naperlou, I've tried increasing the font size in my browser, but on lots of web pages that are designed for wide monitors, that makes half of what I'm trying to read inaccessible, especially on a laptop.
Regarding prices, the whole economics of volume manufacturing means that per-unit costs are a lot higher with a small number of initial products than they are later when volumes have risen and manufacturers can amortize parts, labor and overhead. So manufacturers don't have a choice to lower prices initially without risking going out of business before volumes go up. They also don't have such a choice if they are funded by venture capital, which always comes with some pretty strict strings attached.
Ann, it sounds like there is some kind of optical device in the image path, something like the opposite of an image stabalizer, that selects one of two paths thru the optics? Is this correct? Any other details available?
Alex, you could just try a bigger font in your browser. As for your observation on the cost coming down bringing more applications, that is the one truism of the electronics age. Sometimes I wonder at manufacturers that price their products high at the begining to recover cost quickly while also raising venture capital. They would be better off pricing low from the begining to get volumes up quickly.
I didn't realize that eye fatigue was an issue with microscopes, though I guess it should be obvious since it is when reading web sites. On the technical side, it's interesting how CCD and other pieces of critical imaging technology (i.e., where the image is captured/light converted to intensity and color levels etc) is becoming, well, not exactly commoditized, but more affordable. And that's moving it out into a wider range of applications, as we're seeing with the explosion of 3D machine vision.
As energy efficiency becomes more and more a concern for makers of electronics devices, researchers are coming up with new ways to harvest energy from sound vibration, footsteps, and even electromagnetic fields in the air.
The government wants to study your brain, and DARPA wants to use similar information to give robots true autonomy beyond any artificial intelligence developed to date. Sound like science fiction? It's not.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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