Apple Takes A Swing At Samsung In Full-Page Print Earth Day Ad

Apple has a new full-page ad appearing in some print newspapers today (via 9to5Mac), and it celebrates the company’s environmental record while simultaneously digging slyly at Samsung, its longtime rival and current opponent in court. The ad features the phrase “There are some ideas we want every company to copy,” and has been spotted in The Metro and The Guardian to name just a few sources.

https://twitter.com/DavidMcClelland/status/458498117248512000/photo/1

Apple’s ad also includes copy that makes it clear Apple is talking about efforts like using 100% renewable energy sources to power its massive data centers, and its use of materials made without ingredients that include harmful toxins in building its devices. The ad is overlayed on top of an image of the solar farm that Appel built to power its data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

The crux of Apple’s court battle against Samsung over the past few years has essentially been that the Korean company copied all of its designs in building their own line of Galaxy smartphones and tablets. That’s also a common criticism echoed in the media and among consumers. This year, Apple has made a special point of highlighting its environmental record and new initiatives as part of today’s Earth Day celebrations, with a new website and video featuring CEO Tim Cook.

Tiles Is An Easy-To-Use 3D Design Program That Lets You Print Your Own Objects

Tiles by Cadigo is a 3D modeling program for kids that lets the wee tykes drop blocks, walls, and pixels into an environment and then output the object for 3D printing. Designed to be dead simple, you basically create a shape in 2D and then “extrude” it into 3D, adding features as you build.

The software costs $25 for an early “Founders” edition with free updates, larger canvas and more block options. Less expensive versions reduce the size and shape of the objects you can create. The company is looking to raise $30,000 and will make the software available on PC, Mac, and Linux and iOS and Android if they reach their stretch goals.

To create objects you simply place LEGO-style bricks in virtual space. Once you’ve built your model you can export to an STL file for printing on a Makerbot or similar printer. Aimed at the very young, Tiles offers a number of building styles including additive building by dropping blocks and “chip-way” that lets you remove material from a larger block. Unlike tools like Printcraft, which translate game worlds into STL files, this is a true CAD tool, albeit one with considerably reduced complexity.

Tiles was created by Cadigo, a 3D model marketplace, and is the company’s first software offering. They also allow users to upload objects to their library so you can share your blocky creations with the world. Like TinkerCAD, Tiles lets the extremely inexperienced try their hand at 3D modeling and, once they get good, to graduate into more complex tools. If there is one thing holding back the average 3D hobbyist its an understanding of 3D design and Tiles is doing its best to remedy that.

via 3Ders