Manufacture Your Designs On Demand

Wired has a great article discussing on-demand manufacturing services and the businesses that are sprouting globally as a result. Design your own furniture and have it built when your customer orders it! No upfront costs, just provide the specs and collect the profit. Services like Cafe Press have been around for ages but now a new twist on this theme is turning homegrown ideas into real cash opportunities.

Think I'll get out the napkin and pencil and get to work...

Factory Installed Viruses - Getting More Than We Paid For?

The CBC has a story of new devices hitting store shelves with factory installed viruses and trojans. "Recent cases reviewed by the Associated Press include some of the most widely used tech devices: Apple iPods, digital picture frames sold by Target and Best Buy stores and TomTom navigation gear." The experts believe the threats are the result of lax quality control measures in the manufacturing process, the result of cost cutting measures in foreign manufacturing facilities. Ultimately, does not the responsibility lay with the company who commissions the work? I mean, if you are outsourcing work shouldn't you do your due diligence and have your own quality control checks in place?