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110 | MAXIMUMPC | HOLIDAY 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com

Giving Credit

Where It’s Due

I’m responding to the Design

Your Own Papercraft tip in

your “35 Amazing Things”

article (November 08). The

tip is accompanied by a

photo of two papercraft

characters—Tim and The

Creature from the game

Braid—the models for

which are available on my

website, http://www.cubeecraft.

com. The majority of the

article is about creating

your own paper models

using Google Sketchup. My

models are created solely in

Adobe Photoshop, and all

the graphics are done “by

hand” within the program.

Cubeecraft visitors can

even download a free

template to create their

own models (and I regu-

larly post guest artist

submissions).

I have not used Google

Sketchup, but I have tried

Pepakura, and as your

article suggests, I’ve found

that more often than not

the results are overly

complicated. Cubeecraft

was designed for ease,

and therefore, the models

use mostly straight cuts,

fit on a standard piece of

printer paper, and (most

importantly) do not require

glue or any other adhesives

to assemble.

It just seems silly that

you would write about an

overly complicated way of

creating your own papercraft

and then show an example

of what I feel is one of the

“easiest” methods, a way not

at all associated with what

the article was about.

—Christopher Beaumont

Online Editor Norman Chan

Responds: Christopher is right

about the photo we used—it’s

based on a papercraft model he

designed using Photoshop (see

his site for more great models).

We actually came across it at a

game launch party. While his

“by hand” method certainly

produces some great-looking

creations, not everyone has the

spatial-visualization skills to

conceptualize and manually

draw out a papercraft design.

We recommended the Pepakura

app because it automatically

generates all of a design’s cut

and fold lines without giving

you a headache. It’s by no means

the only way to make your own

papercraft; it’s simply an elegant

solution for beginners.

Missing Money No More

After reading the “35 Amazing

Things” feature in the

November issue, I decided

to check out MissingMoney.

com as suggested in the Claim

Money That’s Rightfully

Yours tip. Much to my sur-

prise, I found that I had $550

waiting for me in Colorado.

The money was in an escrow

account from a home I sold

more than seven years ago. I

filled out the online form on

the Colorado Department of

the Treasury website and once

the state of Colorado finishes

the verification process they

will send me a check for the

full amount. Thanks guys,

now I can afford to renew my

Maximum PC subscription.

—Joseph Jamison

SSDs Have Fewer

Writes

I was excited to see an SSD

roundup in your magazine

(November 2008), but you

didn’t address an issue with

We’ve seen some cool examples of visual computing, but nothing quite compares

to the California Academy of Science’s Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco—

the most technologically advanced planetarium in the world. We went behind the

scenes at this incredible facility to uncover what hardware makes the stars come

to life. Find out more at http://tinyurl.com/planetarium-tech.

NOW ONLINE

Stellar Technology

We tackle tough reader questions on...

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