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Atoms are the New Bits
;)
Hank Williams is one of many who are discovering the world of 3D printing, and he's written up his thoughts in a recent post. He's intrigued by the idea of printing his own tools and clothes, but came up with a very profound notion:
the truly more open and explosive playing field is in using bits to help us move and organize atoms. I guess you could say, atoms are the new bits.
We could not agree more. Information Technology has revolutionized how we use and manipulate information in ways that could not have been imagined even a few decades ago. Hank foresees a similar evolution in 3D technology, as we do. Finally, Hank has come up with a name for our revolution:
The realm of the atoms should be our next frontier. Think of it as World 2.0 instead of Web 2.0.
Thanks, Hank!
concepts, prediction 
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Reader Comments (2)
The concept of "atoms being the new bits" was essentially demonstrated by Neil Gershenfeld at a TED conference a couple of years ago (I even mention the video in a post from last year - http://blog.rebang.com/?p=1357" REL="nofollow">Link).
Thus, I'm sorry to inform you, Hank Williams hasn't come up with an originally "profound notion".
By the way, if anyone is interested in following the news on the future of digital direct manufacturing (of which "3D Printing" is a part) and its convergence with virtual "bits", you might consider reading my independent and non-ad supported blog at http://blog.rebang.com" REL="nofollow">reBang.
I'm currently winding down a relatively long and well-trafficked series of entries on next generation product development tools which might be of particular interest to those trying to understand the potential for these various technologies.