Month: November 2021

This 3D printer ink is alive

Programmable ink made from E. coli can “regulate its own cell growth.”

This 3D printer ink is alive

Enlarge (credit: A. Duraj-Thatte, A. Manjula-Basvanna et. al./Nature)

3D printing has already been put to use in many interesting applications, from large-scale homebuilding to robot hands that are good at Super Mario Bros.—and even creepy materials that can shape-shift into a human face. But researchers Anna M. Duraj-Thatte and Avinash Manjula-Basavanna have something more lively in mind. A new type of 3D printer ink with self-assembling properties may play a role in the future of renewable building materials and even ink that grows itself.

Researchers from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, among others, reported their findings in a paper published Tuesday in Nature Communications. As reported by Phys.org on Saturday, the paper details ink made of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells bioengineered to make nanofibers.

Despite 3D printing's advances, creating arbitrary shapes and patterns is still challenging, the paper explains. So the researchers set out to create what they call "microbial ink" made "entirely from genetically engineered microbial cells, programmed to perform a bottom-up, hierarchical self-assembly of protein monomers into nanofibers, and further into nanofiber networks that comprise extrudable hydrogels."

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Jack Dorsey resigns as CEO of Twitter

Parag Agrawal, who had been chief technical officer, named as new CEO.

Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), on November 12, 2018, in New Delhi, India.

Enlarge / Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), on November 12, 2018, in New Delhi, India. (credit: Amal KS | Hindustan Times | Getty Images)

Jack Dorsey announced today that he’s stepping down as CEO of Twitter, the social network he helped found in 2006. The change is effective immediately.

Dorsey did not say what spurred the sudden move, though in his resignation letter, which he also shared on Twitter, he said, “There has been a lot of talk about the importance of a company being ‘founder-led.’ Ultimately, I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of failure. I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders.”

Parag Agrawal, the company’s chief technical officer, has been named the new CEO. “The board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag," Dorsey wrote. "He’s been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs.”

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Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding)

The Nintendo Switch is a wildly successful game console that straddles the line between portable gaming device with a 6.2 inch display and a living room console with support for video out to a TV. But the UpSwitch ORION is an accessory that takes things in a slightly different direction by effectively turning the Switch […]

The post Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

The Nintendo Switch is a wildly successful game console that straddles the line between portable gaming device with a 6.2 inch display and a living room console with support for video out to a TV.

But the UpSwitch ORION is an accessory that takes things in a slightly different direction by effectively turning the Switch into a handheld game console with an 11.6 inch display.

Here’s the idea: the ORION is basically a Nintendo Switch dock that has a built-in 11.6 inch display, stereo speakers, and an optional battery pack. You stuff your entire Switch inside the dock, slide your Joy-con controllers into the sides, and you basically have a gigantic Switch with a screen the size of a small laptop.

Theoretically you could carry around a portable monitor if you just want to plug your Switch into a larger screen for gaming on the go. But that kind of setup is designed for stationary gaming: you have to put the monitor on a table or some other flat surface while using your Switch as it if were a remote control.

The ORION dock takes the idea of a portable monitor further by making the whole thing portable.

You can also charge your Switch while it’s connected to the ORION, either by plugging in a USB-C charger or by connecting a power bank to the dock.

While the ORION is designed for the Switch, since it is basically a portable monitor, you can also flip out a kickstand and use it with any other device that supports HDMI output including PCs, phones or game consoles.

UpSwitch is running an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the ORION, with reward levels starting at $249 for just the dock, although you can pay a bit extra for a battery pack, T-shirt, and discount codes for use on future products from the company.

via Gizmodo

The post Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding)

The Nintendo Switch is a wildly successful game console that straddles the line between portable gaming device with a 6.2 inch display and a living room console with support for video out to a TV. But the UpSwitch ORION is an accessory that takes things in a slightly different direction by effectively turning the Switch […]

The post Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

The Nintendo Switch is a wildly successful game console that straddles the line between portable gaming device with a 6.2 inch display and a living room console with support for video out to a TV.

But the UpSwitch ORION is an accessory that takes things in a slightly different direction by effectively turning the Switch into a handheld game console with an 11.6 inch display.

