It was not that long ago that I remember hanging out in the RepRap IRC channel and Forums and chatting about this awesome new DIY 3D printer project so many of us were obsessed with. Of course, I'm talking about the original RepRap model "Darwin." One of the major questions was how do we create the printed parts needed to build it without having a printer on hand.

Everyone seemed to have their solution, including a man named Bre Pettis. He had found this Cartesian robot that could be built using simple iron pipe from hardware stores. Around the same time another man who went by the name Hoken joined the conversation and thus the McWire RepStrap was born. Those two guys that I spent so many hours chatting with in the IRC channel eventually went on to found Makerbot Industries, the company responsible for bringing 3-D printing to mainstream.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it was in the process of being acquired by 3-D printing giant Stratasys, and today they announced that the acquisition is completed. In the deal, Petis and the other shareholders of Makerbot will receive a total of 4.7 million shares of Stratasys stock in exchange for 100 percent of Makerbot's outstanding capital stock.

It's no secret that copyright and patent trolls are not the most ethical of creatures. In fact, many regard them as little more than the scum of the earth. Today, website Torrentfreak has released a report that shows just how immoral and unethical copyright trolls can be.

The report says that Comcast has confirmed that a Pirate Bay user going by the name "Sharkmp4" has been directly linked to the notorious copyright troll Prenda Law. In a weird turn of events, The Pirate Bay actually helped Comcast expose the copyright troll who is running a honeypot on the popular torrent listing service.

The exposure came after a June report released by Delvan Neville, who works for a company that monitors BitTorrent users, that accused Prenda of running the so-called honeypot. The report says that the law firm was the major seeder of the very files they claim to be protecting. The Pirate Bay jumped in and exposed the IP address that Sharkmp4 was using, which matched up with Prenda's IP address.

It has been 35 years since NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft blasted off from terra firma and headed into the final frontier. During this journey, the space probe has visited Saturn, Jupiter, and has even managed to leave our solar system. Well maybe it has left, or maybe it is still here. Not even NASA is sure whether or not Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space.

If you're a space buff like me, I know what you're thinking, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced last year that Voyager 1 has in fact left our solar system and is now streaking through interstellar space. Unfortunately, the original Voyager science team seems to think otherwise.

To toss even more confusion into the mix, both the University of Maryland as well as Boston University both agree that Voyager 1 actually reached interstellar space on July 27, 2012, and for the moment, NASA has agreed to simply disagree and released a statement saying that they simply have no idea where Voyager 1 actually it.

The introduction of newer, smaller flash geometries will require sophisticated error correction ability to maximize endurance of the NAND. As NAND matures, it almost seems counter-intuitive that we will lose endurance as NAND shrinks, but economics have a hand in the smaller NAND geometries. In order to provide a more economical and accessible product through shrinks, endurance suffers as a trade-off.

One of LSI's core competencies has always been strong ECC techniques, which originated with their extensive hard drive controller experience. The addition of these new LSI SHIELD error correction technologies shows a sign of some of the mutual benefits from the LSI/SandForce acquisition.

Enabling advanced Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) allows LSI SandForce to create a stable solution that will mesh well with not only lower endurance MLC and TLC, but will also wring extra endurance out of current generation NAND as well. This is accomplished through a variety of techniques, including an adaptive method of adjusting the level of ECC during the life of the SSD.

At the Flash Memory Summit 2013, LSI SandForce gave us a teaser of one of the new features that will be featured on the next generation of SandForce flash storage processors.

One of the most exciting new developments is the ability to reclaim some of the extra capacity provided from LSI SandForce's DuraWrite engine. With their compression engine, LSI SandForce's flash storage processors actually write less data down to the NAND than what was sent from the host. In current products this delivers excellent increases in both endurance and performance, with the controller effectively utilizing the extra space as bonus overprovisioning.

LSI SandForce has decided to hand some of that excess capacity back to the customer by allowing users to use this 'hidden' extra spare area on the SSD. The new DuraWrite Virtual Capacity (DVC) feature dynamically adjusts the amount of extra capacity available to the user determined by the amount of data compression.

For my first piece of the night, I have a juicy rumor concerning Sony's upcoming smartphone codenamed "Honami." The rumor comes from a user China-based social networking site, Weibo, who posted a presentation on Honami.

