3D printers are going to change the world - and the future of work for everyone

[dawg]

109. I said they have niche uses.

And you just described some niche uses for me. I'm not saying they aren't useful at all. I'm just saying that they are no replacement for a fully functional computer. Their uses are mostly limited to accessing data and making very small changes to that data. Anything more than that, and you need a keyboard and a mouse.

Geez. Lots of people are really emotionally invested in this technology. I truly don't understand that aspect of it. To me, it's just another tech item and a somewhat limited one at that.

I do think they would make good replacements for the cumbersome textbooks that the kids have to lug around, but I doubt there will be the will in the U.S. to spend enough money to make the change, except perhaps in the richest school districts and at the college level where they can force the students to make the purchase.

There are plenty of ways these things can be used, but that doesn't make them a truly transformative technology. The PC was a truly transformative technology - like the automobile. If anything, tablets are more like motorcycles. Which is still a good thing, you know.