User:Stormyzim

Assignment 5 1. If I was a part of the DIY gun project, I would try desperately hard to get the internet on my side. Sites like 4chan/reddit would get behind this very quickly. Since this is still a legal gray area, we need all the support we can get to pass the right laws.

2. It's really impossible to regulate something like this, and it's only going to get harder in the future. No one will ever know if you decided to design and print a gun of your own. With that said, lawmakers will still try to regulate. In the end, it will just put more pressure on the open source community. Hopefully this doesn't affect the public's outlook on 3D printers and people will still try to fight for open source!

3. This article [1] talks about a 3D printer that can assemble complex molecules (mostly for medical uses). This could put an interesting spin on drug prohibition, because people would be able to create their own recreational, currently illegal drugs. Drug prohibition would suddenly become even harder than it is now. I think issues like this will continue to arise in the future, and the world will have to decide how much freedom it really wants.

Assignment 4 I can totally understand Makerbot's decision to stop using open source designs. The fight between open/closed source has always been like this. We will always have open source companies changing their ways. Prusa's concerns are well-founded, but I need to see some official reviews of the changes to thingiverse before I form an opinion on this. I'm not very concerned, however, because there will always be other sites like thepiratebay where users can download/upload designs at will.

Assignment 3

1. I do not foresee DRM coming into play at all with 3D printed objects. It's simply not reasonable. It makes some sense with virtual products (movies, video games) because hackers have to put forth some effort to break the DRM and distribute the information. With 3D objects, what's stopping someone from printing multiples of the same object? If 3D printing became both insanely popular AND most objects had DRM restrictions, I could see a black market forming for products like this. In the end, it would be harder to control 3D printed media than it is to control copyrighted media now.

2. I have always been a science/technology guy. I guess that means I have more problem-solving parts in my brain than parts for attracting mates. However, I really like music - playing it, discussing it, but I am terrible at writing it for myself. I guess evolution half-assed it with me.

3. 3D printing seems to be the link between intellectual property and tangible products. Until recently, IP has been limited to music, movies, books, etc. If 3D printing really takes off, it could create a whole lot of problems. The tension between those who create the products and how easy it would be to "steal" those products would be too much. Perhaps they will just continue to enforce stronger penalties for IP crimes. There has to be some kind of huge revolution for intellectual property to come to an end, and I can't see that happening.

Assignment 2

1. I think Adrian Bowyer's goal of a ‘self-replicating universal constructor’ is feasible. The problem we face now is that we cannot print moving or electronic parts (motors, microcontrollers, etc.). If this can be accomplished, it would really be no problem to print, for example, a full-sized working vacuum cleaner. For this we need printers that can do more than just print a single material, they need to be able to modify it further.

2. "Wealth without money" simply means that one can obtain things you would usually buy for free (or very cheap). This implies that what companies now produce for a profit will be effectively mass-produced for pennies. Since a lot of jobs depend on this, I can see it resulting in an increase in unemployment. I remember reading a short essay a while ago predicting that, in the far future, machines can replace any job humans will ever do, resulting in an unemployment rate approaching 100%. Perhaps we are seeing that start of this with the rise of open source and 3D printers.

• Just looked it up, it's called Technological Unemployment [2]

3. I would love to see a printer that could solder, as well as extrude multiple different materials at the same time. For 3D printers to evolve further, they need to do more than just print a single material, layer by layer. They need to interact intelligently with the material to make it actually do things.

Assignment 1

1. Useful: Earbud Case [3] I always hated how earbuds get so tangled, this is a simple, compact solution.

2. Artistic/Beautiful: Celtic Skull [4] I love the designs on this skull, detailed but not too crazy.

3. Pointless/Useless: The Most Useless iPhone Case Ever [5] What is this I don't even...this can't even fit in a pocket and all it does is flick a little lever around. Follow the YouTube link to see it in...action.

4. Funny: iSpork [6] For all of those times when you need to eat some chicken noodle soup while playing angry birds.

5. Weird: Bunny Dave with Kitty [7] I was looking for Michelangelo's David...found this instead. Pretty cool but mostly weird.