Circa 2014, the world was being told by people like this author that 3D printing was ushering in an era of mass customization for consumers. That is, anyone would soon be able to purchase products ...
As quickly as 3D printers have taken off, they haven't had true OS-level support. Microsoft is fixing that with Windows 8.1: a built-in API will let developers weave 3D printing into their own apps.