I happened across a post over on Core77 regarding Selective Laser Melting; a process for rapid-prototyping metal parts. SLM is different than other RP metal processes in that it uses no binder and fully melts the metal particles so that the resulting part is generally of higher quality.

It’s not a new process but apparently it’s now getting some additional attention. I’m not sure why, so I went looking.

I still don’t know why it’s suddenly getting attention (it might just be that particular machine which doesn’t require the use of proprietary metal powders), but I did find a nice MPEG video (Link – click on the “Selective Laser Melting – SLM” link below the images to access the page; also has Real Player video).

For additional information on the SLM process you can also check out some additional sites (Link 1, Link 2).

{Image source: MCP-HEK Tooling}

From an Associated Press article being carried over on Yahoo! (Link):

South Korea is the world’s most wired country, boasting the highest per capita rate of broadband Internet connections. But there is a growing sense that high-tech prowess hasn’t been matched by the development of a mature online society, creating a growing problem of what is known here as “cyberviolence.”
…
Now, law enforcement and the government are taking action. Trying to prevent anonymous attacks, the government said in December it would require Web sites to confirm users’ real names before they can post.
…
Some Web sites are taking matters into their own hands, seeking to actively filter comments. South Korea’s Cyworld site, home to a hugely popular blog hosting service with 17 million registered members, has 115 employees who encourage proper Internet etiquette and another 20 monitoring for malicious remarks and slander.

Pretty sad commentary on how people can behave. And I don’t see this as being unique to South Korea.

For those wondering why I’m so vocal about issues like Trademark, this is a big reason why. This sort of behavior comes from a lack of respect for others and from an ignorance of how these things tie into our own welfare. To use a crude analogy: “If everyone pisses in the pool there won’t be much reason to swim in it”. Not a nice way to think about it, but it’s sufficiently graphic to get the point across.

Then again, the old saying is probably the best. “Treat others as you’d wish to be treated.”

Maybe we need to combine those two. Polite language doesn’t seem to resonate with people today.

This is pretty cool. Check out the video of Alexander McQueen’s fashion show over on Style.com (Link). While the show itself is both visually and musically interesting, the best part is near the end where Kate Moss (I guess that’s who it is) makes a virtual appearance courtesy of some holographic technology {Edit: see comments below for a discussion of the technique used}.

I’ve not seen mention of the tech on any of the regular tech sites I visit, but hopefully I’ll either stumble across mention of it or someone will provide a link. This reminds me of Bono’s 2005 TEDprize acceptance speech.

{Image Copyright © 2006 Conde©Net Inc.}

I’ve been visiting the newly-independent-from-Linden Lab blog of Hamlet Au (formerly Hamlet Linden) to see if some of the issues I’ve discussed (OGLE and trademark violations) will finally get some real attention. Nothing so far. But I did find his entry, “Unimpeachable Offense”, interesting. The comments as well.

The post concerns the efforts of at least one resident of Second Life to plunk a sign on some virtual land, put the land up for sale at extortionist prices, and then wait for outraged people to fork over the dough. Rinse and repeat. A lot. Oh, it helps to know that the sign read “Support Our Troops: Impeach Bush”.

I, of course, saw many of the forum threads that sprouted in anger, including one in which a resident posted a conversation hoping to garner (my) sympathy. Only the angry resident sounded like a jerk and the “extortionist” sounded polite and level-headed. I couldn’t help but side with him.

Besides, I knew that in the end the best way to deal with the situation was to ignore it. Funny how so many people haven’t figured that one out. Including Hamlet. From the post (Link):

For what would happen if Profane’s signs had said instead, for example, “Buy Cialis on the Web!” or “Eat at McDonalds!”, or any number of other real world advertisements or statements that most Residents would consider noxious 3D Spam? Surely the same thing: a flurry of outrage, scattershot protest, and after the initial storm, nothing.

Early on, I had thought that Residents would resist the intrusion of real life ads and other forms of commerce into Second Life, collectively rising up against any intrusion that impeded the purity of their grass roots imagination. But considering the story of Jedidiah Profane, I now think that was naive.

Well, it looks like Hamlet really has left virtual utopia. But props to Linden Lab for considering the long-term implications of this issue. In the end, it’s all of us who control what we see and hear … sometimes by simply not acknowledging its existence. Advertising included.

Now if only Linden Lab was as far-sighted with regard to issues of trademark violation. By the way, I wonder how many “Impeach Bush” sign protesters are doing the exact same thing by using real trademarks on their virtual products. Sometimes hypocrisy works too (in the short term at least).

There’s a nice article over on Wired discussing body modification. From an industrial designer’s perspective, the discussion is an interesting one. From the article (Link):

Even if Haeck were inclined to install devil horns on a patient’s head, he wouldn’t be allowed to under the rules of his profession: Modifying the body toward societal ideals is considered ethical, but any modification away from those ideals is unethical and comes with potentially stiff penalties.

That frustrates Haworth and Vidra. “The American Medical Association says you can’t modify the body away from what society says is normal,” says Haworth. But what society deems normal changes.

I wonder if the medical profession has similar “ideals” regarding abnormal anti-aging technologies or RFID implants or implants that somehow improve human performance without changing outward appearance? There certainly doesn’t appear to be any shortage of physicians willing to supply professional athletes with drugs that enhance performance (with side effects, of course).

Last I checked, steroids modify a body. But I guess huge biceps are ideal and well worth the dangerous change in a user’s behavior. I guess the medical community thinks aggression is okay too.

I often discuss “convergence” on this blog but I don’t often explore how far that goes. Seems to me the medical community is having it’s own run in with the concept.

So at what point will technological advancement force them to review their ethical guidelines and update them so they can deal with what’s to come? If they’re not prepared for these simple changes to our bodies, they can’t be ready now. Then again, when it comes down to it, will those ethics make any real difference? I doubt it. Chiba City, here we come.