Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1454922
58 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2022 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE "I don't know. I'll find a way for it to pay for itself," was my response. Because it was $5,000 for that package, I literally had to finance it, at that point in my life. I started my computing skills with a stick figure flight simulator, because I knew noth- ing about computers. It turned out that the company I was working for went Chapter 11, and it was in this industry, so I started looking around. I thought, "Well, this does more than flight simulators, I can actually lay out maga- zine pages." And so we pioneered desktop publishing. Now, I never set out to be a pub- lisher, a computer expert, or a business owner. But the thing that happened with that technol- ogy was it empowered me to do these things. Today, I see 3D printers as an equivalent to that empowerment that I found 36-plus years ago. How do you see the 3D printers changing the landscape? Pogue: Well, you'll be disappointed because I don't think 3D printers are an everyday house- hold object for most people. is has been pre- dicted over and over, and my son owns one. But the examples people give, such as, "If you need a new part for a door handle, you can just run up and print one." I just don't think the expense and the learning curve is worth it for the average family. But there are, of course, niches, demographics, and people whose lives will be changed. I guess you could say the same for desktop publishing. It did change every- thing, but you don't have one like you have a refrigerator. Matties: It's a tool that empowers people and sparks innovation. Because you're right, I agree that you're not going to see a widespread application; not everybody became a desktop publisher. But I'm watching some of these kids that are creating products, ones that never existed before. is entrepreneurship that this tool empowers them is creating something. ere's something going on there. Pogue: Yeah. One great thing that's happened in the 3D printing world is moving beyond the terrarium-sized plastic printer. ey are now 3D printing houses, and materials other than plastic. ere are 3D printers that work with multiple materials simultaneously. ey can layer metal with plastic, for example. So, I think that's where the mind really blows. at's where the sky becomes a limit. Matties: Well, it's an exciting time to be alive and to be watching technology. What has sur- prised you the most in your coverage of elec- tronics? Pogue: I think my favorite thing that happens is when a surprise by some visionary, that everybody says is wrong, turns out to be right and changes the world. at's happened a few times. I was among the people who said Apple was insane to put out a phone without keys and without a battery that you can change out. at was not the design of phones in 2007, and I thought it was very foolish. I was wrong and, of course, it changed everything. Elon Musk is another guy who's done it several times. ere has not been a successful new American car company since 1920, since Chevrolet. is guy comes along and says that not only is he going to do it, but he's going to build his cars in America and they're going to be all elec- I think my favorite thing that happens is when a surprise by some visionary, that everybody says is wrong, turns out to be right and changes the world.