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Defense Distributed spokesman Cody Wilson tells the UK’s Guardian that his company has the “logistics, time, resources and money” to start freely distributing blueprints that will let any hobbyist with a 3-D home printer make their own gun, and now it’s just up to Uncle Sam to sign off on a federal firearms license. Wilson doesn’t think there will be any problem, though, and says his company plans to be approved and begin building prototypes in the coming weeks. “We're just waiting on a little piece of paper,” Wilson says, which could be all the federal government needs to give...

It has long been possible to make a gun at home. But what happens when it no longer takes knowledge and skill to build one? It won't be long before a felon, unable to buy a gun legally, can print one at home. Teenagers could make them in their bedroom while their parents think they are "playing on their computer." I'm talking about a fully functional gun, where the schematic is downloaded free from the Internet and built on a 3-D printer, all with the click of a button. Hit print, walk away, and a few hours later, you have...

I’ve used my Stratasys to prototype out various ideas for paintball gun parts, but the concept of using it for actual firearm parts hadn’t really occurred to me until early last year. I first thought of making some dummy 12 gauge shells to test out the action on a Remington 870, and then thought of using it to test out 1911 pistol grip panel ideas. Gun manufacturers have been using rapid prototyping for years, and the concept is now making its way to the hobbyist gunsmith. To the best of my knowledge, this has been restricted to mockups (Justin Halford...

British researchers say they've developed a laser process that can "uncopy" toner ink from paper as an alternative to traditional recycling. Scientists at the University of Cambridge say the process involves short laser pulses to erase words and images by heating the printed material to the point that it vaporizes. The technique works with commonly used papers and toner inks and is more eco-friendly than recycling, they said. "When you fire the laser, it hits the thin toner layer and heats it up until the point that you vaporize it," researcher David Leal-Ayala told the BBC. "Toner is mostly composed...

Exciting times, friends. While we’ve been cleaning up the proverbial ticker tape left behind by jubilant celebration over the recently-stalled antipiracy bills, the Pirate Bay – arguably the premier resource for pirating digital content – has already moved on to the next big thing. The site has announced a new category called “Physibles” that houses digital files that can be downloaded and used in conjunction with 3D printers to print out actual, physical objects: We believe that the next step in copying will be made from digital form into physical form. It will be physical objects. Or as we decided...

FR, I recently converted my computer to 32-bit Windows 7 from XP. When I installed my HP 3052 print/scanner/fax it was able to print but I lost the fax and scan capabilities. No, the driver for Windows Vista won't work. The HP 'Universal' driver just supports printing. I was wondering if anyone had the same problem and if there was some way to make this work like maybe with a substitute driver? Thank you for your help!

I'm trying to help a person install an HP All-In-One Printer/Scanner on their desktop, which is running Windows 7. The HP software worked just fine for his laptop, which is running XP (he can both print and scan using the machine which has XP). He said he downloaded all the necessary and applicable drivers (latest and greatest versions) from hp.com, and while the printer works, the scanner does not. When attempting to scan, the error is something along the lines of "Cannot communicate with scanner." Anyone have similar troubles and might be able to offer some words of wisdom? The...

Scientists at Cornell are creating a 3D food printer. Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab's project will one day allow you to tweet what you're in the mood for and it will be printed up and ready to eat. The "3D food printer" uses syringes filled with "raw food ink." You place the inks in the top of the printer, load a recipe and the machine will cook it up then print it out. Simple changes in the recipe will allow for the same food to be cooked in different ways, such as softer cookies. The only inks that have been...

A little old lady who uses her computer to write letters asked me.

I have an HP Laserjet4P printer that I connect to my Dell Vostro 1320 laptop via a parallel-to-USB cable. If I plug this cable into three of my four USB ports, I cannot print. I see, in my printer queue, the document, plus the remark "use printer offline." Only when I plug into the fourth USB port do I succeed in printing. When I do so, the "use printer offline" message disappears, the printer light blinks and prints and the queue entry disappears. What is going on? Thanks.

