Do you remember Cory Doctorow's short story called Print Crime? I played it on the program a few weeks ago. The story set in the near future, told of tech that allowed anyone to "print" items that they wanted. Chemical, pharmacological and technological were all within the realm of possible. However on the flip side were insanely strict copyright laws. Which lead as you can imagine to a popular and violent gray and black market. As outrageous and futuristic as the story sounded, the tech itself is right around the corner. Such technology already exists and is maturing rapidly so that high-tech designers and others can share solid designs almost as quickly as sending a fax. The systems available are based on bath of liquid plastic which is solidified by laser light. The movements of the laser are controlled by a computer that reads a digitized 3D map of the solid object or design. Eventually this will allow the mainstream consumer to 3-D print equipment, whether that is plastic paperclips, teacups, or components that can be joined to make sophisticated devices, perhaps bolted together with printed nuts and bolts. Imagine if you will buying or otherwise obtaining a digital file representing a physical product electronically and then produce the object at a time and place convenient to them. And then imagine these files, like music or movie files, being made available on less than legit download sites. Yes, Print Crime is closer than we think!
