LabVIEW in the News…

The poll I posted last time has gotten great response and has given us some great insight into your attitudes about documentation and media.  We are already making plans based on this discussion.  Go vote if you haven’t yet.

In the last few weeks, LabVIEW has gotten some serious publicity in some other avenues…

Jeff Ray, the CEO of Solidworks, presented the keynote at Solidworks World earlier this month where he highlighted the integration we have been working on between LabVIEW and Solidworks.  We have been working with Solidworks for a number of years to bridge the gap between machine design and simulation with control design and implementation – its all about mechatronics, machine design, robotics, etc… pick your favorite term.  Very cool stuff and a great glimpse into some future ideas.  The LabVIEW part of the keynote is about 20 minutes into the show (I recommend you watch the whole video – Solidworks does some great things with their products and their user conferences.  We consider them a company that has it figured out.)

Andrew Hargadon, a professor at UC-Davis and author of How Breakthroughs Happen and a general expert on innovation, recently highlighted NI and the role LabVIEW and our hardware can play in the process of prototyping to enable integration.  It’s a great endorsement of our new Graphical System Design approach.  Andrew’s name may sound familiar – he was the Day 3 Keynote speaker at NIWeek last year.

30-Second User Poll: LabVIEW Distribution

The economic situation is pretty daunting right now.  I am sure many of you are feeling it directly in your businesses.  NI is feeling it too, and we are looking for ways to be more efficient.  In past downturns, and again today, we have prioritized our investments in R&D – to ensure we can continue innovating and improving the products you depend on – and in Field Sales Engineers – to continue building our team of experts who consult with you on the solutions you are building. 

With that in mind, we are looking for ways we can save without negatively impacting the customer experience with our products.  One area where I think we can do a better job is in the distribution of our software.  Rather than spend a lot of money and effort in packaging and shipping LabVIEW boxes to you, we could invest in our infrastructure to make downloading LabVIEW faster, better, and easier.  Moving in this direction would not only be more “green” but would also save some shipping and freight that could be redirected back into product development.  I thought I would experiment with a poll to capture your thoughts. 

What are your opinions on LabVIEW documentation and distribution: