I’d previously read about Silverbrook Research, a fascinating and prolific research lab based in Australia, and their work on some newly-patented inkjet technology. I caught the latest story late last week which went into much more detail, and the first thought in my mind was how this same technology could be used for a home fabrication device. Inkjet technology is already being used to “print” anything from food to human tissue to toys, so it’s not really much of a stretch. But the advantage to having something like what Silverbrook developed is extraordinary.
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It’s finally out of beta. Excellent news. From the Croquet News release (Link):

DURHAM, N.C. – March 27, 2007 – A nonprofit consortium of academic and corporate partners announced Tuesday the release of a free software tool kit for developers to use in creating 3-D “virtual environments.”
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There’s been a lot of discussion surrounding a post titled, “Design Schools: Please Start Teaching Design Again” (Link) by interaction designer Dan Saffer over on the adaptive path blog. Here are a few excerpts:

D schools are doing a serious disservice to their students by only teaching them “design thinking” when a class in typography or mechanics or drawing might not only give them a valuable skill, but also teach them thinking and making and doing – all at the same time. For design to be truly useful as a profession and as a discipline, designers can’t just use “design thinking” to come up with strategies and concepts.
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Earlier this week I read that NASA was getting into the MMOG scene (Link – PDF for internal call for proposals). Far from coming as a surprise, I find it odd that they’ve not already developed a space-based property. How many people have ever played simple “Lander” videogames where you have limited fuel and have to settle your little 2D vectorized, spindly-legged spaceship on harsh “moon” terrain? Many, I’m sure. It’s an old game. And it always seemed to me that NASA was a natural for this stuff.
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Back when people were first introduced to the Segway personal transport, the web seemed to light up with criticism. No, it didn’t live up to the hype which was, probably more than anything, its biggest flaw; schadenfreude being enthusiastically and expertly practiced by those with expertise in nothing else. It was, however, a marvel of engineering.
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