Manufacturing jobs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zls4tdDwFo

Remember long ago , we used to manufacture our own stuff ? Before all the jobs got shipped over seas to those dollar a day places like china  ?

Those jobs are coming back !

Oops, I mispoke myself. The jobs are not coming back. The manufacturing is coming back.

It's called 3D printing, and basically a box the size of an end table plugs into your computer and "prints" three diminsional objects. 

Think star trek replicator.

I am looking around the living room, and what do I see ? A plate, a fork (ok, I ate at the computer) a fold out table, cheap furnature (I'm on a budget , all right ? ) my girlfriend has a shelving unit full of knick knacks ...

Most of this stuff could be made by a 3D printer.

What do I really see that cannot be made by a 3D printer ? The guts of a cell phone. It can do the case, but  not the guts. The socket and switch part of a lamp , and the electrical cord. The bulk of the lamp it can do.

I look at a shelving unit and I remember it cost 50 bucks. Blowing thirty dollars on the colored "goo" a 3D printer will use to make a shelving unit seems ... a bargain. Especially since I don't have to pay for taxi fare to haul the thing home.

Picture frames , and pictures litter up this living room. A regular cheap under a hundred dollars printer for the pictures , and a 3D printer for the picture frames will cover that.

I'm not saying rush out and buy one today , they're still $1,300 .

But the last time I checked on them they were $20,000 . Hmm... thats quite the price drop.

Sewing machines snuck up on us you know. They're already here. Under $100 at walmart , cheap material everywhere. Heck I'm not even talking making your own cloths, just taking it in if it's a little loose, hemming your own pants, sewing on a patch over that rip , things like that.

Lap top computers are down to $235 according to my last trip to the electronics store . Thats a brand new lap top as well. Plug in some speakers ... forget about a stereo system. My friend bought a $1200 stereo system when we were young , I limped along with a $310 unit from the local discount store.

And internet is less than 50$ a month for unlimited here in Canada. Stay away from Rogers and Bell and Telus , look for those tiny DSL providers. Their service is terrible ,you'll wait a long time on hold , but the price is so cheap ($42 + tax = $47 for Primus here in ottawa) and once you get it set up I've never seen it go down for more than  a few hours a month.

Looking into my rather fuzzy , but still somewhat accurate crystal ball , I see that my home will eventually contain ...

...A cheap lap top playing music, and Television shows streaming from internet sites (such sites already exist , by the way)
... maybe you splurged and got the 80$ speaker set I got for my computer. Maybe you didn't and can live with the 20$ set most people get.
... A 2D printer for making pretty pictures
... A 3D printer for making trinkets, picture frames, cases, boxes, dishes, cutlery, cups, umpteen zillion other things.
... a small number of pre-built pieces of furnature that were cheaper to buy than 3D print.
... a cheap sewing machine in the corner on a table for those quick repairs. maybe you'll get into larger projects like making your own cloths, maybe just hemming your pants and patching the odd rip is all the work it will ever see. Whatever, it's dirt cheap for one and the dang things last for decades. Decades of heavy use. Occasional use you will more likely lose it in a fire or a divorce than have it actually break down.
... a "3d goo" recycling device , to shred your 3d printed objects and turn it back into goo , and make something else out of it. (and round and round it goes...)

The Evilness of Linux Repositories

Ah that first blog of the new year. What shall we blog about ? Winter ? Roads ? Bad weather ?

blah.

Lets blog about Linux.

Which by the way I am on (my old lap top) at the moment.

So , what is a Linux Repository and why is it so evil , you are asking ? You know how on windows you can download programs from any site you like ? Linux you can't do that.

Instead, you have a couple of "Repositories" that hold all the vetted (and free of charge) Linux programs you could hope for. All in one place. And there in lies the problem .

What if someone made a commercial version of Linux, say if ubuntu kicked Windows to the curb and took over ? And the owners , who ever they may be in the end after what I have no doubt will be numerous sell offs and branches of the operating system being made, decided to make a profit by selling access to their repository only , and you weren't allowed access to anyone elses repository.

With me so far ? What if Windows openned a "Windows Online Store" for software ,  on their new Windows 8 system, and you could only buy from that store , no where else ? They'd jack up the prices really high , wouldn't they  ?

Linux isn't really that bad, it should be mentioned there are ways to add new repositories to the list , effectively allowing another store on your computer for you to buy from.  But it's annoying , and involves copying and pasting long command lines, and is really unfriendly.

A tool to make adding a new repository a snap would be pretty cool .

The problem with repositories, or online stores, is that hackers will seek to shut them down with the inevitable ddos (distributed denial of service attack) possibly even demanding money to let up. Which never works of course because if you actually pay such a ransom 10 other hacker groups will promptly shut you down again and demand their ransoms as well.

Repositories are a bad business model all around. Bad for the user because it essentially creates vender lock in , which will triple (or more) all prices, and because they're too hackable. If Linux ever goes mainstream , those repositories will become a huge target for hackers. Take down half the computers in the world by shutting down one site ? What hacker could resist that ?