liberation

Why fear of 3D-printed guns is overblown

Despite politicians lining up to regulate 3D printed guns, and a new directive from the U.S. State Department arguing that disseminating 3D files for such weapons may violate weapons export rules, some think that it may all be much ado about nothing.

On Thursday, Forbes reported, the State Department demanded that Defense Distributed, a nonprofit dedicated to creating 3D printed guns, take down a set of files that theoretically enable anyone to print their own firearm.

"The government says it wants to review the files for compliance with arms export control laws known as the International Traffic in … Read more

3D-printed guns could be outlawed in California

With gun control battles raging among federal and state legislators, it was inevitable that the issue of 3D-printed handguns would come up, especially with such a gun now available.

California Senator Leland Yee announced Tuesday his plan to propose a law that would ban the technology used to create 3D-printed guns.

"While I am as impressed as anyone with 3-D printing technology and I believe it has amazing possibilities, we must ensure that it is not used for the wrong purpose with potentially deadly consequences," Yee said in a statement. "I plan to introduce legislation that will … Read more

3D-printed 'Liberator' gun fires first successful shot

A Texas man has become the first person to successfully fire a real bullet from a gun created on a home 3D printer. Sound crazy? In fact, the blueprint for the pistol is available for free online for anyone to access. And it's legal.

University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, 25, released a video of a 3D-printed gun named the "Liberator" taking test shots over the weekend. The gun is mostly made of plastic, with the exception of two metal pieces: a metal firing pin and a 6-ounce piece of steel that's required by law under the Undetectable Firearms Act. Of course, the piece of steel that makes the weapon visible to metal detectors, and legal, can certainly be omitted by future hobbyists.

Wilson invited Forbes reporter Andy Greenberg to witness the trial. Greenberg reports that 15 of the gun's 16 pieces were printed by a Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer -- the metal firing pin is the 16th piece. … Read more

AT&T sells Samsung Express, touch-screen hot spot Nov. 16

On November 16, AT&T will begin selling two new devices. The MiFi Liberate stands out as the first hot spot with a touch screen. The device, which is designed by Novatel Wireless, can connect up to 10 devices and will sell for $49.99 with a new two-year service agreement. It qualifies, of course, for AT&T's shared data plan.

AT&T will also stock shelves with the Samsung Galaxy Express, a $99.99 midrange 4G LTE smartphone. It sports Android 4.0, a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, and a 1.5GHz dual-core … Read more

AT&T's MiFi Liberate LTE is first touch-screen hot spot

What would you say to an LTE hot spot that connects up to 10 Wi-Fi devices and comes with a 2.8-inch touch screen?

The MiFi Liberate, made by Novatel Wireless, uses the screen to offer easy access to management menus directly from the device. Icons that smartphone and feature phone users are accustomed to pressing lead you to data usage, connection details, and settings.

The Liberate will offer 11 hours of continuous use on its battery, AT&T says, and comes compatible with networks in more than 200 countries. We don't have any pricing and availability just … Read more

LiberKey is portable software central

We're big fans of portable freeware. These tiny tools perform a huge range of tasks, and often they're the only option to do the job. But many times you'll find lots of tools available for the asking; keeping track of them all gets to be a problem. That's where LiberKey can help. This free application serves as a central access point for a whole bunch of free tools. It downloads them for you, arranges and groups them so you can find what you need when you need it, and launches them. It tracks your favorites and … Read more

Sony lets games do the talking during press conference

LOS ANGELES--At the company's E3 2012 press conference, Sony let a collection of exclusive software and features do all the talking. Spread across the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms, there was certainly an impressive display of thrilling -- and most importantly exclusive games that are only available on Sony's machines.

Getting things started was David Cage, the head of developer Quantic Dream, the house behind the PS3 story-driven success, Heavy Rain. Cage announced Beyond: Two Souls, the next title in the genre-redefining resume of games his studio has produced. Adding some star power to Beyond is actress Ellen Page, who plays the lead character in the new title. … Read more

Official Chinese military app requires jailbroken iPhone

The Chinese government has released an official app for people (both domestic and oversees) to keep tabs on what the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is up to. There's just one catch: you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it.

One of the few apps to come from a major group to not go through Apple's App Store (the U.S. Army has its own app available in the App Store), the PLA app requires its users to jailbreak their iPhones before they can download the app.

The report, from ismashphone.com, says that growth in … Read more

Google wields data openness against Facebook

Google is accelerating efforts to make its new social network look like a more open and attractive alternative to Facebook.

The latest: Google will allow users to export a list of Web sites that they've recommended through the "+1" button.

While only a modest change, it highlights how Google is trying to use openness--the ability to extract your data from its servers with the click of a button--to differentiate itself from its far larger and more established rival.

"When your users can leave you you're going to work as hard as you can to keep … Read more