CAD, BIM & 3D

On http://twhl.co.za/mapvault_map.php?id=3657 you can download a Half-Life 2 level of the famous Kaufmann House by F.L. Wright. This is currently one of the best uses of realtime technology for architectural design. The whole house, including the environment is explorable in realtime, including sound, light and texturing. There is even one of the (sci-fi) Half-Life 2 cars parked outside, should you want to take a ride.

On http://www.codeblend.com/products.html you can download a free trial version of "Codeblend", which is a 3D real-time plugin for 3ds max to export the scene into a realtime model, using current gaming techniques: advanced shaders, realtime collision detection, dynamic lighting and shadows and even effects. You can include interactivity, such as video, audio, triggers (open a door, turn on a light). PC only and requires 3ds max. Not tried with VIZ, but could work.

On http://www.appdev.com/tryfree.asp?TF=All you can download free sample tutorials for programming. The focus is on Microsoft technologies (C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, SQL Server etc...). Requires Windows and DirectX and Adobe reader.

On http://www.cocreate.com/free you can register for a free version of the CoCreate CAD Modeling software (Windows XP or 2000 only). This is a limited version of the commercial software, but almost fully functional. It has a limited amount of parts (60 unique ones per assembly -- is that too little in regular use?) and a non-compatible file format. In contrast with applications such as SolidWorks or Inventor, it uses a non-history based modeling approach, which makes it conceptually quite different to use. It might work for you or not...

On http://www.gputech.com you can register to download the free RTSquare plugin for Autodesk 3ds max or VIZ (any recent version), provided you have a recent graphics card with Pixel Shader support (most ATI and nVidia models would be allright). This allows you to render using your graphics adapter instead of your processor, promising to speed up the renderings dramatically. The free edition is only licensed for non-commercial use, so would be perfect for students. Windows only, since it works inside 3ds max and VIZ.