Technological change: now you can have your own factory!

A fascinating video here which is likely to make your students sit up.  Custom manufacturing is making it possible for many more people to produce things.  It is enabling much greater innovation in a wide variety of markets, enabling even the smallest firm to meet market demand.

Chris Anderson argues that, in an age of open source, custom-fabricated, DIY product design, all you need to conquer the world - and to profit - is a brilliant idea. Welcome to the next Industrial Revolution!!

Anderson points out that:

The tools of factory production, from electronics assembly to 3-D printing, are now available to individuals, in batches as small as a single unit. Anybody with an idea and a little expertise can set assembly lines in China into motion with nothing more than some keystrokes on their laptop. A few days later, a prototype will be at their door, and once it all checks out, they can push a few more buttons and be in full production, making hundreds, thousands, or more. They can become a virtual micro-factory, able to design and sell goods without any infrastructure or even inventory; products can be assembled and drop-shipped by contractors who serve hundreds of such customers simultaneously.

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