DEROTAG

Soft Materials With Controllable Surface Textures Created Using 3D Printer Researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have come up with a novel method of making soft composite materials with reconfigurable surface textures that can be impeccably smooth, ridged or bumpy on demand. The surface created by using a 3-D printer can alter its texture dynamically depending on the amount of pressure applied to it. The material is made up of two distinct polymers that have very different degrees of stiffness. Furthermore, the relatively hard or rigid particles were inserted in a predetermined alignment below the surface of soft elastomeric matrix of mutable material.  Upon the application of an external stimuli, the material�s surface which is initially smooth and flat changes to a particular pattern. The pattern is steered by the arrangement and shapes of the hard particles. Later, when the pressure is released, the composite material regains its original form. Thereby, the ...

What Happened to the Surface Mini Well, that was disappointing. Microsoft�s heavily-rumored mini-tablet (link) was a no-show at the Surface event this week. If this had been an Apple announcement, I�d just say the Internet got carried away with itself. But the source of the rumors was the very reliable Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet (link), who�s almost a house organ for Microsoft official leaks. So what happened? It�s possible that Microsoft leaked the rumors deliberately in order to smoke out Foley�s sources, but I don�t think Microsoft would have put Qualcomm in the story if that were the case. Most likely the product was real, and the announcement was canceled just recently. Bloomberg says Microsoft execs Stephen Elop and Satya Nadella lost confidence in the product and decided to pull it at the last minute (link). That would be a typical move for a new management team � you always look to kill a few of your predecessor�s projects to put your own stamp on the organization. The reasoning th...