In July 2020, Altium 365 was updated with a smoother, more feature-full, and more intuitive interface for the web design viewer. I love being able to share my designs with customers when their feedback is needed and the collaboration features that cut down review time and reduce errors when working with colleagues.īut Altium's developers have not been idle, and the platform is continuously and automatically updated in the background, often without anybody noticing. When Altium 365® was released, I immediately jumped on board. None of these tasks requires a powerful computer, and many of them can be done on a tablet, with the additional benefit of increased mobility and ease of collaboration. After the design, I am left with customer support, production scheduling, and administrative work. When tackling a new product, the initial stages are primarily composed of sketching, brainstorming ideas, researching prior art, and discussing possible solutions with customers and key partners. It's efficient and productive, but it ties me to a desk. I maxed out the ram, bought a huge monitor and a 3D connexion mouse, and a keyboard that makes the same amount of noise as a 737 landing on a Soviet runway with every stroke. Like many engineers, the laptop I use for PCB design, mechanical computer-aided design (CAD), and simulation is big and clunky. I'm the owner of a small business called Fermium we design and manufacture scientific instrumentation for university teaching and research. I have always been compelled by the idea to ditch my laptop for something similarly powerful but more portable.

Altium designer mac m1