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The Wall Street Journal Online: Last year, Alias was just a videogame character known for stabbing monsters in the back. Today the bald-headed rogue has come to life on a bookshelf near Seattle as a four-inch-tall figurine with emerald dagger in hand.
Bringing such fantasy characters to life is possible thanks to the technology of 3-D printers, which turn three-dimensional computer images into three-dimensional objects. The statue of Alias was created courtesy of a start-up called FigurePrints LLC, which is opening for business this week. The company was founded by Ed Fries, a former Microsoft Corp. executive who is taking advantage of a shift in the 3-D printing industry to populate the world with trolls, gnomes and other fantastical creatures from the online game World of Warcraft.
The 3-D technology combines computer software and specialized "printers," which are copier-size machines that sculpt objects using a tool akin to a set of high-tech glue guns. Following a 3-D design on a computer, the gun nozzles squirt layers of material that harden into a porcelain-like object.
For 20 years, 3-D printers have primarily been used in labs and research groups at auto makers, aerospace companies and other design-intensive businesses. But during the next 12 months, 3-D printing will move closer to the mainstream, thanks to some entrepreneurs and consumer-focused companies like FigurePrints that are building businesses around the machines.
The expansion by 3-D printers into manufacturing is happening thanks to a steady drop in the price of printers, improvements in the materials they can handle and a proliferation in the amount of 3-D data that can be turned into objects.
SlipperyBrick: Everyone needs a lamp at one point or another. Whether it’s on your desk at the bedside, a lamp is something we all need, but is often one of those things we don’t buy. Lamps can make good Christmas gifts, especially geeky lamps.
ThinkGeek is offering new DIY Dinosaur Lamps that are made from laser cut sheets of flexible plastic. The lamps require assembly, which amounts to putting tab A into slot B and so on. The directions promise to be easy to follow and lots of pictures are included.
Three lamps are included in the kit and they look like a T-Rex, stegosaurus, and diplodocus. I have no idea what that last dinosaur is. Construction time is 30 to 40 minutes and a card and switch are included with the lamp kit. The only thing you have to add is elbow grease and light bulbs. The kit of three lamps is $19.99.
CoolestGadgets.com: Candles are romantic to say the least, and having a few in the room will certainly enhance the mood and ambiance even more. Unfortunately, they can be a fire hazard at times, so here’s a safe substitute from ThinkGeek - the LED Blow On-Off Candles.
The LED Blow On-Off Candles are solid wax (except for some electronics) and feature a natural-looking, flickering light just like normal candles, but they have a couple of extra techno enhanced powers.
Regular candles will blow out if you blow on the flame, but these LED candles will also blow on. All you have to do is use the master on/off switch on the bottom, and these candles will turn on and off with just a puff at the “flame”. Even better, each candle has a switch to select either a cool blue flame, or a more realistic yellowish flame.
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