The presentation included a slide of the smartphone itself, stating it would be capable of shooting 4K videos. Sony's Honami smartphone could really put them in the spotlight, with rumors pegging the device to feature a 5-inch 1920x1080-pixel display, as well as the speedy and capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC.

There were also rumors that Honami would sport a 20.7-megapixel rear-facing camera, which would be more than capable of shooting Ultra HD video. The presentation also said that the Honami would support a 4000x2000 resolution, but 4K televisions have a resolution of 'just' 3840x2160.

Today, Rockstar Games released an all-new trailer of online gameplay footage from his upcoming title Grand Theft Auto V. With the official launch of the game growing closer, the company is doing all it can to generate as much hype as possible. Earlier this week, we saw Rockstar release a website parody of a municipality tourist site, and today the company released a three minute long trailer of gameplay footage.

I have never been more excited for a game to launch than I have for Grand Theft Auto V; the online feature appears to be everything we have hoped and dreamed it would be. The trailer alludes to a completely open world filled with hundreds of online players who can do everything from fly planes, drive cars, and even team up to form a band of thieves to rob a bank. Users can earn money by completing online missions and then use that money to buy weapons, vehicle upgrades, and even houses at which your friends can visit when they come online.

I have been hoping for months now that Rockstar would officially announce that Grand Theft Auto V would be released on PC, and after getting my hopes up earlier in the week, I have pretty much accepted the fact that I will be buying an Xbox 360 so I can play the game on launch day. Rockstar, if you're out there listening, please make the decision to put this game on the PC!

Today, Acer announced the release of three new ultra high-resolution monitors aimed at enhancing the quality of your computing experience. Of the three new monitors released, two of them are being dubbed as highly ergonomic, while the third is a Windows 8-compatible touchscreen. All three models feature IPS panel displays that offer 178 degrees of uninhibited viewing as well as 100,000,000 to 1 contrast ratio.

Up first is the 27-inch Acer T272HUL that boasts an impressive 2560x1440 pixel resolution, which is officially being given the term "extreme definition." This monitor is able to display 1.07 billion colors across its 10-point touchscreen. Featuring a silver asymmetrical stand and a clear plastic edge that extends always down to the desktop surface, this sleek, ultramodern monitor is the perfect choice for Windows 8 users looking for that ultra high definition experience.

Up next, we have the two more normal looking monitors, the B276HUL and the B296CL. The smaller 27-inch model features a 2560x1440 pixel resolution, while the much larger 29-inch screen features a smaller resolution of 2560x1080 pixels. Both models are capable of displaying 16.7 million colors and feature a base that allows the screen to rotate into portrait orientation. Both monitors feature DVI-D, Display Port, and two HDMI ports. Additionally, a four port USB 3.0 hub is present.

Something that will put a snake in Apple's boot would be for Google to launch its Nexus 5 smartphone, and price it like the Nexus 4. Well, it looks like Google may just do that according to some news from MyDrivers.

The Chinese publication reports that the Nexus 5 will arrive at the same price as its predecessor, at just $299. In order to get the price down that low, Google will have to make some compromises. First, we should expect the internals to include Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 SoC, 2GB of RAM, and a 10-megapixel rear-facing camera.

We should expect a 5-inch (or so) 1920x1080-pixel display, and Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie." When compared to the LG G2, it won't be as powerful, as LG's G2 features a 5.2-inch Full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization.

Google has really been stepping up their game when it comes to what they capture using their Street View cameras. With recent treks to the top of Mount Fuji, the tallest building in the world, and even the Eiffel tower, the company has taken thousands of photos that were never used or were shots of behind-the-scenes activities.

Instead of letting these images go to waste, Google has put together a behind-the-scenes site that offers a plethora of extra information about the shoots which include photos, videos, audio tours and actual accounts of how the imagery was gathered by those who put in the footwork.

"Our first two multimedia adventures enable you to experience the Canadian Arctic in Iqaluit, Canada, and the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE," Street View program manager Deanna Yick says in a post introducing the new material. "We also invite you to enjoy photos and videos from our past journeys to the Grand Canyon, the base camp of Mount Everest, the Amazon Basin, the Great Barrier Reef and the NASA Kennedy Space Center - minus the extreme temperatures and long plane rides!"

