This Is The World's First 3D Printed Laptop | ||
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If were wondering what useful object you could actually print with that much-hyped 3D printer you bought, or just fancy making your own laptop computer but are not sure where to start, the Pi-Top is an exciting proposition. Everything you need to build your 3D-printable laptop, bar the printer itself, comes in a pack currently on sale for $286.
The Pi-Top has all the functions of a normal laptop, but its inventors hope it will be used to teach children to become more computer literate by learning how to dismantle and reassemble it. The laptop, which officially launches in May, is available to buy on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, which enables thousands of people to pledge seed capital to a new idea rather than relying on a loan.
Here's what the Pi-Top package on Indiegogo comes with:1) Injection molded case 2) 3D printer STL files compatible for most print bed sizes (5" x 5" bed size and up) 3) PCBs - Power Management, HDMI to LVDS Bridge and Keyboard & Trackpad Controller. 4) Electronics breadboard 5) Battery 6) Keyboard 7) Trackpad 8) 13.3”HD LCD Screen 9) Wifi adapter 9) Acrylic slice 10) Wiring 11) DC wall plug 12) Build instructions 13) Online & integrated lesson plans The idea with Pi-Top is to teach users how to build their own devices with Raspberry Pi, not just laptops but home automation devices, robots, and other hardware. To do that, the Pi-Top has its own gamified learning environment to teach users step-by-step how to build. Here's one of Pi-Top's founders talking about the device:
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The Pi-Top pack includes a customizable template for the 3D printer, so you can print your laptop in any colour or even have your name embossed on the shell. It also contains a screen and a “Raspberry Pi” – a desktop tower the size of a credit card – that need to be slotted into the shell to form the final laptop.
This Is The World's First 3D Printed Laptop | ||
| | ||
If were wondering what useful object you could actually print with that much-hyped 3D printer you bought, or just fancy making your own laptop computer but are not sure where to start, the Pi-Top is an exciting proposition. Everything you need to build your 3D-printable laptop, bar the printer itself, comes in a pack currently on sale for $286.
The Pi-Top has all the functions of a normal laptop, but its inventors hope it will be used to teach children to become more computer literate by learning how to dismantle and reassemble it. The laptop, which officially launches in May, is available to buy on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, which enables thousands of people to pledge seed capital to a new idea rather than relying on a loan.
Here's what the Pi-Top package on Indiegogo comes with:1) Injection molded case 2) 3D printer STL files compatible for most print bed sizes (5" x 5" bed size and up) 3) PCBs - Power Management, HDMI to LVDS Bridge and Keyboard & Trackpad Controller. 4) Electronics breadboard 5) Battery 6) Keyboard 7) Trackpad 8) 13.3”HD LCD Screen 9) Wifi adapter 9) Acrylic slice 10) Wiring 11) DC wall plug 12) Build instructions 13) Online & integrated lesson plans The idea with Pi-Top is to teach users how to build their own devices with Raspberry Pi, not just laptops but home automation devices, robots, and other hardware. To do that, the Pi-Top has its own gamified learning environment to teach users step-by-step how to build. Here's one of Pi-Top's founders talking about the device:
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Rouble Is On A Tear After The Russian Central Bank Announces Major Policy Shift | ||
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The rouble is on a tear on Monday after the Russian central bank announced that it was abandoning its attempts to prop up the currency and allowing it to free float. In early trading Russia's currency rose by over 3% touching 45 roubles to the dollar, unwinding a large chunk of last week's heavy falls.
The rally comes as the central bank released a surprise announcement that it would no longer target a set limit for the roubles value. However, it restated its commitment to intervening in currency markets if movements in the roubles value threatened financial stability. Effective from 10 November 2014, the Bank of Russia abolished the exchange rate policy mechanism through cancelling the permissible range of the dual-currency basket ruble values (operational band) and regular interventions on and outside the borders of this band. However, the new approach of the Bank of Russia to operations in the domestic market does not provide for complete abandonment of foreign exchange interventions, which can be implemented in case of financial stability threats. The timing of the announcement could not have been better for the central bank with the major factor driving the collapse in value of the rouble over recent months — falling crude oil prices — reversing its trend. Both WTI and Brent crude were up by over 1% on Monday on fears of rising political tension in Ukraine and instability in Libya posing a risk to supply, according to the Wall Street Journal. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Rouble Is On A Tear After The Russian Central Bank Announces Major Policy Shift | ||
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The rouble is on a tear on Monday after the Russian central bank announced that it was abandoning its attempts to prop up the currency and allowing it to free float. In early trading Russia's currency rose by over 3% touching 45 roubles to the dollar, unwinding a large chunk of last week's heavy falls.
