(Photo: Apple)

Apple's iPad is a magnificent tool that can be used for education, entertainment and communication. It has revolutionized the way we interact with computers. It is not, however, a weapon.

The Staten Island Advance reports that Tottenville firefighter Eric Bischoff was arrested on Monday for allegedly hitting his wife over the head twice with an iPad. The two were arguing over a photo Mr. Bischoff's wife had just uploaded to the Internet, but the police declined to describe the image's content.

Let this be a word of warning: just because you don't agree with your significant other over a Reddit picture doesn't mean you can assault them with electronic devices.

Mr. Bischoff told The Advance, "I pleaded innocent in court, and I categorically deny the charges against me."

(h/t Gothamist)

The printed gun (Photo: AR15)

While we're all for robotic mechanisms that build things to make our tummies happy (love u/miss u BurritoBot), we're justifiably wary about a 3D printer that can apparently print weaponry. A gunsmith over at the gun forum AR15 claims that he has assembled and successfully tested the first fire arm printed with a 3D printer.

The thread, spotted by WebProNews, was started a few days ago by a user named "HaveBlue," who wrote:

I have an old Stratasys 3D printer (mid-to-late 90s machine, but works fine) and early last summer I printed a modified version of the lower from cncguns.com (I beefed up the front takedown lugs, bolt hold lugs, and added an integral trigger guard).

In the end, HaveBlue claims he used the printed parts to assemble a .22 pistol, which he fired 200 rounds with and it still "runs great." (Clarified one Beteabeat commenter: "he only printed the lower receiver, which is what the ATF considers to be the 'firearm.'") HaveBlue notes that he believes this to be the first 3D printed fire arm to be tested, but that he's not positive. Forum users seem to agree that he's the first, with a slew of members chiming in to congratulate him.

Of course, the ability to easily and cheaply print fire arms using a 3D printer elicits a slew of rather terrifying implications, particularly following friction over gun control laws cued by the Aurora theater shooting. How do we encourage innovation with hardware and 3D printers without also stoking the possibility that these exact materials could be used to illegaly develop weaponry? It's a tough question, made tougher by volatile partisan politics. Webpronews points out that gun blueprints are already readily available on 3D printing websites.

"This is the future," wrote one user on HaveBlue's thread. "If we can spread this core technology to every kitchen tabletop, there will no longer be a meaningful way to restrict and infringe on the private civilian ownership of modern firearms."

Yikes.

Via Reuters:

Activision said in a statement on Friday its biggest holiday title had sold 6.5 million units, which breaks last year's record of 5.6 million units, or $360 million in sales.

They also go on to mention that last year's Call of Duty release made $1B in two months. Still not convinced about the whole crazy thing? In Denver, this happened:

Lomon Sar, 31, was angry Tuesday when Best Buy wouldn't sell him a special "Hardened Edition" of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" at a midnight release event even though he had pre-purchased the game. "I put my hands up to my head and I'm like, 'God, now I'm mad.' I said, 'I am so pissed right now I can blow this place up,'" Sar said. He now admits it was a "poor choice of words," but says he didn't mean it literally.

For some reason we get the feeling that if this were, say, Super Mario Sunshine, people wouldn't have taken him as seriously. That said, this is a total realistic first-person war sim, and yet, Call of Duty isn't nearly as peppered with the kind of parental outrage that accompanied games like DOOM, which is about battling the demons of hell, as opposed to humans of other nationalities, who we've, like, actually been to war with as a country.

As opposed to demons of hell, who we have yet to go to war with, officially speaking.

Basically, Call of Duty gets the culture-shaming pass because it's thinly-disguised jingoism and propaganda as entertainment. They just sold $400M worth of this thing in one day.

Just sayin'.