Flash Memory Summit 2013 - Mechanical data storage may be getting somewhat overlooked these days in favor of the faster, more energy-efficient SSDs that are flooding the consumer and enterprise markets, but as one would expect, the major hard drive manufacturers have taken notice. Announced this week at Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California, HGST, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital have all teamed up to form the Storage Products Association (SPA).

"HDDs are a crucial technology for storing the ever expanding data that humans and our machines are generating," said Tom Coughlin, president of storage industry analyst firm Coughlin Associates. "Hard disk drives combined with flash memory can provide users the speed they need while providing affordable mass storage. With continued development of advanced storage technology and storage architectures these amazing storage devices will provide a home for the world's accessible data and serve every type of content users for many years to come."

"We have seen the demand for storage products shift dramatically over the last ten years with the emergence of cloud computing, Internet search, social networks, big data and mobile computing," said Mark Grace, senior vice president of marketing, HGST, and member of the SPA board of directors. "This period of remarkable change is driving the need for innovative and reliable high-performance and high-capacity storage with the best TCO, especially in the areas of hyperscale cloud datacenter infrastructures and cold storage environments. As storage companies, SPA members are at the forefront of this change, focused on evolving products to support changing market needs."

Today, website VR-Zone is confirming the existence of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Gear smartwatch. A newly released report says that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Gear on September 4 at the 2013 IFA show in Germany.

VR-Zone says that the Galaxy Gear, model number SM-V700, will function as an accessory to Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets and will feature a flexible display. A recently filed patent says that the device will feature a power button, menu buttons, a USB port for data transfer and charging, and a capacitive back which will sense heart rate and other biometric data.

The patent went on to describe the Galaxy Gear as a "wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band, or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls , electronic mails, and messages." While no official confirmation has been released, VR-Zone is usually spot on with their predictions and as such, I to fully expect to see the Galaxy Gear unveiled at IFA 2013.

Today, Google rolled out a major update to its Google+ application for Android. Some of the updated features include the ability to easily switch between multiple Google+ accounts with just a couple of taps from your fingers. This is similar to how account switching works in Gmail for Android. Google has also built in Google Apps for Business, which will allow users to share content if their apps administrator has enable Google+.

Google Drive photos and videos are now also accessible from within the Google+ app and will allow users the option to view and/or share them straight from Google+. The company says that Drive photos in particular will get enhanced and Awesome'd automatically now. Additionally, Google has improved location sharing by adding even more controls that allow you to share your pinpoint or city-level location with others on a circle-by-circle basis.

Finally, Google announced that Messenger is going away for good and that Hangouts will now become the de facto Google messaging service. At first, you will see messenger disappear on Android, with iOS soon following. Beginning later today, Google will allow all users to download the entirety of their messenger conversations--including text and photos--from Google Takeout. The refresh also includes other updates like pull-to-refresh and several other UI and backend enhancements. Google said that they will leave it up to us to figure out what those are.

It appears that LG is planning a return to the tablet market and is planning a 8.3-inch Android-based slate under its premium G series name. Originally leaked through the blog Techblog.gr, the new device will allegedly be named the G Pad. This will be LG's first foray back into the tablet world since its failed Optimus Pad back in 2011.

The G pad is said to feature an 8.3-inch touchscreen that packs a pixel resolution of 1920x1200, an unnamed quad-core processor, and 2GB of RAM. Some industry analysts are speculating that the overall dimensions of the device will be 8.3 inches with the actual screen only being 8 inches. This would put it in the same class as Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.0, which has an overall measurement of 8.3 inches wide.

The screen resolution of 1920x1200 lands it alongside other tablet such as ASUS' Transformer Pad and Google's newly released next-gen Nexus 7. If LG can manage to keep the cost down and can price it similar to the Nexus 7, we can see this new tablet flying off the shelves. No information has surfaced on a possible launch window, but we will be sure to keep you up to date on things as it unfolds.

Today, Bitfenix announced an all-new version of its award-winning Prodigy chassis. Dubbed the Prodigy M, this new revision is designed around the mATX form factor and is being touted as the most compact and highly compatible case in the micro-ATX segment. The original Prodigy, while only reserved for the mini-ITX form factor, was a huge hit and taught many of us that you do not need a massive case for a high-performance system.

