Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

The outside perception of North Korea is understandably pretty grim. Backward, agrarian, repressive, war-like, hard-line communist, these are all terms which can legitimately be used to describe North Korea, at least if the political refugees who have escaped and the foreign journalists allowed to enter the country are to be believed. Yet there is, apparently, another side to North Korea, a technological side, which does have some interaction with the outside world through the internet. And it is a technological side which has actually done business with countries in the Middle East and other nations in Asia. North Korean technology companies have even, reportedly, developed video games for Japanese gaming giants Nintendo and Sony. At the link, you’ll be able to read a piece which gives further details on the state of computer, gaming and online technology in North Korea. Because while it is easy to disdain and vilify Kim Jong Il and the dictatorial nightmare he has perpetuated for his countrymen, it is also easy to feel pain and sorrow for the innocent, everyday people who are trying to make a living and provide for their families under harsh government oppression. But as this story suggests, there may be qualified hope for some freedom for North Koreans through the development, implementation and use of online computer technologies. (Asian Correspondent – North Korean Tech Evolution)
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“All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing.” At the link, you’re going to learn more than you ever thought there was to know about creating a wearable bikini manufactured using 3D printing technology. If you have read anything about 3D printing, it is kind of a natural progression, really, from using the technology to create models for architecture and special effects to wearable clothing. The 3D bikini is the creation of a company called Continuum Fashion, which was founded by Mary Huang and Jenna Fizel. The bikini itself is made from a special type of waterproof nylon, and digitally mapped in a computer using body scans of the intended wearer for a very precise and comfortable fit. We can foresee a time in the near future when forgetting your favorite swimsuit at home won’t be too big of an inconvenience, if you can just insert some cash into a booth by the beach and have a perfectly-fitted garment scanned and printed our for you. (Next Big Future – 3D Body Scan Bikini) Continuum calls its bikini the N12, and you can read more about it and the company here: Continuum Fashion  
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