In CULTURE

An Animated Journey Into the Product Evolution That Is Nintendo

5 Mins Read

Introduced in 1985, the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) became nearly as desirable as a Farrah Fawcett poster for every teenage boy on planet earth. Over the following few years, the NES revolutionized the video game industry—selling over 60 million units (!!!) and brought Mario, Zelda, and of course, Duck Hunt to living rooms everywhere. Today we find our children immersed in a new world of interactive gaming with the Wii U, which arguably brings some of the best gameplay technology today into a single interface. While Microsoft and Sony have been major players as of late, neither have as much of a storied history as Nintendo…as seen in this most excellent animated short.

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In DESIGN

Design Museum Releases Candidates for 2013 Designs of the Year

7 Mins Read

London’s Design Museum is a marvel of inspiration for designers, engineers, architects, digital media artists, and pretty much anybody else. The awesome factor can maybe be compared to having a perfectly toasted giant marshmallow with a cup of spiced drinking chocolate on a blustery winter day next to a fireplace. For 22 years the museum has ‘championed creative thinking and inspired problem solving’…having featured Jony Ive’s pre-Apple designs as well as giving Zaha Hadid her first solo show in Britain, the museum is nothing short of a hub for some of the most innovative thinking in the known universe. Their annual design awards are a perfectly curated bunch of what’s happened in the last year in the fields of seven categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product, and Transport Design. Here on the Smack we’ll share some of our favorites.

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In CONTESTS

Your Dream of Designing a Steering Wheel For a Supersonic Car Comes True

2 Mins Read

In a new challenge from GrabCAD, your dream(s) of designing a steering wheel for a supersonic car are about to come true. We covered the 1,000 mph speed of the Bloodhond SSC back in 2008, so it’s nice to see where the Bloodhound team has taken the project, that Cisco has become their main networking and video partner and that they’re taking the tech to school with an education program (Youtube video) aimed at introducing and teaching children about the goodness of science, technology, engineering and math. Now, you can be part of the team that guides it to new land speed records.

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In 3D CAD TECH

Start Saving Now for This New LEGO Mindstorm EV3 Kit

3 Mins Read

All the STEM news out of CES 2013 may have been tablets and 3D printing, but our eye is on the third generation of LEGO Mindstorm robotics as well. The new Mindstorm EV3 rolls in, firing balls of robot-educating awesome with a new programmable brick loaded with new features for today’s generation of tech-savvy kiddos and their parents. It’s available fall 2013, but you should start saving now while you gorge yourself with all the details here or… is it possible? Pre-order the kit? YES.

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In CAD

Cubify Introduces API and AppCreate platforms for Modelers and Developers

2 Mins Read

3D Systems isn’t messing around in 2013. Despite some new products having lackluster performance, they have managed to prove that an arsenal of ‘whipped cream pies in your face’ is the best strategy for developing hype and getting your attention. Somehow amongst promoting their new product releases at CES 2013, they managed to earn the ‘Best of CES 2013 Award for Emerging Tech” while hosting musicians playing 3D printed instruments at their booth, and still found time to release a platform for modelers and developers to cash in on apps centered around 3D printing.

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