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Archive for 2008

Happy New Year! SolidSmack Best of 2008

31 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in NEWS
3D Human CAD Models

solidsmack-happy-new-yearSo, what were the best and brightest post of 2008 on SolidSmack.com? I was sifting through all of them and thought the quickly-trained monkeys that wrote some of them did a pretty good job. I kid. It was actually just one monkey, with a day job and an extra finger… I kid again.

Here’s some of the best and most memorable posts that spilled over the edge of the SolidSmack editorial desk, onto the webernet and into your eyeholes. Of cours, your comments, as always, make them even better.
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16 SolidWorks Tips to Make the ‘S’ Key Work For You

30 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in CAD

solidworks-s-key-shortcutThe ‘S’ key. A single key on that clicky ol’ keyboard that can give you the POWER to HARNESS… tiny little icons… on a customizable pop-up toolbar. Power? Yes, faster access to commands and less time between them.

Everyone knows it’s easier to get away from going through the menus by setting up keyboard shortcuts. We’ll assume you’ll use some, but what we’re going to focus on is keeping your cursor on the work area and keyboard shortcuts to a minimum.

It’s all done through the ‘Shortcut Bar’. It may hurt the habits a bit, but it’s oh so much nicer when you use these tips.

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FaceBook Connect… Cause SolidSmack Loves You and Your Comments

29 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in NEWS

disqus-facebook-solidsmackIf you comment here on the post regularly, you’re extremely privileged to be using the most powerful commenting system of all time, Disqus. Yes, it’s quite a lot to take in, but it’s gone one better.

If you don’t like logging into a Disqus profile, you can now just sign in using your Facebook account. The Disqus commenting now supports Facebook Connect which allows you to use you Facebook ID on many sites and publish items, like comments, to your Facebook Feed.
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Friday Smackdown: Fuzz Fight Riot

26 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

zamak-3d-artOOooo, those wire don’t look right. They should be coming out of the upper metatarsal region. It probably shouldn’t look as cuddly as it does, but hey it’s furry and keeps talking about these links all cute like.

3D Art – Amazing, futuristic, 3D mechanized elegance all wrapped up in super cool renderings from Zamak.
90D90 – What happens to all the photos you take the first 90 days with your Nikon D90? This.
Livedrive – Say it with me. Free unlimited storage… at least during beta.
Gamespot – Games? Yes. Reviews of all games on all platforms. The first place to start.
Live Mocha – Learning a couple languages should be easy. A cool, interactive, social community for learning new languages. ¡Si, por favor!
Wired Top Technology of 2008 – Camera, phone, display and more. Definitely some tech to get and to look forward to.
Save $5,000 a Year – Kill 5 birds with one stone. A great strategy if you have the space to rent.
Indeed.com – Best place to search for Jobs? In… (bad pun avoided) It just may be so.

Merry Christmas. Cranberries. Woolen Mittens. and Peaceful Stuff.

25 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in NEWS

Hey everyone. I imagine you’re a few Chirstmasy plates and a fair number of drinks into this holiday season, but totally missing ‘best wishes’ from SolidSmack. You all make this blog rockin’ in more ways than you know, so here’s to you and wishing all the coolest blessings for you and your family. I hope you get some cool 3D gear too.

solidsmack-christmas-cute

PS. – A SolidSmack Christmas
I got up early. 8am. We open some gifts and have a delightful breakfast. Then get busy making lunch for the family. Totally stuffed, but later we’ll probably do some sparring and more gifts. What are you doing?

Image via Lioness graphics

The Lenovo Dual Screen Laptop. How Would You Use It?

23 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in TECH

dual-screen-laptopI’m telling ya, you wake up one morning and screens are just sliding out all over the place. Soon they’ll be yelling, ‘touch me!’, ‘no, touch me!’ – but for now look what Lenovo is sliding out to the masses January 5th at CES.

The Lenovo W700ds. A laptop with a slide-out secondary screen. Magnificent, don’t ya think? Kinda malignant tumor looking, but with the specs this thing has, you could run a little 3D modeling, a little video editing and more. Check it out.
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Join the Brainstorm: Submit, Rate and Comment On SolidWorks Enhancements

22 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in RESOURCES

solidworks-world-top-tenHow many times do you get to tell somebody what they need to do better during the day without being unduly ignored?

Time’s are a’changin folks, and SolidWorks has whipped up a socially acceptable way to get your insight and look real cool while they take all you can dish out.

Each year at SolidWorks World, the Top 10 Enhancement Request submitted by users are showcased. How that happens is now even more transparent.

Now there’s SolidWorks Brainstorm (via the customer portal). A quick, easy way to submit, vote and comment on improvements for SolidWorks.
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SolidWorks Benchmarks. Now in Plasticy Scooby-Doo Flavor.

22 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in RESOURCES

solidworks-scooby-dooHmmm, Scooby flavored. Now doesn’t that just sound appetizing? Not so much, but if you’re into testing your SolidWorks installation and comparing it with others, you may want to sink your geek teeth into this 3D interpretation of old-school, mystery-solvin’ cartoonery.

Anna Wood, at SolidMuse, is gather quite a collection of benchmarks to test rebuild times on your Workstation. It’s fast and simple as opposed to other benchmarks and results are shared via Google Docs.

Friday Smackdown: Jump Jets

19 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

best-sci-fi-artIt was almost inevitable, but tree bark and buttons? Small woodland creatures don’t just gain the ability to mechanically modify their skeletal structure and innate jumping habits. It had to be these links.

Best Sci-Fi art of the YEAR – Besides yours of course, but this is pretty darn good too and it will make your friends go OOOoooo.
How to Win Any Job on eLance, oDesk, Guru.com – Any Job? yes, any. And it mostly has to do with how cool your reply is.
70 Stunning Works of 3D Street Art – It’s a 3D Streety Friday and these will probably inspire some skepticism about what is actually reality.
MorphThing – jJust in time for the holidays. Morph your Child with a bunny and put it in a frame for Christmas. How thoughtful.
SpyFilms.com – Sweet 3D? yes. Robots? Yes. Total Insanity? Definitely.
Workshop of the Future Contest – Make an Instructable, win Craftsman tools. You know that’s all you want under the tree.
FiLife.com – Money and Finance made a little more fun. You might need this after buying way too many discounted Christmas ornaments.

Sculpted in Rhino, Detailed in SolidWorks. It’s All About the Process.

16 Dec, 2008 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

mark-hagen-revolve-bikeOh the craziness of climbing on a stationary bike and pretending you’re escaping a beating with poorly designed bike locks. What can you do? How about designing a bike that calms your fears, enhances your environment and well-being?

That’s exactly what Mark Hagen did with his new take on a exercise device often seen crumpling upon the less dexterous. Mark used Rhino and SolidWorks to create this concept. That’s cool – you want to know why? Read on.
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