While this new case is able to accommodate the much larger micro-ATX motherboard, the overall dimensions of the case stay the same, allowing enthusiasts to build more feature-rich gaming systems, A/V workstations, or just a powerful PC inside a small form factor case. The new Prodigy M is able to accommodate dual graphics cards in either SLI or Crossfire configurations as it now features five expansion slots.

Bitfenix has completely retooled the inside of the chassis to accommodate both micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboards, while also making room for graphics cards up to 320mm in length. There's still room for a full ATX power supply, a single 5.25-inch drive, and users are able to fit CPU coolers up to 180mm in height. In case water cooling is your thing, Bitfenix says that there is space for a 240mm radiator with a maximum thickness of 27mm.

Edward Snowden, who you should know by now is one of the biggest whistleblowers ever, has said that the NSA targeted reporters who wrote 'critically' about the government over the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US and warned it was "unforgivably reckless" for journalists to use unencrypted e-mail when discussing sensitive matters.

This is coming from an interview between Snowden and the New York Times Magazine, where Snowden said he came to trust Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who helped report his disclosure of the NSA's spying programs along with Guardian reporter, Glenn Greenwald, because she herself had been targeted by the US spy agency.

Snowden said in the article: "Laura and [Guardian reporter] Glenn [Greenwald] are among the few who reported fearlessly on controversial topics throughout this period, even in the face of withering personal criticism, and resulted in Laura specifically becoming targeted by the very programs involved in the recent disclosures."

The closer we get to the launch of the Xbox One, the more we're finding about the next-gen console from Microsoft. The internal architecture of the Xbox One is built to detect if it is overheating, and will self-regulate its power.

The report is directly from Xbox's general manager of console development, Leo del Castillo, during an interview with Gizmodo. del Castillo said that this will help minimize detrimental shut-downs caused by overheating. He continued: "One thing that we have more flexibility with the architecture of the Xbox One, is that we can dial back the power of the box considerably."

del Castillo went on to add: "We had a little less flexibility with the 360. And so basically, if we couldn't dissipate the heat, there wasn't a whole lot of leverage we could pull to keep the heat from being generated, so we had a limited amount of time before it just shut down. Xbox One can actually dial it back to a lower power state, so low in fact that it can in a mode that uses virtually no air flow."

Ah, Facebook, you just never stop, do you? The social network's latest addition to its mobile platform includes a slew of new features that will help make your life just that much more convenient.

Facebook users will soon be able to reserve a table at their favorite restaurant (of course, this depends on the city/restaurant/country) through Facebook Pages, find a movie showing time through Pages, and enjoy full hashtag support. Facebook has partnered up with real-time reservation service OpenTable, which works in over 20,000 restaurants.

Normally, a would-be restaurant customer would use the OpenTable app or reserve their table through OpenTable's website, but now Facebook users can do it all within the participating restaurants' Facebook page.

If there's one thing AMD is doing right, it would have to be the Never Settle program. The chipmaker has just launched its Never Settle Forever program, which changes things up considerably.

With the older Never Settle bundles, depending on the GPU the consumer purchased, they were given specific games. When things kicked into second gear with Never Settle Reloaded, consumers were given the choice of a few titles when they purchased a GPU. The more they spent on their GPU - or the higher the series of Radeon - the more games they received.

Now, the Never Settle Forever program is here, and each tier offers a larger range of games, and more of them. As you can see from the image above, the Radeon Bronze Reward includes one free game, from a choice of six titles. The Radeon Silver Reward includes two games from a selection of eight games. The final, and highest reward is the Radeon Gold Reward, which offers three free games from a total of nine choices.

A chinese woman has had her eye and hand damaged when her iPhone 5 exploded, where beforehand, she stated that her iPhone 5 was hotter than usual during phone calls.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time an iPhone 5 has hurt someone, where a flight attendant died and a man was electrocuted, which was found to be caused by a fake charger. Apple has since sent out an advisory to warn all Chinese customers to buy original, official Apple chargers. The Cupertino-based company is even offering discounted chargers when you trade in your old charger.

The woman who was hurt, who only goes by the last name of 'Li', has said she dropped her iPhone 5. The drop caused a crack in the top right hand corner of the display, after which she noticed the iPhone 5 was getting quite hot during a 40-minute phone call. She tried to disconnect the phone call, noticing that the display was no longer working.