Bre Pettis's rapid prototyping talk, a tour-de-force presentation from 25C3

I've just finished watching the video of Bre Pettis's riveting presentation on Rapid Prototyping at 25C3, the annual Chaos Computer Congress in Berlin. Pettis is one of my favorite makers in the world, and this presentation covers every aspect of rapid prototyping, desktop fabbing, 3D printing (and whatever else you want to call it). From the technology underpinning it to the history of the form to the practicalities of clubbing together to buy expensive machinery to the philosophy, economics and emotional satisfaction of decentralized making, Pettis runs the whole gamut, with humor, humility, and a thoroughgoing knowledge of the subject. From automated knitting machines that go from "I'm cold" to "I have a scarf" in fifteen minutes to sugar-based 3D printers to papercraft CAD to laser cutters and robotic Dremel tools, Pettis paints a picture of a future where something can go from your head to the real world with the fluidity of a blog post.

Prototype Your Life MP4, 437MB, Prototype Your Life MP4, 437MB (Coral Cache mirror) (via Bre Pettis)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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monopole

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frankiez

I always bow when I read “Chaos Computer Club”…
schÃ¶nberger

Favorite moment (I was there): Everyone laughs when Bre sets Inscape’s scaling system to “inch”.
xmjx

I thought the talk wasn’t really good. Bre talked only about OPP (other people’s projects) and even went to far as to state that prototyping circumvents capitalism. LOL. How is me buying a machine, then making stuff and selling it again circumventing capitalism? No. The 24c3 talk was brilliant and entertaining. The 25c3 talk was boring, uninformative and uninspiring. And his inability of coping with Inkscape or the screen resolution of his oh-so-user-friendly MacBook was kind of strange. Oh, and I would have liked him to prototype the Space Invader that he drew in his Inkscape, because seeing him watching his design fall apart would have been very funny.
AlanJCastonguay

Also available via Prototype Your Life MP4, 437MB (Torrent)
MollyMaguire

I think Bre needs to slow down – http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/carl_honore_praises_slowness.html