I have two printers, an HP Laserjet m13191MFP and an HP 1020. I now have three wireless laptops. We would all like to print to our printers and I understand that there is a way to make this happen. It is possible: that is what the nice man at STAPLES told me. But STAPLES does not carry the equipment. I thought I could find it online. He told me it was called a "wireless print server." I am not sure that what I am looking at would work. I cannot tell where they would go on the printer. Has anyone...

I hope this won't get me in trouble, and I'm not sure I put this in the right place, but I know that Freepers are the smartest people on earth and I am in need of tech help. I have a HP B8350 printer that suddenly is telling me there is a problem with the cartridges. Initially it said the tri-color cartridge had a problem and suggested I take it out and put it back in and/or replace it. I did both of those things, and it still will not print (just continues to give me an error window when...

Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer - and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of "Alias," right? Unfortunately, the scenario isn't fictional. In a purported effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page with identifying information. That means that without your knowledge or consent, an act you assume is private could become public. A communication tool you're using in everyday life could become a tool for...

Of all the extras that can be bought to make more of a PC, the humble printer is probably the most popular. But that humility might conceal a house guest that costs much more to run than most people realise. While the device may be very cheap to buy initially, especially if bought at the same time as its companion PC, the running costs can, and do, mount up. Particularly if a printer is used to produce a lot of high-quality colour copies. It is well known that printer ink costs more per millilitre than the finest champagne. And it...

This an unrestricted tout of an "incredible" printer. It's a Brother HL-2140 monochrome-only, but there are a few other brands like this. Monochrome only, laser printer, the cartridges are REALLY cheap, and they have significant life. The cart that comes with the printer is good for 1000 pages. The replacement ones are 1500 pages. Tired of having to refill or rebuy ink-jet printer cartridges, especially since 98% of my printing is just monochrome anyway. This little dude was SIXTY BUCKS at Fry's, including the cartridge. It's USB-only (no parallel input) That may have SOME impact on one's ability (in Windows)...

Tomorrow I'm going shopping for a new printer for our home. Here is what I would like: Definitely LaserJet not Inkjet Preferably with network and/or WIFI Preferably with scanner I don't care about fax capability I don't care about duplex capability I don't care about copier capability I would like color but I'm trying to stay under $200. I want it to last for a long time; be very reliable, and not drain my wallet by having to feed it cartridges all of the time. I'm sort of tempted to go with a better quality monochrome laser printer and buy...

If you've ever wished you could print photos directly from your cell phone, a new mobile photo printer from Polaroid is coming that can do just that. Perhaps even more intriguing is the technology the printer uses: it´s inkless. Designed by ZINK ("Zero-Ink") Imaging, the ZINK printer concept doesn´t require ink cartridges or even dye rolls. Instead, it incorporates dye crystals inside the specially patented ZINK paper, secured underneath a glossy protective layer. When heat from the printer is applied to the cyan, yellow, and magenta crystals in the paper, the appropriate crystals are "melted" to release color. While ZINK...

Your Printer May Be Hazardous To Your Health Jul 31, 2007 I've long heard rumors that the fine particulate dust used in laser printer toner cartridges may be a health risk. It certainly makes sense: Not all of that stuff can stick to the paper, and if you've ever spilled toner you know there's no way it can be good for your lungs. Now a controlled study is confirming the information, saying that 30 percent of all laser printers tested emit dangerous particles described as "causing lasting damage on the scale of inhaled cigarette smoke." These tiny particles lodge deep...

I have a network that uses a Belkin router. One desktop computer is connected via ethernet cable to the router, and also has a Canon MP500 printer connected to the computer via USB. This desktop computer has been set up to allow sharing of the MP500. A second computer, a Toshiba laptop, has been able to print to the Canon via the shared connection. Now, however, it cannot print. When I try to print a Word document, I get the message "Windows cannot print due a problem with the current printer setup." When I go to the printers page of...

You guys are usually right, so here's a question: