World’s first 3D printed laptop

In other blog posts I had already spoken about the amazing products created by 3D printers such as houses, toys and many other things. However, today I am going to tall you about the world’s first 3D-printed laptop, Pi-Top.

Pi-Top is a special laptop, which has not only been created by a 3D printer. What makes Pi-Top even more special is that it also integrates Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design with the 3D printing, a combination that endows you with the prerequisite know-how to create your own hardware product, according to its creators. The main aim of the project is to make “hardware as accessible as software,” so the developers behind this 3D-printed laptop want to make their product as beginner-friendly as possible. With that in mind, the creators (a group of student engineers from various UK universities) have ensured that anybody can make the kit in an evening. Creativity is also key to the product as Pi-Top aims to provide a platform on which you can hone your computing skills and learn to code your own hardware. What’s more, as learning through gaming has become a big thing these days, Pi-Top wants its consumers to take part in that trend and become a key player in this market.

While the Pi-Top boasts versatility through its customisable design, whereby you can 3D-print your own 5″ x 5″ case, the product’s not just about the appearance. The makers want you to “learn how to make and control home automation devices, robots, and consumer electronics,” and they’ve also toured the UK, imparting their technological skills to UK pupils. As a result, the product is not only aesthetically pleasing but it also is used as part of a learning experience.

For the skeptics that thought 3D printers were useless, the Pi-Top is the perfect example of a product that makes the usefulness of the printers increase to a great extent. This is because, everything you need to build your 3D-printable laptop, except for the printer itself, comes in a pack currently on sale for £180. The Pi-Top pack includes a customisable 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 needs to be slotted into the shell to form the final laptop.

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. What do you think about this product? I couldn’t be more excited as I would love to see what the future of 3D printed products hold!

To learn more about the product click on this link to watch the creators talk about their new product: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-video/11219930/Introducing-Pi-Top-the-worlds-first-3D-printed-laptop.html

South Africa’s economic difficulties

South Africa is probably going to experience another hard year as South Africans were told on Wednesday to prepare for higher taxes, cutbacks in spending and three more years of power cuts. The government’s annual budget outlined a 1% increase in personal income tax and spending cuts of 25bn rand (£1.4bn; $2.2bn) over the next two years. As a result, the projected economic growth for 2015 will be 2%, down from 2.5% forecast last year suggesting that South Africa will still struggle with the economic recession.

Furthermore, on top of the tax increases finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene warned the country would suffer from another three years of power disruptions. He said state-owned power group Eskom faced a 200bn rand funding gap and that it would need more money to keep the electricity supply. As a result, electricity prices will rise to finance Eskom’s rebuilding of the country’s power infrastructure. Mr Nene said he would introduce a temporary increase in the electricity levy, to 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from 3.5 cents/kWh so that Eskom could receive a capital injection of 23bn rand this year. The government also plans to sell non-strategic government shareholdings in some state-owned companies in order to raise more money. The electrical problems could mean that economic growth could be even slower as it could halve again down to just 1% this year if power constraints worsened.

Mr Nene said that the most important challenges facing the economy of South Africa were unemployment and the security and reliability of the energy supply. Despite this, there are still major problems in the country. The unemployment rate stands close to 25% and the Treasury forecasts inflation will be 4.3% in 2015, and rise to 5.6% in 2016. South Africa’s deficit has also risen to 3.9% of the economy this year rather than the 3.6% forecast and net debt has doubled since the start of the financial crisis as the country increased borrowing to try to repair the economy. Mr Nene said debt was expected to stabilise at less than 45% of GDP in three years’ time however many people doubt that his predictions are going to be true.

I believe that the electrical constraints are the country’s main problem as they are holding back growth in manufacturing and mining, and also inhibiting investment in housing and raising costs for businesses and households. There is a real need for these issues to be addressed as soon as possible in order to prevent further economic problems and I think other countries should help South Africa improve their electrical supply so that the country can start to improve their economic situation. What do you think?

The perils of ‘taboo’ gifts

When visiting a foreign country, it is very common to present gifts to the government of that area. However, sometimes politicians and diplomats might end up messing up their good intentions. A recent example of this included Susan Kramer’s visit to China. During her visit, Susan Kramer, a Baroness and government transport minister gave the gift of a watch to the mayor of Taipei in good will, but ended up breaking local cultural norms because clocks are considered a harbinger of death.

So, what gifts are taboos in other cultures?

