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Great, now 3D-printed rifles can fire larger, deadlier rounds
In 2013, Defense Distributed created the world's first 3D-printed handgun, the .38-caliber Liberator. The following year, they unveiled an AR-15 receiver capable of firing hundreds of 5.56mm rounds without fail. This year, designers from FOSSCAD has raised the bar yet again. They've successfully crafted and test fired the receiver for a Colt CM109 modular battle rifle -- the AR-15's badass big brother. The CM109 is larger and heavier than the AR-15 as it is built to accommodate a larger caliber round: the 7.62 x 51mm NATO. The 7.62mm rounds fly farther and strike with much more force than the 5.56mm, making them far more deadly. It also means that the lower receiver (the bit that holds the firearm's moving parts) has to be both heavier and sturdier in order to handle the increased mechanical stresses and harder recoil associated with using a bigger bullet.
Facebook and Instagram step in with age limits on firearms ads, new rules for sellers
For most, Facebook's "Look Back" videos were a whimsical retrospective covering a decade of social networking. For Moms Demand Action, an advocacy group that supports gun control laws, the nostalgic campaign was a opportunity to be heard. The group published a parody Look Back video highlighting pages and posts that use the social network to set up gun sales between private parties, some of which violated Facebook's community standards. Now, Zuckerberg and Co. have responded, announcing a handful of new policies designed to help keep posts promoting the sale of regulated goods within the letter of the law.
The Inteliscope connects your iPhone to an actual firearm
We've talked before about how the iPhone can do a lot of things for you, but can it serve as a scope on a tactical rifle? That's the idea behind the Inteliscope, a new accessory that connects your iPhone to an actual tactical firearm. You just clip your iPhone 5 (or 4S or iPod touch) to the accessory, connect that to your rifle and you've got a heads-up scope that allows for custom crosshairs, video recording, a built-in compass and GPS, a timer and a few more handy functions. The idea is pretty ingenious -- it seems like using the iPhone's camera would offset the view, but maybe the accessory actually uses mirror to line up your shot. At any rate, the Inteliscope and its associated app will be available in June of this year, with each model costing US$69.99. You can pre-order the attachment right now.
Could your iPad case stop a bullet?
Our friends over at the newly remade Engadget get to have all the fun. In order to test a VestGuard UK iPad panel that purports to be bulletproof, they actually pulled out some bullets and guns. They snapped the case on a first-gen iPad, grabbed both a 9mm and a .357 Magnum, and got to shooting. Both firearms were fired at the case in a relatively straightforward way, with the iPad leaned up against some bales of hay, protective case facing the incoming bullet. So did it work? You can see both bullets fired in the picture above, and the case did work: Neither bullet, even at such close ranges, made it through the case. So the good news is that yes indeed, this case could save your life. The bad news, as you can also see above, is that your iPad is toast no matter what it's wearing. Apple's Gorilla Glass touchscreen might be awesome, but it will easily break during any "ballistic events," as VestGuard UK calls a bullet hit. The iPad case can be purchased for £49.99, or around $80, from the company. But as Engadget concludes, if you really want a significant amount of protection from any incoming projectiles, you'd probably be better off just wearing an actual vest.
Armatix pistol / wristwatch combo tells time... to stay put
Armatix has apparently been working on its so-called "smartgun" concept for quite a while, but it's now finally shown up at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT, naturally) with its first actual product: a .22-caliber pistol that relies on a wristwatch as a safety. As you can probably figure out, the gun will only unlock itself when its in close proximity to the watch, which sends a "wireless arming signal" that, of course, also activates some green LEDs for good measure. Previous incarnations of the company's concept also relied on a fingerprint ID as an additional safety, but that seems to have been left off this production model, which will run €7,000 (or $9,700) when it starts shipping next month.
IBM patents bullet dodging bionic armor
Your science fiction fantasy may be coming a reality, if IBM has anything to say about it. The company was recently granted a patent for bionic body armor, originally filed last March, that's intended to bestow the wearer the power to dodge bullets. The device works by constantly emitting electromagnetic waves that bounce off any fast-moving projectiles, and it uses the data to calculate risky trajectories. If the object in question is determined to be a threat, muscle stimulators activate and cause the wearer's body to contort in such way to avoid being hit. It works under the idea that a sniper typically fires from a distance, given the armor time to detect the oncoming bullet and react accordingly. Check out an image of from IBM's filing after the break. Here's hoping it can detect lasers, too.[Via The Firearm Blog; thanks, Chris!]
Exploding cellphone battery that killed Chinese man was actually a gun
While some of the details still seem to be up in the air at the moment, it looks like that exploding cellphone battery that killed a man shopping at a Lenovo store in mainland China a couple of weeks back was actually not a cellphone battery at all, but rather an actual firearm of some sort. According to some roughly translated reports from Sohu.com, the "imitation firearm with bullets" suddenly fell to the ground at one point, which caused the bullets to fire up into the man's chest and neck arteries, leading to massive blood loss. The Telegraph newspaper further adds that the gun, which they describe as a home-made pistol, also damaged the man's cellphone when it went off, leading to the initial suspicion that the battery may be to blame. So there you have it, folks, while cellphones may or may not kill people, guns (makeshift or otherwise) certainly do.Read - Sohu.comRead - Telegraph.co.uk
First Impressions: SAGA
SAGA (not to be confused with Saga, who gave us the immortal "On the Loose") is an MMORTS -- massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game. While there are few enough of these on the market -- making its very existence worthy of approbation -- we thought it would be worth taking a closer look, to offer up an opinion of our first couple of hours into gameplay. Thus, this First Impressions post.Remember: this is not a guide, nor was this in any way influenced by the development studio. This is an entirely subjective look at SAGA, from an average gamer's point of view. And now, on with the show! Game. Thing. Whatever. Onward!%Gallery-28014%
Man arrested at gunpoint for using MP3 player
Next time you're reaching down for that iPod or Zune (or anything else for that matter), take care that you don't alarm the authorities with any suspicious movements -- or you could end up like the UK's Darren Nixon. Apparently, the mild-mannered mechanic was on his way home from work when the Bobbies surrounded him and drew their guns, believing that the MP3 player in his pocket was a firearm. According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Nixon was tracked on CCTV, arrested at gunpoint, swabbed for DNA, fingerprinted, and thrown in a cell -- all for listening to a bootleg of Chinese Democracy on a 4GB Philips GoGear. Said Darren, "I was really shocked when I saw the guns. They were pointing them right at me. It was a pretty scary experience. I had no idea what was going on." After the team of Mentat cops realized their mistake, they couldn't even offer an apology, said Nixon, "They just dropped me off at home and said a quick 'sorry for any inconvenience', and that was all I got from them, which I thought was pretty out of order." Once again, a hot serving of sweet justice.[Via CrunchGear]
Password protect those bullets
We've been loosely following the biometric firearm scene for a couple years now, but this might well be the first time we've heard anything about password protection for your bullets. It's only a patent application as of right yet, but inventor Herbert Meyerle dreams of a day when guns have a system for firing rounds by means of a burst of electromagnetic energy, which could only be activated if a password entered into the handgun matches a password embedded in the cartridge of bullets. If that sounds a little roundabout, that's because it probably is; why fiddle with passwords -- which, once activated, wouldn't prevent your gun from being used against you before the password times out -- when biometric firearm verification makes so much more sense? As soon as you're not holding that gun, it just won't work. Or, you know, you can always hit up the swords to plowshares thing, whatever mode of gun safety does it for ya.[Via New Scientist]
