The company that I used to work for used Citrix remote connections to a server for all the Words, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint stuff. This was generally for everyone (except those with laptops who might be traveling and away from an Internet connection) in the company. You did not have Word, Excel, Outlook, or PowerPoint locally. With this setup they DELIBERATELY did NOT do AutoCad this way...AutoCad was still local. Even with the likes of Outlook, you would typically have a slight lag between you typing and the stuff appearing on the screen (keep in mind that your computer had to send the typing signal from it to the server and then the server had to process that signal and then the server would send the updated screen image with the newly typed stuff), which annoyed the crap out of me.
Structural analysis programs should be OK with a remote connection...not great, but not horrible. The "tough" part (i.e. running the actual analysis calcs) will be done on the remote computer and is not really dependent on the connection.
FWIW, any Android tablet or iPad can make use of a remote connection. So, if someone does not like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer that you like, they could choose one of the other tablets out there.
Of course, the fatal flaw of a remote connection is that it requires an Internet connection. If you ain't got a connection, then you are hosed. While it is becoming fairly common to be able to get an Internet connection anywhere, we are not quite fully to the point where you can get a connection anywhere. There are lots of places where there aren't 3G let alone 4G connections or WiFi.
Also, it should be noted that AutoCad does make their AutoCad WS app for both the iOS and Android. So, if you just need to view AutoCad files, then that would be your option rather than using some remote connection.
For those that want a bit more "muscle" in their portable, we will have to wait and see how Windows 8 effects things. Microsoft is apparently adding a "touch" interface to it that might be useful for the more "tablet" like experience, but then still offer a full Windows interface as well for a more laptop type mode. Thus, we might see the original incarnation of the tablet (i.e. the laptop with the touch screen that flipped around) make a come back with Windows 8. Such tablets could have full 64 bit processors, much more RAM than the iPad/Android/etc tablets, and also have graphics system that can actually handle the likes of AutoCad or Revit.
In the end, one should find the right tool for their needs.
Regards,
Scott
On Jul 7, 2011, at 7:28 PM, Stan Caldwell wrote:
Bill:
Think of the PC as the mainframe and the Transformer as the terminal.
I can sit here in Hawaii and run my office PC in Texas. Not just my PC, but also Halff's entire network, including those programs loaded on our virtual machines.
Stan
Sent from my ASUS Transformer
On Jul 7, 2011 12:43 PM, "T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E." <Bill@allendesigns.com> wrote:
> I'm just saying that using Revit requires a LOT of RAM. In a PC, you need
> 64bit OS to go over 3Gb and you definitely need more than 3Gb to do a real
> project with Revit. If you can use 8Gb on the Transformer or whatever it is,
> then that is fine.
>
>
>
>
>
> T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E. (CA #S2607)
>
>
>
> ALLEN DESIGNS
>
> Consulting Structural Engineers
>
> 32302 Camino Capistrano, #206
> San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
>
> V (949) 248-8588.F (949) 209-2509
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Stan Caldwell [mailto:stancaldwell@gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2011 3:17 PM
> To: seaint@seaint.org
> Subject: Re: Vish and his IPAD2
>
>
>
> Neil:
>
> My Transformer is WiFi-only. I bought it and the keyboard dock online at
> NewEgg. My unlimited phone contract is with Verizon Wireless and my phone
> is rooted. I'm pretty adventurous for a old fart.
>
> Bill:
>
> Revit is limited by the PC, not by the Transformer. It runs on Android
> Honeycomb 3.1, not Windows.
>
> Stan
>
> Sent from my ASUS Transformer
>
> On Jul 7, 2011 11:42 AM, "Neil Moore" <nma@nma-se.com> wrote:
>> Stan:
>>
>> Who is your provider? Your unit is real tempting as I'm in the market
>> for something like this.
>>
>> Neil
>>
>>
>> On 7/7/2011 2:28 PM, T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E. wrote:
>>>
>>> You really can't do a real project with Revit without 64bit OS and 8
>>> Gb of RAM.
>>>
>>> *T. William (Bill) Allen, S.E. (CA #S2607)*
>>>
>>> * *
>>>
>>> *_ALLEN DESIGNS_*
>>>
>>> * Consulting Structural Engineers*
>>>
>>> 32302 Camino Capistrano, #206
>>> San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
>>>
>>> V (949) 248-8588.F (949) 209-2509
>>>
>>> *From:* Stan Caldwell [mailto:stancaldwell@gmail.com]
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, July 07, 2011 2:12 PM
>>> *To:* seaint@seaint.org
>>> *Subject:* Re: Vish and his IPAD2
>>>
>>> David:
>>>
>>> Go buy an Asus Eee Pad Transformer with the keyboard dock. It is a
>>> 10.1" tablet that transforms into a netbook. In addition to
>>> everything that I wrote earlier, I should also explain that I can use
>>> it to run Risa3D, Visual Analysis, WoodWorks, etc., using PVN to my
>>> office desktop. I could also run AutoCAD or Revit, if I wanted to.
>>> Available for purchase online for the past 2 months. The 16 mb tablet
>>> is $299. The 32 mb tablet is $399. The excellent optional keyboard
>>> dock is $149. Right now, you can only buy the WiFi-only model, but
>>> you can tether it to your 3G or 4g phone. I am typing this from a
>>> hotel conference room on the Kona Coast of the Big Island in Hawaii.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Stan Caldwell
>>>
>>> Sent from my ASUS Transformer
>>>
>>> On Jul 7, 2011 10:51 AM, "David Merrick, Structural Engineer, Merrick
>>> Group" <mrkgp.se <http://mrkgp.se>@gmail.com <http://gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>
>