Darpa nerds want a "replicator," female companionship
By Paul Miller 
posted March 20th 2007 11:41AM
posted March 20th 2007 11:41AM
Yeah yeah, we know the Trekkie lines are cheap shots, but anyone dork enough to verbalize a desire for a replicator with a straight face deserves at least a bit of gentle ribbing. Oddly enough, Darpa's desires for such a device aren't terribly far-fetched. See, those war nerds are looking for a disposable transmitter about the size of a sheet of paper that can be built on the fly. Messages up to 60 alphanumeric characters could be coded onto the "printed" device, and thanks to some stamped-on circuitry could be transmitted via pulses of light. Darpa wants this "replicator" to be prepped in 12 months, and in another 12 be shrunk to the size of a Blackberry, with the transmitters designed to last up to four days. No word on how much time is Darpa is allowing before they get hot meals delivered in such a manner.
it's a transmission device. what does this have to do with 'Star Trek" replicators?
it's basically just a sheet of paper that writes on itself. big deal.
and where was female companionship mentioned at all?
Judging from the photo, they are one nipple closer to the female companionship part...
Also, thats a food synthesizer, not a replicator. Replicators won't be invented till the the 24th century. Duh.
It's ridiculous to call this a "replicator."
I may as well call my printer a replicator because it can generate pages of text or pictures on command.