I know this is slashdot, but that's an absurd rant.
The machine in the article looks very similar to the 3d printer on my desk. It just extrudes a different material to the plastic mine extrudes.
Why the problem with the term 3d printed ? It's a perfectly useful term with a clear meaning, which in my view is used quite suitably in this context.
Some here say the "correct" term is additive manufacturing - well I'd say that's just an alternative term. There's nothing incorrect about calling something 3d printing if it's coming from a machine that extrudes a material to create three dimensional objects layer by layer.
And it's not a hype. It's an extremely useful technology that is now becoming cheap enough to be available domestically. It's like calling smartphones a hype ten years ago. Or the internet. Is that a hype ?
I genuinely believe that all of these new and innovative applications of 3d printing, particularly with new kinds of materials, like in this article, are examples of they way manufacturing is being turned on its head. Extraordinary things are happening, and I for one am really interested in reading about them.
Something I've learned as an old IT guy is that employee comfort is very under-rated. How comfortable an employee is with their work space is critical to productivity. I'm talking everything from the chair they sit in to what's on their monitor. If they're comfortable with windows and office and become uncomfortable with gmail and open office then you'll just kill productivity and whatever money you saved will be meaningless.
But people are always more comfortable with what they know. If that means that you never change anything, then where does that leave you in the long term ? Ultimately you need to make strategic long term choices with IT environments, and keeping yourself with old comfortable stuff isn't always the right solution, irrespective of any short term productivity losses.
Aha! You have proof of the effects of such a dastardly number! It must be true!
I'm a little surprised that such superstitious nonsense is seriously put on a supposedly sensible site such as slashdot...
Maybe it's just me;)
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but does anybody know what the connection is between the Linux machine and the telephone network (so that external lines can be accessed) ? And what the cost of this connection might be ?
Who has invested heavily in the exercise of book scanning ? Google has. Do other companies have access to the same books ? Of course they do. Could they also invest in book scanning to create a competitor ? Of course! Will they ? Probably not, unless Google starts price gouging.
Since Google has funded the whole exercise, they have a right to exclusivity on the scanned library they have created. We should not expect them to give this up for free, as that would discourage other companies from investing in similar digitisation initiatives.
If you want a competitor, find an investor and start scanning! Otherwise your options are to rely on Google, or travel to the library to view the books.
Sounds like a typical bureaucratic storm in a teacup.
Something which has not appeared to have been mentioned thus far is that if you are doing a project at a university, that means you are using resources (ie. computers, labs, access to professors and other staff, advice from supervisors etc) of that university. Universities shouldn't have to do all of this for free, they're usually pretty starved of funds as it is, and if they are legitimately contributing to the development of a project, then they may legitimately have a claim to part of it.
We're all part of a bigger system. Good ideas are rarely the work of one individual in isolation.
Slashdot Mirror
I know this is slashdot, but that's an absurd rant. The machine in the article looks very similar to the 3d printer on my desk. It just extrudes a different material to the plastic mine extrudes. Why the problem with the term 3d printed ? It's a perfectly useful term with a clear meaning, which in my view is used quite suitably in this context. Some here say the "correct" term is additive manufacturing - well I'd say that's just an alternative term. There's nothing incorrect about calling something 3d printing if it's coming from a machine that extrudes a material to create three dimensional objects layer by layer. And it's not a hype. It's an extremely useful technology that is now becoming cheap enough to be available domestically. It's like calling smartphones a hype ten years ago. Or the internet. Is that a hype ? I genuinely believe that all of these new and innovative applications of 3d printing, particularly with new kinds of materials, like in this article, are examples of they way manufacturing is being turned on its head. Extraordinary things are happening, and I for one am really interested in reading about them.
Something I've learned as an old IT guy is that employee comfort is very under-rated. How comfortable an employee is with their work space is critical to productivity. I'm talking everything from the chair they sit in to what's on their monitor. If they're comfortable with windows and office and become uncomfortable with gmail and open office then you'll just kill productivity and whatever money you saved will be meaningless.
But people are always more comfortable with what they know. If that means that you never change anything, then where does that leave you in the long term ? Ultimately you need to make strategic long term choices with IT environments, and keeping yourself with old comfortable stuff isn't always the right solution, irrespective of any short term productivity losses.
Aha! You have proof of the effects of such a dastardly number! It must be true! I'm a little surprised that such superstitious nonsense is seriously put on a supposedly sensible site such as slashdot ...
Maybe it's just me ;)
These books, contemporary to Tolkien, are pretty classic dark fantasy.
Just re-read and saw the reference to E1 link. I'm still interested it what it costs to run though.
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but does anybody know what the connection is between the Linux machine and the telephone network (so that external lines can be accessed) ? And what the cost of this connection might be ?
Who has invested heavily in the exercise of book scanning ? Google has. Do other companies have access to the same books ? Of course they do. Could they also invest in book scanning to create a competitor ? Of course! Will they ? Probably not, unless Google starts price gouging. Since Google has funded the whole exercise, they have a right to exclusivity on the scanned library they have created. We should not expect them to give this up for free, as that would discourage other companies from investing in similar digitisation initiatives. If you want a competitor, find an investor and start scanning! Otherwise your options are to rely on Google, or travel to the library to view the books. Sounds like a typical bureaucratic storm in a teacup.
Something which has not appeared to have been mentioned thus far is that if you are doing a project at a university, that means you are using resources (ie. computers, labs, access to professors and other staff, advice from supervisors etc) of that university. Universities shouldn't have to do all of this for free, they're usually pretty starved of funds as it is, and if they are legitimately contributing to the development of a project, then they may legitimately have a claim to part of it. We're all part of a bigger system. Good ideas are rarely the work of one individual in isolation.