very special giveaway

It’s really proving to be a fun series, as we recycle the contents of the closing Autodesk Neuchatel office. So far we’ve given away a couple of RS-232 breakout boxes, a signed copy of The Autodesk File and a (so far unclaimed) patch panel punch down tool. Today we’re offering a very special item to readers of this blog. It’s one of Autodesk Neuchatel’s best-kept secrets – not even all of our local employees know about it – but up on the roof of the building in Puits Godet we have a hot tub. And it’s awesome – a... Read more →

One man’s trash… a patch panel punch down tool

As we continue clearing out cupboards and desks in the Neuchatel office, another potential treasure was uncovered by Francesco Tonioni. It seemed like a very interesting – and probably very useful – tool. We weren’t at all sure what it was until Hashim Mundol recognised it from a previous life. He identified it correctly as a patch panel punch down tool that’s apparently used by network technicians to wire network cables into patch panels. I have no idea if it’s something a reader of this blog might find useful. If so, drop me a mail with your name and... Read more →

One man’s trash… and the winner is…

Many thanks to all of you who responded to the last “one man’s trash” post offering a signed copy of The Autodesk File for one of the people answering John’s question correctly: What was the first Autodesk product which, after having been sold, was subsequently discontinued? The answer is, of course, AutoScreen. Of the 15 people who responded, 7 gave the correct answer (the other popular – albeit incorrect – answers were MicroCAD and Lightscape). John’s “bonus points” question really had people scratching their heads: What was the original in-house name for the product eventually introduced as AutoSketch? (In... Read more →

One man’s trash… a copy of The Autodesk File signed by John Walker

I know this one is going to be extremely popular with the readers of this blog. While starting the clear-out of her bookshelf, a colleague in the Neuchatel office, Maria Elena Santoyo Torres, found a copy of The Autodesk File in book form. I hadn’t realised it had been bound into a book, so this was really exciting to me! I admit to having been more than a little tempted to hang on to it for myself. Ah well. (For those of you who are new to this series, we’re using this blog to give away interesting items we’ve... Read more →

One man’s trash… another RS-232 breakout box (Sold!)

In response to the last “one man’s trash” post I actually received two emails: the first from Kean Maizels, who ended up receiving the box, and the second from an old friend and former colleague from the UK, Phil Gill, who just missed out. Luckily the Neuchatel office’s “recycler in chief”, Francesco Tonioni, managed to find a second breakout box (he’d also found the one that launched this whole initiative, of course). A different model than the first, but with similar capabilities. I stopped by the Neuchatel office on Tuesday to pick it up, and I remember thinking to... Read more →

One man’s trash… an RS-232 breakout box

As Autodesk Neuchatel lurches steadily towards its closure, later in the year, people have started emptying desks and throwing out bits and pieces that have accumulated over the years. I don’t like to see usable things get thrown away and so have decided to do a regular series of posts to find new homes for some of the quirkier items. I’m naming the series of posts after the proverb “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, as I’m sure there must be someone out there with an interest in or a need for things that would otherwise be ditched.... Read more →