One is, Raspberry Pi, a small Linux box that costs $25, or $35 with network connection. Just at those prices, the full fledged net book equivalent machine power will be offered to so many people in the world. The 'charitable' organizations offer them 'for educational purposes' -- never a Windows machine. With its graphics chip that can connect to TV screens, however, this can be a game changer.
Another is, Craft ROBO, a cutting plotter. There are numerous other machines that cuts paper, plastic, vinyl sheets, and other materials, but this machine, cuts items that are drawn on your PC. No cartridges, no nonsense about those black-boxes to set cut patterns. Its software takes a figure, calculate the outline, and the machine cuts it out for you. Unfortunately, the latest model is out of stock. Its manufacturer, Graphtech Inc, says the new model would be coming in March 2012.
The other is, iPad3 or Windows 8 tablet PC. App-wise, the share number one is the Android machines, however. The Windows 8 tablet PC on ARM is yet to come, reportedly in March.
Lastly, it is the 3D printer. There are many types of them; stacking shaped plastic lump, cutting out a shape from a resin block, or even binding composite powder layer by layer. iModela might be the one, but I need more research on these. Taking out a plastic material, shape them in the way that you like as in printing figures on paper, and use them as in any way that you like, in modeling for fun and for any other useful purposes in research and engineering, replaceable parts of an equipment anywhere, etc.
