# Key Points from IRC Discussion on February 7, 2011

* A discussion about 3D printing technology mentioned in Zeitgeist: Moving Forward sparked a detailed critique of automation, with joshcryer arguing that industrial automation remains highly specialized and doesn't truly render human labor obsolete as claimed.

* joshcryer outlined a vision for open hardware development, suggesting that despite the ability to fork projects, standardization naturally emerges as communities coalesce around primary versions, similar to open source software development patterns.

* The ultimate goal for maker technology was described as creating self-replicating machines that can not only reproduce themselves but also build specialized factories capable of mass production at much higher speeds than the original machines.

* A universal flu vaccine breakthrough was shared from The Guardian, with potential implications for eradicating influenza and saving millions of lives annually.

* A researcher sought and found resources for beta-globin DNA sequences from multiple mammal species using NCBI's homologene database.

* A discussion about self-replicating machines referenced a NASA study comparing their complexity to creating a Pentium 4 chip, leading to debate about whether creating artificial self-replicating systems from scratch is feasible or necessary given existing biological models.

* The Singularity Institute's "The Uncertain Future Forecasting Project" was mentioned as going open source, with its repository available on GitHub.