It's all over for Monitoring Times
On 08/04/2013 12:03 PM, Michael Black wrote:
On Sat, 3 Aug 2013, Oregonian Haruspex wrote:
On 2013-07-28 18:56:37 +0000, extra class said:
3. Gen Xers have not interest or desire in dyi projects
Considering that we Gen Xers are responsible for everything from the
Maker movement to creating affordable 3D printing machines, I think
you're way off base here.
The "Maker Movement" is hype, it rides on the people who've always been
interested in building things. Since the magazine hasnt't been around a
decade, there hasn't been enough time for many to start from point zero
and get good enough by now, so it rests on the existing hobbyists.
A 3D "printer" is interesting, but once the hype disappears, what's the
point? I rarely think "I wish I could make an exact copy of that
plastic piece". I have other ways to make pieces i need, or make do.
The field is just about plastic now, so it's not like you can make
something really signficiant. The notion of making a gun out of
plastic, not only is that not going to stand up that well after much
use, but one could always make some sort of gun out of bits and pieces,
or so I gather.
3D printing is another dumbing down. Yes, it will be valuable to some,
but once the masses get their hands on it, they will simply let other
people create the parts, and it will just be a matter of "printing" them
at their house. No skill required.
And like I said, that's some of the hype of the maker movement, more
people can follow instructions, but it doesn't raise them up.
I've been going through old magazines, a local bookstore having found a
stash of them. The skill level to build the projects was much higher
than in "Make", but it was a whole wide field. "Build a two man sub for
about $400" says an article in Popular Science from about 1968. YOu
can't tell me the kids have invented something new when building things
had such a large infrastructure decades ago. And it wasn't just Popular
Science (and it's projects and tips), it was Popular Mechanics, Mechanix
Illustrated, Popular Electronics, Radio Electronics, Electronics
Illustrated, Elementary Electronics, Science and Mechanichs, endless
annuals and semiannuals like that one I found a few years ago about
prospecting for uranium and "Communciation WOrld" a quarterly that
carried White's Radio Log forty years ago, QST, 73, CQ, Ham Radio and
some glorified newsletters dedciated to niche amateur radio topics like
RTTY and VHF. The astronomy magazines that often included projects
about building telescopes or accessories. Woodworking magazines and
model railroad magazines. The magazines were endless, and they all had
projects you could learn from, projects you could build.
Michael
Get off my lawn!
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