In 1995, I got my hands on some crazy future tech, an IBM ThinkPad Pen Computer. The first wave of pen tablets had arrived. As it goes however, when a college student needs money for a new drum kit, they sell cool things to pilots who pay a lot for that kind of stuff. I did buy that drum kit. I didn’t think it would be 20 years until I used another ‘Pen Computer’ again, nor did I think it would be another ThinkPad. Surprisingly, both have happened. Now, I’m sitting at the local coffee show with a shiny Lenovo ThinkPad P40 Yoga blasting it’s backlit LED beams into my oculars and a pen…
Time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device, be it iPhone, Android or Windows! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@www.solidsmack.com. Hit it! Aeris Pulse Weather “Be prepared for ever-changing weather with Aeris Pulse, and never be surprised…
Business cards?! Who uses those anymore? Well, just about everyone. After someone has emailed and connected with you on Linkedin, it’s still fashionable and polite to hand them a slip of paper with your name and status on it, before they chunk it in the can. And though most of your business cards are in the cardboard box they came in (with a few in your wallet to toss in that bowl for a free lunch at that Barbecue place), you’ll still need them from time to time. To facilitate the continued use of business cards, we bring you the this sleek, stylish business card case. Designs by Tomáš Kubata…
Fours years ago, I remember hitting New York, plastering SolidSmack stickers around town with our Managing Editor Simon Martin, for the very first Inside 3D Printing event in New York. It was small, but larger than expected, with tracks that not only covered the tech, but also the business side of 3D printing.
We’ve seen how viable direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is as a method of reliably producing metal parts in industries ranging from aerospace to dentistry – but what about industries that regularly depend on structures made from multiple metal materials for different structural needs? Standing at the intersection of machine learning, advanced printers and cloud software to serve high-end industrial engineering needs, Boston-based startup NVBOTS (short for New Valence Robotics Corporation) has created a 3D printer that can make a single component in 21 different materials for commercial use including stainless steel, titanium, nickel, copper nickel, aluminum, zirconium, silver and palladium. “Together, we are getting truly transformative 3D printing technology into…
This week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist knocks you in the pop sockets with head-boppin’ groove tuneage to help propel you through the work week in style. Whether you find yourself inking markers until they’re dry, grinding material through a bandsaw or working that 3D geometry all day, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll start things off with The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s classic “Vad Hande Med Dem?” and work our way through everything from Caribou and The Mermen to Ariel Pink and The Kinks before wrapping up with “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” from our favorite partner in crime, Lou Reed. Have suggestions?…