The new issue of the economist is here featuring a section on 3D print manufacturing. They claim the violin on the cover was printed and plays beautifully, though I suspect it was just the body. For me, the problem with this technology is the texture. Like all digital processes the earlybstages have low resulotion, leaving the output grainy and unpleasant feeling. Ultimately that will be a non-issue, but it needs to be overcome.

Print me a Stradivarius
http://www.economist.com/node/18114327
www.economist.com
THE industrial revolution of the late 18th century made possible the mass production of goods, thereby creating economies of scale which changed the economy—and society—in ways that nobody could have imagined at the time. Now a new manufacturing technology has emerged which does the opposite.

In which I return to the Barnes and Noble at Potomac yards and discover that the New Science Fiction racks have numerous holes in them. Hopefully that means new sf is selling faster than they can keep the shelves full. Actually, I guess that’s what it means anyway. The question is how fast they’re restocking them.

Curious about the Philip K. Dick nominations, I checked with the info-kiosk to see which titles they had in the store. Yarn – 1, Chill – 1, The Reapers are the Angels – 0, Harmony by Project Itoh – never heard of it. Hmmm. Finished Yarn, btw and it’s delightful.

On other notes, I’m looking forward to more controversy about Tiger Moms, Make Magazine takes me back to my model rocket days, Wallpaper rocks, I found the writing section of the magazine rack (not easy), and B&N is the nation’s reading room…

click on image for slideshow (now with captions!)

Vegas Vette

Though I’m not an especially big Corvette fan, I do like orange, and I found the lines on this classic vette on the show floor at CES 2011 to be very compelling.