Here’s the idea: the ORION is basically a Nintendo Switch dock that has a built-in 11.6 inch display, stereo speakers, and an optional battery pack. You stuff your entire Switch inside the dock, slide your Joy-con controllers into the sides, and you basically have a gigantic Switch with a screen the size of a small laptop.

Theoretically you could carry around a portable monitor if you just want to plug your Switch into a larger screen for gaming on the go. But that kind of setup is designed for stationary gaming: you have to put the monitor on a table or some other flat surface while using your Switch as it if were a remote control.

The ORION dock takes the idea of a portable monitor further by making the whole thing portable.

You can also charge your Switch while it’s connected to the ORION, either by plugging in a USB-C charger or by connecting a power bank to the dock.

While the ORION is designed for the Switch, since it is basically a portable monitor, you can also flip out a kickstand and use it with any other device that supports HDMI output including PCs, phones or game consoles.

UpSwitch is running an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the ORION, with reward levels starting at $249 for just the dock, although you can pay a bit extra for a battery pack, T-shirt, and discount codes for use on future products from the company.

via Gizmodo

The post Give a Nintendo Switch an 11.6 inch screen by sticking it in this mobile dock (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

AYN Odin shipments delayed until January (handheld Android game console)

The AYN Odin is a handheld game system that generated a lot of buzz when it was announced earlier this year due to a combination of nearly flagship-class specs and an affordable price starting at around $200. But folks waiting to get their hands on one might have to wait a little longer. Originally expected to […]

The post AYN Odin shipments delayed until January (handheld Android game console) appeared first on Liliputing.

The AYN Odin is a handheld game system that generated a lot of buzz when it was announced earlier this year due to a combination of nearly flagship-class specs and an affordable price starting at around $200. But folks waiting to get their hands on one might have to wait a little longer.

Originally expected to ship to backers of a crowdfunding campaign this month, the makers of the AYN Odin have announced that shipments have been delayed until January, 2022.

According to an update posted to Indiegogo earlier this month, the company won’t begin mass production of the heat sink or assembly of the mold until December. The company is also changing a key component of the AYN Odin Lite (the entry-level model with a different processor than higher-end versions) to ensure that you can connect the handheld game system to an external display with an HDMI cable without the need to reboot the Odin.

There are also some firmware issues to troubleshoot for the Odin itself and the optional Super Dock docking station.

At a time when global supply chain shortages are causing delays for all sorts of products, a two month delay doesn’t sound that bad… but of course there’s still time for that estimated ship date to slip again, so I wouldn’t count any chickens just yet.

The AYN Odin features a 6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel touchscreen display, built-in game controllers, stereo speakers, mini HDMI and 3.5mm audio ports, support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type-C ports.

The AYN Odin Lite has a starting price of $199 during crowdfunding (and the ongoing Indiegogo InDemand campaign) and features a MediaTek Dimensity D900 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 5,000 mAh battery, and Android 11 software.

The AYN Odin Base has similar memory, battery, and storage specs, but features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and Android 10 software. It’s priced at $240 during crowdfunding/pre-orders.

And the top-of-the-line AYN Odin Pro has a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RMA, 128GB of storage, a 6,000 mAh battery, and a $289 pre-order price.

Odin Base Odin Pro Odin Lite
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 MediaTek Dimensity D900
RAM 4GB LPDDR4x 8GB LPDDR4x 4GB LPDDR4x
Storage 64GB UFS 2.1 128GB UFS 2.1 64GB UFS 2.1
Battery 5,000 mAh 6,000 mAh 5,000 mAh
USB  USB 3.1 Type-C USB 3.1 Type-C USB 3.0 Type-C
OS Android 10 Android 10 Android 11
Ships November, 2021 November, 2021 December, 2021
Price $209 (Super Early Bird)
$240 (InDemand)
$268 (retail)		 $265 (Super Early Bird)
$289 (InDemand)
$323 (retail)		 $175 (Super Early Bird)
$199 (InDemand)
$236 (retail)

The post AYN Odin shipments delayed until January (handheld Android game console) appeared first on Liliputing.