Well, you have to be skeptical for the right reasons. It is true there's both lots of hype and cynicism. 3D printing parallels computers in many ways, but it's

Well, you have to be skeptical for the right reasons. It is true there's both lots of hype and cynicism. 3D printing parallels computers in many ways, but it's important to see how it is different as well. Unlike computers, I currently can't see anything resembling Moore's law. In addition, it may have some version of the "Singer Problem". When sewing machines came out, you could have claimed that everyone would make their own clothes. But we don't. Why don't we? Or when camcorders first came out in the early 80's, some people were enthused about being able to record their own shows, and talked about how it was going to disrupt traditional media. However, the missing piece they failed to take into account was that there was no method of distribution. It wasn't until Youtube came along that this vision came to be. That said, I'm enthused about its possibilities. I've got a printer at home, and I've been exploring what it's good for, and so far, I'm optimistic.