You mean, make CR4 a customizeable page where you choose the section links you'd like to view in a customized gadgets arrangement like igoogle? I think its a very nice idea. Not essential of course, but yes, would be nice.

I'm probably missing something, but change the setting in your profile for 'mail notification' & add all the section links you gave to 'Favorites' on the bar at the top of IE7. ?

Exactly.... oh bushy tailed one...
I was drowning in Emails once I was imprisoned a member here.
Initially a couple of E-mails are fun, and then the addiction kicks in as you subscribe to more threads it becomes unmanageble.
So change your settings and you get a nice little box top right saying
25 private messages
185 updated discussions

Del

My trick is to reply to myself as Guest - it makes me feel all loved and wanted. Subscribing to every single thread is also good, but the notifications lack that warm touch of, 'There was a new comment by Guest (replying to Kris) in a discussion...', because I don't actually read or post in the threads. So that I can reminisce, I forward all CR4 mail to another account with Google. It's nearly used up the free 7+ GB, so I'll have to open another one soon. The only trouble is that I filter and sort mail by user names, so it takes an awful long time to check each member file and see if they've posted to me.

Yeah, I thought about the bookmark thing, but I'd want to put them in a folder. That would effect my time between pages of interest about the same as what I'm doing now.

And I get enough email now as it is with some of the ham radio and weather notifications I get.

Can't you just make this page your browser home page ?

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/37094/MyCR4

A bit messy, but for now, does that meet the need ? Alternatively, you could paste links to your favourite CR4 places in your existing profile page ?

There's a Google something-or-other, which enables people to design their own search engine/applets and such. The name escapes me right now. Might be 'Google Gadgets' or similar. I dunno if that helps.

You could have a dedicated email address for the daily digest & notifications & the various global spec newsletters.

IE7 lets you do folders.

A dedicated gmail would let you have a small set of cr4 bookmarks & a nice shortcut on your desk top, without making you signing in and out...

This would leave your yahoo page for other things

Since I spend too much time here already, I decline email notification, but do subscribe.

Then when there isn't enough activity for my hyperactive senses I go look for MORE threads.

Just me.

But I certainly am not adverse to new ideas (he says through clenched teeth,

ADMIN NOTE: but whatever we do, don't "break" my loverly CR4 the way excite did. They now have some bloat-heavy mail application that requires faster than dial-up, was buggy for weeks, lost the spam filter function for months, and as a "launched application" is inhibited by most corporate machines, and has as a result been abandoned by many.

OK, I'd get a lot more done if I couldn't access from work....

Hello 3Doug, Sounds like a good idea. But would it not be similar to having your own blog page on CR4? I am pretty sure that was offered to me if I wanted it as part of the Membership thing? Take care...........

Not quite. I have 3 blogs, none on CR4. A blog is a webspace where the owner of the blog posts items, or the owner can designate certain people to post items, and other people can add their comments. My general blog is at www.randomcontact.blogspot.com. If I were to have a blog on CR4, it would have to have a theme relating to engineering or some related topic. In my case, the blog would probably be about drafting and parametric modeling, or the latest techonology in amateur radio.

What I am talking about is more of a start page or easy navigation page that I, or any user who has one, can customize. Instead of coming to the CR4 home page, I'd come to this page that I would customize to get me quickly to the areas of CR4 that I want to go to, and I can get there quickly. As it is now, sometimes I go to a particular page just to reach a single link that will take me to the page I actually want to go to. This seems wasteful to me. The CR4/GlobalSpec servers send me the first page, I look at for a few seconds and then they have to send me the page I actually want. Sometimes, I have to jump to 2 pages before getting to the one I want. I believe my proposal will save me time, and wear and tear on the CR4/GlobalSpec servers.

I agree. my intention in creating my own page on CR4 was to have a bit of a home page where I can feature my designs, and get comments on them. Also I wanted to link back from my posts to that page, so it will get a higher visibility. (linked image below)

If you were creating a blog about drafting/parametric modelling, let me know..

Chris.

Yes please let us all know.

Well, to be honest, I probably won't start one. I was just using that as an example of the type of blog I would have on CR4 if I were to have one here.

I would also feel underqualified to run such a blog because I am familiar with only AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, and Inventor. A drafting / parametric modeling blog should have someone familiar with other programs. I have the free Sold Edge 2D drafting program, but besides going through the tutorials, I have done only one drawing with it. I also have Architectural Desktop 2006, but the one time I opened it, it made no sense to me. Most of the drafting I do now is just things I draw off the top of my head to use as avatars.

Besides, you can find plenty of bogs and fora about drafting, parametric modeling, and even animation. Animation seems to becoming a bigger part of representing designs, especially in architectural and structural fields.

Some companies consider their drafting and modeling programs as PLM (Product Management Software). What might be a better idea would be a PLM / Design Documentation & Presentation subsection under the General section.

No man is an island.. thats what friends are for... you would just be planting the seed...

the thought has also crossed my mind.. but have to set up a page first, and teach myself about blogging...

Chris

Actually the 1st step is contact cr4 administration. Maybe post a thread to see if there are any other members who would be interested in helping. your blog could be how to's or just content. A bench engineering blog would be fun, Ky would probably help. The possiblities are endless.

A bench engineering blog would be fun

You mean like Workbench Creations?

I guess I should define bench engineering.

Bench enginnering is similar to bench racing. Bench racing is when a bunch of racers get together & talk about rides/races from the past & or future, techniques/technology... Many times there are tasty drinks involved. LOL

Bench engineering would be when we take a problem that may or may not have a solution & try to come up with possibil solutions.

I thought you might have been thinking of bench racing, but benches in connection with engineering usually brings up images of DIY projects, homebrewed inventions, or prototyping. I think a better term for what you're talking of would be an offsite engineering conference. Isn't that what CR4 is anyway?

Especially when there's baths to be broken...

We should probably help Ky & friends start a blog, I was trying to get permission from the other members of a Blog I'm part of "APIX" to repurpose it, never could get an answer LOL

more later