When transport minister Susan Kramer gave Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je a small watch as a present, she was simply following standard diplomatic protocol. However, giving a clock to someone in Chinese culture is a bad omen, suggesting they are running out of time on earth. The mayor laughed off the joke, while Baroness Kramer apologised, saying “we learn something new each day”.

Baroness Kramer’s mistake is not rare – navigating the cultural minefield can be difficult for diplomats and business executives. One culture’s prized gift can be another’s cause for grave offence, as an HSBC World’s Local Bank campaign highlighting the perils of unwittingly making the wrong gestures, demonstrated. “A ceremonial sword in [some parts of] Africa is a symbol of power but, in Switzerland it would be seen as a sign of aggression,” Hanson, an an etiquette expert explains.

Some things are constant, though. Almost all cultural taboos revolve around death, regardless of location. The number four is considered bad luck in China, because it tonally sounds like the word for death, while the number eight is good, because it sounds similar to the word for wealth.

In the UK, knives are generally not given as presents because superstition says it could cut through a friendship. Similarly, in Japan presenting a knife to a colleague is seen as suggestive of suicide. A bunch of chrysanthemums are a no-go area for the Spanish, because they are associated with death, much in the same way you wouldn’t present a bunch of white lilies to a Briton.

Indeed, flowers are a particularly troublesome area. Red roses – a traditional lovers’ gift – would appear out of place at a business meeting, while yellow roses commonly suggest infidelity in France, and death in Mexico. And superstition declares that you should always give an odd number of flowers – but not 13.

So what should people give as a gift?

As for a foolproof gift to present to a colleague that’s guaranteed not to offend, regardless of where in the world you give it, Hanson has one suggestion. “Books are always safe. When I advise companies, I say a nice coffee table book on London or England does the job well.”

So, now you know, when in doubt always choose a book as a gift.

Tobacco companies break the law

Increasingly, there has been a number of cases across the globe where tobacco have used their power and influence and have tried to find loopholes in the law in order to increase the consumption of their deadly products.

On the 25^th of this month, a French anti-smoking association accused makers of Marlboro, Camel, Lucky Strike and Gauloise cigarettes of colluding to limit prices so smokers wouldn’t cut their consumption. According to the association, the companies were expecting sales to drop and were planning this agreement in order to set up a fixed price and boost sales. According to Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Tobacco, the companies agreed to “work as a cartel, (and) they were trying to do all what they could so that prices rose in a moderate manner to ensure consumption wouldn’t fall”. Usually, it is illegal to collectively regulate prices as individual tobacco manufacturers control the pricing of cigarettes and the French state intervenes imposing taxes. Therefore, according to legal status colluding is illegal. As a result, the French anti-smoking association has presented these facts to the French court and the verdict will come out next year.

France has not been the only country where powerful tobacco companies have tried to find loopholes to rules in order to increase the consumption of cigarettes. British American Tobacco (BAT), for example, experienced a similar situation in Africa whereby they still continued to advertise their products in three different countries despite the government regulations against the promotion of their products.

In Malawi, Nigeria and Mauritius – countries where the number of smoking-related deaths is expected to double in the next 20 years, the sale of cigarettes has increased significantly over the last years. This is partially because BAT has been recently targeting 8-15 year olds in order to make up for the decline of smoking in other countries. Despite the fact that the company reports state the company would not to advertise to teenagers and an advertising ban on cigarettes in Mauritius, BAT paints newsagent shops, dishes out funky leaflets in schools and publicly celebrates the 45th anniversary of its arrival in the country, all tricked out in the crucial brand colours. In Nigeria and Malawi they hold branded music festivals and run competitions offering prizes seemingly designed to attract the teenage demographic. Also, BAT allows and encourages the “single stick sales” (sale of individual cigarettes), as often the price of a cigarette will be cheaper than food such as cookies.

Reports, especially one carried out by Duncan Bannatyne, show that the tactics seem to be working. In Mauritius, half of the 11- to 14-year-olds at the school he visits smoke and the cardiac centre in the country was overwhelmed by patients suffering from smoking-related diseases. Furthermore, in all 3 countries 80% of the children recognised tobacco brands and companies, suggesting that the strategies are actually working and that BAT is making £2.9bn in profit partially by selling the cigarettes to teenagers in emerging markets.

I believe these different companies should stop trying to prioritise profits over healthcare of their consumers; especially the children and they should develop a better CSR strategy.

What do you think about these stories? Should companies prioritise profits over the wellbeing of their customers? What are the solutions for this problem?