Public launch of OnShape

kevin_quigley

it appears, if the press releases and Twittersphere are correct, that OnShape will be publicly released at Develop3D Live at the end of the month, with delegates being invited to try out OnShape using their laptop, tablet ot phone.

this is a hard core audience so it will be intersting to see how this pans out in terms of bandwidth capacity and acceptance of the feature set. I'll be there!

brucebartlett

It will be interesting to see how many more update's with new features we get between now and then. Still a lot missing and I am not evening thinking about drawings which you would expect to see at release. I get the feeling its all hands on deck in the back ground trying to pack as much in as they can. I would have to say if there is one thing that impresses me, it's Onshape stability and I don't want to see that compromised by pumping in features prematurely. 

caradon

Here's what I think might happen at D3D:
A 'modeling battle' between attendees using Onshape on their mobile devices. The fastest and/or most accurate modeler wins 1 year of Onshape Pro. How far am I off?

Dries

brucebartlett

@Dries do you think you be in with a chance to win?

caradon

@BruceBartlett Pre-production users might be excluded maybe? Unfair advantage.

Dries

caradon

I hope drawings will be exposed before D3D...
What about lifting the veil just a tiny bit...

Dries

brucebartlett

@Dries fair point it that would be unfair. Drawing must be close as they are in the plan details. Looking forward to making my own template (as mentioned in the features list) and raising tickets for requests. I imagine it will be fairly basic to start with and tickets will drive features.

kevin_quigley

No chance @Dries there won't be enough time!

philip_thomas

@BruceBartlett (and others) - we are trying to be as transparent as possible to our users and so I will offer you this (slightly-tongue-in-cheek) perspective.
Right now we are working very hard towards a number of significant date milestones (Develop3D is just one of them). The work environment right now is a cross between DefCon5 and a Rave party (just kidding, everyone here is a quiet professional) - no seriously, the music is deafening. The more attentive members of this group (@Dries) already caught a bug that let slip that we were working on drawings and all i can say right now is that it will be a little longer - just bear with us. With regards to stability - this is (in part) a function of our architecture. If something bad happens in one instance of some service that you are running on, then we just jump you over to another fresh one. 9 out of 10 times you will not even notice (worst case you just refresh your browser). This is an inherent advantage of cloud in general and of the Onshape solution in particular. Exciting times

brucebartlett

Thanks @Philip_Thomas certainly aware of the hard work that's going on, I think we are all excited by the product and itching to see more. For me adding in of drawings will enable me to use Onshape in some real projects, I will look forward to it's arrival.

dave_c

@BruceBartlett (and others) Rest assured that Onshape will continue to release new functionality when we believe it is ready and useful and not before. It will be the same whether we are in private Onshape pre-production, public Onshape Beta, or general release.  Monday we will be releasing Onshape Beta.  And the way it will be released will be the same as it has been during pre-production - enhancements and fixes every few weeks.  We won't be rushing anything in for the purpose of any event.  That's not the way we roll.  In the future, there will be some functionality that is public and there will be some that is not and that is being tested by a more limited audience as it matures. This is the way full cloud software is done - constant incremental improvement.  Regarding drawings, we are very actively working on it and very good progress is being made.  When we have something more specific to say about availability, we will let everyone know.  And thanks to all of you for your contributions to Onshape in pre-production and beyond!

caradon

@Dave_C How I wish I could be a fly in your HQ...
Not rushing things is the best way to do it. You don't want people turning away because of constant crashes or bugs. Stability is key.

Dries

andrew_troup

@Dave C 
Very impressive the way you guys are keeping steady heads. Given how you guys are bidding fair to kick over the barstools and clear the MCAD saloon (apologies for the hyperbole) it would be easy for a less grizzled bunch to let their enthusiasm reign over their good judgement.

I've never had any previous inclination to participate in a software beta program (and no lack of opportunities, over many decades) but I immediately sensed this one would be very different ... so I dove in with confidence ... and I'm pleased to find 'so it was'.