Don your favorite bath robe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this weekend’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader.
This week we saw everything from a toy dinosaur get made from scratch in less than three minutes, how a new vinyl manufacturing company in Portland, Oregon came to be with antique equipment, the story behind Keyboardio, Autodesk’s push to put interactive learning on iPads and more …
So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top ten stories on SolidSmack this past week.
Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too.
Watch a Toy Dinosaur Go from Sketch to Model to Manufactured Product in Three Minutes
“While toy designs start out much like any other product design – with an idea and a sketch – they can quickly become a more involved modeling exercise that requires expert sculpting techniques using both digital tools – such as MODO or ZBrush – as well as traditional sculpting tools including clay or wax…”
Oregon’s New Cascade Record Pressing Brings an Updated Spin to Vinyl Manufacturing
“Although a large amount of attention over the past few years (and especially the last two months) has been focused on the bevy of digital streaming music services including Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, another kind of listening experience revolution has been quietly brewing as well – yet it’s been in front of us for decades…”
SolidSmack Sessions | Interview with Keyboardio Founder and Lead Design Engineer Jesse Vincent
“Considering how much time we spend at our keyboards (well, many of us anyways), even the slightest of design changes can make a world of difference in how we interact with our digital toolkits – good or bad. Apple understands this and has even brought their latest keyboard technologies front and center for their latest Macbook design. But for those who want full control of their keyboard layout, a new Kickstarter campaign just might provide the answer for one of the most ergonomic keyboard setups we’ve seen yet…”
IFTTT Introduces ‘The Maker Channel’ for Makers and Hardware Developers
“Since launching nearly four years ago, the IFTTT (If This Then That) web service platform has enabled its users to connect a variety of online tools and services through unique “recipes” that are based on an “if this happens, then do this” formula. To date, these recipes have included everything from automatically receiving an email if a forecast predicts rain to saving Facebook photos with a particular tag to a dedicated Dropbox folder and thousands of others – all created by the community and free to use…”
Lego Announces $150 Million Plan to Replace Oil-Based Plastics
“Although the Lego brand hasn’t yet found a solution for the inevitable rogue Lego brick that somehow always ends up being stepped on with a bare foot, the company has been actively looking into ways of making their seemingly perfect toy bricks a better product…”
Autodesk Launches Interactive Autodesk Design Academy for 3D Design Education on iTunes U
“It’s no secret that CAD tools are among the most complex pieces of software to learn and – perhaps most importantly – use effectively with intent. Unsurprisingly, learning these tools has been a brutal experience for many that can test even the most patient of learners and take them to their limits…”
