In DESIGN

Pencil by 53: The New Sketching Stylus from the Mad Scientists Behind 'Paper by 53'

3 Mins Read

The iPad stylus market has seen an interesting turn in recent months with the release of Wacom’s Intuos Creative Stylus and now this morning, the Pencil by 53. For anybody who has used the iPad app Paper by 53, you might be familiar with 53’s exceptional attention to detail in the user experience and their wide community of diehard Paper users. However, their lack of stylus support (other than the Pogo Connect) put a damper on things for many users—specifically those who wanted to use Paper in conjunction with the recently-released Wacom Intuos Creative stylus. The developers at 53 have spent years ironing out how to translate an otherwise messy physical media experience into something that is clean, polished, easy-to-learn, and most importantly, fun…but will they will be able to pull off the same feat in the hardware department, too?

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In DESIGN

Airless and Bulletproof Tires Being Introduced in New Polaris ATV Design

3 Mins Read

Airless tires have been sort of like a pesky mole in the last ten years: they poke their heads out just long enough to catch some attention, then retreat back into their holes. Other than being airless and less-prone to damage, their use in automobiles has been questionable based on their potential lack of driving comfort. So far, we’ve seen efforts from Michelin, Segway, and iBOT in applying airless tire technologies to low-speed vehicles such as those used in construction, however we’ve been yet to see anything truly prominent trickle down to the mass market. Polaris just might be the first to claim that title with their announcement of their Sportsman WV850 design featuring airless TerrainArmor tires that are not only more rugged for off-road riding, but are also strong enough to take a .50-caliber bullet round and keep driving for hundreds of miles.

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In RADIO

SolidSmack Radio | Sketch Blisters and Caffeine Overload

1 Min Read

This week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist brings an entirely new face-smack of great music to help propel you through those laborious, tedious design tasks for the next few days. This week we’re going to kick up the tempo a few notches to get that blood pumping first thing in the morning. We’ll start off with Formaldehyde from Editors and work our way through some Wampire, Tame Impala, Beck, MGMT, and other blood-curdling, brain-shocking sounds before wrapping up with Malmo by STRFKR.

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In DESIGN

Open Source 'Architecture for Dogs' Ensures that Your Dog Lives More Glamorously Than You Do

2 Mins Read

As a dog owner, I am constantly on the lookout for dog products that aren’t your run-of-the-mill, ‘bought it at PetsMart’ variety. Sadly, very few products actually exist for dog owners that reflect rock-solid design ideals (and no, I don’t need a Gucci dog collar). For those looking to step outside of the realm of traditional dog products (and an excuse for another weekend project), Architecture for Dogs is the open source doghouse and dog accessory collaborative spearheaded by Japanese architects that just might make you jealous of young Fido’s dwellings.

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In FAB

Microsoft Releases First 3D Printing App on Heels of Windows 8.1 Native 3D Printing Update

2 Mins Read

When looking at companies embracing the 3D printing movement, it’s hard to deny that Microsoft is taking large strides towards making their products more seamless in the 3D printing experience for the mass market. With the combination of introducing native 3D printing support into their recent Windows 8.1 update—a first for an operating system—to the introduction of MakerBot ‘mini-stores’ within their Microsoft retail stores, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft introduced their own native 3D Printing app. The 3D Builder app is the latest in Microsoft’s attempt to be the leading (and most accommodating) operating system for the 3D printing community.

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