Link-O-Rama: 02-09-10 – Wired, Community, and Kustom Komputing

Bits and Atoms Podcast

Chris Anderson gives you a 15 minute audio overview of his latest notion that manipulating physical objects is following the trajectory of web development enabling participation at a variety of levels from hobbyist to industrialist.

His tone is enthusiastic, but it would help his credibility tremendously if he addressed why this hasn’t worked well so far. For instance, Bug Labs launched a few years ago with the same premise that people want niche consumer electronics and there has been very little traction in that regard. There are likely huge opportunities with bits and atoms, but there are commensurate challenges that need to be met.

Shapeways Needs your Help

Not because they are in any kind of trouble though. Joris Peels, Shapeways’ community manager has solicited feedback on his job. He wants to know what Shapeways (and he in particular) can do better to serve the 3D printing community. It is a bold move by a company that really gets it. Now the CAD skills of their potential customers just need to play catch up so the business can realize its full potential. Help Joris out by dropping a line.

Kustom Komputation

If you are near the Exploratorium in San Francisco Feb 11-13 they are hosting a cool sounding exhibit focused on case mods for PC’s. This would be an awesome traveling show or regular exhibit at Science museums. Hopefully they make it a standing exhibit.

New York Times Covers Customization

The Paper of Record has produced a nice article on the rise of companies that offer low (relatively) cost custom goods. The tone is glamarous, but the author does a great job highlighting companies you may not have heard of and highlighting the downsides of customization.

Sometimes the designer item can be a safer bet. The very growth of customization has eroded several terms crucial to knowing what you are getting. “Customized” and “made to order” refer to a stock item ordered in a different color or with, say, a different finish. “Made to measure” means making something new from a stock pattern in a stock fabric, but altered to a man’s measurements; a “custom-made” item is designed to one’s measurements and specifications from the ground up. But the terms are often used indiscriminately, leading to confusion.

Ponoko – Now on Three Continents

Ponoko, the web-based manufacturing company that will laser cut your designs into a variety of materials has partnered with a German firm to broaden distribution into Europe. Now European customers can pay less for shipping and receive their parts faster.

Tagged as: 3d printing, BugLabs, Exploratorium, Ponoko, Shapeways