We head to Berlin, Germany in the 2nd installment of my Euro tour learning about HW tech development across the pond. Here, I interview the CTO of Next Big Thing, Jasmin Skenderi. There’s also a video of their facilities at Factory Berlin, and an interview with a portfolio company, Sensry. Some Thank-Yous As with the contacts I made in Warsaw, Poland for the corresponding article, Hardware Massive is also to thank for introducing me to Next Big Thing, which is a part of their international network of chapters. So thank you again to CEO, Greg Fisher! I also want to thank Pierre-Philippe Cordier, our cameraman for the interview with Skenderi.…

Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week on SolidSmack Radio we’re kicking things off with Thom Yorke’s all-new track “Traffic” from the new album ANIMA before diving into atmospheric tracks from Whitney, Wand, Millionaire, Just Mustard, and others before wrapping up with “Real as These” from…

If you’ve ever had the chance to see one in physics class, you may have come across a Ruben’s Tube when learning about acoustic standing waves. For those who haven’t (or need a quick brush-up), a Ruben’s Tube is a hole-riddled hollow tube filled with flammable gas; it shows how normally invisible sound waves and pressure interact in the physical world (and also allows for some spectacular on-the-spot cooking shows). Nowadays, the apparatus isn’t used as much apart from the occasional school presentation, but the Fysikshow team of chemists and physicists from Denmark are bringing the Ruben’s Tube back into the spotlight: The team’s ‘Pyro Board’ is made up of…

Mondays might not be your favorite day of the week, but the good news is that we’re all in this together ladies and gentlemen. As purveyors of prime Grade A web content, the SolidSmack crew has done some of the heavy-lifting to make sure you get your Mondays started on the right track. Welcome to The Monday List. Every Monday, we link you up with some of the most insightful, informative, and socially-relevant stories to keep tabbed, bookmarked, reading listed, pocketed, or what have you to get your week started on the right foot. Be sure to check in each week for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight…

Did we hear you say that you’re exhausted due to the festivities? We got your back! Relax, kick your feet up on the lounger and take a few sips of pinacolada. Yes, this heat is killing all of us, but the sweltering digest for this week is super hottt too. Yup, talking about the week that was. Check out what you missed while we toiled during the fireworks and put up some great reads for you. Exclusive for you! Jony Ive Departure Reportedly Due to Tim Cook’s Growing Disinterest in Product Design The news centered around Apple design icon Jony Ive departing the Cupertino-based tech giant to form a new…

Fins rose from the surface froth with the viney sap that had us stuck at the inlet. We knew we could set it ablaze but had to time it right — the one match we held was the one we would need to both burn the vine swamp and ignite the five-headed wick of these links. Feng Feng: The Beijing-based Concept Artist captures battlefields, dragons, and ships mixing in future-retro and fast bikes, with that blocky style we love. Macro Water: Don Komarechka explores nature through his macro lens, and goes on to stun us with miniature water droplet works of art. Standing Cats: A series of cat portraits from…