Technologies

Prusa MK4 3D Printer, Out Now, Follows Up Best in the Business

Prusa’s latest offering is said to be nearly three times faster than the excellent MK3, with better quality and accuracy. It’s available now for $1,099.

What’s happening

Prusa Research, a leading 3D printer manufacturer, has announced the MK4, the latest update to its popular Original Prusa line.

Why it matters

The original Prusa MK3 has been one of the best 3D printers for a long time. This new upgrade is supposed to make Prusa’s flagship even better.

What’s next

You can order the Prusa MK4 fully assembled for $1,099 or wait for the kit to ship for $799 in the coming weeks.

Prusa Research on Wednesday launched the Original Prusa MK4. Based on the same design as its MK3S Plus — a frequent pick as the best 3D printer on many sites — this new version has been upgraded in almost every way.

While there are few aesthetic changes to the shape of the MK4 compared to the MK3, there have been a lot of changes under the hood to bring it up to speed with the latest innovations in 3D printing. Many smaller details are quite technical, but the main points can be seen below. The upshot of these upgrades is a printer that promises accurate and detailed prints almost three times faster than the previous generation.

Faster print speeds through «input shaper and pressure advance» firmware updates
Hardware upgrades to better support speed and quality changes
Fast-swappable hot ends to let you use different size nozzles quickly
Nextruder extruder system
32-bit mainboard, which allows for Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections
Upgraded color LCD with model preview
Fully automatic bed leveling to improve your first layer
New multimaterial unit available as an add-on

Prusa has a reputation as a leader in the open-source 3D printing community. The MK4 will continue that tradition, allowing people to customize the machine how they want in the years to come. The company has also announced several upgrade kits that can upgrade your existing Prusa MK3 to variations of the MK4 — called the MK3.5 and MK3.9 — that will allow you to get almost all the MK4’s features, starting from $250.

Prusa announced the Prusa XL last year, but many of these have still not shipped. Because of this, the company has offered to switch preorders of the Prusa XL to the MK4 if you would rather pick up the smaller machine.

The Original Prusa MK4 is available now in a limited run, with more units to follow for $1,099, while the MK4 kit is due in the coming weeks. You can also order the upgrade kit for your MK3S Plus now if you want to upgrade rather than buy a new machine.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

Technologies

Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11

Technologies

New California Law Wants Companion Chatbots to Tell Kids to Take Breaks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new requirements on AI companions into law on Monday.

AI companion chatbots will have to remind users in California that they’re not human under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law, SB 243, also requires companion chatbot companies to maintain protocols for identifying and addressing cases in which users express suicidal ideation or self-harm. For users under 18, chatbots will have to provide a notification at least every three hours that reminds users to take a break and that the bot is not human.

It’s one of several bills Newsom has signed in recent weeks dealing with social media, artificial intelligence and other consumer technology issues. Another bill signed Monday, AB 56, requires warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those required for tobacco products. Last week, Newsom signed measures requiring internet browsers to make it easy for people to tell websites they don’t want them to sell their data and banning loud advertisements on streaming platforms.

AI companion chatbots have drawn particular scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several companies in response to complaints by consumer groups and parents that the bots were harming children’s mental health. OpenAI introduced new parental controls and other guardrails in its popular ChatGPT platform after the company was sued by parents who allege ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide.

«We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,» Newsom said in a statement.

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One AI companion developer, Replika, told CNET that it already has protocols to detect self-harm as required by the new law, and that it is working with regulators and others to comply with requirements and protect consumers.

«As one of the pioneers in AI companionship, we recognize our profound responsibility to lead on safety,» Replika’s Minju Song said in an emailed statement. Song said Replika uses content-filtering systems, community guidelines and safety systems that refer users to crisis resources when needed.

A Character.ai spokesperson said the company «welcomes working with regulators and lawmakers as they develop regulations and legislation for this emerging space, and will comply with laws, including SB 243.» OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice called the bill a «meaningful move forward» for AI safety. «By setting clear guardrails, California is helping shape a more responsible approach to AI development and deployment across the country,» Radice said in an email.

One bill Newsom has yet to sign, AB 1064, would go further by prohibiting developers from making companion chatbots available to children unless the AI companion is «not foreseeably capable of» encouraging harmful activities or engaging in sexually explicit interactions, among other things.