Here’s the new issue of MAKE on the newsstand at Barnes and Noble in Dearborn, MI. It’s always a delight for me to find it and see MAKE next to other magazines. MAKE is like a little brother who somehow gets attention by being a bit different. At this newsstand, the computers and business categories run into each other. We’re in standing out in a row with MaximumPC, Consumer Reports, Business Week and Wired.
Also, Wired’s new issue, “The Next Industrial Revolution,” pairs nicely with MAKE’s “Desktop Factory” issue.
Is there a consensus emerging that we’re entering into a new era of manufacturing? The big idea is that complex tools for making things are becoming available to more people, just as desktop printing gave consumers capabilities that were available previously to professionals with typesetting and printing equipment. The learning curve required to operate this equipment and interface it to computers is making it possible for more people to get involved. So, in lots of areas but especially in manufacturing, professional-grade tools are coming within reach of hobbyists and small businesses. The future is open to anyone who wants to make something and even start a business.
Let a thousand factories bloom! And I write this from Detroit, which will be looking in this direction for its future.
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