The rally comes as the central bank released a surprise announcement that it would no longer target a set limit for the roubles value. However, it restated its commitment to intervening in currency markets if movements in the roubles value threatened financial stability. Effective from 10 November 2014, the Bank of Russia abolished the exchange rate policy mechanism through cancelling the permissible range of the dual-currency basket rouble values (operational band) and regular interventions on and outside the borders of this band. However, the new approach of the Bank of Russia to operations in the domestic market does not provide for complete abandonment of foreign exchange interventions, which can be implemented in case of financial stability threats. The timing of the announcement could not have been better for the central bank with the major factor driving the collapse in value of the rouble over recent months — falling crude oil prices — reversing its recent trend. Both WTI and Brent crude were up by over 1% on Monday on fears of rising political tension in Ukraine and instability in Libya posing a risk to supply, according to the Wall Street Journal. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Tony Blair Allegedly Earned Thousands In Secret Contracts With A Saudi Oil Company | ||
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Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair allegedly earned £41,000 a month after signing a contract with a Saudi oil company, The Sunday Times reports. Blair brokered multi-million pound deals for PetroSaudi with senior Chinese officials through his company Tony Blair Associates, according to The Sunday Times. His lucrative dealings, discovered in a leaked 21-page document, are said to have been agreed in November 2010 in Beijing and also came with a 2% commission on transactions. PetroSaudi is registered in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven, and apparently avoids 85% of oil and gas company taxes. Blair's role as a peace envoy in the Middle East, after sending British troops to Iraq in 2003, is now under further scrutiny. This is believed to be the first time a contract negotiated by Blair has been revealed; there are notes the work lasted just a few months. The Sunday Times explains a source informed the paper that Blair "has got deep ties to the Middle East" and spoke of a "confidential engagement to help develop business in China." A spokesperson for Blair responded: "Tony Blair Associates worked for PetroSaudi for a period of months over four years ago." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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'Putin's Revenge': Russia And China Try To End The Dominance Of The Dollar | ||
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Russia and China just agreed to a second major gas deal, worth slightly less than the $400 billion agreement reached earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. The details of the deal mean Russia will supply China with another 30 billion cubic metres of gas every year for the next three decades through the Altai pipeline, a proposed pipe transporting the gas from western Siberia to China. Earlier in the fall, Keun-Wook Paik at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies said this kind of deal would be "Putin’s revenge," according to the Financial Times. Many analysts see the move as evidence that Moscow is pivoting away from reliance on European customers and toward East Asia, where relatively rapid economic growth should prop up demand. It's also a political move, as relations with the rest of Europe have become increasingly cold after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the tit-for-tat sanctions between the European Union, United States, and Russia. The value of the Russian rouble has collapsed recently as the price of oil has declined. Russia's economy is dependent on oil, so the currency fluctuates with the oil price. The price declines in turn threaten Russia's ability to meet its budget obligations and pay debt. In sum, the country faces an economic crisis if it can't find new demand for oil and currency. But the ruble is rallying against the dollar today: here's the US currency dropping by about 3% against the ruble after the central bank announced it would stop trying to defend the currency's collapse.
The China deal helps both Russia and China lessen their economic dependence on the West. It also helps Russia get around the economic sanctions imposed by the West because of the Ukraine situation. The Moscow Times notes: Curtailing the dollar's influence fits well with China's ambitions to increase the influence of the yuan and eventually turn it into a global reserve currency. With 32 percent of its $4 trillion foreign exchange reserves invested in US government debt, China wants to curb investment risks in dollar. The quest to limit the dollar's dominance became more urgent for Moscow this year when US and European governments imposed sanctions on Russia over its support for separatist rebels in Ukraine. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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