Yeah that library is friggin terrible, in the least.
I used to go there to rent DVDs (and copy 'em. lol) back in days when they had
a barely decent anime and kung-fu selection...not anymore.
I'm sure that fees for the 3D print materials will apply, it would be no different
than ordering a print online at Shapeways.
The only folks who would actually Use the 3D-print equipment would be those who
are familiar with the technology and already have their .STL files of objects
ready to print.
The 3D-print lab is projected to open to the public later next month.
I'm curious to have a look and see how that program activity will work,
concerning use of the equipment, fees, and materials.
And, of course, echoing your opinion about some of the riff-raff who hang out
at the library, I'm more concerned about any local hood thugs who might
damage or vandalize the equipment simply because they might feel "disenfranchised"
by the technological divide between computer Power-Users and average-joe computer users
who just browse the internet to watch youtube videos and play Candy Crush online. lol
But then, the facility will be staffed with people who will offer courses on how
to use the equipment.... it's open to the public, just the same as the computer labs
are open to the public who want to learn Computer Basics; so, there really is no
excuse for anyone not to take advantage of these opportunities while they're low-cost or free.
I'm also interested in their Screen-printing workshop, since I already have
experience in that craft. I've got my own screens, I just gotta wash all the old
photo-emulsion coatings off their meshes. Someday I'd like to get back into it
just to design my own custom tee-shirts... I'd rather just rent a small warehouse room
in a basement and set up my own shop.
Back to the 3D-print subject.......... Baron, do you remember the former OTB
Offtrack Betting place in downtown Troy across from the Atrium? (
on 4th and Fulton)
I walked by that place several months ago... the OTB is gone. That facility is now
a tech workshop for geeks who wanna go there and build bots with used electronic materials.
They also have a 3D-print shop setup, it should be already in use by now.
By the looks of some of the recycled tech junk inside the place parts can be gathered
to build your own 3D-printer. (
If I tried that, the place would go up in flames. lol)
When I saw that place it was still under construction with a few workshops set up inside.
They charge a membership fee on varied user-level options, $60/month gives full access
to everything in the facility all week long. Other membership options are available
to suit one's project needs.
The 3D-print technology is still in its infancy, and hasn't quite caught on with
the general public.
Again, unless people know how to use this technology to create their objects in the
required file formats, it would be useless to them.
Right now the market for this technology is small (power-users and techno-crafters)...
...meanwhile, casual users and spectators who aren't into this technology would fall into the
"Ooooh, please make me one!" category.
But as this technology becomes more popular, that will change... soon we'll start to see
3D-print kiosks at shopping malls and specialty/custom novelty shops where folks can go in
and pick out whatever object they'd like (a useful gadget, or some home decoration)
and have it printed for them right there.
I mentioned this a long while back when 3D-print was just introduced, and we're starting
to see it happening already in some major cities around the world, even in NYC and out
in California, and in other major cities where there would be a greater market potential
for this technology.
Back to the local front, I just hope this new tech workshop at the Albany Public Library
will be appreciated enough to keep it sustained and protected from blight.
There has to be public interest and the workshop has to be in use, otherwise it would
be a waste of public funds. It has to pay for itself somehow.
The State could have granted this community tech workshop to places in Schenectady
near GE, or out in Saratoga Springs..... Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC),
or even at the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (RPI)......
Of all places, Why at the Albany Public Library?
1) Location for general public access from anywhere in the tri-city area.
2) So that folks can't complain that "only the rich communities get all the good sh*t".
This good sh*t is for Everyone regardless of economic level.
..........Don't worry, if this tech workshop becomes a success in Albany it will branch out
to other cities in the Capital region. And, yes, you folks in Skee-neck-tidee Will have
a tech workshop in your area... but you've gotta
Demand it!
And, then of course, who would benefit from this? Will the local community appreciate
this new tech workshop enough to maintain it?
Like I always say: Build a new playground and repave the streets in a blighted neighborhood,
and the locals will "appreciate" it by destroying it.
Then they b*tch and wonder why their run-down neighborhoods are being "ignored"
by the City and State government officials.
I like this technology, as much as I have a hard time learning it, but eventually I'll get the hang of it.
I wanna get in on it now. Because in future generations Everyone will be computer-literate,
and there will be no place for computer illiteracy.
I'm on the fence with that. But still, my generation of old fart computer-dumbasses
are a dying breed.
zozo-mag
