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Archive for October, 2009

Small, Lovable, Jumping Robot Boy Runs Into Your Nightmares {Pics/Video}

30 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in TECH
3D Human CAD Models

Of course a small, kid-like robot wouldn’t go berserk, run and jump onto your face while screaming “YOUR SOUL, YOUR SOUL” in a cold, electronic voice. That, is RIDICULOUS. Almost as ridiculous as robot cockroaches that survive impacts.

Even if it actually wouldn’t attack you, that hasn’t stopped, Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of Robot Garage from making us think it could. He debuted Ropid, the 15″ (38cm) tall robo-boy with a precious 3″ vertical leap, that makes you want to say, Awwwww, then turn and run.

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Friday Smackdown: ChopFace McGaffin

30 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

I’m tellin’ ya, it harnesses the power of… of every Dirt Pebble Sack Back this side of Yeti-land. What is it? It’s dark and fearsome… goes poik! poik! then throws these links at you.

Sketchsite mash mash – How does 474 super slick sketches of cars, mechs and other vehicles sound?
How to Make the Evil Dead Chainsaw Arm – Hey! and you don’t even have to decapitate your own possessed hand to do it! SWEET.
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy – Tim Burton’s brilliantly odd poems of oyster boy and the gang. Thanks Benny!
Best. Batman. Spoof. Ever. – “Max, what do you want for dinner?” JUSTICE! With a side order of spaghetti! (the end is the best)
30 jaw-dropping 3D character creations – INSANE and also INSANE. These make me want to be a Samurai Troll.
Winodws 7 Guide – If you haven’t gotten enough Windows 7, this should do it.
The Dubai Technosphere – It’s like a beautiful blister on the face of the earth, getting ready to just pop right open.

Bonus! Water…
5 really weird things about water – and you can also drink it!
Worlds Largest Water Fountain – Surprise. In the same place as that sphere.
Water Droplet. 2000 FPS – just… incredible.

The SolidSmack FaceBook Fan Page. BECOME A FAN… or Be Consumed With Guilt.

29 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

Shalacka Smacka! Guess what? The SolidSmack Facebook Fan Page is finally up and running. That’s HUGE news… considering it only takes a click and 5 minutes to set up.

So yes, we should have done this a long time ago to share in the excitement of all that important social interaction. The wait… is over. Now all your old college roommates and your old grandmas on Facebook will know you are now rockin’ along with SolidSmack. What else does this mean for you? Take a look…

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Kickboxer Motorcycle Wraps Awesome Around Turbocharged 2.5L Subaru WRX {Pics}

28 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

I’m positive. If you could wrap yourself around a Subaru Turbocharged Car Engine and tear down the road, you would, you so would, and so would I. But the difference between you and I, is that I would have six bike flags and a license plate that read WHEELIE.

No matter how you cruise, there’s nothing that beats a super killer motorcycle concept. Especially a concept strapped with TURBO. Ian McElroy wanted to create it. He didn’t know how to use SolidWorks, but he taught himself enough to crank out the sweetest lookin’ ride I’ve seen eeeeevah!

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Ask The Reader: Are You Upgrading to Windows 7? {Poll}

28 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in CULTURE

Well, well, well, from the looks of the last poll, not too many people care about hardware/software upgrade plans. I agree… BORING. For me, a hardware upgrade consists of bottling pure rage (and my new hot sauce recipe) to throw a computer 200 feet into the air.

So, while we’re on the topic of rage, lets do a really cliché poll about Microsoft’s hot new OS, Windows 7, that was made available last week. Maybe this one will get some more interests since Windows is sooooo much better than Mac, and Macs are soooooo much better than Windows.

Yes, completely contradictory statements and why you love SolidSmack a little more that a hard slap across the ear after gagging on a bean.

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Full Speed Tree Bleed. SolidWorks Treehouse, Not Just a Treehouse.

27 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

You may enjoy running at a tree full speed with your mouth wide open, but when it comes to really embedding a detailed assembly tree structure into your forehead… or your project, you may actually find SolidWorks Treehouse to be a little less painful.

Nearly a year ago, we looked at 5 Ways to Use Treehouse to Speed Your Design. We were naive, full of wet noodles and thought it was just a neat little tool to set up assemblies. Turns out it was actually an CAD-app symbiote festering as a larvae waiting to take on full-scale assembly management.

Oh yes, shake your head. But there’s something going on here. Treehouse V2 is available for download and it got a lot more functionality. Let’s take a look at what’s new and then run through the wooded lot of sharpened speculation.
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AutoDesk Inventor Fusion Adds Thick, Beefy Change Management to Manage… Your… Change.

26 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

Can you just smell the sizzle of fusion happening? I can. The MCAD atmosphere is beginning to get a little bit warmer and a tad amount crispier than last week. Why, you ask? Autodesk slipped their fresh slab of direct modeling tech back into the ovens to broil and today they have released it upon the masses.

Yes, Autodesk Fusion has been updated to actually add the ‘Fusion’ bits. While the first go around left a lot of questions, this version shows you a little more about the direction Fusion is headed and why Inventor plays a really big part of it all.

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Vats Upon Vats of 3D, Hologram, and Multi-Touch Goodness. Eat Up.

26 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in TECH

So, what happens when I go offline for a couple days to clean the charred remains of spiders out of my displays? A ton of news about displays… 3D displays, multi-touch displays, holographic displays, the future of displays, display gumbo…

It’s absolutely uncalled for and also pleasant to see that there’s much development going on in the world of 3D. Here’s a bit of a mish-mash-recap of what’s being talked about and a splash about how it all relates to product development.

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Friday Smackdown: Toogle Blamket

23 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

I tarred the intakes just fine ,when the roto-adjusters went all bibbly-squid and shot bloom juice all over the pistol switch. I think we can get her back up and running, but it’s gonna take some mighty fine links to do it.

Taehoon Oh – Little is know of Taehoon they say, except that he rocks a mean concept ship and does Infinity Ward/Activision games.
Ninite – Custom program installer, without the junk. Browsers, Utilities and more. Easily the best mass install site evaah.
Lensbaby Optics – Focus in on this. New Fisheye and Soft focus goodies to help you rock that lens… baby.
I heart shotgun zombies – A shirt. A green shirt. It could be black, but it’s green and it a perfect waning for the undead.
New Mac Ads – New Windows 7 out this week. Likewise new Mac ads. You’ll like’em even if you’re a PC.
Podcasting Equipment Guide – Interested on creating a podcast for you and your pet marmut. No problem. Complete Guide with four options.

Bonus! Weird Freaky
36 Stairs – I have no idea.
Strawberry Swing – Once again, I have no idea.
Grocery Store Musical – a boy can dream.

SketchBook Mobile 1.1 Update, Rocks the iPhone Sketchin’ Even More.

22 Oct, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

Goodbye Adobe, Brushes, Layers and anyone else trying to dominate the iPhone Sketch app market. AutoDesk just release the 1.1 update to their Sketchbook Mobile app.

I just upgraded and tried it out. If you were not convince from the earlier Sketchbook Mobile Review and Comparison to other apps, this time around you will be. It rocks much harder now and has (almost) all the things it was lacking in the 1.0 version. Here’s the run-down on the new features and a slick little video montage of the goods.

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