3D Printing Under $2000 by 2016?

The potential of  3D printing is, for the time being, very limited. This is mostly because of the cost of the printer and the materials. New research, put out by the noted firm Gartner is showing that trend may be changing in the near future. They have made the prediction that the technology is going to drop down to about $2,000, a price that some consumers could make work, by the year 2016. 

Tech Deals of the Day: 4/4/2013

Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.

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3Doodler Project Raised over $2.3 Million, Let the 3Doodling Commence!

One of the coolest projects I’ve ever seen turn up on Kickstarter was the 3Doodler, which always reminded me of the mix between a 3-D printer and hot glue gun. The device is a pen that heats up strips of plastic allowing the user to draw three-dimensional shapes in the air.

3doodler worlds first 3d printing pen by wobbleworks

The last time I talked about the project, it had racked up $2,060,000 and still had 19 days to go. The Kickstarter campaign officially ended on March 25 and is now funded. In the end, the project raised $2,344,134, which is incredible considering the people behind the project were only out to raise $30,000. That means they achieved an astonishing 7,813% of their goal.

3doodler 2

The company is now taking additional pre-orders for the 3Doodler via their own website. However, if you pre-order the device now, you won’t get yours until after all Kickstarter orders have been delivered. Even on Kickstarter, some people late to the project have to wait until February 2014 to get their device, so if you order one now, you’ll be waiting almost a year to receive yours.

Google Creates Blink Web Engine

Google ChromeA new web engine is now be used for Google Chrome. What does this mean for users, developers, and web based innovation? Is this good news or bad news as the web grows up?

Lomography Announces LomoScanner App For iPhone

LomoScanner App for iPhoneThe first version of the free LomoScanner App is now available for download in the iTunes App Store. Designed to be used with the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner, the LomoScanner App allows you to scan 35mm film with your smartphone.

Original Apple II Plus Bricked (in LEGO)

While the very first Apple computer actually came without a case of its own, the Apple II (and ][+) featured an iconic beige wedge case design that went on to define an era of personal computing. While I don’t really have room in my office to set up an old Apple, I might be able to squeeze in one made out of LEGO.

lego apple ii plus

This miniature Apple II Plus was created by Chiu-Kueng Tsang, and it’s really quite extraordinary. Not only does he nail the look of the classic computer with a minimal number of bricks, he’s even made a pair of tiny disk drives, a monitor and even the internals under the lid.

lego apple ii plus 2

Very impressive indeed. The funny thing is that using today’s technology, you could probably fit a working system that’s way more powerful than the original Apple II Plus inside of its case. I’ll get on that right away.

[via MAKE via Brothers Brick]

Grizzly Robot Utility Vehicle: Watch Out, BigDog

A company called Clearpath Robotics Inc. recently unveiled its bot of burden, the Grizzly. The four-wheeled robot can go faster and carry much more load than its most famous counterparts, Boston Dynamics’ BigDog and Alpha Dog. Plus the Grizzly looks a lot friendlier than those alien-like robo-dogs.

grizzly robot utility vehicle by clearpath robotics

The Grizzly can carry up to 1320lbs. of cargo, although I’m not sure if that limit includes the modules that can be installed onto it. The robot can trudge along at up to 12mph for as long as 12 hours, thanks to its 80hp electric motor and two 200Ah batteries. To help it take on difficult terrain, the Grizzly comes standard with 26″ wheels, a bull-bar and a front axle with 16º of articulation. It also a clearance of 8″ to reduce the chance of getting stuck.

Then again, it may not be fair to compare DARPA’s dogs with the Grizzly. After all those ones are still in the prototype stage. Also to their credit they’ll probably be able to conquer more types of terrain because of their legs. But if you need a pack robot now, the Grizzly might be up to the task.

[Clearpath Robotics via DudeIWantThat]

Ematic Genesis Prime 7-inch Tablet Runs Android for under $80

If you’ve never heard the name Ematic spoken in relation to Android tablets, don’t feel bad. The company isn’t exactly a household name, but it does produce some impressively cheap Android tablets. If you’re in the market for a low-budget Android tablet for yourself or a child, Ematic has just unveiled a new tablet that could be very compelling, called the Genesis Prime.

genesis tablets

It features a 7-inch multitouch display and runs the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. This is the first tablet from Ematic that is Google-certified, offering complete access to Google Play. Specs are nothing too thrilling with a 800×480 display, a 1.1 GHz processor, a 400MHz GPU and 512MB of RAM. It’s also got a low-res (.3MP) front-facing camera for chats and battery life is rated at just 4.5 hours, but what do you want for under 80 bucks?

ematic genesis tablets 2

Internal storage is 4 GB, expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD card, and the tablet includes 5 GB of cloud storage. The Ematic Genesis Prime is available for purchase right now for just $79.99(USD).

Tech Deals of the Day: 4/3/2013

Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.

If you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.

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Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid is Its First Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle

It sounds very strange to say Porsche and hybrid in the same sentence, but the company has been working on hybrid cars for a long tim. In fact, they’ve been offering a hybrid version of its four-door Panamera since last year, and also has the hybrid 918 Spyder supercar. Now, Porsche has announced that is getting ready to launch its first ever plug-in hybrid automobile with a new addition to its Panamera line.

Porsche Panamera S E Hybrid

The new Panamera S E-Hybrid should be significantly more fuel-efficient than the old hybrid version of the car and perform better as well. The E-Hybrid has 416 total horsepower and its new electric motor produces 95 hp on its own. The previous hybrid had a measly 47 hp electric motor.

The E-Hybrid also gets a significantly larger lithium-ion battery pack featuring 9.4 kWh of electricity compared to only 1.7 kWh of electricity in the outgoing hybrid. The car will also be able to drive for 20 miles on electricity alone – which isn’t stellar, but good for short hauls. When the gasoline engine is fired up the E-hybrid can reach 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of over 160 mph. As you might expect, the Panamera S E-Hybrid is an expensive car, with prices starting at $99,000 (USD).