Let's stay with your premise. Techshop is the maker equivalent of a centralized mainframe for developers. You could also buy a laptop for the cost of a membersh

Let's stay with your premise. Techshop is the maker equivalent of a centralized mainframe for developers. You could also buy a laptop for the cost of a membership. My point is you need both. Home desktop (PC or machine shop) and access to equipment and resources you can't build or afford yourself. In the case of machine shops that means waterjets, plasma torches, cnc mills, etc. For developers it means inexpensive hardware borne of economies of scale and high quality open source software tools. The reality is however, that the Techshop that opened in Beaverton, OR in 2009 has since closed. In a sour economy you cancel the gym membership and buy a pair of running shoes.