The defense tech example mentioned in the article is compelling, but I think the most exciting thing that will come from 3D printing is the ability to print non-organic materials to build materials in space, where transportation logistics are a little more complicated than shipping stuff across the Pacific.
There's many different ways to install Rails and those will always be available whether someone creates an installer or not as long as source code is available. However, there is a combination of Ruby, Rails, and the database choices that serve as its backend which are common for the "Make a new Rails app and ship to Heroku" workflow that should be easier for being so popular.
I'm really surprised Rails isn't just another component in the Heroku toolbelt. The default Ruby version in OS X is always outdated, the database preferred by Heroku (postgres) is also outdated in OS X, and getting the latest XCode or re-installing it to install brew to install postgres and changing the order of execution in the PATH to make sure it picks up the right version is a prescription for despair and angst. RVM only solves the Ruby and gem versioning problem.
I really want to love the MeeGo Netbook UX and ran it for a month on my Lenovo s10-3t but can't get over its filing-cabinet UI; I can't just get to an application outside of the 6 or so on the quick launch box. You have to click on a tab, then play category bingo to figure out or try to remember which category panel to expand and find it in--and only one can be expanded at a time.
Also, the glittery nonsense on the paint job is sort of horrible. I hate it on my Lenovo netbook too; This is supposed to be a Netbook, not a Twilight character.
I actually worked with a MeeGo netbook for some time. In reality you launch apps with Alt-F2 and first couple of chars of app name, or just use the search box. Fast and efficient.
While I really agree with you on the convenience of the run-prompt (or dmenu-style launchers, which I use on my Arch+Xmonad machine), try to tell a regular user to start a program this way. He/she will stare at you in disbelief and then go back to clicking through menus. If you want MeeGo to sell/gain market share (and I'd group MeeGo together with Ubuntu/Mint-like Linux distros, in other words, consumer/enduser-oriented), you need a consistent and simple GUI (which doesn't mean that the capabilities for advanced users have to be dumbed down, though).
I agree that its fast and efficient to use the search box, but its something I rarely see people doing outside circles of sysadmins and developers.
The existing UI can easily be saved by just knocking out the expandable panels completely and just putting all the apps on one panel delineated by category name.
The fewer form fields the better. Name, email address, message, and Fifth Element captcha are all I use on my personal website's contact form: http://davidhuerta.me/contact.php
I think "drives them relentlessly forward" is a part of the conversation we're missing out on. Useful feedback can come from anywhere, even an asshole. Waiting for insight from only expert communicators seems like a way to slow down one's progress.
You see it a lot between iOS and Android camps. I get flak from Android fanboys constantly and I don't even use an iPhone. If each system was so perfect, there wouldn't be a need for anyone to prove anything. We're pitted into camps of imperfect systems in which each side is perfectly aware of their side's flaws but avoid the geek-sin of admitting they use something less than perfect by only pointing out everything wrong with the "other side" rather than admitting that everything is broken and telling Google and Apple about it instead.
I know one guy who used to actually reply saying, 'read what you just wrote, and feel bad about yourself.' One of the main problems though is that half the people on these forums are 10-18 year olds. I mean even Hacker News has a median age of only 25 (according to a recent poll), and it seems super-grown-up.
