Digital Trends
Windows
Microsoft’s Window’s operating system has suffered a great deal in the age of the tablet computer, sales of PCs have fallen through the floor and as a result Windows OS has too.
In an attempt to revive the one time giant of the industry, Microsoft have included native support for 3D printing on Windows 8.1, their latest release. Their new API will allow developers to make Apps for the OS and 3D printing will become as natural as 2D printing is now.
This is a calculated gamble from Microsoft, they know the technology is gathering pace now that the likes of Amazon and Maplin have started selling the tech. They also know they need to start appealing to the makers and hackers, some of whom have left for more open-source pastures like Linux.
At their Build 2013 launch of the OS Microsoft’s Vice-President, Antoine Leblond demonstrated the feature by printing out a vase on a MakerBot Replicator 2 at the touch of a button. “With 8.1, 3D printing is as seemless and as easy as laser printing.”
This is also big news for the technology itself, when one of the biggest companies on earth choose to include a feature made specifically for a tech, you can certainly suggest the technology is, at least, preparing for landing.
Will this latest development alone boost sales for Microsoft and 3D printers? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
